Apostle
In the Latter Day Saint movement, an apostle is a "special witness of the name of Jesus Christ who is sent to teach the principles of salvation to others." In many Latter Day Saint churches, an apostle is a priesthood office of high authority within the church hierarchy. As of March 31st, 2018, the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church are: M. Russell Ballard, Jeffrey R. Holland, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A. Bednar, Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson, Neil L. Anderson, Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, Dale G. Renlund, Gerrit W. Gong, and Ulisses Soares. There are also members of the Quorum of the Seventy (referred to as “Seventies”). They typically work under the direction of the twelve apostles and are given similar responsibilities that build up the church. In many churches, apostles may be members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the church. In most Latter Day Saint churches, modern-day apostles are considered to have the same status and authority as the biblical apostles. In the Latter Day Saint tradition, apostles and prophets are believed to be the foundation of the church, with Jesus as the chief cornerstone. The Articles of Faith, written by Joseph Smith, mentions apostles: "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."
Epistle of James
The writer of the letter of James identifying himself as "a servant/slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" is much the same as the author of the Epistle of Jude did by calling himself "a slave of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James" (Jas 1:1; Jude 1). Furthermore, the salutation of his letter concludes with the term “greetings" (Greek χαίρειν), much like the letter on circumcision that was sent to the congregations. In the latter instance it was apparently Jesus's brother, James, who spoke prominently in the assembly of "the apostles and the older men" at Jerusalem. Some have said the authorship of this epistle points to James, the brother of Jesus, to whom Jesus evidently had made a special appearance after his resurrection described in the New Testament as this James was prominent among the disciples.