The head of the Mormon church died yesterday at the age of 97.
Gordon B Hinckley, who was considered a living prophet, had been the 15th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since March 1995.
Church officials said a successor was not expected to be formally chosen by the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after Mr Hinckley's funeral, expected later this week
As word of his death spread, groups of church-goers gathered around the Salt Lake Temple in the US state of Utah - where the religion was founded.
"The President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has served as a transformational religious leader and tremendous ambassador for Utah with his unprecedented outreach to all corners of the world," said Utah Governor Jon Huntsman.
Mormonism, founded in 1830, is very much in focus in the United States at the moment as church member and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney seeks the Republican presidential nomination.
The once-isolated group is one of the fastest-growing and most affluent religions, with an estimated $25 billion in assets in 1999 and more than $5 billion in annual income. More than half of its 12.9 million members live outside the United States, mainly in Latin America.