Succession in the Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Part 3

It is my will that my servant Lyman Wight should continue in preaching for Zion, in the spirit of meekness, confessing me before the world, and I will bear him up as on eagle's wings, and he shall beget glory and honor to himself, and unto my name. That when he shall finish his work, that I may receive him unto myself, even as I did my servant David Patten, who is with me at this time, and also my servant Edward Partridge, and also my aged servant Joseph Smith, Sen., who sitteth with Abraham at his right hand, and blessed and holy is he; for he is mine.[A]

[Footnote A: Doc. and Cov. sec. cxxiv, 18, 19.]

Of Bishop Miller, the Lord said:

I say unto you, my servant George Miller is without guile; he may be trusted because of the integrity of his heart; and for the love which he has to my testimony, I, the Lord, love him! I therefore say unto you, I seal upon his head the office of a Bishopric, like unto my servant Edward Partridge, that he may receive the consecrations of mine house, that he may administer blessings upon the heads of the poor of my people, saith the Lord. Let no man despise my servant George, for he shall honor me.[A]

[Footnote A: Doc. and Cov. sec. cxxiv, 20, 21.]

What a splendid prospect was opened before these men! to what heights they could hope to ascend--even to the companions.h.i.+p of G.o.d! Here was honor, glory, exaltation held out to them, within their reach; but they pushed it all aside--exchanged it all for the "wo" of them who are cut off from the church of Christ--who are overcome of the world![A] And instead of living among the saints, honored as G.o.d's servants, supported by the faith, prayer, love and confidence of the church of Christ, they lived and finally died in wretched obscurity-- unwept, unhonored and unsung, their lives and their ending only important as ill.u.s.trating the truth of the prophetic words of him who said:

[Footnote A: Doc. and Cov. sec. 1, 8.]

_All that want to draw away a party from the church after them, let them do it if they can, but they will not prosper!_

IV.

But little is heard of James J. Strang in the church until after the death of the prophet Joseph; but that he was a man of considerable intellectual ability there can be no question. Mr. Strang claimed that about ten days before his death the prophet Joseph gave to him a letter containing a revelation appointing him [James J. Strang] to be his successor as President and Prophet of the church. The letter also appointed Mr. Strang's counselor, and commanded the Twelve Apostles to proclaim Voree, Wisconsin, as the gathering place of the saints. Mr.

Strang attempted to strengthen his claim to the position of President and Prophet of the church by reference to the revelation which says:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye have received a commandment for a law unto my Church, through him whom I have appointed to receive commandments and revelations from my hand.

And this ye shall know a.s.suredly that there is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations, until he be taken, if he abide in me. But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him, for if it be taken from him, he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead.[A]

[Footnote A: Doc. and Cov., sec. xliii.]

Mr. Strang claimed that the appointment he received through the letter here presented as coming from the prophet Joseph, fulfilled the terms of the revelation above quoted; for he had been appointed through the prophet Joseph.

When he presented this "letter" and "revelation" to some of the saints in Michigan, viz., to those living in the town of Florence, St. Joseph County, they asked him if the Twelve that were commanded in his "revelation" to proclaim Voree, Wisconsin, as the gathering place for the saints, were the Twelve Apostles at Nauvoo. He replied they were.

Did they know anything of this "revelation?" They did not. Had he been ordained a prophet? He replied no. The saints were suspicious of his claims, and would not receive him.[A]

[Footnote A: See letter of Crandell Dunn, who was presiding over the branches of the church in Western Michigan at the time--_Mill. Star_, Vol. VIII., p. 93.]

This question as to his ordination presented a serious difficulty to Mr. Strang, a difficulty which he tried to surmount by announcing soon afterwards that immediately after the martyrdom of the prophet Joseph, an angel appeared to him and ordained him to be a prophet to the church, and the successor to Joseph as the President thereof.

He presented himself in Nauvoo and succeeded in drawing to his support a number of restless men--men who had been neglectful of their duties in the church of Christ, and of a disposition to follow any person who promised them change and excitement. Not many followed him from Nauvoo, however, for there his influence amounted to little; but in the scattered branches, especially in those in Wisconsin, he succeeded in deceiving many. Among those who accepted and sustained his claims were William Smith, the only surviving brother of the prophet Joseph; the notorious John C. Bennett, who had been excommunicated from the church for his crimes, and afterward plotted with the enemies of Joseph to bring to pa.s.s his destruction; and also John E. Page, one of the Twelve, who for several years previous to Joseph's death had been in bad repute with the church. John C. Bennett had first supported Sidney Rigdon, claiming to have received a sealed doc.u.ment from the prophet Joseph--when as yet he was in full fellows.h.i.+p with the church--with a strict charge not to open it until after the prophet's death. When he opened it, lo! it contained what purported to be a revelation from the deceased prophet appointing Sidney Rigdon to be his successor. John C. Bennett averred that this was as it should be, and so eagerly was this purported revelation accepted by the supporters of Mr. Rigdon, that they had it published and widely circulated among the branches of the church. But when Mr. Strang came forward with his claims, John C. Bennett turned from Sidney Rigdon and supported Mr. Strang--having forgot, apparently, the "revelation"

contained in the sealed doc.u.ment which appointed Mr. Rigdon President of the church![A]

[Footnote A: _Mill. Star_, Vol. VIII, p. 94.]

John E. Page, in support of the Strang movement, intercepted a company of saints in Michigan, en route from Canada to Nauvoo. He represented that it was the will of the Lord that they should settle in Voree, Wisconsin, Mr. Strang's gathering place, and not go to Nauvoo. This company, however, were prudent enough not to receive his representations without investigation. They sent messengers to Nauvoo who received such instructions from the Twelve as preserved them from the deceitfulness of this apostate Apostle. John E. Page continued to support the claims of James J. Strang, and for doing so was excommunicated from the church,[A] and swelled the number of those who have made s.h.i.+pwreck of faith through opposing legitimate authority.

[Footnote A: John E. Page was disfellows.h.i.+pped from the quorum of the Twelve, February 9th, 1846; and excommunicated from the church June 27, 1846.]

Mr. Strang in a short time changed his gathering place from Voree, Wisconsin, to Beaver Island, in the north end of Lake Michigan. He organized a towns.h.i.+p on Beaver Island, went to the state legislature and succeeded in having the whole group of islands in north Lake Michigan organized into a county, under the name of Manitou County, which for some years Mr. Strang represented in the Michigan state legislature.

Mr. Strang was not satisfied with being Prophet and President of the church, he must also be a king; and accordingly was crowned and given a scepter[A]--"The attribute to awe and majesty, wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings!"

[Footnote A: _The Saints' Herald_, Vol. x.x.xV, p. 718.]

He was crowned by George J. Adams, also an apostate from the church.

At one time Mr. Adams had been appointed to go on a mission to the empire of Russia, to preach the gospel; but before he started he was found to be in transgression. His appointment was, of course, cancelled; and subsequently, as he still further transgressed, he was excommunicated from the church, after which he joined Mr. Strang at Beaver Island.

It may be well to observe, in pa.s.sing, that all these aspirants for place and power manifested an insatiable desire for the honors and t.i.tles of men, a thing which shows them to be as vain as they were ambitious, and distinguishes them from true leaders (especially those whom G.o.d calls), who so loose themselves in their work, that self is unthought of, much less the empty honors and t.i.tles of men. Mr. Strang was not only a "king" in name, but also one in disposition if those who represent his conduct speak truly. Arbitrary and cruel in his methods of government, he finally provoked much dissatisfaction among his followers, and not a few dissensions.

The people whom he gathered together on Beaver Island soon fell into disrepute with their neighbors. They are represented as claiming that the earth was the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; that they were the Lord's saints and heirs to that which was the Lord's, and hence did not hesitate to purloin their neighbor's goods. In other words, they were accused by their neighbors with being an organized community of thieves, who thrived by plundering more honest people. It is not our prerogative to p.r.o.nounce upon the truth or falsity of these charges.

It is enough to say that Mr. Strang and his followers were held in great abhorrence by the other inhabitants of the Manitou group of islands and the people on the neighboring main-land; and in the summer of 1856, there was a general uprising of the people in those parts which resulted in the killing of Mr. Strang--some accounts say, by two men of his own party, and the breaking up of his organization.

Once more we stand face to face with the prophetic words of President Young:

_All that want to draw away a party from the church after them, let them do it if they can, but they will not prosper!_

V.

We now come to the last organization that was brought into existence through the agency of men once a.s.sociated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--the so-called "Re-organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," commonly called the "Josephite Church." This organization is still in existence, and has for its President, Joseph Smith, the eldest son of the prophet Joseph. It is my purpose first to give an account of how this organization came into existence, and then consider the claims of Mr. Joseph Smith to be of right the President of the church founded, under G.o.d, by his father.

Jason W. Briggs, one of the founders and leaders in the Josephite movement, informs us that in the spring of 1850, William Smith, whose acquaintance the reader has already formed, called a conference at Covington, Kentucky:

"From which time he visited many of the branches and scattered saints, teaching "lineal Priesthood" as applying to the Presidency of the Church... . This principle, though pretty clearly shown in the books, had been almost entirely overlooked or forgotten by the saints; but when their attention was _thus_[A] called to it, many at once received it as the solution of the question of Presidency."[B]

[Footnote A: That is, by the preaching of William Smith.]

[Footnote B: Tullidge's supplement to Josephite edition of Life of Joseph the Prophet, p. 576.]

William Smith as the reader is already informed, claimed the right as natural guardian of the "seed" of Joseph the prophet, to stand as President _pro tem_ of the church until the "seed" should come forward to take his place; and proceeded to organize a church with that understanding. This organization as already stated held a conference, in October, 1851, at which was proclaimed a belief in and practice of polygamy. Among those who attended this conference of William Smith's church was Jason W. Briggs, who, after returning to his home in Wisconsin, was much perplexed over the condition of the church. While pondering in his heart the situation, on the 18th of November, 1851, on the prairie some three miles from the town of Beloit, Wisconsin, he claims to have received a revelation from G.o.d. In that "revelation"

the Lord is represented as declaring it to be the duty of those elders who had been ordained by the prophet Joseph, or by the hand of those ordained by him, to preach the gospel--

As revealed in the record of the Jews, and the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants; and cry repentance and remission of sins through obedience to the gospel, and I will sustain them and give them my spirit; and in my own due time will I call upon the seed of Joseph Smith, and I will bring one forth, and he shall be mighty and strong, and he shall preside over the High Priesthood of my Church; and then shall the quorums a.s.semble, and the pure in heart shall gather, and Zion shall be re-inhabited, as I said unto my servant Joseph Smith; after many days shall all these things be accomplished, saith the spirit.[A]

[Footnote A: Josephite edition of Life of Joseph the Prophet, p. 578.]

This "revelation" Mr. Briggs was commanded to send to the churches at Palestine, Voree, Waukesha and other places.[A]

[Footnote A: Ibid.]

While the messengers of Mr. Briggs are carrying his "revelation" to the scattered churches in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan, it is necessary to relate some incidents said to have occurred in another part of Wisconsin, in what is called the "Yellow Stone Branch."[A]

This "branch" belonged to that organization founded by James J.

Strang, and was presided over by Zenas H. Gurley, frequently called "Father Gurley." During the year 1850, according to Mr. Gurley's own statement, several strange things came to his knowledge which satisfied him that

[Footnote A: The "Yellow Stone Branch" where "Father Gurley" was located was in La Fayette Co., South Western Wisconsin. Beloit where Jason W. Briggs operated was in extreme south of the same state.]