Almost all branches of Mormonism have some claim to authority, tracing back to Joseph Smith. So do we. We are called the Brighamite branch for a reason.
Joseph Smith was killed on June 27, 1844. Brigham Young was set apart as Prophet for the Church on December 27, 1847. Over three years later.
Why so long? What happened in those three years?
The problem was simple. The dead prophet had not given instruction on who should succeed him. He hadn’t even told anyone how that person should be chosen, or who it was that would do the choosing.
Many men of the Church believed it was their own calling to lead the Church. A battle raged for three years. Sydney Rigdon, Joseph Smith III, Samuel Smith, William Marks, James Strang, the Council of Fifty, and Brigham Young fought tirelessly to claim the throne. Having laid waste to his competitors, Brigham Young found himself atop Joseph’s throne, as Prophet, Priest, and King of the Church.
Sidney Rigdon
Much of the membership wanted Sidney Rigdon to become prophet. He was a likely candidate. He’d been with Joseph since the near beginning of the Church. He was a powerful speaker. He’d been a witness in a number of revelations and spiritual manifestations. He served as First Counselor in the First Presidency under Joseph Smith. He’d even been Joseph’s running mate in his run for United States President.
Rigdon even believed he was the right choice. In a post-assassination gathering of saints, he preached that he “was the identical man that the ancient Prophets had sung about, wrote and rejoiced over; and that he was sent to do the identical work that had been the theme of all the Prophets in every preceeding generation.” [1]
A revelation given through Joseph Smith was oft repeated, claiming Sidney Rigdon to be “equal” to Joseph in priesthood power.
“And again, verily I say unto thy brethren, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams, their sins are forgiven them also, and they are accounted as equal with thee in holding the keys of this last kingdom” [2]
Many saints questioned Rigdon’s and Williams claims to power, believing the Prophetic power to be passed through family lines, rather than through priesthood keys. Had Hyrum Smith survived Carthage, he’d have been the obvious choice, the clear ascendant to the presidency. He was, after all, Assistant President of the Church, and a Patriarch. He’d been with Joseph since the beginning.
Sydney Rigdon was sure that the calling of Prophet was to go to none other but himself. He travelled to city after city, proclaiming to the Saints that he was the only man fit to lead. He’d been called by Joseph. He’d seen visions. He would lead the Church in Joseph’s way.
His fighting did not avail him much. He would be excommunicated by the apostle Brigham Young in 1844.
Joseph III
It was stated commonly among Church members that Joseph had appointed his son, Joseph III to lead the Church upon Joseph Jr.’s death. The story was told over and over. Joseph Smith the Prophet, prior to his death, had purportedly blessed his son, designating him as his successor. Unfortunately, the blessing has never been found (though the Church did purchase and publish a Mark Hofmann forgery of the blessing transcript in question in 1981.)
The closest thing we have to the actual blessing is a letter written by Lyman Wight, an early Church leader who was believed to have been present during the blessing, and who was even believed to have been a part of the laying on of hands on Joseph’s son.
“I have not as yet been called upon by any president, prophet, or successor, from first to last, to know what my mind was concerning their successorship, or whether they wished me to stand in my place or not.
Now, Mr. Editor, if you had been present when Joseph called on me shortly after we came out of jail to lay hands with him on the head of [young Joseph] , and heard him cry aloud, “You are my successor when I depart!-and heard the blessings poured on his head,-I say had you heard all this and seen the tears streaming from [the Seer’s], eyes, you would not have been led by blind fanaticism or a zeal without knowledge.” [3]
The problem was, Joseph III was only 11 years old when Joseph was killed. Though he was passed over in the running for Prophet, he would later support the claim to his authority to lead the Church, even starting his own branch, based on his line to Joseph’s successorship.
Lyman Wight was a faithful member of Joseph’s Church. He served eight missions for the Church, and was ordained an apostle by Joseph on April 8, 1841. He was one of the sitting Twelve apostles when the Prophet was killed. He did not support Brigham’s campaign for presidency, and was excommunicated by Young in 1848.
Samuel Smith
Some members, including William Clayton, Joseph Smith’s scribe, believed Joseph’s successor to be Samuel Smith, Joseph’s younger brother. In fact, William Clayton seemed to have heard Joseph claim, at some point before his death, this exact line of authority.
“Joseph has said that if he and Hyrum were taken away Samuel H. Smith would be his successor.” [4]
It was unfortunate, then, that Samuel Smith died just a month after his brother Joseph.
William Marks
Emma Smith in particular stood behind William Marks, close friend of her late husband, and President of the Nauvoo High Council. He was the most senior member of the Council of Fifty, and many members believed that position to be the most likely successor. Marks was strongly opposed to polygamy and eventually stood behind Sidney Rigdon as “guardian” of the Church. His choice to support Rigdon and his opposition to polygamy caused him to be removed, by Brigham Young, from the High Council on October 7, 1844.
James Strang
Possibly, the most fascinating claim to authority was given by James Strang. Strang was baptized in the same year that the Prophet was killed. He was an Elder in the Church, determined, strong-willed, and deeply convincing. The Prophet Joseph had instructed him to lead a stake in Wisconsin if the need had arisen.
Following Joseph’s death, Strang garnered a following of saints who believed him to be the Prophet’s chosen successor. Supporting his claim was a letter, known as “The Letter of Appointment,” which Strang claimed was written by the Prophet in the month of his death. The letter appointed Strang as his successor. Strang also claimed that at the very moment of Joseph Smith’s death, he was visited by a multitude of angels, and ordained to the office of Prophet. William Smith, Joseph’s brother, stood in support of Strang. Martin Harris, too, supported Strang as Prophet. Other supporters included Apostles John E. Page and William E. M’CLellin.
Like the Prophet Joseph, Strang claimed to have translated ancient records under his title as Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Translator. His translated works included “The Voree Record,” deciphered from three ancient metal plates, and “The Book of the Law of the Lord,” purportedly transcribed from the “Plates of Laban” spoken of in the Book of Mormon. These translations are still cited as scripture in Strang’s branch of Mormonism today.
Strang’s followers believed that the Church of Jesus Christ needed a Prophet, one who, like Joseph, received revelation for the saints. This belief stood in direct contradiction to Brigham Young’s claim that the Church would be led by Apostles, following Joseph’s death, rather than Prophets.
The Council of Fifty
The last, and possibly most likely candidate for leadership of the Church was not a person at all; it was the Council of Fifty.
In 1844, Joseph Smith began his run for president of the United States, with Sidney Rigdon as his Vice President. In the same year, in an effort to provide religious and secular support for his presidential run, Joseph formed a council of 50 men. He called the council “The Council of Fifty,” or, more commonly, “The Kingdom of God.” The Church says this about the Council:
“The council deliberated…about how to establish a political kingdom or government in preparation for the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith and his associates saw this council as the beginning of such a kingdom…During the spring of 1844, the council met frequently to draft a constitution, [and to] promote Joseph Smith’s 1844 campaign for president of the United States.” [5]
The council consisted of various men from various religious and political standings. Three of the men were not even members of the Church. Some of the men were members of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Council of the Seventy.
In a meeting of the Council, just a few months before his death, Joseph unshouldered his authority of Church governance, and gave it to the Council. He was tired. It was time for him to step down.
“I roll the [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” [6]
Benjamin F. Johnson, patriarch and member of the Council of Fifty, recalled the words of the Prophet Joseph in the meeting.
“[Joseph] said that the Lord had now accepted his labors and sacrifices, and did not require him longer to carry the responsibilities and burden and bearing 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 this council and I shake my skirts clear of all responsibility from this time forth,’ springing from the floor and shaking his skirt at the same time.” [7]
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was the final candidate for President of the Church. He served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the time of Joseph’s death. He believed it was his calling to be elected as the new leader of the Church. He said so in 1844, a few months after Joseph had been killed.
“If you don’t know whose right it is to give revelations, I will tell you. It is I.”[8]
He was, he believed, the only candidate with the right to the prophetic throne. In a particularly shrewd sequence of decisions, Young began eliminating his competition.
In August of 1844, a conference was held, led by Brigham Young to determine the leadership of the Church. During the Conference, Sidney Rigdon cited his close relationship with the Prophet Joseph, and asked to be called “guardian” of the Church, a position that would make Rigdon leader (“guardian” in this case was similar to the modern “President of the Church.”)
Young denied this claim and offered the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as the obvious usurpers of the leadership of the Church (a quorum of which Young was President.) This decision, though it would not make Young the one Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, would make him the de facto President of the Church. Calling a vote, most voted against Sidney Rigdon, in favor of the Twelve. All who opposed the Twelve’s usurping of power were excommunicated. Sidney Rigdon was excommunicated just weeks later, during a disciplinary hearing in which he was not in attendance. The hearing was conducted contrary to all Church policy related to disciplinary hearings, and was not doctrinal.
At this time, and for the next few years, Brigham Young believed the Apostles would lead the Church. He did not believe that he had replaced Joseph, but that a Prophet was no longer needed. The organization of the Church had changed at Smith’s death. Young was adamant about this fact. In an article he published in the Times and Seasons (the Church’s newspaper,) Young refused the idea that a new prophet would be called.
“You are now without a prophet present with you in the flesh to guide you; but you are not without apostles, who hold the keys of power to seal on earth that which shall be sealed in heaven, and to preside over all the affairs of the church in all the world;
Being still under the direction of the same God, and being dictated by the same spirit, having the same manifestations of the Holy Ghost to dictate all the affairs of the church in all the world, to build up the kingdom upon the foundation that the prophet Joseph has laid, who still holds the keys of this last dispensation, and will hold them to all eternity…”
“Let no man presume for a moment that his place will be filled by another; for, remember he stands in his own place, and always will; and the Twelve Apostles of this dispensation stand in their own place and always will, both in time and in eternity, to minister, preside and regulate the affairs of the whole church.” [9]
During the 1844 Succession Conference, Amasa Lyman, apostle of the Church, spoke in favor of Brigham Young’s Church lead by Apostles—not a prophet.
“There is no need of choosing a guardian or head, the apostles have the power, as they had anciently, and this is the power that turns the key and will bear off the kingdom of God in all the world, triumphantly” [10]
Now that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles lead the Church, the Council of the Seventy was demoted into subordination. This decision was a shrewd one by Brigham Young. He, as president of the Twelve, was able to act as President of the Church; and, more importantly, no member of the Council of the Seventy would be able to become the Prophet.
This decision, this subordination of the Council of the Seventy, came in direct opposition to a revelation received by Joseph in 1835:
“Of the Melchizedek Priesthood, three Presiding High Priests…form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church. The twelve traveling councilors are called to be the Twelve Apostles, or special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world… And they form a quorum, equal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned. The Seventy are also called to preach the gospel, and to be especial witnesses unto the Gentiles and in all the world…
And they form a quorum, equal in authority to that of the Twelve special witnesses or Apostles just named.” [11]
The revelation Joseph received seemed to make clear the equality of all quorums of leadership in the Church. The First Presidency was equal in authority to the Twelve Apostles, which was subsequently equal in authority to the Quorum of the Seventy. Yes, they had different responsibilities there was no difference in power or authority. There was no hierarchy of leadership under Joseph Smith. Brigham Young abolished this equality of leadership, naming himself as the most powerful and authoritative leader of the Church, and the only one worthy to lead it as President.
Brigham Young believed he was the default President of the Church. Of that fact, there is no question.
On April 7, 1845, Brigham Young was sustained at a Church conference “as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to this Church and nation, and all nations, and also as the President of the whole Church of Latter Day Saints.” [12]
There was no vote to ordain; no unanimous approval of Brigham’s power and leadership. He did it himself, strong-arming the competition and cunningly promoting himself into office.
Interestingly, the phrase “and also as the President of the whole Church of Latter Day Saints” was later redacted from the document. It was also omitted from the “Times and Seasons” article in which the conference was published. [13]
In December of 1847, three years after the death of the Prophet Joseph, Brigham Young held a council of Apostles to reorganize the First Presidency and establish a President of the Church. Not all of Joseph’s chosen apostles were in attendance. Lyman Wight rejected Young as a prophet. He was not in attendance and did not vote. Apostle John Page was not in attendance either, having rejected Brigham Young’s ascendancy and having encouraged the saints to follow James Strang. Brigham Young excommunicated Page in 1846. Apostle William Smith had been excommunicated by Young for similar opposition.
It was clear what had been done. In the three years following the Prophet Joseph’s death, Brigham Young had seen to it that all opposition be eliminated. All apostles in opposition were excommunicated, making Brigham’s sustaining vote unanimous by design. He had demoted, excommunicated, or slandered all other candidates for President of the Church.
Brigham Young took office as President of the Church in December of 1847. Thus, for the first time in Church History, the ascendancy process to President of the Church was decided. It would be as Young had done it: the most senior Apostle would be called. God no longer chose the Prophet, as he had supposedly done for Joseph, for Nephi, for Moses, and for all Prophets in all Christian history. Seniority chose the Prophet.
And, to showcase his prophetic skills—his prophetic fruits it could be said,—Young began to preach his new doctrines: The Adam-God Theory, Blood Atonement, polygamy, and hatred against blacks.
In his lifetime, Brigham Young the Prophet married more than 55 women and children. 15 of those wives were already married to other men.
In 1844, 42 year old Brigham married 15 year old Clarissa Decker. They had five children. Later in 1844, he married Elizabeth Fairchild. She was 13 years old.
During his presidency, he married and had children with several other young girls. Most bore his children.
His Presidency would define the future of the LDS Church. His life, his choices, his lies, and his doctrines would define it further.
It is not necessary for the truthfulness of the modern Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to fall solely upon the shoulders of Joseph Smith; rather, the burden of truth is shared with Brigham Young. Of course, if Joseph Smith was a fraud, then it is all a fraud. But, if Brigham was a fraud, then so is the modern Church. We are, after all, the “Brighamite Branch” of Mormonism. We chose to follow Brigham, be it into battle, false doctrine, pedophilia, or racism. Perhaps it was the right choice. Perhaps it was not.
[1] History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] [addenda], p. 10 [addenda], The Joseph Smith Papers
[2] Doctrine and Covenants 90: 6
[3] Lyman Wight, extracts from a letter written from Medina River, Texas, July, 1855, addressed to Messrs. Cooper and Chidester, editors of Northern Islander, St. James, Beaver Island, as published in “The Saints’ Advocate,” Vol. 7, No. 3, published Sept.1884, pg.
[4] William Clayton in his journal, 12 July 1844
[5] Church History Topics: Council of Fifty
[6] Quoted in declaration of the Twelve Apostles (undated draft), reporting Mar. 1844 meeting; in Brigham Young, Office Files 1832–78, Church Archives
This quote was published in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff. Woodruff was in attendance when Joseph spoke these words. His recording of the words was published in Millennial Star, November 14, 1887.
[7] My Life’s Review: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Johnson, ed. Lyndon W. Cook and Kevin V. Harker (Provo, UT: Grandin Book Company, 1997), 89.
[8] Brigham Young, History of the Church, 7:288
[9] Brigham Young, Times and Seasons, Vol. V, No. 15, 15. Aug. 1844, p. 618
[10] Amasa Lyman, Times and Seasons, Vol. V, No. 16, 2 Sept. 1844, p. 638
[11] Doctrine and Covenants 107: 22-26
[12] General Conference, April 7, 1845, minutes, contained in the Church Historian’s Office general Church minutes, 1839-1877, recorded by Thomas Bullock
[13] Times and Seasons, Vol. IV, No. 7, 15 April 1845, p. 870
The Times and Seasons, post Joseph Smith, was used largely as a Church propaganda machine. It contained a section devoted to publicly condemning members who had recently been excommunicated. This section was published, frequently, by Brigham Young, and often featured members who had spoken ill of him. The Times and Seasons was edited and run by John Taylor.
