Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints)
The succession crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement occurred after the killing of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, on June 27, 1844.
For roughly six months after Smith's death, several people competed to take over his role, the leading contenders being
Background
The Church of Christ was organized by a small group of men led by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. Between that time and Smith's death in 1844, the administrative and ecclesiastical organization of the new church evolved from an egalitarian group of believers into an institution based on hierarchy of priesthood offices. This gradual change was driven by both the growth in church membership and the evolution of Smith's role as leader of the church.
Prior to the formal establishment of the Church of Christ, Smith held the title of "
Initially, the highest leadership position in the Church of Christ was that of "
On December 18, 1833, Smith created the office of "
Several months later, on July 3, 1834, the High Council of
On February 14, 1835, nearly one year after the High Council in Kirtland was organized, the
When the High Council in Zion was dissolved after the church was
Latter Day Saint scripture finalized in 1835 indicated that the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, and Standing Presiding High Council were equal in authority,
The 1844 succession
At the time of his death, Smith thus held several roles: "Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Translator", "President of the Church", "President of the First Presidency", and "Trustee-in-Trust" of the church. It was unclear if all of these offices should be held together by any one successor and it was less than explicit who such a successor should be. However, a revelation of Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants, written in 1831 and published in 1835, designates that "three Presiding High Priests ... form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church" and "the Twelve Apostles...form a quorum, equal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned."
Theoretical successors
Following Smith's murder, it was not immediately clear to the Latter Day Saints who would lead the church going forward.
Hyrum Smith
Contemporary statements by church leaders indicate that had the prophet's brother, Hyrum Smith, survived, he would have been the successor. Hyrum had been ordained Assistant President and Presiding Patriarch of the church, and the successor of Oliver Cowdery, who had been excommunicated.[12][13] Hyrum, however, was killed in Carthage, Illinois, alongside Joseph. Regarding Hyrum, Brigham Young stated:
- "Did Joseph Smith ordain any man to take his place. He did. Who was it? It was Hyrum, but Hyrum fell a martyr before Joseph did. If Hyrum had lived he would have acted for Joseph".[14]
Samuel Smith
Following the principle of
William Smith
The last of Joseph Smith's surviving brothers,
Children of Joseph Smith
Smith also seemed to have given indications that one of his sons would succeed him. Several church leaders later stated that on August 27, 1834, and April 22, 1839, Smith indicated his eldest son, Joseph Smith III, would be his successor.[20] At the time of his father's death, Joseph Smith III was eleven years old. Similarly, in April 1844, the elder Smith had reportedly prophesied his unborn child would be a son who was to be named "David" and would "make his mark in the world".[21] In the 1980s, Mark Hofmann forged a copy of a patriarchal blessing given to Joseph Smith III, naming the young Joseph as Smith's successor. Although this document was a forgery, it was based on contemporary reports of such a blessing.[citation needed]
Oliver Cowdery
Cowdery had been the "Second Elder" of the church after Smith, and until the time of his excommunication held the
David Whitmer
David Whitmer had been ordained President of the High Council of Zion, and Joseph had blessed him on July 7, 1834, "to be a leader or a prophet to this Church, which (ordination) was on condition that he (J. Smith) did not live to God himself".[24] Upon forming the High Council, Smith stated "if he should be taken away that he had accomplished the great work which the Lord had laid before him, and that which he had desired of the Lord, and that he now had done his duty in organizing the High Council, through which Council the will of the Lord might be known".[25] Whitmer, however, separated from the church in June 1838.[26]
Successor | Prior position in church | Years† | Major Latter Day Saint movement denominations | Current membership |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sidney Rigdon | Senior surviving member of the First Presidency | 1844–1847 | Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
|
15,000 |
Brigham Young | President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
|
1844–1877 | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. | 16,805,400 [27][28] |
James Strang | Letter of Appointment
|
1844–1856 | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) | <1,000 |
Granville Hedrick | No ordination record available; likely Elder | 1850s–1881 | Church of Christ (Temple Lot) | 12,000 |
Church of Christ with the Elijah Message
|
10,000 | |||
Alpheus Cutler | Member of the Presiding High Council and Council of Fifty
|
1853 and 1864 | Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) | <100 |
Joseph Smith III (1860) | Direct descendant and blessing Lineal Successor ‡
|
1860–1914 | Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) | 250,000 |
- † Years during which claimed successor led named denomination
- ‡ Became Lineal successor after death of William Smith in 1894
Immediate successors
Smith's death left a number of important church leaders, councils, and quorums – many of which had overlapping and/or evolving functions – without guidance. The claims of each of these quorums came into play at some point after Smith's death.
The highest executive council in the church was the First Presidency, of which Rigdon as the last surviving members after the deaths of the Smith brothers. As early as April 19, 1834, Joseph Smith and Cowdery had "laid hands upon bro. Sidney [Rigdon] and confirmed upon him the blessings of wisdom and knowledge to preside over the Church in the absence of brother Joseph".
After the First Presidency, the (Presiding)
The Quorum of the Twelve were originally ordained to be traveling ministers and had been delegated leadership of outlying areas of the world in which no "stakes" — local congregations — were established. By revelation, the Twelve, as a body, had authority equal to the First Presidency, the Presiding High Council, and the Quorum of Seventy.[32] However, as stated by Smith at a May 2, 1835 conference, "the twelve apostles have no right to go into Zion or any of its stakes where there is a regular high council established, to regulate any matter pertaining thereto."[33] In later years, however, Smith had given the Twelve a greater role in governing the church, charging them with running the organization's "temporal business"[34] and elevating their role and status far beyond the what was established in the Doctrine and Covenants. In particular, at an August 16, 1841 conference, he stated that "the time had come when the twelve should be called upon to stand in their place next to the first presidency, and attend to the settling of emegrants [sic] and the business of the church at the stakes, and assist to bear off the kingdom victorious to the nations.”[35] Furthermore, Smith stated that "the twelve should be authorized to assist in managing the affairs of th[e] kingdom in this place [Nauvoo]", followed by the church membership sustaining the Twelve "in regulating and superintending the affairs <of the Church.>"[36] In other words, for the first time, the Twelve now took a leadership role within the organized stakes, "superintending the affairs of the church" as a whole, and standing "next to the first presidency." Beyond this, Smith admitted many of the Twelve to the Council of Fifty, his closest body of political advisers, and the Anointed Quorum, his closest body of theological advisers. Young, in particular, became one of Smith's closest confidants, and occasionally took charge during the 1840s in Smith's absence.[citation needed]
Another possibility for succession was the Council of Fifty, a group of trusted men, some of them non-Mormon, who campaigned for Smith's 1844 run for president, and sought the establishment of a theocratic government. Rigdon had moved to Pennsylvania in order to legally run as vice president. In a meeting of the Council of Fifty in the spring of 1844, Smith told those with him, “I roll the burthen [burden] and responsibility of leading this Church off from my shoulders on to yours ... Now, round up your shoulders and stand under it like men; for the Lord is going to let me rest a while”.[37] Benjamin F. Johnson, a member of the Fifty but not the Twelve, recalled that Smith rose and spoke "in the presence of the Quorum of the Twelve and others who were encircled about him."[38] According to Wilford Woodruff, Joseph "said that the Lord had now accepted his labors and sacrifices, and did not require him any longer to carry the responsibilities and burden and bearing off of this kingdom, and turning to those around him, including the 12, he said, 'And in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I now place it upon you my brethren of the council (of 50) and I shake my skirts clear from all responsibility from this time forth.'"
Campaigning after the death of Joseph Smith
At the time of Smith's death, Rigdon, Young, and many other church leaders were out of the state on evangelical missions for the church. Rigdon returned to Nauvoo first (August 3) and the next day announced at a public meeting that he had received a revelation appointing him "Guardian of the Church." William Marks called for a conference on August 8 to decide the issue.[39]
On August 6, Young and the rest of the Twelve returned to Nauvoo; the next day, they met with Rigdon, who repeated his claim to become the guardian of the Church. Young responded by claiming Smith had conferred the right of succession (priesthood keys) upon himself and the
Conference of August 8, 1844
At the conference on August 8, Rigdon spoke first to the assembled, asking the saints to confirm his role as "guardian." To back his claim, he cited his long relationship with Smith and the fact that he was the only surviving member of the First Presidency, arguing that Smith had sent him to Pennsylvania to prevent the entire presidency from being killed in the ongoing conflict. The move to Pennsylvania also occurred so Rigdon could be Smith's running mate for president, as the vice president cannot run from the same state.
After Rigdon spoke for ninety minutes, Young called for a recess of two and a half hours. When the conference resumed, Young spoke, emphasizing the idea that no man could ever replace Smith. However, he stated that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had all the "keys of the priesthood" that Smith had held. He answered Rigdon’s proposal to be named "guardian" by claiming that Rigdon and Smith had become estranged in recent years. Rather than a single guardian, Young proposed that the Quorum of the Twelve be named the church's leadership. Rigdon declined an offer to rebut Young, asking
Many of Young's followers would later reminisce that while Young spoke he looked and sounded similar to Smith, which they attributed to the power of God.[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] Jorgensen establishes 101 written testimonies of people who say a transformation or spiritual manifestation occurred,[50] some of whom were not in Nauvoo at the time. The exact details vary from one account to the next. There is disagreement as to whether his clothes changed, his face changed, his voice changed, or whether he just seemed like Smith in mannerism. There is disagreement between the accounts as to whether Young started talking with Smith's voice or whether his voice changed during the speech. There is disagreement as to whether everyone saw the transformation, or whether only a few people saw it. There is also disagreement as to whether this change happened directly after Rigdon's morning speech, or whether it happened in the afternoon after the recess.[51]: 21–22
The earliest reference, provided by Quinn, is the 15 November 1844 Henry and Catharine Brooke statement referring generally to Young bearing the greatest resemblance to Smith.[52] However, Jorgensen concedes, “why were none of the accounts that record the miracle written on the day of the manifestation or shortly thereafter? It is a question that unfortunately cannot be answered definitively."[53] Van Wagoner argues there are no known contemporary records of "an explicit transfiguration, a physical metamorphosis of Brigham Young into the form and voice of Joseph Smith" and that "[w]hen 8 August 1844 is stripped of emotional overlay, there is not a shred of irrefutable contemporary evidence to support the occurrence of a mystical event either in the morning or afternoon gatherings of that day."[51] Esplin, on the other hand, argues that "[t]hough there is no contemporary diary account, the number of later retellings, many in remarkable detail argues for the reality of some such experience."[54] Sidney Rigdon denied such a metamorphosis took place, and accused Young of lying about it.[51]: 23
Latter Day Saint organization after the conference
With the support of the majority of adherents, Young assumed leadership of the church. He met with the Twelve and members of the
Meanwhile, Rigdon did not abandon his claims and began organizing supporters in Nauvoo. The Twelve Apostles discovered that Rigdon was undermining their authority; on September 3, 1844, Rigdon claimed "he had power and authority above the Twelve Apostles and did not consider himself amenable to their counsel".
At the
At this conference, Young also addressed the issue of revelation. More specifically, did revelations cease with Smith's death, or, if not, who would receive and publish them? He indicated his own uncertainty concerning the subject, concluding, "Every member has the right of receiving revelations for themselves, both male and female." Then he elaborated: "If you don't know whose right it is to give revelations, I will tell you. It is I".[60]
Claims of James J. Strang
While these events were going on in Nauvoo, another successor of Smith began to exercise his claim in the church's outlying branches in Illinois,
Strang's claim appealed to many Latter Day Saints who had been attracted to the early church's doctrines of
Some prominent Latter Day Saints believed in the Letter of Appointment and accepted Strang as the church's second "Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Translator." One such follower was William Smith, Joseph's last surviving brother; he had asked to be ordained Presiding Patriarch in May 1845 and subsequently claimed that his ordination meant he should be the President of the Church, because of Hyrum Smith's position as both Presiding Patriarch and Associate President. Others included Book of Mormon
Strang's newspaper printed a statement allegedly signed by William Smith; Joseph Smith's mother, Lucy Mack Smith; and three of Joseph's sisters, certifying that "the Smith family do believe in the appointment of J. J. Strang." However, Smith's mother addressed the saints at the October 1844 General Conference and stated that she hoped all her children would accompany the saints to the West, and if they did she would go. Young then said: "We have extended the helping hand to Mother Smith. She has the best carriage in the city, and, while she lives, shall ride in it when and where she pleases".[61] Whether she shifted her support from Young to Strang in the year following that October Conference is a matter of debate; what is certain is that she never made it to Utah, staying instead with her daughter-in-law, Emma, in Nauvoo until her death in the summer of 1856.
Strang established his separate
Sidney Rigdon and The Church of Jesus Christ
Prior to the death of Joseph Smith, the First Presidency had made nearly all the major decisions and led the church both naturally and spiritually. On June 1, 1841, Sidney Rigdon had been ordained by Joseph Smith as a "Prophet, Seer and Revelator"[41][62]—which was one of the same ecclesiastical titles held by Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ maintains that as First Counselor to Smith, Rigdon should naturally have been the leader of the church after Smith's death.[63] With this understanding, The Church of Jesus Christ actively opposes the opinion that the Quorum of Twelve had the right to lead the church. The position of The Church of Jesus Christ is that Rigdon should have been allowed to be what he claimed to be—a "guardian" over the church until proper proceedings could decide the next church president.[41] The Church of Jesus Christ maintains the proceedings which decided Brigham Young to lead the church were a violation of proper proceedings of the church.[64]
On December 27, 1847, when Young organized a new First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve only had seven of its twelve members present to represent a council to decide the presidency.[65] William Smith, John E. Page, and Lyman Wight had previously denounced the proceedings and were not present. John Taylor and Parley P. Pratt were in the Salt Lake Valley and could not have known of the proceedings.[64] This left just seven present, a majority of one meaning Young would have to vote for himself in order to gain a majority quorum vote in favor of his leadership. Young chose two of the other apostles, Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, as his counselors in the First Presidency. This left only four members of the Quorum of the Twelve present to vote in favor of creation of the new First Presidency: Orson Hyde, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, and Orson Pratt. The Church of Jesus Christ views this action as a violation of church law compromising the authority of Sidney Rigdon without a majority quorum vote.[64] The LDS Church actively opposes this view of the proceedings.[66]
After his excommunication by the
On April 6, 1845 — fifteen years after the original organization of the church — Rigdon presided over a
Aftermath and reorganization
The majority of
In 1847,
Many of the
Eventually, many
I would say to you, brethren, as I hope you may be, and in faith I trust you are, as a people that God has promised his blessings upon, I came not here of myself, but by the influence of the Spirit. For some time past I have received manifestations pointing to the position which I am about to assume. I wish to say that I have come here not to be dictated by any men or set of men. I have come in obedience to a power not my own, and shall be dictated by the power that sent me.[71]
Joseph Smith's widow Emma, as well as Joseph III's two brothers, affiliated with this organization. A decade later the group added the word Reorganized to the official church name to distinguish it from the much larger group in Utah. For a time until the start of the twentieth century, leaders of both this group and the Utah group were Smith first cousins. The church is now referred to as the Community of Christ.
There were several other
See also
Notes
- ^ See the chart later in the article for a more complete list of successor claimants
- OCLC 12060364.
- Painesville Telegraph, April 19, 1831.
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 20:2–3
- OCLC 53077386. Archived from the originalon 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
- ^ OCLC 2313751. Online reprintby centerplace.org
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 107:37
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 107:23–33
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 107:21–24, 36–37
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 107:33
- ^ D. Michael, Quinn (1994). Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power. Salt Lake City: Signature Books.
- ^ Times and Seasons, 2 (1 June 1841): 128
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 124:94–95
- ^ Times and Seasons, 5 [Oct. 15, 1844]: 683
- ^ Smith, An Intimate Chronicle, p. 138; William Clayton Diary, typescript, 12 July 1844, original in First Presidency's Archives
- New York Tribune, 1857-05-19. Online reprintby sidneyrigdon.com (Dale R. Broadhurst)
- ^ a b Brigham, Young (July 1857). "Journal of Discourses".
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help). volumes 5:77 and 8:69. Retrieved on 23 June 2009. - ^ Quinn 1994, pp. 152–153
- ^ "Was Joseph Smith's brother Samuel murdered?", i4m.com, Rethinking Mormonism, archived from the original on 2008-08-07, retrieved 2009-06-23 [unreliable source?]
- Roger Launius, Joseph Smith III: Pragmatic Prophet
- ^ Valery Tippetts Avery, From Mission to Madness: The Last Son of the Mormon Prophet
- ^ Manuscript History of the Church, Book A-1, p. 11, LDS Church Archives
- ^ Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, pp. 162–171
- ^ Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, p. 151
- ^ Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, pp. 71–72
- ^ David Whitmer was not excommunicated. (David Whitmer, An Address to all Believers in Christ, 1887, p. 8; Ebbie L. V. Richardson, "David Whitmer, A Witness to the Divine Authenticity of The Book of Mormon," Provo: Brigham Young University, Master's Thesis, August 1952, p. 71; Autobiography of Ebenezer Robinson, p. 134; Ebenezer Robinson, "Items of Personal History of the Editor," The Return, Davis City, Iowa: Church of Christ, Vol. 1, No. 9, September 1889, pp. 134-135. Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, pp. 123-125.)
- ^ As of December 31, 2021, per: "Statistical Report", newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2 April 2022
- ^ Church statistics at the end of each year are traditionally released during the following year's April General Conference, rather than being continuously updated throughout eah year.
- ^ Joseph Smith Diary, 19 April 1834, LDS Church Archives
- ^ Jessee, Papers of Joseph Smith, vol. 2, pp. 31–32
- JSTOR 43200595– via JSTOR.
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 107:24
- ^ Minutes of a Grand High Council, 2 May 1835, in Patriarchal Blessing Book, p. 2, LDS Church Archives
- ^ Wilford Woodruff Diary, 8 October 1841, LDS Church Archives
- ^ "Times and Seasons, volume 2, 1 September 1841: 521–22" (PDF).
- ^ "Special Conference of the Church, Minutes, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL, 16 Aug. 1841; handwriting of Elias Smith; two pages; Historian's Office, General Church Minutes, CHL".
- ^ undated Certificate of the Twelve, Brigham Young Papers
- ^ Autobiography of Benjamin F. Johnson, p. 96
- ^ MHBY-1, 171
- ^ Smith, History of the Church, 7:224-230
- ^ OCLC 5436337.
- ^ Harper 1996[page needed]
- BYU Press, pp. 374-480
- ^ Eugene English, "George Laub Nauvoo Diary," BYU Studies, 18 [Winter 1978]: 167 ("Now when President Young arose to address the congregation his voice was the voice of Bro[ther] Joseph and his face appeared as Joseph's face & should I have not seen his face but heard his voice I should have declared that it was Joseph")
- ^ William Burton Diary, May 1845. LDS Church Archives ("But their [Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith's] places were filed by others much better than I once supposed they could have been, the spirit of Joseph appeared to rest upon Brigham")
- ^ Benjamin F. Johnson, My Life's Review [Independence, 1928], p. 103-104 ("But as soon as he spoke I jumped upon my feet, for in every possible degree it was Joseph's voice, and his person, in look, attitude, dress and appearance; [it] was Joseph himself, personified and I knew in a moment the spirit and mantle of Joseph was upon him")
- ^ Life Story of Mosiah Hancock, p. 23, BYU Library ("Although only a boy, I saw the mantle of the Prophet Joseph rest upon Brigham Young; and he arose lion-like to the occasion and led the people forth")
- ^ Wilford Woodruff, Deseret News, 15 March 1892 ("If I had not seen him with my own eyes, there is no one that could have convinced me that it was not Joseph Smith")
- ^ George Q. Cannon, Juvenile Instructor, 22 [29 October 1870]: 174-175 ("When Brigham Young spoke it was with the voice of Joseph himself; and not only was it the voice of Joseph which was heard, but it seemed in the eyes of the people as though it was the every person of Joseph which stood before them").
- ^ Jorgensen, Lynne Watkins. "The Mantle of the Prophet Joseph Passes to Brother Brigham" (PDF). BYU Studies. 36 (4): 131.[permanent dead link] 2nd paragraph
- ^ JSTOR 45226132.
- ^ Quinn 1994, p. 166
- ^ Jorgensen, Lynne Watkins. "The Mantle of the Prophet Joseph Passes to Brother Brigham" (PDF). BYU Studies. 36 (4): 136.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Esplin, Ronald K. (Summer 1981). "Joseph, Brigham and the Twelve: A Succession of Continuity". BYU Studies. 21 (3): 301–341.
- ^ Smith, History of the Church, 7:247
- ^ Smith, History of the Church, 7:267
- ^ George A. Smith Diary, Sept. 3, 1844, LDS Church Archives
- ^ Times and Seasons, 5 [Sept. 15, Oct. 1, 15, 1844]: 647-655, 660-667, 685-687
- ^ Times and Seasons, 5 [1 November 1844]: 692
- ^ Times and Seasons, Vol. V, pp. 682–683
- ^ Millennial Star, Vol. VII, p. 23
- .
- ^ A History of The Church of Jesus Christ: Volume 2. Monongahela, PA: The Church of Jesus Christ. 2002.
- ^ a b c d Calabrese, Joseph (1973). The Divine Continuity of The Church of Jesus Christ. Bridgewater, MI: The Church of Jesus Christ.
- Amasa M. Lyman and Ezra T. Benson—had been added by Young since Smith's death.
- Amasa M. Lyman and that John E. Page had been excommunicated and replaced in the Quorum by Ezra T. Benson. Because Lyman and Benson were present at the 1847 reorganization, the LDS Church claims that nine of the nine present members of the Quorum voted in favor of reorganizing Young's First Presidency, which constituted a three-quarters majority vote of the Quorum.
- ^ "Worldwide Statistics". Mormon Newsroom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. April 2018.
- ^ Covenant 107:18c (Strangite)
- ^ Joseph Smith III and the Restoration Herald House; 1952, p. 13
- ^ Autumn Leaves, Vol 1; p. 202
- ^ True Latter Day Saints’ Herald, vol. 1, pp. 102–104
References
- Harper, Reid L. (1996). "The Mantle of Joseph: Creation of a Mormon Miracle". Journal of Mormon History. 22 (2): 35–71. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13..
- Quinn, D. Michael (1976). "The Mormon Succession Crisis of 1844". BYU Studies. 16 (2): 187–234. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2010-01-27..
- Quinn, D. Michael (1994). The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power. Signature Books. ISBN 1560850566..
- Quinn, D. Michael (1997). The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power. Signature Books. ISBN 1560850604..
External links
- "Conclusion of Elder Rigdon's Trial", Millennial Star (supplement), December 1844 : a contemporary account of the Common Council of the Church's trial of Sidney Rigdon