Sources: Salt Lake Tribune &

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

LDS Church President Dallin Oaks makes a controversial pick for new apostle: Clark Gilbert

“Clark Gilbert may be the most consequential apostolic appointment in the modern church,” historian says.

By:Peggy Fletcher Stack, Tamarra Kemsley, and David Noyce

Feb. 12, 2026, 4:59 p.m. | Updated: Feb. 13, 2026, 2:41 p.m.

Four months into his tenure as president of The   Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dallin H. Oaks has made one of his most consequential and, frankly, controversial moves as leader   of the global faith.

He picked Clark G. Gilbert as the newest apostle, a lifetime appointment the church announced Thursday.

Gilbert, the faith’s commissioner of education, has gained a reputation as a   culture warrior, eager to defend and define orthodoxy, while combating   the rise of secularism, especially at church-owned schools.

He fills the seat left vacant by the December death of another educator, apostle Jeffrey R. Holland.

The 55-year-old Gilbert was called Wednesday and ordained Thursday by  Oaks   and the other members of the governing First Presidency and the  Quorum   of the Twelve Apostles, according to a news release. He has served  as a general authority Seventy since April 2021 and as education  commissioner since August 2021.

“This is an amazing time to point people to the Savior Jesus Christ,” Gilbert said in the release. “When we do that, we can find joy and comfort and   peace in him. As [former church] President [Russell M.] Nelson once   said, it’s much harder to find happiness where it doesn’t exist. And   we’re so grateful that I have this calling now to witness that Jesus is   the Christ. If people all across the world will look to him, he will   make their lives better, more meaningful, more joyful. And it happens in and through our Savior Jesus Christ.”

Gilbert’s  elevation is Oaks’ second apostolic selection. In November, a little  more than a month after Nelson died, he chose Gérald Caussé, a 62-year-old Frenchman known for his ecclesiastical oversight of  the   faith’s financial empire and his support of environmental  stewardship   and sustainability.