He's a youth minister, a foreign church planter, a fly fisherman and a 47-year-old father of three — all characteristics that leaders of the Community of Christ believe will give Stephen M. Veazey a unique vision for the future.
Veazey was named Monday as the designated president of the 250,000-member faith, previously known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Headquartered in Independence, Mo., the church lost its previous president in December when W. Grant McMurray resigned, citing health problems and undisclosed personal issues.
In his letter of resignation, McMurray said he had "made some inappropriate choices, and the circumstances of my life are now such that I cannot continue to effectively lead the church."
Though he had the right to choose a successor, he elected not to do so, leaving the faith's top leaders to determine who would succeed him. Since then, the church has been overseen by McMurray's counselors in the First Presidency — Kenneth N. Robinson and Peter A. Judd — as well as the faith's Council of Twelve. Veazey is currently president of that council, a position he came to not by seniority but by the designation of fellow church leaders after a discernment process involving "a period of prayer and reflection."
That's the same process by which fellow members of the Council of Twelve came to the decision that Veazey should be their next president and prophet. That decision was taken to counselors in the First Presidency as well as the Presiding Bishopric, High Priests Quorum and Presidents of Seventy, who also engaged in prayer and reflection to know God's will.
When they all agreed, their decision — announced Monday before about 1,000 church leaders, members and friends at the faith's temple in Independence — was broadcast via the Internet to church members worldwide, who were told last week to expect the announcement.
Veazey's role as prophet must be ratified by a majority of 2,800 church member delegates, who will gather in the small, Midwest town June 2-5 for the faith's 2005 World Conference.
The faith is governed, as many Protestant faiths are, through democratic processes that approve or disapprove proposals from top church leaders. Veazey said he isn't ready to publicly name those he will choose to serve as counselors in the First Presidency, but he is responsible to propose the names, which also must be ratified by majority vote of church delegates.
Veazey said McMurray's unexpected resignation saddened the church and came as a shock to many, who had expected the former president to lead the faith for years to come. Yet since the Monday announcement, Veazey said he has received messages "from all over the world saying people are supporting (the decision), and they believe God is continuing to bless the church. I'm looking forward to our World Conference and an indication from leadership of how we're going to move into the future."
Though Veazey had planned as a young man to spend his career in the outdoors as an environmentalist (he has a bachelor's degree in natural-resource management from the University of Tennessee), once he completed a master's degree in religion at Park College near Kansas City, he was asked to serve for several years as a full-time youth pastor and in missionary ministry for the church.
He never got back to the woods, other than to spend time casting tied flies on the water.
He has since traveled the world as a full-time minister for the church, serving as a church planter in foreign nations where the Community of Christ has experienced more rapid growth than it has in the United States and Canada in recent years. That, along with his experience in young adult and campus ministries, was a part of his qualification for the presidency, Veazey says, but it wasn't the determining factor.
Top church leaders tapped him for the Council of Twelve at age 36 and have since given him the chance to watch over the ministry worldwide. He was made president of the Council of Twelve three years ago, and sees his new position as an "opportunity to become a bridge between the generations.
"I'm not exactly a young adult, but I can certainly connect with them. I can reach out to the older generations who would look for what kind of experience I've had and leadership roles I've filled." Though his peers support his call to the presidency, Veazey said he has "never aspired to particular positions in the church" and is "greatly humbled" by the confidence of fellow leaders.
He said he looks forward to continuing a good relationship with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the faith from which his own sprang when church founder Joseph Smith's family members stayed in Illinois while the bulk of early Latter-day Saints and their leaders migrated to the Mountain West. Smith's descendants led the church until McMurray was named president in 1996 when Wallace B. Smith resigned.
He and other church leaders will participate — along with LDS Church leaders — in a bicentennial celebration of church founder Joseph Smith's birthday this summer in Nauvoo, Ill., with a ceremony at the gravesites of Smith and his brother Hyrum, who were martyred in 1844. The Community of Christ owns the gravesite property as well as other properties that make up part of historic Nauvoo, which has been restored and developed in recent years by the LDS Church.
"I think our church has an exciting mission as we understand it, as a global family throughout the world particularly concerned about peace and justice issues. I would expect that in the future we'll continue to go deeper in our understanding of our identity and mission as a faith community, and I look forward to the journey."
E-mail: carrie@desnews.com