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Thomas Spencer Monson was sustained as the 16th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 5, 2008, following the death of President Gordon B. Hinckley. Read more...

*Watch President Monson's 85th Birthday Celebration.

Slate Magazine Awards Thomas Monson Top Honors

In the recent past, Slate Magazine annually awarded honors to 80 influential people over age 80, called "80 Over 80." In October, 2009, the magazine chose Thomas S. Monson, President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the number one most influential American over age 80. [1]

In 2010, President Monson won the award again. [2] "Slate predicts that Monson will claim the top spot until his death. It is expected that at that time Boyd K. Packer, octogenarian current president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will succeed him as prophet and president, and most likely as Slate's top octogenarian as well." [3]

Since then, President Packer has passed away (in 2015). [4] He was 90 years old and the President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles at the time, and the role passed to then 90 year old Russell M. Nelson, who was a noted heart surgeon before his calling as an apostle. Amazingly, Mormon leaders are extremely long-lived and stay vibrant into old age.