Next Mormon Leader Inherits Church in Spotlight

By Howard Berkes

Published January 29, 2008 at 4:00 PM EST

The leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints won't name a new president and prophet of their Mormon faith until after the funeral of Gordon B. Hinckley, who died Sunday night.

Tradition dictates that the longest-serving member of the Mormon leadership will now take the helm. That would be 80-year-old Thomas Monson, who has spent 44 years in the highest ranks of the Mormon hierarchy. He'll inherit a church that is bigger and more scrutinized than ever.

Howard Berkes

Howard Berkes is a correspondent for the NPR Investigations Unit.

See stories by Howard Berkes

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Donate