Mormon leader Boyd K Packer, president of the faith's highest governing body, has died at the age of 90.
Packer died on Friday afternoon at his home in Salt Lake City from natural causes, church spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a statement.
Packer was next in line to become president of the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He had been a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since 1970.
The group is modelled after Jesus Christ's apostles and serves under the church president and his two councillors.
He is the second member of quorum to die in recent months. L Tom Perry died on May 30 from cancer.
Replacements for both of them are expected in the coming months, possibly at the church's conference in October.
Quorum member Russell M Nelson, 90, now becomes the leader who would take Mormon President Thomas S Monson's place.
Monson is 87 years old and church officials have said he's feeling the effects of his age.
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