and its leaders, and to the Order of Evangelists in fulfilling the significant ministry they provide, especially what the church considers "a time of transformation and change.” According to the church, Evangelists are ordained to be ministers of blessing, witnessing of Jesus Christ and responsive to the reconciling and redeeming influence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of persons, serving in multiple ministries according to the unique gifts and callings of each evangelist. Chronology of the Presiding Patriarchs/Evangelist of Community of Christ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints When a Presiding Patriarch has existed, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has sustained the person as a prophet, seer, and revelator. In the church's history, there have been eight Presiding Patriarchs, three Acting Presiding Patriarchs, and one Patriarch Emeritus. The LDS Church effectively discontinued the office of Presiding Patriarch in 1979, indicating enough local patriarchs existed so that the church-wide position was no longer needed. However, E. Gary Smith, the eldest son of the final patriarch, Eldred G. Smith, rejected this explanation, suggesting instead that the dissolution of the office was the inevitable result of longstanding tensions rising from the incompatibility of a hereditary position with the broader church hierarchy based in "office charisma," consistent with the Weberian model of bureaucracy. Until that time, the role and duties of the office had varied. The Presiding Patriarch sometimes appointed local patriarchs in the church's stakes and presided over them as a loose "Quorum of Patriarchs." Like the local patriarchs, the Presiding Patriarch was also empowered to give patriarchal blessings. Chronology of the Presiding Patriarchs of the LDS Church See also Lineal succession (Latter Day Saints) Patriarch (Latter Day Saints) Patriarchal priesthood Notes References . . Peggy Fletcher Stack, "Century Mark: Church leader with historic position nears 100th birthday", Salt Lake Tribune, December 29, 2006. History of the Latter Day Saint movement Latter Day Saint hierarchy Leadership positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1833 establishments in the United States 1833 in Christianity