On March 31, 1900, Snow and his counselors in the First Presidency, changed the policy of presidential succession. Under the then-existing rules of presidential succession in the church, John Willard Young would have become church president when Snow died, as Snow was the only living person who had been ordained an apostle prior to Young. Snow was 85 years old and in poor health, so it appeared to many that Young would be the next president of the church. However, many of the general authorities felt that Young's succession to the presidency would be a disaster for the church. Under the new policy, the new president of the church would no longer be the person who had been an ordained apostle the longest; rather, the new president of the church would be the person who had been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for the longest period of time. Since Young had never been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, he could not become the president of the church if Snow died. On April 5, 1900, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve unanimously approved the new policy.