Mormon Church To Get 2nd Oldest President Ever At 93

SALT LAKE CITY, UT — The ex-heart surgeon poised to become the next president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be three years older than his predecessor, Thomas Monson, who died on Tuesday night. Monson died at his Salt Lake City home at 90 years old.

Russell M. Nelson, 93, will formally be named to the post in the coming days under longstanding Mormon church protocol aimed at ensuring a smooth transition of authority. The post is given to the longest-tenured member of the governing Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Nelson, a former heart surgeon with a conservative past on the religion's leadership panel, has led Mormon scholars to predict he won't make any sweeping changes. Nelson has been on the panel for three decades and would become the second-oldest person to be named president of the church.

Monson led the church for nearly a decade.

The new president will be formally appointed during a private meeting of the apostles.

By BRADY McCOMBS, Associated Press

Photo credit: Rick Bowmer/Associated Press