The rules governing calling multiple apostles order reveal the extreme precision of this protocol. In multiple modern instances, vacancies required the church to call two or three apostles during the exact same weekend conference. When that happens, who takes precedence?
Seniority is established at the precise moment physical hands are placed upon the candidate's head for ordination. The order in which those prayers take place settles the line of succession permanently. In April 1984, Russell M. Nelson and Dallin H. Oaks were both sustained to the Twelve during general conference. Nelson was ordained on April 12, whereas Oaks was ordained on May 3 to allow him to conclude his judicial commitments on the Utah Supreme Court. That three-week gap in ordination made Nelson church president in 2018, while Oaks became next in line.
The same principle settled the sequence in October 2004, when Dieter F. Uchtdorf and David A. Bednar joined the Twelve. Both were sustained and ordained on the same day, but Uchtdorf received his ordination before Bednar. As a result, Uchtdorf remains senior. In October 2015, three apostles were called simultaneously: Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund. They were ordained in that precise order, fixing their permanent line of succession for the remainder of their lives.
