Jesus Christ organized His Church by calling and ordaining twelve Apostles whom he endowed with great power and authority and then sent forth to bear witness to the world of his Gospel. Even so in these last days, He has called forth a Quorum of Twelve Apostles as special witnesses of the Gospel.
    In June 1829, almost a year before the restoration of The Church, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation in the which he was directed that Twelve apostles would be called in this dispensation. In 1835, that revelation came to fruition as the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon were authorized to select and call the Twelve.  The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is a quorum "equal in authority and power" to the First Presidency, meaning that when the First Presidency is dissolved (which occurs upon the death of the President of the Church) the Council of the Twelve exercises all of the power and authority previously reserved to the First Presidency until a new First Presidency is organized (D&C 107:23-24). This is possible because each Apostle, when he is ordained, is given every power, every authority, and every key that pertains to the Church and the Gospel on earth. Thus the most junior Apostle has the same authority that resides in the President of the Church. He is not fully empowered to exercise all those keys until called as President or when, on the death of the President, the Twelve become the presiding quorum on earth until the First Presidency can be reorganized. The Twelve are sustained as Prophets, seers, and Revelators. Seniority in the Quorum is based on longevity since being called. After the First Presidency is organized, the next senior living Apostle is sustained as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve.
    The Council of the Twelve is presently organized into four executive groups... the Correlation Executive Committee composed of the Council of the Twelve's three most senior apostles; the Missionary Executive Council; the Priesthood Executive Council; and the Temple and Family History Executive Council.
    The Correlation Executive Council reviews the work of the three other councils. It also directs the Correlation Department, which evaluates manuals and other materials disseminated to the membership of the Church.
    The Missionary Executive Council directs the work of the Missionary Department of the Church, which provides support to a worldwide proselytizing effort. It is made up of several major sections, including the Proselytizing Resource Division; several Missionary Training Centers; the Missionary Operations Division, for handling day-to-day missionary activities; and the Media Division.
    The Priesthood Executive Council directs the Priesthood Department and the Curriculum Department of the Church. The Priesthood Department supervises the activities of the Melchizedek Priesthood and the auxiliaries of the Church. The Curriculum Department is responsible for planning, developing, and producing printed, audio, and audiovisual materials for the Church. It includes the Curriculum Planning and Development Division, the Audiovisual Planning and Development Division, the Publications Coordination Division, the Scriptures Coordination Division, and the Church Magazines Division.
    The Temple and Family History Executive Council directs the Temple Department, the Family History Department, and the Historical Department of the Church. The Temple Department supervises the operation of the Church's temples throughout the world. The major divisions of the Temple Department are the Recording and Ordinance Procedures Division, the Ordinance Recording Systems Division, and the Audiovisual Services Division.
    Members of the Missionary, Priesthood, and Temple and Family History executive councils also have "first contact" assignments in various areas of the Church. This means that these members of the Council of the Twelve work with specific area presidencies and are ultimately responsible for all the work of the Church in their assigned areas.
    In the listing below, the first date is the date of placement in the Quorum of the Twelve which is usually but not necessarily close to the date of ordination as an Apostle. (Some ordained Apostles neither served in, nor were given a place of seniority with the Twelve.) The closing date is the date of termination of service with the Twelve. This can be because of disfellowshipment, excommunication, death, or being called as a Counselor in the First Presidency or as the President of the Church.

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Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since its restoration:

1. Thomas B. Marsh, (1835-1838)
2. David W. Patten, (1835-1838)
3. Brigham Young, (1835-1847)
4. Heber C. Kimball, (1835-1868)
5. Orson Hyde, (1835-1839, 1839-1878)
6. William E. M'Lellin, (1835-1838)
7. Parley P. Pratt, (1835-1857)
8. Luke S. Johnson, (1835-1838)
9. William B. Smith, (1835-1845)
10. Orson Pratt, (1835-1842, 1842-1881)
11. John F. Boynton, 1835-1837)
12. Lyman E. Johnson, (1835-1838)
13. John E. Page, (1838-1846)
14. John Taylor, (1838-1880)
15. Wilford Woodruff, (1839-1889)
16. George A. Smith, (1839-1868)
17. Willard Richards, (1840-1847)
18. Lyman Wight, (1841-1848)
19. Amasa M. Lyman, (1842-1843, 1844-1867)
20. Ezra Taft Benson, (1846-1869)
21. Charles C Rich, (1849-1883)
22. Lorenzo Snow, (1849-1873, 1877-1898)
23. Erastus Snow, (1849-1888)
24. Franklin D. Richards, (1849-1899)
25. George Q. Cannon, (1860-1901)
26. Joseph F. Smith, (1867-1901)
27. Brigham Young, Jr., (1868-1873, 1877-1903)
28. Albert Carrington, (1870-1873, 1877-1885)
29. Moses Thatcher, (1879-1896)
30. Francis Marion Lyman, (1880-1916)
31. John Henry Smith, (1880-1910)
32. George Teasdale, (1882-1907)
33. Heber J. Grant, (1882-1918)
34. John W. Taylor, (1884-1905)
35.Marriner W. Merrill, (1889-1906)
36. Anthon H. Lund, (1889-1901)
37. Abraham H. Cannon, (1889-1896)
38. Matthias F. Cowley, (1897-1905)
39. Abraham O. Woodruff, (1897-1904)
40. Rudger Clawson, (1898-1901)
41. Reed Smoot, (1900-1941)
42. Hyrum M. Smith, (1901-1918)
43. George Albert Smith, (1903-1945)
44. Charles W. Penrose, (1904-1911)
45. George F. Richards, (1906-1950)
46. Orson F. Whitney, (1906-1931)
47. David O. McKay, (1906-1934)
48. Anthony Woodward Ivins, (1907-1921)
49. Joseph Fielding Smith (1910-1965)
50. James E. Talmage, (1911-1933)
51. Stephen L. Richards, (1917-1951)
52. Richard R. Lyman, (1918-1943)
53. Melvin J. Ballard, (1919-1939)
54. John A. Widtsoe, (1921-1952)
55. Joseph F. Merrill, (1931-1952)
56. Charles A. Callis, (1933-1947)
57. J. Reuben Clark, Jr., (1934, Sustained to Twelve to give him a place in seniority; never actively served in the Twelve.
58. Alonzo Arza Hinckley, (1934-1936)
59. Albert Ernest Bowen, (1937-1953)
60. Sylvester Q. Cannon* , (1939-1943)      * Associate to the Council of the Twelve (1938-1939)
61. Harold B. Lee, (1941-1972)
62. Spencer W. Kimball, (1943-1973)
63. Ezra Taft Benson, (1943-1985)
64. Mark E. Petersen, (1944-1984)
65. Matthew Cowley, (1945-1953)
66. Henry Dinwoodey Moyle, (1947-1963)
67. Delbert L. Stapley, (1950-1978)
68. Marion G. Romney, (1951-1988)
69. LeGrand Richards, (1952-1983)
70. Adam S. Bennion, (1953-1958)
71. Richard L. Evans, (1953-1971)
72. George Quayle Morris, (1954-1962)
73. Hugh B. Brown, (1958-1961)
74. Howard W. Hunter, (1959-1994)
75. Gordon B. Hinckley, (1961-1981)
76. Nathan Eldon. Tanner, (1962-1963)
77. Thomas S. Monson. (1963-1985) Presently President of the Church
78. Boyd K. Packer (1970-Present)
79. Marvin J. Ashton (1971-1994)
80. Bruce R. McConkie (1972-1985)
81. L. Tom Perry (1974-Present)
82. David B. Haight (1976-2004)
83. James E. Faust (1978-1995)
84. Neal A. Maxwell (1981-2004)
85. Russell M. Nelson (1984-Present)
86. Dallin H. Oaks (1984-Present)
87. M. Russell Ballard, Jr. (1985-Present)
88. Joseph B. Wirthlin (1986-Present)
89. Richard G. Scott (1988-Present)
90. Robert D. Hales (1994-Present)
91. Jeffrey R. Holland (1994-Present)
92. Henry B. Eyring (1995-2007) Presently First Counselor to President Thomas S. Monson
93. Dieter F. Uchtdorf (2004-2008) Presently Second Counselor to President Thomas S. Monson
94. David A. Bednar (2004-Present)
95. Quentin L. Cook (2007-Present)
96. D. Todd Christofferson (2008-Present)