,bytheway1 ,jean-,michel ,carter1 ,ben  
,crowder1 ,meridith ,crowder1 ,cameron  
,dixon1 ,eric ,heaps4      ,,succession 
,,in ,,the ,,presidency ,,of ,,the      
,,church ,,of ,,jesus ,,christ ,,of     
,,latter-,,day ,,saints4   ,by ,,elder  
,b4 ,h4 ,,roberts1  ,author of ,the     
,life of ,john ,taylor1 ,outlines of    
,ecclesiastical ,history1 ,the ,gospel4 
,the keys of this kingdom shall never be
 taken from you while thou art in the   
world1 neither in the world to come2    
nevertheless1 through you shall the     
oracles be given to another--even to the
 ,church1--,the ,lord to ,joseph ,smith1
 ,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 xc4   ,,salt     
,,lake ,,city1 ,,utah4 ,,the ,,deseret  
,,news ,,publishing ,,company4 #ahid4   
,copyright applied for ,february1 #ahid4
     ,,preface4   ,the fact that many   
honest people in the ,united ,states and
 other countries are being led astray by
 the pretensions of the ,reorganized    
,church of ,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day
 ,saints1 or ,josephite ,church1 as it  

is more commonly called1 must justify   
the publication of this work4 ,my desire
 to preserve from error those not       
acquainted with the order of the        
priesthood of ,god1 and the facts of    
church history in the great dispensation
 of the last days1 has been the         
incentive which prompted me to write it4
 ,moreover1 though the facts of church  
history which of themselves disprove the
 claims of the ,josephite ,church1 are  
abundant1 yet are they scattered through
 the church works in such a manner as to
 make it exceedingly difficult for the  
,elders of the church to consult them2  
and1 therefore1 the writer believes he  
is doing a service to those ,elders who 
are and shall hereafter be engaged in   
the ministry1 especially to those who   
travel in the localities where they will
 come in contact with ,josephite        
pretensions--by publishing this treatise
 on the ,,succession ,,in ,,the         
,,presidency ,,of ,,the ,,church4  ,i   
have endeavored to treat the theme on as

 broad a basis as possible1 and have    
avoided technical disputes with our     
opponents1 which only serve to burden   
the subject with matter that is not only
 unprofitable in itself1 but wearying to
 the patience of the reader4 ,nor does  
the successful issue of our argument    
demand that we stop to contend over     
every error1 either in history or       
argument1 made by ,josephites4 ,did we  
attempt it1 our task would be endless4  
,an attorney being called upon to       
explain why his absent client should not
 be punished for contempt of court1 told
 the judge he could assign several good 
reasons for the absence of his          
client--reasons which he hoped and      
believed would clear him1 even in the   
opinion of the judge1 of any intention  
to treat the court with disrespect4 ,you
 may name them1 gruffly said the judge4 
,well1 then1 your honor1 in the first   
place my client is dead2 and in the     
second place-- ,never mind your 'in the 
second place1' said the judge1 if the   

man is dead that is sufficient--the     
court dismisses the case4 ,so with this 
controversy2 there being a few leading  
facts of church history1 and a principle
 or two connected with the order of the 
priesthood which1 if considered in the  
light of right reason1 dispose of all   
the claims made by ,josephites1 it is   
not necessary to consider their quibbles
 and all the details of their sophistry4
  ,the writer is under deep obligation  
to acknowledge assistance he has        
received from a number of prominent     
brethren2 to some for placing at his    
disposal books and papers1 and to others
 for reading the work from the          
manuscript and greatly improving it by  
their invaluable suggestions4 ,the      
brethren who have thus rendered me      
assistance are too numerous to mention  
by name1 and it would be unfair to name 
a few only1 when the writer is indebted 
to so many and to each equally4 ,the    
consciousness of having assisted in a   
work which is designed to carry         

enlightenment to many in regard to so   
important a matter as the subject of    
this writing1 will reward them for their
 labors4                                
,,the ,,author4     ,,succession ,,in   
,,the ,,presidency ,,of ,,the ,,church4 
,i4   ,all that want to draw away a     
party from the ,church after them1 let  
them do it if they can1 but they will   
not prosper4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,from     
,brigham ,young's speech1 at a special  
,conference in ,nauvoo1 ,august #hth1   
#ahdd1 the conference being convened to 
consider the claims of ,sidney ,rigdon  
to be the ,guardian of the              
,church4--,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4 ,,xxv1 p4 
#baf4  ,when the ,prophet ,joseph ,smith
 fell a martyr at ,carthage1 ,illinois1 
on the #bgth of ,june1 #ahdd1 the       
,church of ,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day
 ,saints was deprived of its ,president4
 ,as that was a condition which had     
never existed before in this            
dispensation1 and one that the church   
had not anticipated1 the question very  

naturally arose3 ,upon what person or   
quorum devolved the responsibility of   
leadership--of ,presidency8 ,it is a    
matter of astonishment that so many     
arose as claimants for the position2 but
 it reveals the vanity and weakness of  
human nature which in its love of power 
looks clear beyond the responsibilities 
in the case1 and seeks only for that    
position which exalts its possessor     
above his fellows4  ,among the many who 
claimed to be the legal successor to the
 prophet ,joseph1 and1 indeed1 the      
first1 was ,sidney ,rigdon1 the only    
remaining counselor in the ,first       
,presidency4 ,hyrum ,smith1 the other   
counselor to the prophet1 had nobly     
suffered martyrdom with him at          
,carthage4 ,at the time of the martyrdom
 of ,presidents ,joseph and ,hyrum      
,smith1 ,sidney ,rigdon was living at   
,pittsburg1 ,pennsylvania1 presiding    
over the branch of the church and       
preaching the gospel at that place4 ,he 
had removed from ,nauvoo to ,pittsburg1 

in opposition to a revelation from ,god 
which required him to make his home in  
,nauvoo1 and stand in his office and    
calling of counselor and spokesman to   
the prophet ,joseph4,a  ,footnote ,a3   
,the revelation was given #aith         
,january1 #ahda4--;,doc4 and ,cov41     
,sec4 cxxiv #ajc-ajf4  ,the truth is    
that from the expulsion of the saints   
from ,missouri in #ahch-i1 ,sidney      
,rigdon had been of but little service  
either to the church or to the prophet  
as a counselor4 ,he was a man of        
admitted ability as an orator1 but      
lacked discretion2 a man of fervid      
imagination1 but of inferior judgment2  
ambitious of place and honor1 but       
without that steadiness of purpose and  
other qualities of soul which in time   
secure them4 ,in the early years of the 
church he suffered much for the cause of
 ,god1 but he also complained much2     
especially was this the case in respect 
to the hardships he endured in          
,missouri2 and subsequently of his      

poverty and illness at ,nauvoo4 ,this   
habit of complaining doubtless did much 
to deprive him of the spirit of the     
,lord2 for at times it bordered upon    
blasphemy4 ,more than once he was heard 
to say that ,jesus ,christ was a fool in
 suffering as compared with himself6    
,having lost1 in part at least1 the     
spirit of the ,lord1 his interest in the
 church and its work waned1 and after   
the settlement at ,nauvoo he was seldom 
seen in the councils of the priesthood4 
,moreover1 it was known that he was in  
sympathy and even in communication with 
some of the avowed enemies of ,joseph1  
among others with that arch traitor1    
,john ,c4 ,bennett1 who was plotting the
 overthrow of both ,joseph and the      
church4 ,it was doubtless these         
considerations which led ,joseph to make
 an effort to get rid of ,sidney ,rigdon
 as counselor1 at the ,october          
conference in #ahdc4  ,on that occasion 
the prophet represented to the church   
that such had been the course of ,sidney

 ,rigdon that he considered it no longer
 his duty to sustain him as his         
counselor4 ,hyrum ,smith1 however1      
pleaded the cause of his fellow         
counselor1 and so strongly urged the    
saints to deal mercifully with ,sidney  
,rigdon1 that when the question of      
sustaining him was presented to the     
conference1 the saints voted in his     
favor4 ,i have thrown him off my        
shoulders1 and you have again put him on
 me1 said ,joseph4 ,you may carry him1  
but ,i will not4 ,and so confident was  
he that ,sidney ,rigdon would continue  
to fail in the performance of his duty1 
that he ordained ,elder ,amasa ,lyman to
 succeed him1 both as counselor and     
spokesman4 ,some of the ,elders did not 
understand how ,elder ,lyman could be   
ordained to succeed ,elder ,rigdon1 as  
the church had voted to try him another 
year4 ,elder ,joseph ,smith was         
requested to give an explanation4       
',why1' said he1 'by the same rule that 
,samuel anointed ,david to be king over 

,israel1 while ,saul was yet crowned4   
,please read the #afth chapter of ,i    
,samuel4' ,elder ,smith's explanation1  
though short1 proved a quietus to all   
their rising conjectures4,a  ,footnote  
,a3 ,tract on ,sidney ,rigdon1 by       
,jedediah ,m4 ,grant1 pp4 #ae1 #af4     
,notwithstanding all his fair promises  
of amendment1 ,sidney ,rigdon continued 
neglectful of his high duties1 and if   
for a time his old-time enthusiasm      
revived--as it seemed to at the ,april  
conference following1 it was as the     
flickering flame of a tallow dip1       
only--not the steady rays of the        
ever-shining sun4 ,he longed to return  
to the east2 and notwithstanding the    
word of the ,lord commanding him to make
 his home at ,nauvoo1 he frequently     
talked with ,joseph about going to      
,pittsburg to live1 and finally obtained
 his consent to go there1 and take his  
family with him4 ,he was instructed to  
preach1 write and build up the church in
 that city4  ,such was the standing and 

course of the man who after the         
martyrdom of the prophet ,joseph was the
 first to claim the right to lead the   
church6 ,he made all haste to ,nauvoo1  
and ignoring the members of the quorum  
of the ,twelve who were in the          
city--,elders ,willard ,richards1 ,john 
,taylor1 and ,parley ,p4 ,pratt--he     
conferred with ,elder ,william ,marks1  
president of the ,stake of ,nauvoo1 and 
at once began agitating the question of 
appointing a ,guardian to the church4   
,he arrived in ,nauvoo on ,saturday1 the
 #crd of ,august2 next day he harangued 
the saints who assembled in the grove   
near the temple1 upon the necessity of  
appointing a ,guardian to build up the  
church to the martyred prophet1 and in  
the afternoon meeting urged ,william    
,marks to make a special appointment for
 the saints to assemble on the following
 ,tuesday for that purpose4 ,elder      
,marks was in sympathy with ,sidney     
,rigdon1 but for some reason he refused 
to make the appointment for ,tuesday1   

but made it for ,thursday1 the #hth of  
,august4 ,this was a most fortunate     
circumstance1 since a sufficient number 
of the ,twelve to make a majority of    
that quorum arrived on the evening of   
the #fth1 and1 of course1 they were in  
time to be present at the meeting to be 
held on the #hth4 ,the day previous to  
that meeting1 however1 the ,twelve      
called a meeting of the high council and
 high priests1 before which they called 
on ,sidney ,rigdon to make a statement  
of his purposes and relate the          
revelation he claimed to have received  
at ,pittsburg1 which prompted his       
journey to ,nauvoo4 ,in substance he    
replied that the object of his visit was
 to offer himself to the saints as a    
,guardian2 that it had been shown to him
 in vision at ,pittsburg1 that the      
church must be built up to ,joseph the  
martyr2 that all the blessings the      
saints could receive would come through 
their late prophet2 that no man could be
 a successor to ,joseph2 that the church

 was not disorganized1 though the head  
was gone2 that he had been commanded to 
come to ,nauvoo and see that the church 
was governed properly1 and propose      
himself to be a ,guardian to the        
people4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,hist4 ,joseph 
,smith1 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4 ,,xxv1 #bae4
  ,to this ,elder ,brigham ,young       
replied3      ,i do not care who leads  
this ,church1 even though it were ,ann  
,lee2     but one thing ,i must know1   
and that is what ,god says about it4 ,i 
have the keys and the means of obtaining
 the mind of ,god on the     subject4 4 
4 4 ,joseph conferred upon our heads all
 the keys and     powers belonging to   
the apostleship which he himself held   
before     he was taken away1 and no man
 nor set of men can get between         
,joseph and the ,twelve in this world or
 in the world to come4 ,how     often   
has ,joseph said to the ,twelve1 ,i have
 laid the foundation     and you must   
build thereon1 for upon your shoulders  
the kingdom     rests4,a  ,footnote ,a3 

,history of ,joseph ,smith1 ,mill4      
,star1 ,vol4 ,,xxv41 #bae4  ,the next   
day was the one appointed by ,sidney    
,rigdon for the church to assemble and  
choose a ,guardian4 ,the attendance was 
large1 as intense interest had been     
awakened upon the subject to be         
considered4 ,sidney ,rigdon addressed   
the assembly1 setting forth his claim to
 the ,guardianship of the church4 ,he   
had full opportunity to present his     
case1 and for an hour and a half spoke  
without interruption2 but despite his   
reputation as an orator1 he failed to   
convince the saints that he was sent of 
,god4  ,as soon as ,sidney ,rigdon      
closed his speech1 ,elder ,brigham      
,young arose and made a few remarks4 ,it
 was on that occasion that he was       
transfigured before the people1 so that 
through him the saints heard the voice  
and felt the presence of their departed 
leader4 ,george ,q4 ,cannon1 who was    
present on that occasion1 says3      ,if
 ,joseph had risen from the dead and    

again spoken in their     hearing1 the  
effect could not have been more         
startling than it was     to many       
present at that meeting2 it was the     
voice of ,joseph     himself2 and not   
only was it the voice of ,joseph which  
was heard1     but it seemed in the eyes
 of the people as if it were the very   
person of ,joseph which stood before    
them4 ,a more wonderful and             
miraculous event than was wrought that  
day in the presence of that             
congregation we never heard of4,a       
,footnote ,a3 ,life of ,brigham ,young  
7,tullidge7 p4 #aae4 ,continuing the    
subject ,president ,cannon says3 ,the   
,lord gave his people a testimony that  
left no room for doubt as to who was the
 man chosen to lead them4 ,they both saw
 and heard with their natural eyes and  
ears1 and then the words which were     
uttered came1 accompanied by the        
convincing power of ,god1 to their      
hearts1 and they were filled with the   
,spirit and with great joy4 ,there had  

been gloom1 and in some hearts probably1
 doubt and uncertainty2 but now it was  
plain to all that here was the man upon 
whom the ,lord had bestowed the         
necessary authority to act in their     
midst in ,joseph's stead4 ,on that      
occasion ,brigham ,young seemed to be   
transformed1 and a change such as that  
we read of in the ,scriptures as        
happening to the ,prophet ,elisha1 when 
,elijah was translated in his presence1 
seemed to have taken place with him4    
,the mantle of the ,prophet ,joseph had 
been left for ,brigham ,young4 4 4 4 4  
,the people said one to another3 ',the  
,spirit of ,joseph rests on ,brigham2'  
they knew that he was the man chosen to 
lead them1 and they honored him         
accordingly4 4 4 4 4 ,as far as our     
observation went 7we were only a boy at 
the time71 the people were divided into 
three classes from the time of the death
 of ,joseph up to this meeting of which 
we speak4 ,one class felt clearly and   
understandingly that ,president ,brigham

 ,young was the man whose right it was  
to preside1 he being the ,president of  
the ,twelve ,apostles1 and that body    
being1 through the death of ,joseph and 
,hyrum1 the presiding quorum of the     
,church4 ,another class were not quite  
clear as to who would be called to      
preside2 but they felt very certain that
 ,sidney ,rigdon was not the man4 ,they 
did not believe that ,god would choose a
 coward and traitor to lead his people1 
to both of which characters they        
believed ,rigdon had a claim4 ,the third
 class1 and we think its members were   
few1 was composed of those who had no   
clear views one way or the other4 ,they 
were undecided in their feelings4 4 4 4 
4 ,with very few exceptions1 then1 the  
people returned to their homes from that
 meeting filled with great rejoicing4   
,all uncertainty and anxiety were       
removed4 ,they had heard the voice of   
the ,shepherd and they knew it4  ,in the
 journal of ,elder ,wm4 ,c4 ,staines1 of
 that date1 the following statement is  

recorded3      ,brigham ,young said--,i 
will tell you who your leaders or       
guardians     will be4 ,the ,twelve--,i 
at their head6' ,this was with a voice  
like     the voice of the prophet       
,joseph4 ,i thought it was he1 and so   
did     thousands who heard it4 ,this   
was very satisfactory to the people1    
and a vote was taken to sustain the     
,twelve in their office1 which1     with
 a few dissenting voices1 was passed4   
,president ,wilford ,woodruff1          
describing the event1 says3      ,when  
,brigham ,young arose and commenced     
speaking1 as has been     said1,a if ,i 
had not seen him with my own eyes1 there
 is no one     that could have convinced
 me that it was not ,joseph ,smith2 and 
anyone can testify to this who was      
acquainted with these two men4          
,footnote ,a3 ,the above remark of      
,president ,woodruff's is taken from a  
testimony of his following a discourse  
on the subject of ,priesthood and the   
,right of ,succession1 delivered by the 

writer of this pamphlet4--,see ,deseret 
,evening ,news1 ,march #abth1 #ahib4    
,the remarks of ,elder ,young1 during   
which he was transfigured before the    
people1 closed the forenoon meeting4    
,when in the afternoon the church again 
assembled and ,elder ,young addressed   
them at some length on the subject of   
appointing a leader for the church1     
representing the claims of the ,twelve  
as the quorum having the right to act in
 the absence of the late                
prophet-president4 ,following are some  
quotations from a summary of his speech 
taken down at the time3      ,for the   
first time in my life1 for the first    
time in your lives1     for the first   
time in the kingdom of ,god1 in the     
nineteenth     century1 without a       
prophet at our head1 do ,i step forth to
 act in     my calling in connection    
with the quorum of the ,twelve1 as      
,apostles of ,jesus ,christ unto this   
generation--,apostles whom ,god     has 
called by revelation through the prophet

 ,joseph1 who are     ordained and      
anointed to bear off the keys of the    
kingdom of ,god     in all the world4   
4 4 4 4 ,if any man thinks he has       
influence among this people1 to     lead
 away a party1 let him try it1 and he   
will find out that there     is power   
with the ,apostles1 which will carry    
them off victorious     through all the 
world1 and build up and defend the      
church and     kingdom of ,god4      4 4
 4 ,if the people want ,president       
,rigdon to lead them1 they may     have 
him2 but ,i say unto you that the quorum
 of the ,twelve have     the keys of the
 kingdom of ,god in all the world4 ,the 
,twelve are     appointed by the finger 
of ,god4 ,here is ,brigham1 have his    
knees     ever faltered8 have his lips  
ever quivered8 ,here is ,heber1,a and   
the rest of the ,twelve1 an independent 
body1 who have the keys of     the      
priesthood--the keys of the kingdom of  
,god--to deliver to all     the world2  
this is true1 so help me ,god4 ,they    

stand next to     ,joseph1 and are as   
the ,first ,presidency of the ,church4  
,footnote ,a3 ,heber ,c4 ,kimball4      
4 4 4 4 ,you must not appoint any man at
 our head2 if you should1     the       
,twelve must ordain him4 ,you cannot    
appoint a man at our head2     but if   
you do want any other man or men to lead
 you1 take them1     and we will go our 
way to build up the kingdom in all the  
world1      4 4 4 4 ,brother ,joseph1   
the prophet1 has laid the foundation for
 a     grand work1 and we will build    
upon it2 you have never seen the        
quorums built one upon another4 ,there  
is an almighty foundation     laid1 and 
we can build a kingdom such as there    
never was in the     world3 we can build
 a kingdom faster than ,satan can kill  
the     saints off4      4 4 4 4 ,now1  
if you want ,sidney ,rigdon or ,wm4     
,law,a to lead you1     or anybody else1
 you are welcome to them2 but ,i tell   
you1 in the     name of the ,lord1 that 
no man can put another between the      

,twelve     and the prophet ,joseph4    
,why8 ,because ,joseph was their file   
leader1     and he has committed into   
their hands the keys of the kingdom in  
this last dispensation1 for all the     
world2 don't put a thread     between   
the priesthood and ,god4,b  ,footnote   
,a3 ,wm4 ,law had been a counselor to   
the ,prophet ,joseph1 but was found in  
transgression and apostasy1 had been    
excommunicated1 and was among those who 
brought about the martyrdom at          
,carthage4  ,footnote ,b3 ,mill4 ,star1 
,vol4 ,,xxv41 pp4 #baf1 #bca-b1 #c4     
,elder ,amasa ,lyman spoke in support of
 the ,twelve2 and then ,sidney ,rigdon  
was granted the privilege of speaking2  
he declined personally1 but called on   
,elder ,w4 ,w4 ,phelps to speak in his  
behalf4 ,elder ,phelps while evidently  
sympathizing with ,elder ,rigdon1       
supported the claims of the ,twelve4    
,after further discussion ,elder ,young 
arose to put the question as to whether 
the church would sustain the ,twelve or 

,sidney ,rigdon3      ,i do not ask you 
to take my counsel or advice alone1 but 
every one     of you act for yourselves2
 but if ,brother ,rigdon is the person  
you     want to lead you1 vote for him1 
but not unless you intend to     follow 
him and support him as you did ,joseph4 
4 4 4 4 ,and ,i would     say the same  
for the ,twelve1 don't make a covenant  
to support them     unless you intend to
 abide by their counsel4 4 4 4 4 4 ,i   
want     every man1 before he enters    
into a covenant1 to know what he is     
going to do2 but we want to know if this
 people will support the     priesthood 
in the name of ,israel's ,god4 ,if you  
say you will1 do     so4,a  ,footnote   
,a3 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4 ,,xxv14 p4 #bfd4
  ,elder ,young was then about to put   
the question to the assembled quorums as
 to whether they wanted ,elder ,rigdon  
for a leader1 when1 at the request of   
the latter1 the question on supporting  
the ,twelve as the presiding quorum in  
the church was first put in the         

following manner3      ,do the ,church  
want and is it their only desire to     
sustain the     ,twelve as the ,first   
,presidency of this people8 4 4 4 4 4   
,if the     ,church want the ,twelve to 
stand as the head1 the ,first           
,presidency     of the ,church1 and at  
the head of this kingdom in all the     
world1     stand next to ,joseph1 walk  
up into their calling1 and hold the     
keys of this kingdom--every man1 every  
woman1 every quorum is now     put in   
order1 and you are now the sole         
controllers of it--all that     are in  
favor of this in all the congregation of
 the ,saints1     manifest it by holding
 up the right hand4 7,there was a       
universal     vote47 ,if there are any  
of the contrary mind--every man and     
every     woman who does not want the   
,twelve to preside1 lift up your hands  
in like manner4 7,no hands up47 ,this   
supersedes the other     question1,a and
 trying it by quorums4,b  ,footnote ,a3 
,that is1 whether the church wanted to  

have ,sidney ,rigdon for a guardian or  
leader4  ,footnote ,b3 ,the quorums had 
been arranged to vote separately and in 
their order1 but when ,elder ,young put 
the question on accepting the ,twelve to
 preside over the church1 the question  
was put to all the quorums and the whole
 congregation at once4 ,and since the   
vote to sustain the ,twelve was         
unanimous1 there was no need of putting 
the question on the acceptance of       
,sidney ,rigdon either to the quorums or
 the people4--,the facts in the text are
 quoted from the history of the prophet 
,joseph1 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4 ,,xxv41 p4 
#bfd4  ,this disposed of ,sidney        
,rigdon4 ,he had full opportunity to    
present his case before the church4 ,the
 saints had full opportunity and liberty
 to vote for him had they wanted him for
 their leader2 but they rejected him and
 sustained the ,twelve4  ,i have been   
careful to deal with this case of       
,sidney ,rigdon's in so great detail1   
for the reason that it exhibits in      

operation a very important principle1   
viz41 that of common consent or the     
voice of the people in electing their   
leaders4 ,i use the word elect          
advisedly1 for though the manner of     
electing the officers of the church is  
by indirect means--by popular           
acceptance--the elective principle is   
nevertheless operative1 since men       
proposed for office cannot act unless   
the people vote to sustain them4,a ,the 
law of the church in this matter is3    
,footnote ,a3 ,the elective principle is
 not only carried out by direct means1  
it may be carried on by indirect        
means--it is just as much a fact under  
the form of popular acceptance as of    
popular choice4--,cuizot4      ,no      
person is to be ordained to any office  
in this ,church1 where     there is a   
regularly organized branch of the same1 
without the     vote of that ,church4,a 
,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 xx1 
#fe4  ,this law applies to the ,first   
,presidency as well as to the humblest  

officer in the church3      ,of the     
,melchisedek ,priesthood1 three         
presiding ,high ,priests1     chosen by 
the body1 appointed and ordained to that
 office1 and     upheld by the          
confidence1 faith and prayer of the     
,church1 from a     quorum of the       
,presidency of the ,church4,a  ,footnote
 ,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov4 sec4 cvii1 #bb4    
,it is not enough that the men          
constituting the ,first ,presidency of  
the church be appointed and ordained to 
that office2 they must also be chosen by
 the body and upheld by the confidence1 
faith and prayer of the church4         
,president ,brigham ,young on this      
subject says3      ,joseph presided over
 the ,church by the voice of the people4
 4 4 4     ,does a man's being a        
,prophet in this ,church prove that he  
shall be     the ,president of it8 ,i   
answer1 no4 ,a man may be a prophet1    
seer     and revelator1 and it may have 
nothing to do with his being            
,president of the ,church4 ,suffice it  

to say that ,joseph was the             
,president of the ,church1 so long as he
 lived4 ,the people chose to     have it
 so4 ,he always filled that responsible 
station by the voice     of the people4 
4 4 4 4 ,the keys of the priesthood were
 committed     to ,joseph to build up   
the kingdom of ,god on the earth1 and   
were     not to be taken from him in    
time or in eternity2 but when he was    
called to preside over the ,church1 it  
was by the voice of the     people1     
though he held the keys of the          
priesthood independent of     their     
voice4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,journal of     
,discourses1 ,vol4 ,i1 p4 #acc4  ,but1  
mark you1 he did not hold the power to  
preside over them contrary to their     
voices1 that is1 contrary to their      
consent4 ,president ,taylor says3       
,it is by the voice of ,god and the     
voice of the people that our     present
 ,president ,brigham ,young obtained his
 authority4 ,he     obtained his        
authority first from ,god1 and secondly 

from the     people2 and if a man       
possesses five grains of common sense1  
when     he has the privilege of voting 
for or against a man1 he will not       
vote for a man who will oppress the     
people2 he will vote according     to   
the dictates of his conscience2 for this
 is the right and duty     of this      
people in the choice of their ,president
 and other leading     officers of the  
kingdom of ,god4,a  ,footnote ,a3       
,journal of ,discourses1 ,vol4 ,i1 p4   
#bbi4  ,thus in ecclesiastical as in    
civil government it is true that        
governments derive their just powers    
from the consent of the governed4 ,we   
shall have occasion in the course of our
 argument1 to recur to this principle   
and its importance in respect to the    
subject treated in this writing4  ,it   
may be interesting to the reader to know
 that ,sidney ,rigdon himself outwardly 
seemed to acquiesce in the decision of  
the church with regard to himself4 ,the 
,sunday following the meeting above     

described he addressed the saints for a 
long time1 blessed them in the name of  
the ,lord2 telling them emphatically    
that he was with the ,twelve4 ,he wished
 to know the mind of the church in      
relation to his returning to ,pittsburg1
 they said1 go in peace4,a ,yet all the 
while he was thus seemingly accepting   
the decision of the church and seeking  
its counsel1 secretly he was holding    
meetings with men of questionable       
integrity in the church1 telling them   
that it was revealed to him before      
leaving ,pittsburg that the church would
 reject him2 but1 nevertheless1 he was  
the proper person to lead the church--to
 be its ,guardian2 for to that position 
he had been called of ,god1 and held    
keys of authority higher than any ever  
conferred upon the ,prophet ,joseph--the
 keys of ,david which1 according to his 
representations1 gave him the power to  
open and no man could shut2 to shut and 
no man could open2 and the power to     
organize armies for the destruction of  

the ,gentiles4 ,in fact his fervid      
imagination pictured himself a great    
military chieftain1 by whose prowess all
 the enemies of ,god were to be subdued4
 ,he secretly ordained men to be        
prophets1 priests and kings to the      
,gentiles4 ,he also chose and appointed 
military officers to take command of the
 armies that were to be raised ere long 
to fight the battles of the great ,god4 
,meantime1 while he in public had spoken
 of the virtues and honor of the        
martyred prophets1 ,joseph and ,hyrum1  
in the highest terms1 in his secret     
meetings he began to cast reflections   
upon their conduct1 and hint at the     
existence of grave iniquity among the   
,twelve and in the church4  ,footnote   
,a3 ,pamphlet on ,sidney ,rigdon1 by    
,elder ,j4 ,m4 ,grant1 p4 #ah4  ,as soon
 as the ,twelve learned of these        
proceedings on the part of ,elder       
,rigdon1 they called upon him to explain
 by what authority he held secret       
meetings and ordained men to the        

aforesaid offices4 ,he sought to evade  
the question1 but finding that he was   
dealing with men not to be trifled with 
he at last confessed to both holding the
 meetings and ordaining the officers4   
,his brethren sought to convince him of 
his error1 but at this point he refused 
to be corrected4 ,the quorum of the     
,twelve1 with the presiding bishop of   
the church1 held a council meeting to   
consider his conduct1 and concluded to  
demand ,elder ,rigdon's license4 ,he    
refused to surrender it1 saying that he 
had not received it from the ,twelve and
 he would not give it up to them4 ,he   
was then cited before the council of the
 church which has a right to try a      
president of the high priesthood1 viz41 
the presiding bishop of the church      
assisted by twelve high priests4,a      
,footnote ,a3 ,and inasmuch as a        
president of the high priesthood shall  
transgress1 he shall be had in          
remembrance before the common council of
 the church1 who shall be assisted by   

twelve counselors of the high           
priesthood2 and their decision upon his 
head shall be an end of controversy     
concerning him4--,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4  
cvii1 #hb1 #hc4  ,he refused to appear  
before this council1 and therefore1     
after giving him due notice and an      
opportunity to appear and defend        
himself1 the council convened in the    
presence of a large congregation of the 
saints on the #hth of ,september1 #ahdd1
 and proceeded to hear evidence in the  
case4 ,the evidence established the     
insubordination of ,elder ,rigdon and   
the irregularity of his course1 and a   
motion that he be excommunicated from   
the church until he repented was carried
 both by the council composed of the    
bishop and the twelve high priests1 and 
also by the great congregation of the   
saints4 ,ten only1 and they of ,rigdon's
 following1 voting in the negative4,a   
,footnote ,a3 ,see the minutes of       
,sidney ,rigdon's trial in ,grant's     
pamphlet on ,sidney ,rigdon1 pp4 #ai to 

#cg4  ,after his excommunication he made
 an attempt at organizing a church1     
choosing twelve apostles1 etc41 but his 
efforts amounted to but little4 ,he soon
 retired from ,nauvoo to ,pittsburg1    
,pennsylvania1 which he established as  
his headquarters4 ,he sent missionaries 
to many branches of the church to       
represent his claims to the ,presidency1
 but they succeeded in getting only     
slight support and that for the most    
part from among those weak in the faith4
 ,his church1 never strong either in    
numbers or prominent men1 soon crumbled 
into decay2 ,sidney ,rigdon himself sank
 out of sight and in #ahgf he died in   
obscurity in ,alleghany county1 state of
 ,new ,york4  ,the fate of ,sidney      
,rigdon and the fate of the organization
 which he founded prove the prophetic   
character of the words of ,brigham      
,young3      ,all that want to draw away
 a party from the church after them1    
let them do it if they can1 but they    
will not prosper4     ,,ii4   ,following

 the attempt of ,sidney ,rigdon to      
become the ,guardian of the ,church1 we 
will consider the efforts of ,william   
,smith1 brother to the prophet ,joseph1 
to become its ,president4 ,he was a     
member of the quorum of the ,twelve at  
the death of the prophet1 though for    
some time his conduct had been such as  
to bring him into disrepute among the   
,saints4 ,he was of a turbulent1        
ungovernable disposition2 a man of      
fierce passions and violent temper4     
,when the saints were driven from       
,missouri1 in #ahch1 and his brother    
,joseph cast into prison1 such was his  
vindictiveness against the prophet that 
at a general conference of the church   
held near ,quincy1 ,illinois1 ,may #dth1
 #ahci1 he was suspended from           
fellowship2 but was afterwards restored1
 mainly through the pleadings of that   
same brother against whom he railed with
 such bitterness of speech4  ,shortly   
after the martyrdom of his brothers1    
,joseph and ,hyrum1 ,william was        

ordained to the office of patriarch to  
the church1 to succeed ,hyrum ,smith1   
who held that office at the time of his 
death4 ,the associate editor of the     
,times and ,seasons in making the       
announcement of ,william's appointment  
put it that he had been appointed and   
ordained patriarch over the ,church4    
,whereupon a number of persons of a     
disposition ever ready to take advantage
 of a word or make men an offender      
because of it1 begun to ask if ,william 
was ,patriarch over the church1 did not 
that also make him ,president of the    
church4 ,in the issue of the ,times and 
,seasons following1 the editor corrected
 the error of his associate by saying   
that the notice of ,william's           
appointment to be patriarch should have 
read patriarch to the church1 not over  
it4 ,he1 of course1 also denied that    
,william was ,president of the church4,a
  ,footnote ,a3 ,times and ,seasons1    
,vol4 ,,vi1 ,no4 #i and ,no4 #aj1 ,art4 
,patriarchal4  ,whether it was the      

discussion about ,william's appointment 
to be patriarch over the church which   
first put it into his head to make a    
claim to the office of ,president of the
 church2 or that he took advantage of   
the phrase ,patriarch over the ,church1 
to bring forward claims to the          
,presidency which he had previously     
entertained1 may not be accurately      
determined2 but most likely it was the  
latter1 because on the occasion of the  
writer's visit to ,william ,smith1 at   
his home1 near ,elkader1 ,clayton       
,county1 ,iowa1 late in the summer of   
#ahhj1 he claimed to have been anointed1
 appointed1 and ordained by the prophet 
,joseph to succeed to the office of     
,president of the church after the      
prophet's death4  ,william ,smith1      
however1 based his claim to the position
 of president1 mainly upon the fact that
 he was the brother of the ,prophet1 the
 only surviving brother1 and therefore  
he should succeed to his brother's      
position4 ,he claimed to find a         

precedent for this in scripture4 ,in the
 council which convened in the early    
,christian church to consider how far   
the ,gentile converts were under        
obligations to observe the forms and    
ceremonies of the ,jewish law1 after    
,peter and ,paul and ,barnabas and      
others were through speaking on the     
subject1 ,james1 the ,lord's brother1 is
 represented as saying3      ,wherefore 
my sentence is1 that we trouble not     
them1 which from     among the ,gentiles
 have turned unto ,god2 but that we     
write unto     them2 that they abstain  
from pollutions of idols1 and from      
fornication and from things strangled   
and from blood4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,acts  
xv1 #ai1 #bj4  ,the sentence of ,james  
here is regarded as the decision of the 
council2 and ,william ,smith argued that
 if ,james gave the decision of the     
council1 he must have been the president
 of the council2 and if president of the
 council1 then ,president of the church2
 and since ,james was the ,lord's       

brother and succeeded him in the        
,presidency of the church1 so in this   
dispensation1 as in the former one1 the 
surviving brother of him who stood at   
the head of the church should succeed to
 the ,presidency4  ,but this sophistry  
is confronted by the stubborn fact that 
the ,lord ,jesus had said to the        
,apostle ,peter in the most direct      
terms3      ,i give unto thee the keys  
of the kingdom of heaven2 and whatsoever
     thou shalt bind on earth shall be  
bound in heaven2 and whatsoever     thou
 shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
 heaven4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,matt4 xvi4   
,it is controverted also by all the     
facts of history which represent ,peter 
as the chief ,apostle and as holding a  
,presidency over the entire church4 ,in 
modern revelation1 too1 the order in    
which the ,apostles have been named who 
have administered to men on the         
earth--has been invariably ,peter1      
,james and ,john--,peter always named   
first as the leader1 the chief4,a       

,footnote ,a3 ,john the ,baptist at the 
time he conferred on ,joseph ,smith and 
,oliver ,cowdery the ,aaronic           
,priesthood 7,may #ae1 #ahbi7 said that 
he acted under the direction of ,peter1 
,james and ,john1 who held the keys of  
the ,priesthood of                      
,melchisedek4--7,hist4 ,joseph1 ,mill4  
,star1 supplement1 ,vol4 ,,xiv1 p4 #ae47
  ,i will drink of the fruit of the vine
 with you on the earth1 4 4 4 and also  
with ,john1 the son of ,zacharias444and 
also with ,peter4 ,james and ,john whom 
,i have sent unto you1 by whom ,i have  
ordained you and confirmed you ,apostles
 and special witnesses of my            
name4--7,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 xvii #e1  
#ab47  ,again what do we hear8 4 4 4 the
 voice of ,peter1 ,james and ,john in   
the wilderness1 between ,harmony 4 4 4  
and ,colesville 4 4 4 declaring         
themselves as possessing the keys of the
 kingdom1 7,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4        
cxxviii1 #bj71 and so throughout4 ,it is
 scarcely probable that ,peter would    

thus invariably have been named first   
unless that had been his place1 as the  
chief1 that is1 the presiding ,apostle4 
,william ,smith1 however1 did not       
command much of a following in this     
first attempt to make himself a leader4 
,his profligate life was too notorious  
in ,nauvoo to make it possible for him  
to wield much influence even as a       
schismatic4 ,his efforts at leadership  
on this occasion resulted only in       
violent denunciations of those who would
 not receive him1 and his final         
expulsion from the church4 ,at the      
general conference held on the #fth of  
,october1 #ahde1 he was disfellowshipped
 from the quorum of the ,twelve1 and on 
the #abth of the same month1 more of his
 wickedness having come to light1 he was
 excommunicated from the church4 ,he    
shortly afterwards became associated    
with ,james ,j4 ,strang and other       
apostates in an attempt to establish a  
church in the state of ,wisconsin1 but  
that failed as we shall see4  ,here it  

will be proper to note the support which
 ,lucy ,smith1 mother of ,william1 gave 
to his claims to the ,presidency4 ,i    
regret being under the necessity of     
quoting her in such a controversy1 as it
 shows this good and noble woman to have
 been very much mistaken in this matter1
 and one must ever be sorry to see those
 who are upright mistaken1 especially in
 so grave a matter as this under        
consideration4 ,one must ever feel a    
delicacy in referring to the words and  
actions of the mother of ,joseph and    
,hyrum1 of ,don ,carlos and ,samuel ,h4 
,smith4 ,she was a woman who had        
suffered much for the work of ,god and  
the testimony of ,jesus2 who in addition
 to toil1 sickness1 poverty and exile   
had lived to see her two noblest sons   
murdered1 and two other sons and her    
husband laid away in premature graves1  
indirectly the victims of that          
relentless persecution which followed   
her family and the church from the      
beginning4 ,these sufferings and her    

great age doubtless will account for    
that weakness of mind through which1 and
 not through any wrong intent1 ,i feel  
sure1 she was led into this error of    
supporting the claims of her son        
,william4 ,but glad as ,i would be to   
pass by this matter for the sake of     
,sister ,lucy ,smith1 ,i cannot do so1  
for the reason that the ,josephites     
quote her as supporting the claims of   
,young ,joseph1 and ,i wish to show by  
her support of ,william that she did not
 do it4  ,the evidence that ,sister     
,lucy ,smith sustained the pretentions  
of ,william ,smith to the ,presidency   
and not those made in behalf of ,young  
,joseph1 is found in the journal of the 
late ,president ,john ,taylor1 a member 
of the quorum of the ,twelve ,apostles  
at the time in ,nauvoo3                 
,friday1 ,june #bgth1 #ahde4      ,this 
was the anniversary of the day that     
,brothers ,joseph and ,hyrum     were   
killed and myself shot4 ,we met together
 7the quorum of the     ,priesthood7 to 

pray1 several of the ,twelve were       
present4 ,when ,i     returned home in  
the evening1 ,mrs4 ,taylor showed me a  
copy of a     vision that ,mother ,lucy 
,smith had1 stating that her son        
,william     was head of the ,church2   
the following is a copy3       ,,first  
,,vision4      ,brothers and children1  
,i was much troubled and felt as if ,i  
had     the sins of the whole world to  
bear1 and the burden of the ,church2    
and ,i felt that there was something    
wrong4 ,i called on the ,lord to        
show me what was wrong1 and if it was   
,i4 ,i called upon him until ,i         
slept4 ,i then heard a voice calling on 
me saying1 awake1 awake1     awake1 for 
the only son that thou hast living1 they
 for his life     have laid a snare4 ,my
 aged servant ,joseph who was the first 
,patriarch of this ,church1 and my      
servant ,hyrum who was the second       
,patriarch1 my servant ,joseph who was  
,prophet and ,seer1 and my     servants 
,samuel1 ,william and ,don ,carlos--they

 were the first     founders1 fathers   
and heads of this ,church1 raised up in 
these     last days1 and thou art the   
mother1 and thy daughters have helped1  
and they are the daughters in ,israel1  
and have helped raise up     this       
,church4 ,arise1 arise1 arise1 and take 
thy place1 you know not     what has    
been in the hearts of some2 but he said 
thou shalt know4     ,he told me what it
 was2 but ,i shall not tell4 7,i saw    
,william in a     room full of armed men
 and he having no weapons4 ,they would  
have     crushed him down1 if it had not
 been for the power of ,god2 and        
many of the family would have been cut  
off--the ,lord having     softened their
 hearts4 ,two of them had blacker hearts
 than the     rest1 and ,i know who they
 are1 and ,i will tell them if they will
     come to me4 ,brigham ,young and    
,heber ,c4 ,kimball know it is so1 and  
dare not deny it47 ,call upon the       
,twelve1 let all things be set in       
order1 and keep their hearts pure from  

this time hence forth2 the     voice    
saith be merciful1 and then ,zion shall 
arise and flourish as     a rose4 ,what 
,i was told ,i cannot tell4      ,thou  
art the mother in ,israel1 and tell thy 
children all to walk     uprightly4 ,thy
 son ,william1 he shall have power over 
the churches1     he is father in       
,israel over the patriarchs and the     
whole of the     ,church2 he is the last
 of the lineage that is raised up in    
these     last days4 ,he is ,patriarch  
to regulate the affairs of the ,church4 
,he is ,president over all the ,church1 
they cannot take his     apostleship    
away from him4 ,the ,presidency of the  
,church belongs to     ,william1 he     
being the last of the heads of the      
,church1 according     to the lineage1  
he having inherited it from the family  
from before     the foundation of the   
world4 ,thou art a mother in ,israel4   
,thy     spirit arose and said in       
eternity that it would take a body to be
     a mother to prophets who should be 

raised up to save the last              
dispensation4 ,and the spirit said unto 
me to be faithful1 7and     that ,i was 
faithful17 and tell the ,church to be   
faithful4 ,and the     spirit said ,i   
should live until ,i was satisfied with 
life4      ,brothers and children1 ,i   
want you to take notice that the burden 
of the ,church rests on ,william4       
,,second ,,vision4      ,joseph came to 
me and said3 ,that day is coming when ,i
 shall wave     the scepter of power    
over my enemies4 ,be patient my brothers
 and     sisters1 the day is coming when
 you shall have eternal life and be     
rewarded for all your troubles4         
,,third ,,vision4      ,father came to  
me and ,i said1 ,father1 have you come8 
,and he said     yes4 ,i said tell me   
where you have been4 ,and he said1 ,i   
have     been all around here4 ,i have  
come to you again to tell you one       
thing certain1 which ,i have told you   
many times before4 ,it is my     prayer 
and the prayers of our sons that you    

live to take care of     ,william and my
 daughters1 and see that they have their
 rights and     standing where they     
ought to have it4 ,he turned to go away1
 and ,i     said ,i will go with you4   
,he said you must stay4      ,the       
following persons were present at the   
time this vision was     related3       
,william ,smith1     ,a4 ,milliken1     
,w4 ,i4 ,salisbury1     ,david ,elliott1
     ,robt4 ,campbell1     ,elias       
,smith1     ,joseph ,cain1     ,bro4    
,stringham1     ,chas4 ,kelly1     ,bro4
 ,mc,lery1     ,mrs4 ,taylor1     ,mrs4 
,milliken1     ,mrs4 ,salisbury1        
,mrs4 ,mc,lery1     ,mrs4 ,kelly1       
,mrs4 ,sherman4  ,on ,june #cjth1 #ahde1
 at the request of ,sister ,lucy ,smith1
 seven of the ,twelve1 with ,bishops    
,miller and ,whitney and ,elder ,cahoon1
 met at her house to talk over these    
visions in respect to ,william4 ,several
 members of her family were present4 ,it
 was also arranged for ,william ,smith  
to be present1 but he failed to appear4 

,i copy from ,elder ,taylor's journal1  
under date of ,june #cjth3      ,the    
conversation was full and free4         
,president ,young stated that           
,william was aiming at power and        
authority and priesthood that did       
not belong to him2 that he would sustain
 ,william in his office and     calling1
 but would not allow him to tread upon  
his or any other     man's neck2 that if
 the ,church wanted to have ,william    
,smith1 he     would mention it to them1
 and they should have their choice4     
,this1     however1 neither the ,church1
 nor the ,twelve would consent to2 for  
if it had been put to them--,i do not   
suppose that twenty would     have voted
 for him1 out of the many thousands     
there are in the     ,church4 ,mother   
,smith said he ,william did not want it2
 she did     not profess to be a        
revelator only for herself and family1  
that     she wanted peace1 union and    
harmony4 ,the ,twelve all expressed the 
same feeling and manifested the greatest

 kindness to ,mother ,smith     as did  
also the bishops4  ,though ,william did 
not meet with the ,twelve1 he addressed 
a letter to ,president ,brigham ,young  
which was read at the above meeting4    
,after complaining about the article on 
,patriarchs1 which had appeared in the  
,times and ,seasons1 he concludes thus3 
,my proposition is1 my share of the     
kingdom1 and if you will     publish in 
the ,neighbor and ,times and ,seasons   
the true state     of the case in regard
 to my office as ,patriarch over the    
whole     ,church1 this will give me a  
right to visit all branches of the      
,church1 and intrude on no man's rights2
 and further to attend to     all of the
 ordinances of ,god1 no man being my    
head1 ,i will     reconcile all         
difficulties1 and ,elder ,young can     
stand as the     ,president of the      
,church1 and by my most hearty wish and 
consent4     ,this will settle all      
difficulties and restore peace and good 
order1 and farther than this1 ,i cannot 

say1 only that ,i want all     men to   
understand that my father's family are  
of the royal blood1     and promised    
seed1 and no man or set of men can take 
their crown     or place in time nor    
eternity4 ,brother ,young1 the above is 
my     proposition and will settle all  
difficulties at once1 and these     are 
my avowed sentiments and no             
equivocation4                           
,,william ,,smith4,a  ,footnote ,a3     
,taylor's ,journal under date of ,june  
#cj1 #ahde4  ,to this letter the ,twelve
 wrote an answer before leaving the     
house of ,mother ,smith4 ,in said letter
 the brethren regretted not having had  
the pleasure of meeting ,william4 ,they 
had had considerable talk with          
,mother ,smith1 and find her possessing 
the best of feelings     towards the    
whole ,church4 ,as to your requests in  
your letter we     would say3 we are    
perfectly willing and wish to have all  
things     right1 but there are some    
ordinances in the ,church that cannot be

     administered by any person out of  
this place at present1 but must     be  
done here4 ,as to having the right to   
administer all ordinances     in the    
world and no one standing at your head1 
we could not     sanction1 because the  
,president of the ,church1 and each one 
of our     quorum are amenable to the   
quorum of which you are a member4 ,but  
as to your right to officiate in the    
office of ,patriarch1 we say     you    
have the right to officiate in all the  
world wherever your lot     may be cast1
 and no one to dictate or control you   
excepting the     ,twelve1 which body of
 men must preside over the whole ,church
 in     all the world4  ,the following  
postscript was added3      ,we have read
 this to ,mother ,smith1 ,catherine1    
,lucy1 and ,arthur1     and they express
 their satisfaction with it1 as well as 
those of     the council who are        
present4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,john         
,taylor's journal1 under date of ,june  
#cj1 #ahde4  ,elder ,taylor thus        

concludes his account of this visit with
 ,mother ,smith3      ,we prayed with   
,mother ,smith before we left her2 and  
she and the     family manifested good  
feelings4 ,i am sorry the old lady      
should be     troubled1 she is a good   
woman and has passed through much       
trouble     for the cause of truth1 and 
has the respect and confidence of the   
whole ,church4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,ibid4  
,after his failure in ,nauvoo1 and in   
,wisconsin in connection with ,mr4      
,strang1 we next hear of ,william ,smith
 in the winter and spring of #ahej1     
visiting those who had been members of  
the church in ,illinois and ,kentucky1  
teaching lineal priesthood as applied to
 the ,presidency of the church4 ,that   
is1 he taught that his brother ,joseph's
 eldest son had a right by virtue of    
lineage to succeed to the ,presidency of
 the church2 but also taught in         
connection with this that it was his    
right as the only surviving brother of  
the former ,president1 uncle and natural

 guardian of the seed of ,joseph the    
prophet1 to stand1 in the interim1 as   
president pro tem of the church4 ,there 
seemed to be a general acquiescence with
 this by the members of the church      
remaining in the districts where he     
labored--most of whom were either       
apostates or weak in the faith--and in  
the spring of #ahej1 he called a        
conference to assemble in ,covington1   
,kentucky1 where he effected an         
organization by having himself sustained
 as ,president pro tem1 of the church1  
and ,lyman ,wight,a and ,aaron ,hook as 
counselors pro tem to the ,president pro
 tem1 and ,joseph ,wood as counselor and
 spokesman4 ,it is claimed that many of 
the saints in northern ,illinois and    
southern ,wisconsin1 were identified    
with this movement4,b  ,footnote ,a3 ,i 
cannot learn that ,lyman ,wight1 once a 
member of the quorum of the ,twelve1    
sanctioned this use of his name1 or that
 he ever was connected with this attempt
 at organization on the part of ,wm4    

,smith4  ,footnote ,b3 ,see ,jason ,w4  
,briggs quoted by ,tullidge in his      
supplement to the ,life of ,joseph1     
,josephite edition1 p4 #egg4  ,a year   
later1 viz41 in the summer of #ahea1    
,palestine1 ,lee county1 ,illinois1 was 
designated as a ,stake of ,zion1 a      
gathering place for the saints1 and the 
home of ,william ,smith4 ,at the        
,october conference held at ,palestine  
that year1 there was a confession of    
belief in and the practice of polygamy1 
which resulted in many immediately      
withdrawing from the organization2 and1 
it is said1 that the declaration proved 
the means ultimately of its complete    
destruction4,a  ,footnote ,a3           
,tullidge's ,hist4 of ,joseph the       
prophet 7,josephite edition1 p4 #egg74  
,tullidge must be regarded as favorably 
disposed to the ,josephites1 as he      
became identified with that movement4 ,i
 mention the fact here as ,i find it    
necessary to depend upon him for facts  
occasionally4  ,this was the last effort

 of ,william ,smith at organizing a     
church2 subsequently1 when an           
organization was effected with ,joseph  
,smith1 eldest son of the prophet1 as   
its ,president1 he became nominally     
connected with that movement1 but he was
 never prominent or influential4 ,in the
 summer of #ahhj1 the writer1 then on a 
mission in the state of ,iowa1 in       
company with ,hyrum ,jensen1 called at  
the home of ,william ,smith1 near       
,elkader1 and found him living in       
poverty and obscurity4  ,as ,i think    
upon this man1 and of how far he        
fell--from the office of an ,apostle and
 ,patriarch to the ,church--when ,i     
think of his vain attempt to become     
,president of the church1 and1 failing  
in that1 attempting to lead away a      
party1 then organizing a faction from   
the remnants of the church left in      
,illinois and ,wisconsin1 and every     
effort of his ending in failure--,i     
think of the prophetic words of         
,president ,brigham ,young3      ,all   

that want to draw away a party from the 
,church after them1     let them do it  
if they can1 but they will not prosper6 
,,iii4   ,it can scarcely be said that  
either ,lyman ,wight or ,bishop ,george 
,miller sought to lead the church2 but  
they were guilty of insubordination to  
the constituted authorities and lead    
away parties with them1 and illustrate  
the truth of ,president ,young's        
prediction about the failure of such    
persons1 hence we consider their course4
  ,lyman ,wight was a strong1 bold man2 
fixed in his friendship for the prophet 
,joseph1 and true to him under many     
trying circumstances2 but withal rather 
difficult to control1 and after the     
death of ,joseph soon manifested a      
disposition of insubordination to       
authority4 ,as far back as ,february1   
#ahdd1 he had expressed a desire to go  
to ,texas1 and after the death of the   
prophet seemed determined that the      
church should be removed there4 ,for    
some time a number of persons had worked

 under his and ,bishop ,george ,miller's
 direction in the pineries of           
,wisconsin1 getting out lumber for the  
,temple4 ,in the latter part of ,august1
 #ahdd1 ,president ,young desired him to
 return to the pineries and continue his
 labors2 but he refused and expressed a 
determination to carry out his own      
views1 and be the controller of his own 
conduct regardless of the counsel of the
 presiding quorum4 ,he therefore went to
 ,texas instead of to ,wisconsin1 taking
 a small company of saints with him and 
settling in ,texas1 not far from the    
present site of ,austin4  ,for his      
insubordination ,lyman ,wight was       
excommunicated from the church1 the     
action being taken in ,salt ,lake ,city1
 #ahdh4 ,the company of saints that     
followed him were soon scattered as     
sheep that have wandered from the fold  
and the care of the shepherd2 but some  
few of them finally found their way back
 into the church4 ,lyman ,wight lived in
 obscurity in ,texas1 unknown by the    

world1 unhonored1 without a following1  
and died outside the church of ,christ1 
with which he had suffered so much      
during the persecutions it passed       
through in ,missouri4  ,bishop ,george  
,miller was closely associated with     
,lyman ,wight in his rebellion against  
the authority of ,president ,young4 ,as 
already stated they had been associated 
in directing the labors of the brethren 
working in the pineries1 and on         
returning to ,nauvoo both had manifested
 a spirit of insubordination to         
authority4 ,bishop ,miller1 however1 did
 not immediately follow ,lyman ,wight to
 ,texas1 but remained with the church   
some two years longer1 and was among the
 first to cross the ,mississippi in the 
great exodus from ,nauvoo4 ,during the  
subsequent journey through what was then
 the wilderness of ,iowa1 he manifested 
a disposition to draw off with his      
company from the main camp2 and when the
 great body of the exiled saints wen    
into ,winter ,quarters1 near ,council   

,bluffs1 ,bishop ,miller and his company
 were more than a hundred and fifty     
miles north at the junction of the      
,running ,water and the ,missouri       
,river1 where they remained during the  
winter of #ahdf-g4  ,in the spring of   
#ahdg1 when the saints were making ready
 for their journey to the west1 ,bishop 
,miller urged the advisability of       
changing their destination1 and going to
 ,texas1 where ,lyman ,wight had already
 settled4 ,the bishop's views being     
rejected1 he withdrew from the camp1    
followed by a few over whom he had      
influence1 and with them he joined      
,lyman ,wight in ,texas4 ,the union1    
however1 was of short duration4 ,the    
spirit which led them to rebel against  
,president ,young would not permit them 
to live in peace together4 ,they soon   
quarrelled and separated1 ,miller making
 his way to ,wisconsin where he joined  
,james ,j4 ,strang4 ,he was             
excommunicated from the church for his  
rebellion at the same time as ,lyman    

,wight1 in ,salt ,lake ,city1 #ahdh4 ,of
 the circumstances under which he died  
we have not learned1 we only know that  
he died out of the church of ,christ and
 in obscurity4 ,the rebellion of these  
two prominent men in the church1 and    
their effort to lead away a party       
therefrom1 brought neither honor or fame
 to them nor even wealth--they did not  
prosper4 ,in ,january1 #ahda1 the ,lord 
had said to ,lyman ,wight3      ,it is  
my will that my servant ,lyman ,wight   
should continue in     preaching for    
,zion1 in the spirit of meekness1       
confessing me     before the world1 and 
,i will bear him up as on eagle's wings1
 and     he shall beget glory and honor 
to himself1 and unto my name4 ,that     
when he shall finish his work1 that ,i  
may receive him unto myself1     even as
 ,i did my servant ,david ,patten1 who  
is with me at this     time1 and also my
 servant ,edward ,partridge1 and also my
 aged     servant ,joseph ,smith1 ,sen41
 who sitteth with ,abraham at his right 

hand1 and blessed and holy is he2 for he
 is mine4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and    
,cov4 sec4 cxxiv1 #ah1 #ai4  ,of ,bishop
 ,miller1 the ,lord said3      ,i say   
unto you1 my servant ,george ,miller is 
without guile2 he may     be trusted    
because of the integrity of his heart2  
and for the love     which he has to my 
testimony1 ,i1 the ,lord1 love him6 ,i  
therefore     say unto you1 ,i seal upon
 his head the office of a ,bishopric1   
like     unto my servant ,edward        
,partridge1 that he may receive the     
consecrations of mine house1 that he may
 administer blessings upon     the heads
 of the poor of my people1 saith the    
,lord4 ,let no man     despise my       
servant ,george1 for he shall honor     
me4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov4    
sec4 cxxiv1 #bj1 #ba4  ,what a splendid 
prospect was opened before these men6 to
 what heights they could hope to        
ascend--even to the companionship of    
,god6 ,here was honor1 glory1 exaltation
 held out to them1 within their reach2  

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 world6,a ,and instead of
 living among the saints1 honored as    
,god's servants1 supported by the faith1
 prayer1 love and confidence of the     
church of ,christ1 they lived and       
finally died in wretched obscurity--    
unwept1 unhonored and unsung1 their     
lives and their ending only important as
 illustrating the truth of the prophetic
 words of him who said3  ,footnote ,a3  
,doc4 and ,cov4 sec4 #a1 #h4      ,all  
that want to draw away a party from the 
church after them1     let them do it if
 they can1 but they will not prosper6   
,,iv4   ,but little is heard of ,james  
,j4 ,strang in the church until after   
the death of the prophet ,joseph2 but   
that he was a man of considerable       
intellectual ability there can be no    
question4 ,mr4 ,strang claimed that     
about ten days before his death the     
prophet ,joseph gave to him a letter    

containing a revelation appointing him  
,james ,j4 ,strang to be his successor  
as ,president and ,prophet of the       
church4 ,the letter also appointed ,mr4 
,strang's counselor1 and commanded the  
,twelve ,apostles to proclaim ,voree1   
,wisconsin1 as the gathering place of   
the saints4 ,mr4 ,strang attempted to   
strengthen his claim to the position of 
,president and ,prophet of the church by
 reference to the revelation which says3
      ,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 
that ye have received a     commandment 
for a law unto my ,church1 through him  
whom ,i have     appointed to receive   
commandments and revelations from my    
hand4     ,and this ye shall know       
assuredly that there is none other      
appointed unto you to receive           
commandments and revelations1 until     
he be taken1 if he abide in me4 ,but    
verily1 verily1 ,i say unto     you1    
that none else shall be appointed unto  
this gift except it be     through him1 
for if it be taken from him1 he shall   

not have power     except to appoint    
another in his stead4,a  ,footnote ,a3  
,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 xliii4  ,mr4      
,strang claimed that the appointment he 
received through the letter here        
presented as coming from the prophet    
,joseph1 fulfilled the terms of the     
revelation above quoted2 for he had been
 appointed through the prophet ,joseph4 
,when he presented this letter and      
revelation to some of the saints in     
,michigan1 viz41 to those living in the 
town of ,florence1 ,st4 ,joseph ,county1
 they asked him if the ,twelve that were
 commanded in his revelation to proclaim
 ,voree1 ,wisconsin1 as the gathering   
place for the saints1 were the ,twelve  
,apostles at ,nauvoo4 ,he replied they  
were4 ,did they know anything of this   
revelation8 ,they did not4 ,had he been 
ordained a prophet8 ,he replied no4 ,the
 saints were suspicious of his claims1  
and would not receive him4,a  ,footnote 
,a3 ,see letter of ,crandell ,dunn1 who 
was presiding over the branches of the  

church in ,western ,michigan at the     
time--,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4 ,,viii41 p4   
#ic4  ,this question as to his          
ordination presented a serious          
difficulty to ,mr4 ,strang1 a difficulty
 which he tried to surmount by          
announcing soon afterwards that         
immediately after the martyrdom of the  
prophet ,joseph1 an angel appeared to   
him and ordained him to be a prophet to 
the church1 and the successor to ,joseph
 as the ,president thereof4  ,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 ,christ1 and of a disposition 
to follow any person who promised them  
change and excitement4 ,not many        
followed him from ,nauvoo1 however1 for 
there his influence amounted to little2 
but in the scattered branches1          
especially in those in ,wisconsin1 he   
succeeded in deceiving many4 ,among     
those who accepted and sustained his    

claims were ,william ,smith1 the only   
surviving brother of the prophet        
,joseph2 the notorious ,john ,c4        
,bennett1 who had been excommunicated   
from the church for his crimes1 and     
afterward plotted with the enemies of   
,joseph to bring to pass his            
destruction2 and also ,john ,e4 ,page1  
one of the ,twelve1 who for several     
years previous to ,joseph's death had   
been in bad repute with the church4     
,john ,c4 ,bennett had first supported  
,sidney ,rigdon1 claiming to have       
received a sealed document from the     
prophet ,joseph--when as yet he was in  
full fellowship with the church--with a 
strict charge not to open it until after
 the prophet's death4 ,when he opened   
it1 lo6 it contained what purported to  
be a revelation from the deceased       
prophet appointing ,sidney ,rigdon to be
 his successor4 ,john ,c4 ,bennett      
averred that this was as it should be1  
and so eagerly was this purported       
revelation accepted by the supporters of

 ,mr4 ,rigdon1 that they had it         
published and widely circulated among   
the branches of the church4 ,but when   
,mr4 ,strang came forward with his      
claims1 ,john ,c4 ,bennett turned from  
,sidney ,rigdon and supported ,mr4      
,strang--having forgot1 apparently1 the 
revelation contained in the sealed      
document which appointed ,mr4 ,rigdon   
,president of the church6,a  ,footnote  
,a3 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4 ,,viii1 p4 #id4 
,john ,e4 ,page1 in support of the      
,strang movement1 intercepted a company 
of saints in ,michigan1 en route from   
,canada to ,nauvoo4 ,he represented that
 it was the will of the ,lord that they 
should settle in ,voree1 ,wisconsin1    
,mr4 ,strang's gathering place1 and not 
go to ,nauvoo4 ,this company1 however1  
were prudent enough not to receive his  
representations without investigation4  
,they sent messengers to ,nauvoo who    
received such instructions from the     
,twelve as preserved them from the      
deceitfulness of this apostate ,apostle4

 ,john ,e4 ,page continued to support   
the claims of ,james ,j4 ,strang1 and   
for doing so was excommunicated from the
 church1,a and swelled the number of    
those who have made shipwreck of faith  
through opposing legitimate authority4  
,footnote ,a3 ,john ,e4 ,page was       
disfellowshipped from the quorum of the 
,twelve1 ,february #ith1 #ahdf2 and     
excommunicated from the church ,june    
#bg1 #ahdf4  ,mr4 ,strang in a short    
time changed his gathering place from   
,voree1 ,wisconsin1 to ,beaver ,island1 
in the north end of ,lake ,michigan4 ,he
 organized a township on ,beaver        
,island1 went to the state legislature  
and succeeded in having the whole group 
of islands in north ,lake ,michigan     
organized into a county1 under the name 
of ,manitou ,county1 which for some     
years ,mr4 ,strang represented in the   
,michigan state legislature4  ,mr4      
,strang was not satisfied with being    
,prophet and ,president of the church1  
he must also be a king2 and accordingly 

was crowned and given a scepter,a--,the 
attribute to awe and majesty1 wherein   
doth sit the dread and fear of kings6   
,footnote ,a3 ,the ,saints' ,herald1    
,vol4 ,,xxxv1 p4 #gah4  ,he was crowned 
by ,george ,j4 ,adams1 also an apostate 
from the church4 ,at one time ,mr4      
,adams had been appointed to go on a    
mission to the empire of ,russia1 to    
preach the gospel2 but before he started
 he was found to be in transgression4   
,his appointment was1 of course1        
cancelled2 and subsequently1 as he still
 further transgressed1 he was           
excommunicated from the church1 after   
which he joined ,mr4 ,strang at ,beaver 
,island4  ,it may be well to observe1 in
 passing1 that all these aspirants for  
place and power manifested an insatiable
 desire for the honors and titles of    
men1 a thing which shows them to be as  
vain as they were ambitious1 and        
distinguishes them from true leaders    
7especially those whom ,god calls71 who 
so loose themselves in their work1 that 

self is unthought of1 much less the     
empty honors and titles of men4 ,mr4    
,strang was not only a king in name1 but
 also one in disposition if those who   
represent his conduct speak truly4      
,arbitrary and cruel in his methods of  
government1 he finally provoked much    
dissatisfaction among his followers1 and
 not a few dissensions4  ,the people    
whom he gathered together on ,beaver    
,island soon fell into disrepute with   
their neighbors4 ,they are represented  
as claiming that the earth was the      
,lord's1 and the fullness thereof2 that 
they were the ,lord's saints and heirs  
to that which was the ,lord's1 and hence
 did not hesitate to purloin their      
neighbor's goods4 ,in other words1 they 
were accused by their neighbors with    
being an organized community of thieves1
 who thrived by plundering more honest  
people4 ,it is not our prerogative to   
pronounce upon the truth or falsity of  
these charges4 ,it is enough to say that
 ,mr4 ,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-land2 and in the summer
 of #ahef1 there was a general uprising 
of the people in those parts which      
resulted in the killing of ,mr4         
,strang--some accounts say1 by two men  
of his own party1 and the breaking up of
 his organization4  ,once more we stand 
face to face with the prophetic words of
 ,president ,young3      ,all that want 
to draw away a party from the church    
after them1     let them do it if they  
can1 but they will not prosper6     ,v4 
,we now come to the last organization   
that was brought into existence through 
the agency of men once associated with  
the ,church of ,jesus ,christ of        
,latter-day ,saints--the so-called      
,re-organized ,church of ,jesus ,christ 
of ,latter-day ,saints1 commonly called 
the ,josephite ,church4 ,this           
organization is still in existence1 and 
has for its ,president1 ,joseph ,smith1 

the eldest son of the prophet ,joseph4  
,it is my purpose first to give an      
account of how this organization came   
into existence1 and then consider the   
claims of ,mr4 ,joseph ,smith to be of  
right the ,president of the church      
founded1 under ,god1 by his father4     
,jason ,w4 ,briggs1 one of the founders 
and leaders in the ,josephite movement1 
informs us that in the spring of #ahej1 
,william ,smith1 whose acquaintance the 
reader has already formed1 called a     
conference at ,covington1 ,kentucky3    
,from which time he visited many of the 
branches and scattered     saints1      
teaching lineal ,priesthood as applying 
to the ,presidency     of the ,church4 4
 4 4 ,this principle1 though pretty     
clearly shown     in the books1 had been
 almost entirely overlooked or forgotten
 by     the saints2 but when their      
attention was thus,a called to it1      
many at once received it as the solution
 of the question of     ,presidency4,b  
,footnote ,a3 ,that is1 by the preaching

 of ,william ,smith4  ,footnote ,b3     
,tullidge's supplement to ,josephite    
edition of ,life of ,joseph the         
,prophet1 p4 #egf4  ,william ,smith as  
the reader is already informed1 claimed 
the right as natural guardian of the    
seed of ,joseph the prophet1 to stand as
 ,president pro tem of the church until 
the seed should come forward to take his
 place2 and proceeded to organize a     
church with that understanding4 ,this   
organization as already stated held a   
conference1 in ,october1 #ahea1 at which
 was proclaimed a belief in and practice
 of polygamy4 ,among those who attended 
this conference of ,william ,smith's    
church was ,jason ,w4 ,briggs1 who1     
after returning to his home in          
,wisconsin1 was much perplexed over the 
condition of the church4 ,while         
pondering in his heart the situation1 on
 the #ahth of ,november1 #ahea1 on the  
prairie some three miles from the town  
of ,beloit1 ,wisconsin1 he claims to    
have received a revelation from ,god4   

,in that revelation the ,lord is        
represented as declaring it to be the   
duty of those elders who had been       
ordained by the prophet ,joseph1 or by  
the hand of those ordained by him1 to   
preach the gospel--      ,as revealed in
 the record of the ,jews1 and the ,book 
of ,mormon and     the ,book of         
,doctrine and ,covenants2 and cry       
repentance and     remission of sins    
through obedience to the gospel1 and ,i 
will     sustain them and give them my  
spirit2 and in my own due time will     
,i call upon the seed of ,joseph ,smith1
 and ,i will bring one forth1     and he
 shall be mighty and strong1 and he     
shall preside over the     ,high        
,priesthood of my ,church2 and then     
shall the quorums assemble1     and the 
pure in heart shall gather1 and ,zion   
shall be     re-inhabited1 as ,i said   
unto my servant ,joseph ,smith2 after   
many     days shall all these things be 
accomplished1 saith the spirit4,a       
,footnote ,a3 ,josephite edition of     

,life of ,joseph the ,prophet1 p4 #egh4 
,this revelation ,mr4 ,briggs was       
commanded to send to the churches at    
,palestine1 ,voree1 ,waukesha and other 
places4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,ibid4  ,while 
the messengers of ,mr4 ,briggs are      
carrying his revelation to the scattered
 churches in ,wisconsin1 ,illinois and  
,michigan1 it is necessary to relate    
some incidents said to have occurred in 
another part of ,wisconsin1 in what is  
called the ,yellow ,stone ,branch4,a    
,this branch belonged to that           
organization founded by ,james ,j4      
,strang1 and was presided over by ,zenas
 ,h4 ,gurley1 frequently called ,father 
,gurley4 ,during the year #ahej1        
according to ,mr4 ,gurley's own         
statement1 several strange things came  
to his knowledge which satisfied him    
that  ,footnote ,a3 ,the ,yellow ,stone 
,branch where ,father ,gurley was       
located was in ,la ,fayette ,co41 ,south
 ,western ,wisconsin4 ,beloit where     
,jason ,w4 ,briggs operated was in      

extreme south of the same state4        
,neither ,j4 ,j4 ,strang1 ,brigham      
,young1 ,william ,smith1 nor any that   
had claimed to be prophets1 since       
,joseph's death1 were the     servants  
of ,god4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,life of      
,joseph the ,prophet1 ,josephite        
edition1 p4 #ehj4  ,the doubts born in  
#ahej1 grew stronger in ,mr4 ,gurley's  
mind in #ahea2 and one ,sunday evening1 
in the fall of that year1 while         
reflecting upon the prophecies of       
,isaiah1 respecting the great latter-day
 work--especially of that prophecy which
 speaks of the house of the ,lord in the
 last days being established in the top 
of the mountains1 and all nations       
flowing unto it,a--he thought then of   
,strang's ,beaver ,island operation1 and
 felt ashamed that he had ever thought  
that this would bring to pass the work  
predicted by the ,hebrew prophet4 ,he   
claims then to have heard the voice of  
the spirit say to him3  ,footnote ,a3   
,isaiah ii4 #b-d4      ,rise up1 cast   

off all that claim to be prophets1 and  
go forth and     preach the gospel and  
say that ,god will raise up a prophet to
     complete his work4  ,a few weeks   
afterwards this commandment and prophecy
 was repeated1 and he began looking     
about for a starting point4 ,meantime   
one ,david ,powell arrived at ,yellow   
,stone with ,mr4 ,briggs's revelation1  
which predicted the coming forth of one 
from the seed of ,joseph the prophet1 to
 lead the church4 ,mr4 ,gurley1 however1
 could not wholly accept the revelation 
of ,mr4 ,briggs4 ,it had been revealed  
to him that ,god would raise up a       
prophet1 but who it would be had not    
been made known to him4 ,about ten or   
fifteen days after the arrival of ,mr4  
,briggs's messenger1 word was brought to
 ,mr4 ,gurley that his little daughter  
was singing and speaking in tongues at a
 neighbor's house4 ,mr4 ,gurley hurried 
to the house and after listening to the 
child a short time1 he requested all    
present to join with him in asking the  

,lord to tell them who the successor of 
,joseph was4 ,they spent a few moments  
in prayer when the ,holy ,spirit        
declared3,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,through whom
 is not stated4      ,the successor of  
,joseph ,smith is ,joseph ,smith1 the   
son of ,joseph     ,smith the prophet4  
,it is his right by lineage1 saith the  
,lord your     ,god4  ,shortly after    
this manifestation of the gift of       
tongues and the proclamation of the     
above reputed revelation1 the ,yellow   
,stone branch was convened and ,james   
,j4 ,strang formally renounced as a     
prophet1 seer and revelator to the      
church1 and the allegiance of the branch
 pledged to the seed of ,joseph ,smith  
the prophet4 ,the above revelation made 
it possible for ,mr4 ,gurley to unite   
with ,mr4 ,briggs1 and word was         
accordingly sent to the latter1 that    
evidence of the truth of his revelation 
had been received1 and proposed the     
holding of a conference in ,june1 #aheb4
 ,after some correspondence it was      

finally settled that the conference be  
held in the town of ,beloit1 ,wisconsin4
  ,this conference by resolution first  
disclaimed all connection and fellowship
 with those men who had presumed to lead
 the church1 charging them with having  
assumed powers contrary to the law of   
,god4 ,secondly the conference          
,resolved1 ,that the successor of       
,joseph ,smith1 junior1 as the          
presiding ,high ,priest in the          
,melchisedek ,priesthood1 must of       
necessity be of the seed of ,joseph     
,smith1 junior1 in fulfillment     of   
the law and promises of ,god4  ,the     
other resolutions of importance adopted 
by the conference declared that the     
office of ,president of the church grew 
out of the authority of the presiding   
high priest in the high priesthood2 that
 they recognize the validity of all     
legal ordinations in the church2 that   
the whole law of the church is contained
 in the ,bible1 ,book of ,mormon1       
,doctrine and ,covenants2 that there was

 no stake of ,zion to which the saints  
are commanded at present to gather2 and 
that it was the duty of the elders to   
cry repentance and remission of sins to 
this generation4 ,a committee was       
appointed to write a pamphlet based on  
these resolutions entitled ,a ,word of  
,consolation to the ,scattered ,saints4 
,it was about this time1 viz1 during the
 summer of #aheb1 that the stake of     
,zion in ,lee county1 ,illinois1 founded
 by ,william ,smith's church1 went to   
pieces and a number of the members      
thereof joined this ,josephite movement 
set on foot by ,messrs4 ,briggs and     
,gurley4  ,the next conference of the   
,josephite church was held in ,october1 
#aheb1 at the ,yellow ,stone branch1 and
 then more especially was considered the
 question of authority to preside in the
 church that was forming1 pending the   
coming forth of young ,joseph to be its 
president4 ,the pamphlet which the ,june
 conference had ordered written1        
announced that the highest authority    

presides always1 and the deliberations  
of the conference resulted in the       
following3      ,resolved1 ,that in the 
opinion of this conference1 the one     
holding     the highest priesthood in   
the church is to preside1 and represent 
the rightfull heir to the presidency of 
the high priesthood in a     presiding  
capacity4  ,these men1 however1 found   
great difficulty in determining who held
 the highest authority as many          
unwarrantable ordinations had taken     
place in the various factions4          
,after earnest discussion it was        
determined that all ordinations     not 
within the limits of the law should be  
ignored1 and all within     the limit   
recognized4 ,this excluded all above an 
high priest1 who     being the highest  
recognized1 was sustained as the        
presiding     authority4,a  ,footnote   
,a3 ,life of ,joseph the ,prophet1      
,josephite edition1 p4 #eib4  ,i have   
been unable to learn1 however1 that any 
one of the high priests was selected to 

preside over the ,josephite church at   
this juncture1 and one is left to infer 
that the whole body of so-called high   
priests were to preside4 ,during the    
winter of #ahec1 the spirit intimated to
 ,mr4 ,gurley1 that they must organize2 
but this they knew not how to do1       
further than they had done4,a ,they were
 even unable to decide on the validity  
of the ordinations of the men who had   
attended the ,october conference4,b     
,footnote ,a3 ,ibid1 p4 #eid4  ,footnote
 ,b3 ,life of ,joseph the ,prophet1     
,josephite edition1 p4 #eid4  ,in the   
month of ,march1 #ahec1 the subject of  
organization being still agitated1 the  
question was put to the ,lord3 ,were    
those ordained apostles by ,william     
,smith recognized by ,god8 ,the answer  
was that those ordinations were not     
acceptable--were not of ,god4,a ,near   
the close of this revelation the men    
engaged in this movement were commanded 
to organize themselves3  ,footnote ,a3  
,ibid1 #eie4      ',for ere long1' saith

 the ,lord1 ',i will require the prophet
 at     your hand4'  ,but how to        
organize they did not know4 ,they claim 
to have had two high priests and one    
senior president of the seventies among 
them4 ,but how could these men organize 
the church8 asks ,mr4 ,gurley3      ,it 
was impossible1 utterly impossible4 ,we 
counseled upon it1 and     concluded    
that possibly1 under the present        
circumstances1 it might     be right for
 high priests1 and for the senior       
,president of     seventies to ordain   
seventies2 but when done what would it  
accomplish8 ,nothing1 just nothing4 ,we 
were in trouble--deep     trouble6 ,to  
refuse to organize was disobedience2 to 
go forward in     the attempt was       
darkness4 ,there was but one            
alternative1 and that     was to seek   
wisdom from above4,a  ,footnote ,a3     
,life of ,joseph the ,prophet1          
,josephite edition1 p4 #eie4  ,the      
result of inquiring of the ,lord1       
according to the statement of ,mr4      

,gurley1 was that a commandment was     
given appointing a day of fasting and   
prayer1 and the ,lord promised to show  
them how to organize4 ,when the meeting 
assembled the following question was put
 to the ,lord3      ,will the ,lord     
please to tell us how to organize4 4 4 4
 4 ,and who     among us will he        
acknowledge as the representative of the
 legal     heir to the ,presidency of   
the ,church4  ,to this inquiry it is    
claimed that an answer was obtained     
through a revelation to one ,h4 ,h4     
,deam1 a high priest1 which reads as    
follows3      ,verily thus saith the    
,lord1 as ,i said unto my servant       
,moses1--see     thou do all things     
according to the pattern1--so ,i say    
unto you4     ,behold the pattern is    
before you4 ,it is my will that you     
respect     authority in my ,church2    
therefore let the greatest among you    
preside at your conference4 ,let three  
men be appointed by the     conference  
to select seven men from among you1 who 

shall compose     the majority of the   
,twelve1 for it is my will that that    
quorum     should not be filled up at   
present4 ,let the ,president of the     
conference1 assisted by two others1     
ordain them4 ,the senior of     them    
shall stand as the representative4 ,let 
them select twelve men     from among   
you1 and ordain them to compose the high
 council4     ,behold ye understand the 
order of the bishopric1 the seventies1  
the elders1 the priests1 the teachers1  
and deacons4 ,therefore     organize    
according to the pattern2 behold ,i will
 be with you unto     the end4,a        
,footnote ,a3 ,life of ,joseph1 the     
,prophet1 ,josephite edition1 p4 #eif-g4
  ,this alleged revelation was given on 
the #bjth of ,march1 #ahec1 and at the  
,april conference following an          
organization was effected on the above  
indicated plan4 ,after a long           
discussion1 about whose priesthood was  
the highest--in the course of which a   
great deal of ill-feeling was           

manifested--finally the controversy     
ended in favor of ,mr4 ,briggs1 and he  
was called to preside at the conference4
 ,ethan ,griffith1 ,william ,cline and  
,cyrus ,newkirk were appointed the      
committee to select the seven apostles  
to form the majority of the quorum of   
the ,twelve4 ,the men selected were     
,zenas ,h4 ,father ,gurley1 ,henry ,h4  
,deam1 ,jason ,w4 ,briggs1 ,daniel ,b4  
,razy1 ,john ,cunningham1 ,george ,white
 and ,reuben ,newkirk4 ,it was voted    
that a stake of ,zion be organized in   
the town of ,argyle1 ,lafayette ,co41   
,wisconsin1 of which ,william ,cline1   
,cyrus ,newkirk and ,isaac ,butterfield 
were chosen and ordained the presidency4
 ,a number of seventies were also       
ordained4 ,at the close of the          
conference a revelation was received    
informing the conference that what had  
been done was recorded in heaven1 and to
 the seven apostles it was said3      ,i
 give unto you the care of my flock on  
earth2 take the oversight     of them1  

as you shall give an account unto me in 
the day of     judgment4,a  ,footnote   
,a3 ,life of ,joseph the ,prophet1      
,josephite edition1 p4 #fja4  ,the      
period between the time of this         
organization effected in ,april1 #ahec1 
and the time when ,joseph ,smith1 son of
 the prophet became its president1      
,april1 #ahfj1 is called by the         
,josephite historian ,tullidge1 an      
apostolic interval4 ,during that        
interval the ,josephite church seemed   
not to make much progress4 ,joseph      
,smith was several times solicited to   
take the ,presidency of it1 but he      
seemed not at all anxious for the place4
  ,in #ahef1 the reorganized church sent
 to the predicted head of it1 the word  
of the ,lord1 urging him to come and    
take his place4 ,the document was signed
 by ,j4 ,w4 ,briggs1 representative     
president of the church and the         
priesthood in ,zarahemla4 ,messrs4      
,briggs and ,gurley were appointed a    
committee to present this message to    

,mr4 ,smith1 which they did at his home 
near ,nauvoo4 ,according to ,mr4        
,smith's own amount of this visit1 these
 messengers did not meet with a very    
cordial reception2 and when ,mr4 ,briggs
 vehemently urged the matter upon him1  
and announced the culmination of the    
message in tones of thunder1 and almost 
dictatorially urged him to accept the   
message and do as directed therein1 or  
reject it at his peril1 he says he met  
this vehemence indignantly1 and almost  
turned these messengers out of doors4,a 
,footnote ,a3 ,life of ,joseph the      
,prophet1 ,josephite edition1 p4 #gfg4  
,the effort on the part of ,messrs4     
,briggs and ,gurley to induce ,mr4      
,smith to become their president ended  
on this occasion in disappointment1     
though before leaving ,nauvoo the whole 
situation was talked over in the        
presence of ,mrs4 ,emma ,smith1 mother  
of ,joseph4  ,it is to be remarked as   
passing strange that neither on this    
occasion1 nor on any other that         

,josephite history speaks of1 was it    
urged upon ,joseph ,smith that he had   
already been formally anointed by his   
father to be the ,president of the      
church4  ,early in ,february1 #ahfj1 a  
call was issued1 signed by ,z4 ,h4      
,gurley and ,reuben ,newkirk1 calling   
for a general conference to assemble at 
,amboy1 ,illinois1 the following ,april4
 ,all the branches of the church in     
,wisconsin1 ,illinois and ,michigan were
 urged to send representatives1 as it   
was desirable to choose a high council  
and organize and set in order all the   
quorums under the ,first ,presidency2   
and an intimation was made that much    
more than was anticipated might be      
realized--was it an intimation that     
,joseph ,smith would come and accept the
 ,presidency of their church8  ,meantime
 ,joseph ,smith who1 according to his   
own autobiography1 had failed as        
storekeeper1 railroad contractor1 in the
 study of law1 in farming1 and while    
keeping soul and body together by labor 

and from his fees as justice of the     
peace1 was confronted with the question 
of his connection with his father's     
work2 and in the winter of #ahei1       
resolved to put himself in communication
 with the reorganized church4,a         
,footnote ,a3 ,for the above acts see   
his autobiography in the ,life of       
,joseph1 ,josephite ed41 pp4 #gdc-ggc4  
,he accordingly wrote to ,mr4 ,william  
,marks1 informing him that he was soon  
going to take his father's place at the 
head of the ,mormon church1 and         
requested him and others that he        
considered nearest him1 to come to      
,nauvoo and confer with him4,a ,mr4     
,smith states as his reason for sending 
for ,mr4 ,marks that he was president of
 the stake of ,zion at ,nauvoo at the   
death of ,joseph1 the prophet2 that he  
had retained his faith in ,mormonism as 
taught by ,joseph and ,hyrum2 and hence 
his council would be valuable4 ,mr4     
,smith also announced his intention to  
his mother and step-father2 the former  

approved his course1 the latter took a  
speculative view of it and built fond   
schemes for obtaining wealth through the
 position to be taken by his step-son4  
,footnote ,a3 ,william ,marks1 according
 to the statement of ,joseph ,smith in  
his autobiography1 came in company with 
,james ,j4 ,strang to ,fulton ,city1    
where ,emma ,smith and her son ,joseph  
lived during the winter of #ahde-f1 and 
had a brief interview with ,joseph and  
his mother1 promising to meet them      
again4 ,messrs4 ,marks and ,strang held 
meetings in the neighborhood1 but ,mr4  
,smith says he did not see them again4  
,it was claimed by ,mr4 ,strang that he 
on this occasion ordained young ,joseph 
to the same priesthood that his uncle   
,hyrum held1 and it seems that he       
afterwards so reported to some of his   
followers4 ,as late as ,june1 #ahia1 ,mr
 ,l4 ,d4 ,hickey1 a ,strangite1 wrote a 
tract entitled1 ,who was the ,successor 
of ,joseph ,smith8 in which the         
following occurs3 ,nov4 #f #ahdf1 ,james

 ,j4 ,strang was commanded to go and    
anoint and ordain ,joseph ,smith1 the   
son of the martyr1 to the same          
priesthood his uncle ,hyrum held4 ,we   
have all the proof we want that ,james  
did obey ,god2 and that left the son of 
,joseph as one of the ,presidents of the
 church1 and the ,book of ,rules says in
 case of the death of either of the     
,first ,presidents1 the other shall     
preside until the vacancy is filled4    
,this was the situation of the church at
 the dead of ,james ,j4 ,strang4 ,so    
that by virtue of the ordination ,joseph
 obtained under the hands of ,james and 
no other ordination1 we the ,strangites 
hold him the legal ,president of the    
,church from the death of ,james to this
 day4--7page #e47 ,joseph ,smith denies 
any such ordination having taken place  
unless it was done when he was          
unconscious and unknown to ,william     
,marks4--,see ,life of ,joseph the      
,prophet1 ,josephite edition1 p4 #ged4  
,soon after this1 ,mr4 ,marks1 one      

,israel ,l4 ,rogers and ,william ,w4    
,blair1 all interested in the           
,reorganized church movement1 visited   
,mr4 ,smith at his mother's home in     
,nauvoo1 and held an interview with     
them4 ,it was finally decided that ,mr4 
,smith and his mother should attend the 
ensuing ,april conference1 called to    
assemble at ,amboy1 ,lee county1        
,illinois1 and the matter was to be laid
 before the church and a decision       
arrived at3      ,for1 said ,elder      
,marks2 we have had enough of man-made  
prophets1     and we don't want any more
 of that sort4 ,if ,god has called you1 
we     want to know it4 ,if he has1 the 
,church is ready to sustain you2 if     
not1 we want nothing to do with you4,a  
,footnote ,a3 ,life of ,joseph the      
,prophet1 ,josephite edition p4 #gfg4   
,messrs4 ,marks1 ,rogers and ,blair1 in 
#ahfj1 seem not to have been so urgent  
as ,messrs4 ,briggs and ,gurley had been
 in #ahef2 the latter had commanded him 
to take the ,presidency of the church1  

or refuse to do so at his peril2 the    
former merely agreed to see about it1 by
 presenting the matter to the church4   
,indeed for men who professed to have   
evidence that ,mr4 ,smith had been      
called1 blessed and anointed by ,joseph 
the prophet to be the ,president of the 
church1 and to possess the right to that
 position by virtue of lineage1 the     
reply of ,mr4 ,marks to ,mr4 ,smith's   
proposition to take the ,presidency of  
the ,reorganized church seems           
unaccountably cold1 and too much        
burdened with doubt and independence    
when addressing the only man who1 on the
 theory of the ,reorganized church1     
could possibly succeed to the           
,presidency4 ,mr4 ,smith affects to have
 been made indignant at the urgency of  
,messrs4 ,briggs and ,gurley1 in #ahef2 
the coldness and independence of        
,messrs4 ,marks1 ,rogers and ,blair must
 have been a still greater source of    
annoyance4  ,mr4 ,smith went to the     
conference at ,amboy1 and in the        

afternoon of the #fth of ,april1 #ahfj1 
made a speech1 at the conclusion of     
which it was moved that he be received  
as a prophet1--the successor of his     
father4 ,the motion was carried by a    
unanimous vote1 after which ,mr4 ,gurley
 who1 assisted by ,mr4 ,william ,marks1 
presided at the conference1 arose and   
said3      ,brother ,joseph1 ,i present 
this ,church to you in the name of      
,jesus     ,christ6  ,and of course ,mr4
 ,smith accepted it4  ,the speech made  
by ,mr4 ,smith at the above mentioned   
conference is remarkable only for its   
tameness2 but ,i quote a few sentences  
that may be of special interest2 first  
as showing that he claimed to be called 
to his position by a power not his      
own3--      ,i came not here of myself1 
but by the influence of the spirit4 ,for
     some time past ,i have received    
manifestations pointing to the          
position ,i am about to assume4 ,i wish 
to say that ,i have come here     not to
 be dictated by any men or set of men4  

,i have come in     obedience to a power
 not my own1 and shall be dictated by   
the     power which sent me4      4 4 4 
,some1 who ought to know the proprieties
 of the church1 have     told me that no
 certain form was necessary in order for
 me to     assume the leadership1 that  
the position came by right of lineage1  
yet ,i know that if ,i attempted to lead
 as a prophet by these                  
considerations1 and not by a call from  
heaven1 men would not be     lead to    
believe who do not believe now4 ,and so 
,i have come not of     my own dictation
 to this sacred office4  ,as to         
revelations he said3      ,i have my    
peculiar notions in regard to           
revelations1 but am happy     to say    
that they accord with those ,i am to    
associate with1 at     least with those 
of them with whom ,i have conversed4 ,i 
am not very     conversant with those   
books 7pointing to a volume before him71
 not     so conversant as ,i should be  
and will be4  ,that his notions in      

regard to revelations were indeed       
peculiar1 one only has to read the      
following to be convinced3      ,i      
pledge myself to promulgate no doctrine 
that shall not be     approved by you1  
or the code of good morals4  ,how       
different this from the reply of one of 
the ancient prophets1 when some sought  
to have him give out no prophecy or     
revelation but what should be approved  
by them3      ,and ,micaiah said1 as the
 ,lord liveth what the ,lord saith unto 
me1     that will ,i speak6,a  ,footnote
 ,a3 ,i ,kings xxii1 #g-ad  ,how        
different1 too1 from the spirit of      
,brigham ,young who shortly after being 
chosen ,president of the church wrote3  
,as the ,lord's will is my will all the 
time--as ,he dictates so will     ,i    
perform4 ,if ,he don't guide the ship1  
we'll go down in the     whirlpool4,a   
,footnote ,a3 ,letter to ,orson         
,spencer1 ,jan4 #bcrd4 #ahdh1 ,mill4    
,star1 ,vol4 ,x1 p4 #aae4  ,what a      
contrast also between his               

,i-pledge-myself-to-promulgate-no-      
doctrine-that-shall-not-be-approved-by-y
ou position of the son of the great     
prophet1 and the position in which the  
,almighty ,god of heaven placed his     
father4 ,the prophet ,joseph's position 
may be learned from the following       
revelation given the very day the church
 was organized3      ,behold there shall
 be a record kept among you1 and in it  
thou     shalt be called a seer1 a      
translator1 a prophet1 an apostle of    
,jesus ,christ1 an elder of the church1 
through the will of ,god the     ,father
 and the grace of your ,lord ,jesus     
,christ4 4 4 4 ,wherefore1     meaning  
the church1 thou shalt give heed unto   
all his words and     commandments which
 he shall give unto you as he receiveth 
them1     walking in all holiness before
 me4 ,for his words ye shall            
receive1 as if from mine own mouth1 in  
all patience and faith2     for by doing
 these things the gates of hell shall   
not prevail     against you2 yea1 and   

the ,lord ,god will disperse the powers 
of     darkness from before you1 and    
cause the heavens to shake for your     
good and his name's glory4,a  ,footnote 
,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 xxi4  ,as the 
heavens are higher than the earth1 so is
 this position given to the prophet     
,joseph by the ,lord higher than that   
assumed by his son1 who claims to be his
 successor1 and yet stands pledged to   
promulgate no doctrine that shall not be
 approved by his associates6 ,what      
manner of prophet is this8  ,following  
,mr4 ,smith's acceptance of the church  
at the hands of ,mr4 ,gurley1 he was    
ordained to the office of ,president of 
the high priesthood and ,president of   
the church by ,william ,marks1 ,zenas   
,h4 ,gurley1 ,samuel ,powers and ,w4 ,w4
 ,blair4 ,mr4 ,marks was president of   
the ,nauvoo stake of ,zion at the death 
of the prophet1 and the other three     
gentlemen were apostles in the          
,reorganized church4,a  ,footnote ,a3   
,the ,successor1 7,josephite pamphlet17 

pp4 #aj1 ,,ii1 also ,the ,saint's       
,herald1 ,vol ,,xxxix1 ,no4 #bd4 p4     
#cge4  ,we have now followed the history
 of the ,reorganized church as far as it
 is necessary4 ,it only remains to      
remark that it is a stream formed by the
 confluence of two other streams2 one of
 which1 represented by ,mr4 ,gurley and 
his following1 flows from ,strangism2   
and the other1 represented by ,mr4      
,briggs and his following1 flows from   
the church organized by ,william ,smith4
 ,we leave it for ,josephites to inform 
us on what principle of philosophy two  
corrupt1 apostate streams by uniting1   
make a pure one6     ,,vi4   ,let us now
 consider the claims of ,mr4 ,joseph    
,smith to be of right the ,president of 
the ,church of ,jesus ,christ of        
,latter-day ,saints4 ,his claims1 or    
those made in his behalf by his friends 
and followers1 are based upon the       
following assumptions3--  ,first1 that  
he was called to that position when a   
boy1 through his father1 7#a7 by        

prophecy and blessing in ,liberty jail1 
,missouri1 where his father was confined
 in the winter of #ahch-i 7#b7 by       
revelation in #ahda2 and 7#c7 by a      
formal anointing in a council of the    
priesthood at ,nauvoo1 in #ahdd3--      
,second1 that the position in his by    
lineage--it is his birthright3--        
,third1 that he was called to the       
position by revelation to himself2 and1 
,fourth1 he was ordained to it by those 
holding legal authority4,a  ,footnote   
,a3 ,see ,the ,saint's ,herald1 ,vol4   
,,xxxix1 p4 #ccg2 and also ,the         
,successor1 a ,josephite pamphlet1 pp4  
#h1 #i1 #aj1 #aa4  ,it is my purpose to 
consider these claims in their order1   
one by one1 and show the                
untrustworthiness of the evidence upon  
which they are based1 the weakness of   
the argument by which they are          
sustained1 and finally how these claims 
contradict both the facts of history and
 the order that exists in the holy      
priesthood4 ,i take up the first        

assumption in its several parts3  ,he   
was called to that position i4 e41 to be
 ,president of the church1 through his  
father1 by prophecy and blessing in     
,liberty jail4  ,this claim is based    
solely upon the testimony of ,lyman     
,wight4 ,they quote him as follows3     
,in the private journal of ,lyman       
,wight1 4 4 4 4 this is found3          
,sunday1 ,december #hth1 #ahej1 bore    
testimony that ,joseph ,smith           
appointed those of his own posterity to 
be his successor4      ,and in a letter 
he wrote in ,july1 #ahee1 from ,medina  
river1 ,texas1     to the ,northern     
,islander1 a ,strangite paper1 ,brother 
,wight said3     ,now ,mr4 ,editor1 if  
you had been present when ,joseph called
 on me     shortly after we came out of 
jail1,a ,liberty jail1 ,missouri4       
--,ed4 to lay hands with him on the head
 of a youth1 and heard him     cry      
aloud1 you are my successor when ,i     
depart4 and heard the     blessings     
poured on his head1--,i say had you     

heard all this1 and     seen the tears  
streaming from his eyes--you would not  
have been     led into following ,strang
 by blind fanaticism1 or a zeal without 
knowledge4,b  ,footnote ,a3 ,the italics
 are mine1 note them4 ,r4  ,footnote ,b3
 ,the ,saint's ,herald1 ,vol4 ,,xxxix1  
,no4 #bb1 p4 #cch-i4  ,of this testimony
 it is to be said1 first on the entry in
 ,mr4 ,wight's journal1 that it is too  
general in its character to be of much  
service in supporting the claims of     
young ,joseph4 ,we are not certain that 
he refers to him at all4 ,then if ,lyman
 ,wight knew in #ahej that ,joseph the  
prophet had blessed his son ,joseph to  
be his successor1 as prophet and        
president of the church1 ,mr4 ,wight    
knew it in #ahdd2 and is it not strange 
that he did not speak of it and advocate
 it when the question of a successor was
 warmly discussed in ,nauvoo1 during the
 autumn of #ahdd8 ,why is it that we    
have nothing from him on the subject    
earlier than #ahej8 ,and this silence on

 the part of ,mr4 ,wight is the more    
significant when it is remembered that  
he was a bold1 fearless man4 ,it cannot 
be said in truth1 that ,brigham ,young's
 influence was so masterly as to awe him
 into silence4 ,as a matter of fact he  
violently opposed ,brigham ,young in    
some of his measures1 and at last       
rebelled against him2 but nothing is    
said by him until #ahej1 about the      
appointment of any of the prophet's     
posterity to succeed to the presidency  
of the church4  ,the letter quoted from 
the ,northern ,islander1 might be of    
some force if its statements were not   
contradicted as to time and place and   
circumstance by another statement1 also 
made in a ,josephite publication4 ,let  
it be observed that according to the    
testimony of ,mr ,wight1 in the         
,northern ,islander1 the blessing and   
prophecy under consideration was given  
at a time that the prophet called on    
,mr4 ,wight1 shortly after they came out
 of ,liberty jail4 ,with that in mind   

read the following in ,the              
,successor3--,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,a       
,josephite tract sustaining the claims  
of young ,joseph1 p4 #c4      ,lyman    
,wight1 one of the ,twelve1 always      
taught the saints whom he     led into  
,texas1 that none but little ,joseph    
could lead the     church1 as successor 
to the martyr4 ,he said he knew it1 for 
in     #ahci1 when ,hyrum1 ,joseph1 and 
himself were in prison1 in ,liberty     
jail1 ,missouri1 little ,joseph was     
brought by his mother and     left with 
his father in the jail1 while she was   
attending to     business affairs in the
 town--and that then and there,a        
,joseph1     with ,hyrum and himself1   
laid their hands upon the lad's head1   
and     ,joseph proceeded to bless him1 
and prophesied that he would yet        
lead the church of the living ,god2 and 
he blessed him to that end4     ,such   
was the testimony of ,lyman ,wight up to
 #aheh1 the year in     which he died4  
,footnote ,a3 ,the italics are mine4 ,r4

  ,this statement makes the blessing and
 prophecy to have been pronounced upon  
the head of young ,joseph1 in ,liberty  
jail2 whereas the statement made by ,mr4
 ,wight in the ,northern ,islander1     
places it shortly after they came out of
 ,liberty jail4 ,and be it further      
remarked1 that if it took place after   
they came out of prison1 then it must   
have taken place in ,illinois and not in
 ,missouri at all4 ,for the family of   
the prophet started from ,far ,west on  
the #gth of ,february1 #ahci1 in charge 
of ,stephen ,markham1 and after many    
hardships arrived on the banks of the   
,mississippi1 opposite the town of      
,quincy1 ,illinois1 on the #aeth of the 
same month4,a ,joseph ,smith and his    
fellow prisoners were taken from        
,liberty jail to ,gallatin1 for trial1  
in ,april4 ,they applied for and        
obtained a change of venue from ,daviess
 to ,boone county1 and while en route   
escaped from their guards4 ,after making
 their escape the prophet says3         

,footnote ,a3 ,history of ,joseph       
,smith1 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4 ,,xvi41 p4  
#gdb4      ,we continued our journey1   
both by night and by day2 and after     
suffering much fatigue and hunger1 ,i   
arrived in ,quincy1 ,illinois           
7,monday1 ,april #bbnd7 amidst the      
congratulations of my friends and       
the embraces of my family1 whom ,i found
 as well as could be     expected1      
considering what they had been called on
 to endure4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,hist4     
,joseph ,smith1 ,mill4 ,star ,vol4      
,,xvii1 p4#adh4  ,hence if the prophecy 
and blessing on the head of young       
,joseph took place after ,mr4 ,wight and
 the prophet ,joseph got out of prison1 
it must have taken place in ,illinois   
and not in ,liberty jail1 ,missouri1 as 
related in the second statement with    
such detail of circumstance4 ,this      
contradiction in the testimony of ,mr4  
,wight1 taken in connection with the    
fact that at the time of making it1 viz1
 in #ahee1 he had lost his honor1 was an

 apostate1 neither being true to the    
church of ,christ led by his fellow     
apostles nor true to the son of the     
prophet whom he claimed to know had been
 set apart to succeed to the ,presidency
 of the church--these considerations1 ,i
 say1 render the testimony of ,lyman    
,wight worthless4  ,furthermore1 ,caleb 
,baldwin and ,alexander ,mc,rae were    
fellow-prisoners of ,joseph and ,hyrum  
,smith as well as ,lyman ,wight4 ,they  
all occupied the same prison-cell--how  
is it1 if the ordination of young       
,joseph to succeed his father took place
 in ,liberty ,jail1 that these men knew 
nothing of it2 for that they knew       
nothing of it is evident from their     
silence4 ,surely such a thing could not 
occur in ,liberty jail without their    
knowing it4 ,and had it occurred it is a
 matter that would have been well       
remembered and frequently spoken of as  
one of the notable incidents of their   
,liberty-prison life4 ,but not one word 
have either ,caleb ,baldwin or          

,alexander ,mc,rae left on record that  
such a notable thing ever took place2   
neither has ,lyman ,wight in any way    
that carries even so much as a poor     
shadow of conviction with it4  7#b7 ,mr4
 ,smith further claims that he was      
called to be ,president of the church   
through his father by revelation in     
#ahda4  ,the revelation referred to was 
given the #aith of ,january1 #ahda4 ,the
 passage in it supposed to sustain the  
claim of appointment of young ,joseph to
 be the ,president of the church is the 
following3      ,and now ,i say unto    
you1 as pertaining to my boarding house 
which ,i     have commanded you to build
 for the boarding of strangers1 let it  
be built unto my name1 and let my name  
be named upon it1 and let     my servant
 ,joseph1 and his house have place      
therein1 from     generation to         
generation2 for this anointing have ,i  
put upon his     head1 that his blessing
 shall also be put upon the head of his 
posterity after him1 and as ,i said unto

 ,abraham concerning the     kindreds of
 the earth1 even so ,i say unto my      
servant ,joseph1 in     thee and in thy 
seed shall the kindred of the earth be  
blessed4     ,therefore let my servant  
,joseph and his seed after him have     
place     in that house1 from generation
 to generation1 for ever and for        
ever1 saith the ,lord4,a  ,footnote ,a3 
,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 xxiv1 #ef-ei4     
,this is not difficult to comprehend as 
it stands thus in the ,doctrine and     
,covenants unmarred4 ,it is simply this3
 a commandment was given to build the   
,nauvoo ,house1 a tavern1 for the       
boarding and lodging of strangers4      
,joseph ,smith and his family were also 
to have a home therein2 for he was      
commanded to put stock in the house1 and
 as a matter of fact did put            
considerable stock into it2 and his     
family after him1 from generation to    
generation1 was to have that inheritance
 in the house4 ,it was to be theirs     
because the prophet ,joseph had         

purchased the stock which secured to    
him1 and his posterity after him1 the   
right of a home within it4 ,the passage 
does not in any manner refer to         
succession in the ,presidency of the    
church4 ,what it does refer to is       
clearly seen in the commencement of the 
paragraph--,and now ,i say unto you1 as 
pertaining to my boarding house1 which  
,i have commanded you to build for the  
boarding of strangers1 etc4 ,that is the
 subject of the passage1 not the        
priesthood1 nor the succession of the   
prophet ,joseph's son to his father's   
position as ,president of the church4   
,how absurd the argument that because a 
man's posterity are to inherit his stock
 in a hotel1 or succeed to the right of 
living in it as a return for having paid
 a large sum towards the construction of
 it1 that therefore we must conclude    
that it means1 too1 that a man's        
posterity or at least the head of       
it--the eldest son--must also inherit   
the father's priesthood and calling as  

,president of the church6 ,yet this is  
the construction ,josephites put upon   
this passage4 ,to do it1 however1 they  
are under the necessity of reading into 
the revelation something which the ,lord
 never put there4 ,in evidence of which1
 and also as an illustration of         
,josephite methods1 ,i reproduce the    
passage as they print it in their       
controversial writings1 with this       
exception that ,i write the lines which 
they insert in brackets in italics also1
 that they may the more readily be      
observed3      ,and now ,i say unto you 
as pertaining to my boarding house which
 ,i     have commanded you to build for 
the boarding of strangers1 let it     be
 built unto my name1 and let my name be 
named upon it1 and let     my servant   
,joseph ,smith and his house have place 
therein from     generation to          
generation2 for this anointing          
appointment and     consecration to be  
prophet and president of the church have
 ,i     put upon his head1 that his     

blessings to these offices and          
callings shall also be put upon the head
 of his posterity after     him1 and as 
,i said unto ,abraham1 concerning the   
kindreds of the     earth1 even so ,i   
say unto my servant ,joseph1 in thee and
 in thy     seed shall the kindred of   
the earth be blessed4 ,therefore for    
that reason let my servant ,joseph and  
his seed after him1 have     place in   
that house from generation to           
generation1 forever and     forever     
saith the ,lord4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,the  
,saints' ,herald1 ,vol4 ,,xxxix1 ,no4   
#bb1 p4 #cch4  ,of this it is only      
necessary to say that a cause which     
requires such a wresting of the word of 
,god to wring a promise out of it that  
the eldest son of the prophet would     
succeed to the office of the ,president 
of the church after the death of his    
father--a cause which requires such a   
reading as is here thrust into the      
revelation in brackets1 is desperate    
indeed6  7#c7 ,mr4 ,smith claims that he

 was called through his father to be    
,president of the church by a formal    
anointing in a council at ,nauvoo1 in   
#ahdd4  ,in support of this claim       
,josephites quote only the testimony of 
,mr4 ,james ,whitehead1 who resides at  
,lamoni1 ,iowa1 and who is said to have 
been one of the secretaries of ,joseph  
the prophet4 ,it is said of him rather  
than by him1 that for the past twenty   
and more years he has      ,testified   
publicly that he personally knew that   
,joseph the seer1     in the presence of
 a number of the ministry1 in ,nauvoo1  
anointed     and set apart his son      
,joseph to be his successor in the      
prophetic     office and ,presidency of 
the church1 and that soon after the seer
     announced publicly from the stand1 
on a ,sunday1 that his son     ,joseph  
would be his successor4,a  ,footnote ,a3
 ,the ,saints' ,herald1 ,vol4 ,,xxxix1  
,no4 #bb1 p4 #cci4  ,in ,the ,successor1
 already several times quoted1 it is    
said that ,mr4 ,whitehead testifies that

 ,bishop ,newel ,k4 ,whitney was present
 and held the horn of oil on the        
occasion of this anointing4 ,he asserts 
that ,george ,j4 ,adams was also        
present2 and ,emma1 wife of the prophet1
 is represented as having said3--       
,she well remembers the time1 and1      
though not present1 she heard     her   
husband say that young ,joseph was set  
apart to be his     successor4 ,she also
 says that after young ,joseph was      
anointed and     set apart1 ,george ,j4 
,adams came down to her room greatly    
elated     with what had transpired1    
saying that they now knew who would be  
the successor of ,joseph2 that it was   
young ,joseph1 for his father     had   
just set him apart to that office and   
calling4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,the          
,successor1 p4 #h4  ,i would have more  
respect for this evidence if1 instead of
 being the alleged statements of these  
several parties1 it had been the very   
statements themselves--the statements of
 ,mr4 ,whitehead and of ,emma ,smith1   

instead of a report of what they said by
 some ,josephite writer4 ,so far as ,mr4
 ,george ,j4 ,adams is concerned he must
 very soon have forgotten his elation at
 finding out who the true successor of  
the prophet was2 for he afterwards      
became a follower of ,mr4 ,strang1 and  
the very man who crowned him king at    
,beaver ,island4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,the  
,saints' ,herald1 ,vol4 ,,xxxv1 p4 #gah4
  ,of this alleged anointing in #ahdd1  
when ,mr4 ,smith was a lad twelve years 
of age1 he himself can only say3        
,before the death of my father and uncle
 ,hyrum1 ,i was blessed by     the      
first1 in the presence of quite a number
 of then prominent     ,elders in the   
,church1 this blessing being confirmed  
just prior to     the tragedy at        
,carthage4  ,this is the only personal  
statement of his that ,i have ever seen 
in all the writings of the ,josephites  
in regard to his ordination and blessing
 by his father1 and it appears that he  
has no recollection of the nature of    

this blessing2 if he was anointed and   
blessed to be the future prophet and    
,president of the church1 he evidently  
has no recollection of it1 though he was
 of an age when such a circumstance     
would make a deep impression on the mind
 and would never have left him in the   
doubt he confesses to1 respecting his   
connection with the work of his father  
to which for many years1 in his youth1  
he exhibited almost complete            
indifference4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,see his 
autobiography published in ,josephite   
edition of the ,life of ,joseph the     
,prophet1 from p4 #gdc-hja4  ,of the    
alleged statement of ,emma ,smith1 that 
she well remembers1 though not present1 
the circumstance of the anointing in    
#ahdd--the elation of ,george ,j4 ,adams
 on learning who the successor of       
,joseph the prophet was to be1 he coming
 immediately to her room after the      
ceremony of anointing to tell her the   
glad news2 and also about well          
remembering her husband say that young  

,joseph was anointed and set apart to be
 his successor--of all this1 ,i say1 it 
is somewhat strange that ,mrs4 ,emma    
,smith did not well remember it during  
the years of doubt through which her son
 passed1 respecting his connection with 
the work of his father4 ,how is it that 
she did not then come to his assistance 
by reminding him--since he had forgotten
 it1 if he ever knew it--that he had    
been anointed and set apart to be the   
successor of his father1--both her      
husband and ,george ,j4 ,adams having   
told her so6 ,especially is her silence 
astonishing on the occasion of the visit
 of ,messrs4 ,briggs and ,gurley in     
#ahef to young ,joseph1 when those      
gentlemen almost1 as we have seen1      
commanded him to become the ,president  
of their organization4 ,one of the      
interviews between these gentlemen and  
,mr4 ,smith was conducted in the home of
 ,mrs4 ,emma ,smith1 they being         
introduced at that time both to her and 
her husband1 ,mr4 ,bidamon4 ,it was on  

that very occasion1 too1 that ,mr4      
,smith gave these gentlemen the answer  
that he would not go with them to be    
their leader1 and he plodded on four    
years longer1 in doubt as to what his   
future connection would be with the     
church4 ,instinctively one exclaims why 
did not his mother at that crisis come  
to the rescue1 and say3 ,why1 my son1   
you are yet to become the prophet and   
,president of the church1 founded under 
,god1 by your father4 ,i well remember1 
though not present1 the occasion on     
which you were anointed and set apart to
 that position by your father4 ,both    
your father and ,george ,j4 ,adams told 
me of it--the day you were blessed1     
don't you remember it8 ,instead of this 
we see her absolutely silent6  ,it is   
claimed1 however1 that at the ,amboy    
conference in #ahfj1 she endorsed her   
son as ,president of the church4        
,she publicly bore a faithful testimony 
to the work begun through     her       
martyred husband1 and said the present  

occasion was one she     had looked for 
for the last sixteen years4 ,said she   
knew such a     time must come1 but had 
not known until a short time before that
     it was so near at hand4,a          
,footnote ,a3 ,the ,successor1 p4 #ad4  
,and this is the best she could do6     
,much stress is laid upon ,mrs4 ,emma   
,smith being spoken of in one of the    
revelations in the ,doctrine and        
,covenants as an elect lady1,a and since
 the elect,b cannot be deceived1 her    
endorsement of her son1 and her         
rejection of all others1 is taken as    
,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov4 sec4 xxv4 
,footnote ,b3 ,matt4 xxiv1 #bd4         
,conclusive testimony that young ,joseph
 is his father's     successor6,a       
,footnote ,a3 ,the ,successor1 p4 #ae4  
,but would not the testimony have been  
more conclusive1 if on that occasion she
 had given a personal statement that her
 son had been anointed and set apart in 
#ahdd1 by his father2 and though not    
present1 she knew it upon the statement 

of both her husband and ,george ,j4     
,adams8 ,was not the occasion worthy of 
such a statement8 ,would it not have    
been opportune8 ,would it not have been 
at least more conclusive than the       
argument based on ,mrs4 ,emma ,smith    
being an elect lady1 and her endorsement
 of young ,joseph8  ,i now proceed to   
examine the testimony given in a general
 way1 that is1 without reference to     
special occasions on which ,mr4 ,smith  
was called or anointed to be his        
father's successor1 as prophet and      
,president of the church2 but which     
represents the general idea that he was 
to succeed to these positions4          
,charles ,derry1 whose word will not be 
questioned by those who know     him1   
says that ,william ,clayton1 of ,salt   
,lake ,city1 told him at the     time   
they were laboring together in ,england1
 that he knew it was     for little     
,joseph to lead the church4,a  ,footnote
 ,a3 ,the ,saint's ,herald1 ,vol4       
,,xxxix1 ,no4 #bb1 p4 #cci4  ,yet       

,william ,clayton1 a man of unyielding  
determination and probity of character1 
continued a member of the church of     
,christ1 led to ,utah by ,president     
,brigham ,young and his fellow apostles1
 giving to it and its leaders his       
unqualified support6 ,to accept the     
statement of ,charles ,derry is to make 
the best part of ,william ,clayton's    
life a lie--those who knew him1 at      
least1 will refuse to do that4 ,i put   
the character of ,william ,clayton and  
the fact of his allegiance to the church
 of ,christ under the ,presidency of    
,brigham ,young1 against the statement  
of ,charles ,derry4      ,w4 ,w4 ,phelps
 wrote to ,alpheus ,cutler in #ahdg1    
that church affairs     were in a bad   
condition1 and that he did not look for 
a change for     the better until the   
,lord should send young ,joseph to lead 
the     church4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,the   
,saints' ,herald1 ,vol4 ,,xxxix1 ,no4   
#bb1 p4 #cci4  ,this is a case similar  
to the one which precedes it--,mr4      

,phelps gave his allegiance to the      
church of ,christ in ,utah up to the    
time of his death1 and the fact of his  
allegiance is put against the statement 
he is said to have made in a letter to  
,alpheus ,cutler--mark you1 we have not 
the letter1 nor even a quotation from   
it4 ,it is the life and character of ,w4
 ,w4 ,phelps against the alleged        
statement of ,mr4 ,cutler4      ,p4 ,p4 
,pratt said to ,d4 ,s4 ,mills1 now of   
,santa ,ana1 ,california1 and     to    
others when they were going from ,utah  
to ,california1 that the     church     
would never be fully and properly       
organized till young     ,joseph was    
called to lead it4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,the
 ,saints' ,herald1 ,vol4 ,,xxxix1 ,no4  
#bb1 p4 #cci4  ,this testimony is on a  
par with the two quotations which       
precede it4 ,the statement attributed to
 ,elder ,pratt is contradicted by the   
facts of his life and allegiance to the 
church of ,christ led to ,utah by       
,president ,brigham ,young4      ,sister

 ,lucy ,smith1 the mother of ,joseph the
 seer1 used to tell the     saints who  
called on her that young ,joseph would  
yet lead the     church1 for he had been
 appointed by his father4,a  ,footnote  
,a3 ,the ,saints' ,herald1 ,vol4        
,,xxxix1 ,no4 #bb1 p4 #cci4  ,to        
controvert this testimony it is only    
necessary to refer to the visions8 of   
,lucy ,smith published in this work1    
where she attempts to sustain the claims
 of her son ,william to be the          
,president of the church2 and wherein   
she says3      ,the ,presidency of the  
,church belongs to ,william1 he being   
the     last of the heads of the        
,church1 according to the lineage1 he   
having inherited it from the family from
 before the foundation of     the       
world4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,see pp4 #ai-ba4
  ,bishop ,geo4 ,miller in a letter to  
the ,northern ,islander1 in #ahee1 is   
represented as saying3      ,from hints 
and inuendoes that ,i heard frequently1 
,i was induced to     believe that      

,joseph had designated his son to       
succeed him in the     prophetic office1
 and on this belief ,i rested4 4 4 4 4  
,i had     frequent attempts at         
conversation with ,brigham ,young and   
,h4 ,c4     ,kimball1 in regard to      
,joseph's leaving one to succeed him in 
the     prophetic office1 and in all my 
attempts to ascertain the desired       
truth as to that personage1 ,i was      
invariably met with the inuendo1        
stop or hush ,brother ,miller1 let there
 be nothing said in     regard to that  
matter1 or we will have little ,joseph  
killed as his     father was2 inferring 
indirectly that ,joseph ,smith had      
appointed     his son ,joseph to succeed
 him in the prophetic office4,a         
,footnote ,a3 ,the ,saints' ,herald1    
,vol4 ,,xxxix1 ,no4 #bb1 p4 #cci4  ,if  
,bishop ,miller had any testimony of any
 weight that ,mr4 ,smith1 the son of the
 prophet1 had been appointed to succeed 
to the position of prophet and          
,president of the church1 will those who

 rely on his statements explain how it  
is that with such testimony in his      
possession he ran off after other       
leaders8 ,first following ,mr4 ,lyman   
,wight to ,texas1 and after quarrelling 
with him joining ,mr4 ,strang in        
,michigan4 ,bishop ,miller1 like ,lyman 
,wight1 lost his honor1 he was neither  
true to the church of ,christ led by the
 ,twelve after the martyrdom of the     
prophet ,joseph1 nor true to ,mr4       
,wight1 nor young ,joseph4 ,he became a 
restless man after his apostasy1        
unstable as water4 ,there is nothing    
either in the nature of his testimony or
 the character of the man after his     
apostasy which gives any influence to   
his statement4      ,this is to certify 
to all concerned1 that we1 the          
undersigned1     heard ,brigham ,young1 
in ,salt ,lake ,city1 in #ahed1 and in  
,brigham     ,city1 ,utah1 about #ahei1 
when he was speaking in public meeting  
concerning young ,joseph ,smith1 son of 
,joseph the seer1 say that     there was

 no man in the church more willing and  
ready than he to     give the           
,presidency of the church to young      
,joseph1 when the latter     would come 
and claim it4                           
,,louis ,,gaulter1                      
,,harriet ,e4 ,,gaulter4,a              
,,lamoni1 ,iowa1 ,may #bf1 #ahib4       
,footnote ,a3 ,the ,saints' ,herald1    
,vol4 ,,xxxix1 ,no4 #bb1 p4 #cci4  ,in  
line with this is the following3        
,brigham ,young1 at the ,april          
conference in #ahed1 said that young    
,joseph was the man to lead the church1 
and that were it not for     his        
mother's influence1 he would have been  
in ,utah long before2     but he would  
come1 and he would to ,god he was then  
in ,utah to take     the burden off his 
shoulders2 he would receive him with    
open     arms4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,ibid1  
p4 #cci4  ,i have carefully examined the
 minutes of the ,april conference of    
#ahed1 and also all the discourses      
published that ,president ,brigham      

,young delivered at that conference2 and
 neither in the minutes or in the       
discourses can ,i find anything which   
justifies the above statement in regard 
to what ,president ,young said at that  
conference4 ,i take it therefore that   
the assertion is based upon the         
statement of ,louis and ,harriet        
,gaulter which precede it4 ,if there is 
anything in the discourses of ,president
 ,brigham ,young1 or the minutes of any 
of the conferences of the church which  
would bear out the case of the          
,reorganized church1 the writers thereof
 would be at great pains to publish it4 
,the fact that they do not publish the  
words of ,president ,young1 but the     
words of others who claim to have heard 
him say that young ,joseph was the man  
to lead the church1 is pretty fair      
evidence that they can find nothing     
directly upon the point at issue in     
,president ,young's own words4      ,the
 late ,arthur ,millikin1 who resided at 
,colchester1 ,illinois1                 

brother-in-law to the martyr1 said in a 
letter to young ,joseph in     #ahfh1   
,brigham ,young said in a council1 at   
our house in ,nauvoo1     shortly after 
your father's death1 that neither       
,rigdon1 himself1     nor any other man 
but young ,joseph could lead this       
people1 when     he comes of age1 and no
 person can take it from him1 and that  
to     talk about it in public would    
endanger the boy's life4,a  ,footnote   
,a3 ,the ,saints' ,herald1 ,vol4        
,,xxxix1 ,no4 #bb1 p4 #cci4  ,amos ,b4  
,moore1 of ,lamoni1 ,iowa1 is           
represented as saying3      ,i heard    
,brigham ,young say from the public     
stand1 in ,nauvoo1 soon     after the   
death of ,joseph the ,seer1 that he and 
the ,saints knew     ,little ,joseph    
would stand in his father's place and   
lead the     ,church1 but it would not  
do to teach it then1 for their enemies  
would kill him as they did his father4,a
  ,footnote ,a3 ,the ,saint's ,herald1  
,vol4 ,,xxxix1 ,no4 #bb1 p4 #cci4  ,is  

it worth while to stop to point out the 
inconsistencies of this testimony8 ,what
 ,bishop ,miller represents as having   
been conveyed to him in private         
conversation 7himself at the time a     
trusted leader17 only in the most vague 
manner--by hints and inuendoes2 and to  
,mr4 ,millikin in the privacy of a      
confidential council of the priesthood1 
with the caution that nothing must be   
said about it least the boy's life be   
put in jeopardy thereby--what was       
conveyed to these parties in secret1    
,mr4 ,moore represents ,brigham ,young  
as teaching from the public stand6 ,yet 
so far recognizing the danger of having 
it taught as to say it must not be      
mentioned least their enemies kill the  
boy as they had his father--yet ,brigham
 ,young teaching it the while in the    
most public manner6 ,i will not here    
write an apostrophe to consistency4 ,i  
will merely put ,brigham ,young's       
reputation for common sense and         
discretion against the testimony of ,mr4

 ,moore4  ,this is the ,josephite case  
on the matter of ,mr4 ,smith being      
appointed by his father to the position 
of prophet and ,president of the church4
 ,i have given all the testimony they   
have been able to rake together1 and    
have quoted it as they give it in their 
own works1 not a word changed1 not a    
witness of theirs overlooked1 so far as 
they have published their statements4   
,and now that this testimony is before  
the reader1 ,i ask him3 ,what is its    
value8 ,look it over1 there is not a    
direct statement at first hand in it1   
except1 perhaps1 in the case of ,mr4    
,wight1 and in his testimony1 as        
presented by the ,josephites themselves1
 there is such conflict as to time and  
place as to render it worthless4 ,not   
even ,mr4 ,smith1 the claimant himself1 
makes a direct averment that he was     
ordained by his father to succeed him as
 prophet and ,president of the church4  
,the best he can do is to say that he   
was blessed by his father in the year   

#ahdd1 in the presence of quite a number
 of then prominent elders in the church2
 but as to the nature of that blessing  
he is silent4 ,the testimony the        
,reorganized church depends on is       
hear-say testimony only1 and that of a  
very questionable character--of the     
nature of old wives' fables1 and the    
assertions of apostates6  ,following the
 several testimonies relied upon by     
,josephites to sustain their claims that
 young ,joseph was appointed by his     
father to succeed to the ,presidency1 ,i
 have made such remarks as point out the
 worthlessness of each statement1 ,i now
 wish to call attention to              
considerations which destroy the whole  
theory3  ,first1 the silence of ,sidney 
,rigdon in respect to young ,joseph1    
when he was putting forth his claims to 
be the ,guardian of the church1 to build
 it up to ,joseph the martyr4 ,had the  
idea prevailed at ,nauvoo1 as           
,josephites claim1 that the son of the  
martyred prophet was to succeed his     

father as ,president of the church1 what
 an opportunity for ,sidney ,rigdon1    
when putting forth his claims to be the 
,guardian of the church6 ,how greatly   
would it have strengthened his position1
 if he could in truth have said3 ,i     
claim the right to be the ,guardian of  
the church until young ,joseph1 whom our
 late prophet anointed and ordained to  
succeed him1 shall have arrived at a    
suitable age to take his place4 ,there  
would have been some significance to the
 phrase1 ,guardian of the church1 if    
,sidney ,rigdon could have assumed this 
position4 ,but he did not assume it1 and
 the fair inference is that the reason  
why he did not assume it is because     
there was no idea prevalent at ,nauvoo  
that young ,joseph would succeed to his 
father's place4  ,second1 the silence of
 ,william ,smith in respect to young    
,joseph in his controversy with the     
,twelve in respect to leadership4 ,had  
any idea prevailed at ,nauvoo that young
 ,joseph was to succeed to the          

,presidency of the church1 this man1 his
 uncle1 would have known it2 and would  
have strengthened his own claims at that
 time to the right of leadership1 by    
proclaiming himself1 as he did          
afterwards1 in #ahej1 the natural       
guardian of the one who had been        
anointed and ordained to succeed to the 
office of ,president4 ,but this he did  
not do4 ,on the contrary1 he claimed the
 place for himself by virtue of being   
the brother of the prophet4 ,when he    
failed to secure the position of        
leadership for himself1 he followed the 
leadership of ,james ,j4 ,strang instead
 of supporting the claims of young      
,joseph4 ,not until #ahej did he begin  
to proclaim the right of young ,joseph  
to be the ,president of the church2 and 
then not by any virtue of appointment   
from his father1 but by right of        
lineage2 and with this movement on his  
part originates the claims of ,mr4      
,smith to the ,presidency4  ,third1 ,mr4
 ,edward ,tullidge1 in his life of      

,joseph the prophet--the ,josephite     
edition--quotes the prophet ,joseph as  
saying3      ,i told ,stephen ,markham1 
says ,joseph1 that if ,i and ,hyrum were
     ever taken again1 we should would8 
be massacred1 or ,i was not a           
,prophet of ,god4 ,i want ,hyrum to live
 to lead the ,church1 but he     is     
determined not to leave me4,a  ,footnote
 ,a3 ,page #dia4--,let it be remembered 
that the ,josephites in this work quoted
 accepted ,mr4 ,tullidge as their       
historian4 ,italics are mine4 ,r4  ,mr4 
,tullidge quotes this passage           
differently from what it is written in  
the history of ,joseph ,smith2 what     
authority he has for doing it he does   
not say4 ,in ,joseph's own history it is
 written3      ,i want ,hyrum to live to
 avenge my blood1 but he is determined  
not     to leave me4,a  ,footnote ,a3   
,hist4 ,joseph ,smith1 ,mill4 ,star1    
,vol4 ,,xxiv1 p4 #ccb4  ,but though ,mr4
 ,tullidge misquotes this passage1 there
 is evidence in addition to his word1   

that ,joseph did desire and even        
ordained ,hyrum ,smith to succeed him4  
,at the ,october conference following   
the martyrdom of ,joseph and ,hyrum1 and
 the #hth of ,august meeting at which   
the ,twelve were recognized as the      
presiding quorum in the church1         
,president ,young in a discourse said3  
,if ,hyrum had lived he would not have  
stood between ,joseph and the           
,twelve1 but he would have stood for    
,joseph4 ,did ,joseph ordain any     man
 to take his place8 ,he did4 ,who was   
it8 ,it was ,hyrum4 ,but ,hyrum     fell
 a martyr before ,joseph did4,a         
,footnote ,a3 ,times and ,seasons1 ,vol4
 ,v1 p4 #fhc4  ,if the prophet ,joseph  
wanted ,hyrum to lead the church1 as    
asserted by ,mr4 ,tullidge1 and had     
ordained him to that position--according
 to the statement of ,president         
,young--what becomes of the claims made 
in behalf of young ,joseph to an        
appointment and ordination to lead the  
church8 ,in desiring and ordaining      

,hyrum to fill his place had the prophet
 forgotten the anointing and ordination 
of his son8 ,this clearly disposes of   
the claims of young ,joseph through any 
appointment by his father2 for if the   
prophet ,joseph appointed and ordained  
his brother ,hyrum to succeed him1 he   
did not appoint or ordain his son       
,joseph to do the same thing4 ,if ever  
there was a case of a claim not proven1 
,mr4 ,smith's claim of appointment to   
the ,presidency of the church through   
his father is that case4  ,having       
disposed of ,mr4 ,smith's claim to the  
right of the ,presidency of the church  
so far as it is based upon an           
appointment through his father1 let us  
now take up his second claim1 viz3  ,the
 position is his by lineage--his        
birth-right4  ,there are two offices and
 only two1 in the church which descend  
by lineage from father to son3 the      
office of patriarch and that of bishop4 
,of patriarchs it is said3      ,it is  
the duty of the ,twelve1 in all large   

branches of the ,church1     to ordain  
evangelical,a ministers1 as they shall  
be designated     unto them by          
revelation4 ,the order of this          
priesthood was     confirmed to be      
handed down from father to son1 and     
rightly     belongs to the literal      
descendants of the chosen seed to whom  
the     promises were made4 ,this order 
was instituted in the days of ,adam1    
and came down by lineage in the         
following manner4,b  ,footnote ,a3 ,an  
evangelist is a patriarch1 even the     
oldest man of the blood of ,joseph or of
 the seed of ,abraham4--,joseph ,smith  
7,hist4 of ,joseph1 under date of ,june 
#bg1 #ahci74  ,footnote ,b3 ,doc4 and   
,cov1 cvii1 #ci1 #dj4  ,the revelation  
then traces the lineage from ,adam to   
,noah4 ,this passage applies solely to  
patriarchs in the church1 and yet       
,josephites attempt in their arguments  
to make it apply to the ,presidency of  
the church4 ,they say3      ,the law of 
lineage points unmistakably to young    

,joseph as the     legal successor of   
his father4 ,the law in the ,doctrine   
and     ,covenants informs us that4,a   
,footnote ,a3 ,the ,successor1 pp4 #d1  
#e4  ,and then follows part of the      
foregoing quotation--beginning with ,the
 order of this priesthood was confirmed 
to be handed down from father to son1   
etc4--being careful to omit the clause  
of the passage which shows it to refer  
to evangelists or patriarchs only4,a    
,this is the way the passage is used by 
the writer of the ,josephite tract      
called ,the ,successor4 ,another writer1
 or perhaps the same one in another     
place1 thus quotes it in support of     
young ,joseph's claims3  ,footnote ,a3  
,the ,successor1 p4 #d4      ,the order 
including offices of this ,priesthood   
was confirmed     to be handed down from
 father to son1 and rightly belongs to  
the     literal descendants of the      
chosen seed1 to whom the promises were  
made4 ,this order not the ,priesthood1  
but the offices therein     was         

instituted in the days of ,adam1 and    
came down by lineage in     the         
following manner3 ,from ,adam to ,seth  
,abel having been     slain4,a          
,footnote ,a3 ,the ,saints' ,herald1    
,vol4 ,,xxxix4 p4 #ccg4  ,i have written
 the words inserted by the ,josephite   
writer in brackets in italics1 that they
 may all the more readily be noticed4   
,the ,josephites are not only guilty of 
making a clear misapplication of this   
passage1 but they read into the         
revelation by their inserted words in   
brackets what is not there1 and what was
 never intended to be conveyed even by  
inference4 ,the statement of the        
revelation is that the patriarchal order
 of priesthood was confirmed to be      
handed down from father to son1 etc42   
and not the offices in the priesthood as
 the ,josephite writer quoted above     
affirms by his bracketed inserted words 
in the revelation4  ,i cannot think this
 is merely a mistake on the part of     
,josephite writers1 the matter is so    

plainly a perversion of scripture1 that 
it amounts to downright dishonesty4  ,in
 like manner ,josephites misapply a     
passage in the writings of ,abraham1,a  
where ,abraham is represented as seeking
 after the patriarchal order of         
priesthood which was his by virtue of   
his lineage4 ,abraham sought for his    
rights as a patriarch--which right comes
 down from father to son1 but ,josephite
 writers make his words apply to the    
office of high priests in general1      
instead of confining it to patriarchs4  
,footnote ,a3 ,pearl of ,great ,price1  
,book of ,abraham4  ,of the second      
office in the church which descends from
 father to son--the office of           
bishop--the revelations of ,god provide 
that the literal descendants of         
,aaron--among the first born of his     
sons--have a right by virtue of their   
lineage to that position1 if at any time
 they can prove their lineage1 or do    
ascertain it by revelation from the     
,lord4 ,but even in that case they must 

be designated by the ,presidency of the 
,melchisedek priesthood1 found worthy1  
and ordained by that ,presidency1 or by 
its direction1 otherwise they are not   
legally authorized to officiate in that 
calling4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and     
,cov4 sec4 lxviii4  ,these are the only 
offices in the priesthood which descend 
by lineage2 yet ,josephite writers quote
 the following in support of young      
,joseph's claims to the ,presidency by  
lineage3      ,therefore thus saith the 
,lord unto you ,joseph the martyr,a with
     whom the ,priesthood hath continued
 through the lineage of your            
fathers1 for ye are lawful heirs        
according to the flesh1 and     have    
been hid from the world with ,christ in 
,god2 therefore your     life and the   
,priesthood hath remained1 and must     
needs remain,b     through you and your 
lineage1 until the restoration of all   
things     spoken of by the mouths of   
all the holy prophets since the world   
began4,c  ,footnote ,a3 ,words in       

brackets are the ,josephite writer's4   
,footnote ,b3 ,italics in the above are 
,josephite's4  ,footnote ,c3 ,doc4 and  
,cov4 sec4 lxviii4  ,it is only by      
inserting the words1 ,joseph the martyr1
 into the revelation--as the ,josephite 
writer has done--that the passage can be
 made to apply at all to the prophet    
,joseph personally4 ,the revelation     
quoted is one that was given1 explaining
 the parable of the wheat and tares1 and
 begins thus3      ,verily thus saith   
the ,lord unto you my servants1         
concerning the     parable of the wheat 
and of the tares1 etc4  ,throughout the 
,lord addresses his servants and not    
,joseph ,smith personally4 ,hence the   
statement in the passage that the       
priesthood had continued through the    
lineage of their fathers2 that they were
 lawful heirs according to the flesh2   
that it must remain through them and    
their lineage until the restoration of  
all things--was a statement concerning1 
and a promise made as much to the other 

elders addressed on that occasion and   
their posterity1 as to ,joseph ,smith   
and his posterity2 and the insertion in 
the passage of ,joseph the martyr in    
order to make the passage apply to him  
personally and to his posterity alone1  
is another instance of a ,josephite     
writer's trickery4  ,moreover1 the      
statement and promise made to all the   
servants of ,god to whom the revelation 
is addressed1 is in relation to the     
priesthood--not the ,presidency of the  
priesthood1 or the ,presidency of the   
church1 or any other office in the      
priesthood or church of ,christ4        
,priesthood1 and office in the          
priesthood are two things quite         
distinct2 and even if a man inherited   
the priesthood of his fathers1 it does  
not follow that he would inherit their  
office1 which must come to him by       
appointment as the law of the ,lord     
directs1 and hereafter to be considered4
  ,josephites are at great pains to     
trace in the ,book of ,mormon the       

handing down of records and other sacred
 things from father to son1,a and this  
to prove--what8 ,that the office of     
,president of the church or leader of   
the people1 descends by right of lineage
 from father to son6 ,that is1 because  
the records of a people are handed down 
from father to son1 therefore the       
,presidency of the church descends by   
lineage also6 ,what can be more absurd  
than this8 ,nor does it help our        
opponents out of the absurdity because  
some of those who held the records among
 the ,nephites were presiding high      
priests over the church4 ,its only      
significance is that in those particular
 cases the office of presiding high     
priest and that of recorder were united4
  ,footnote ,a3 ,see ,saints' ,herald1  
,vol4 ,,xxxix41 pp4 #ceh-i-j4           
,moreover1 in the matter of the records 
descending from father to son the chain 
of succession is frequently broken1 and 
in some instances those breaks make a   
divergence from the direct line4 ,out of

 sixteen transfers of the records and   
other sacred things from one person to  
another1 from the time ,lehi left       
,jerusalem to the coming of ,messiah to 
the ,nephites--in seven instances the   
transfer is not made from father to son6
 ,in three instances the transfer is    
made to brothers instead of from father 
to son2 in two cases the transfer is    
made to nephews2 and in two instances   
the transfer is made to those who are no
 kin at all1 making seven exceptions to 
the rule out of sixteen cases2 lacking  
only one of being half6 ,out of six     
transfers of the sacred things1 from the
 coming of ,messiah among the ,nephites 
to ,joseph ,smith1 three of them are not
 from father to son4 ,one transfer is   
made to a brother2 and two are made to  
persons of no kin whatever to their     
predecessors4 ,josephites say the       
exceptions in this matter prove the     
rule1 but a rule that is violated in    
half the cases where it is supposed to  
operate1 has rather too many exceptions 

to prove it--they destroy it4  ,let it  
not be lost sight of1 however1 that the 
argument based upon the transfer of     
records among the ,nephites from father 
to son has nothing to do with the office
 of ,president of the church descending 
by lineage4  ,as a conclusion to my     
argument against the claim of ,mr4      
,smith1 that the position of ,president 
of the church is his by right of        
lineage1 ,i quote the words of his      
illustrious father4 ,in a discourse     
delivered on the #bgth of ,august1      
#ahdc1 having for his text the seventh  
chapter of ,hebrews1 and explaining the 
phrase in the third verse--without      
father1 without mother1 without descent1
 etc41 he said3      ,the ,melchisedek  
priesthood holds the right from the     
eternal ,god1     and not by descent    
from father and mother2,a and that      
priesthood is eternal as ,god himself1  
having neither beginning of     days nor
 end of life4,b  ,footnote ,a3 ,italics 
mine4--,r4  ,footnote ,b3 ,hist1 of     

,joseph ,smith1 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4     
,,xxii1 p4 #ee4  ,in the face of this   
how can ,mr4 ,smith claim any right1 by 
virtue of lineage1 to the ,melchisedek  
priesthood1 much less to the highest    
office in that priesthood8 ,his claim is
 denied by that very father from whom he
 claims to have received it by          
inheritance4 ,it occurs to me here to   
ask a question3 ,if the office of       
,president of the church does descend by
 lineage from the fathers1 through the  
line of the eldest sons1 how is it that 
the law did not operate on the other    
side of the prophet ,joseph as well as  
on this side of him8 ,if that law had   
operated so--and there is no good reason
 why it should not so operate1 if indeed
 it be the law of the priesthood--it    
would have left out not only the present
 ,mr4 ,smith but even the prophet       
,joseph himself4 ,for in that event it  
would have come first to ,joseph ,smith1
 the father of the prophet1 who was a   
noble1 righteous man2 and then after his

 death to his eldest living son1 ,hyrum 
,smith1 than whom there has been no more
 righteous man among all the sons of    
,god who have lived in this generation2 
and from him it would have passed on to 
his eldest son1 thus leaving out the    
prophet ,joseph altogether1 as well as  
,mr4 ,smith4 ,but let us leave a claim  
already disproved1 and an argument which
 proves too much for those who employ   
it4  ,the third claim made in behalf of 
,mr4 ,smith is3  ,he was called to the  
position of ,president of the church by 
revelation to himself4  ,of this it is  
not necessary to say very much4 ,it     
could only be important if sustained by 
the other two claims1 viz3 that he was  
appointed by his father to succeed to   
the office of ,president of the church2 
and secondly1 that the office is his by 
lineage4 ,since these two claims have   
been disproven1 it renders his third    
claim of no effect4 ,the revelations to 
himself by which he was called1 however1
 are as shadowy as the arguments by     

which it is attempted to sustain his two
 preceding claims are weak4  ,those     
revelations calling him to the          
,presidency of the church1 as ,i gather 
them from ,mr4 ,smith's ,autobiography1 
are as follows3 ,first1 a vision just   
after recovering from an illness1 in    
#ahec1 in which was shown to him1 on the
 one hand1 the busy marts of the world  
where men struggle for place1 power and 
distinction2 and on the other hand1 an  
extended plain covered with the peaceful
 homes of a thrifty1 happy people4 ,a   
personage who appeared by his side said3
      ,which would you prefer1 life1    
success and renown among the busy       
scenes that you first saw2 or a place   
among these people without     honors or
 renown8 ,think of it well1 for the     
choice will be offered     to you sooner
 or later1 and you must be prepared to  
decide4 ,your     decision once made you
 cannot recall it1 and must abide the   
result4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,aut4 of       
,joseph ,smith1 in ,josephite edition1  

,life of ,joseph1 p4 #gec4  ,second1 one
 day out in an open field1 while        
considering the question1 why not go to 
,utah8 he was overshadowed by a bright  
cloud and he heard the words3 ,because  
the light in which you stand is greater 
than theirs4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,aut4 of  
,mr4 ,smith1 in ,josephite edition of   
,life of ,joseph1 p4 #gfc4  ,third1 a   
manifestation was given to him that he  
must oppose polygamy2 but in what way   
the manifestation was given is not      
stated4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,ibid4         
,fourth1 in #ahei1 when revolving the   
question in his mind3 where and with    
whom shall my life-labor lie1 he        
received a manifestation--how he does   
not say--to the following effect3       
,the ,saints reorganizing at ,zarahemla 
and other places1 is the only           
organized portion of the ,church        
accepted by me4 ,i have given them      
my spirit1 and will continue to do so   
while they remain humble and            
faithful4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,aut4 of ,mr4

 ,smith1 ,life of ,joseph1 ,josephite   
edition1 p4 #ggb4  ,these are all the   
revelations spoken of by ,mr4 ,smith in 
his autobiography1 or quoted by his     
supporters1 hence these must be the     
revelations to himself by which he was  
called to be ,president of the church6  
,just where the call can be found in    
them is the thing which the writer of   
these pages cannot see3 and he          
challenges anybody else to point it out4
  ,it should be observed here1 perhaps1 
that revelations to a man personally1   
that he is called to be ,president of   
the church1 even when clear and         
definite1 do not constitute him the     
,president4 ,something else is          
necessary4 ,as observed elsewhere1 not  
only must a man be called of ,god1 but  
he must be accepted by the              
church--chosen by the body1 appointed   
and ordained to that office1 and upheld 
by the confidence1 faith1 and prayer of 
the church4,a ,besides having no        
definite call by revelation1 even to    

himself 7judging by the visions and     
manifestations related by ,mr4 ,smith7  
to preside over the church1 ,mr4 ,smith 
has never complied with the conditions  
of the law of the church stated above4  
,that is1 he has never been chosen by   
the body 4 4 4 4 upheld by the          
confidence1 faith and prayers of the    
church--unless1 indeed1 the few people1 
scarce a corporal's guard1 who gathered 
at the ,josephite conference at ,amboy1 
in #ahfj1 constituted out of all the    
tens of thousands of saints in this     
country at the time1 the church6 ,what  
of the scores of thousands of saints in 
,utah at that time who never so much as 
received notice of or an invitation to  
be present at that general conference of
 the church at ,amboy8 ,surely ,messrs4 
,gurley and ,newkirk were somewhat at   
fault in neglecting to notify the       
majority of the saints to attend that   
conference at which the only true       
,president of the church was to be      
chosen6 ,to call that gathering at      

,amboy the general conference of the    
church1 is as ridiculous as absurdity   
can make it4 ,it is on a par1 however1  
with the revelations to ,mr4 ,smith1    
calling him to be ,president of the     
church--the one is a fitting concomitant
 of the other4  ,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and 
,cov41 ,sec4 cvii1 #bb4  ,of course     
,josephites see the absurdity of this   
gathering at ,amboy being called a      
general conference of the church1 and   
try to escape it by explaining that all 
the rest of the saints were in          
transgression1 and could not call a     
conference--those represented at the    
,amboy conference were the only         
saints2,a that is1 the only saints who  
were faithfully honoring and obeying the
 law of the ,lord1 and the order of his 
church,b--so easy is it to say3         
,footnote ,a3 ,the ,successor1 p4 #i4   
,footnote ,b3 ,the ,saints' ,herald1    
,vol4 ,,xxxix1 p4 #cge4      ,orthodoxy1
 my lord1 is my doxy2 and heterodoxy is 
some other     man's doxy6,a  ,footnote 

,a3 ,bishop ,warburton's answer to ,lord
 ,sandwich when he said he did not know 
the difference between heterodoxy and   
orthodoxy4  ,i come next to the fourth  
and last claim made in behalf of ,mr4   
,smith1 viz3--  ,he was ordained to be  
,president of the church by those       
holding legal authority4  ,mr4 ,smith   
was ordained by ,messrs4 ,william       
,marks1 ,z4 ,h4 ,gurley1 ,samuel ,powers
 and ,w4 ,w4 ,blair2 ,william ,marks1 ,i
 think1 being mouth4 ,this is that      
,william ,marks1 who in #ahci1 was      
chosen president of the stake of ,zion  
at ,commerce1 afterwards ,nauvoo2--who a
 year or two before the prophet         
,joseph's death was associated with     
traitors and distrusted by the          
prophet2,a--who sustained the claims of 
,sidney ,rigdon to be ,guardian of the  
church2--who at the general conference  
of the church in ,nauvoo1 ,october1     
#ahdd1 was rejected by the saints as    
president of the ,nauvoo stake of ,zion1
 two persons only voting in his favor1  

the rest against him2,b--who as we shall
 see further on1 in ,december1 #ahdd1   
over his own signature said3 ,the       
,twelve are the proper persons to lead  
the church2--who1 in #ahdf1 as per      
statement of ,mr4 ,smith himself1,c was 
associated with ,mr4 ,strang1 the       
apostate1 in preaching in ,fulton city  
and vicinity1 calling upon ,mr4 ,smith  
and his mother at the time2--and who in 
#ahfj is the chief man in ordaining ,mr4
 ,smith ,president of the church--one   
possessing legal authority to do so6 ,to
 say the least1 in the light of ,william
 ,marks' record1 his legal authority to 
ordain the ,president of the church is  
very questionable4  ,footnote ,a3 ,in   
the winter of #ahdc1 at a time of great 
danger to the prophet1 and when ,nauvoo 
was in danger of being invaded from     
,missouri to capture him1 forty men were
 sworn into service as special police4  
,in addressing them on the occasion of  
their being sworn in1 the prophet1 then 
mayor of the city1 spoke of the danger  

he was in from traitors living in       
,nauvoo1 saying1 ,we have a ,judas in   
our midst4 ,this appears to have had an 
unpleasant effect upon the minds of some
 leading men in the church1 especially  
upon the minds of ,wm4 ,law and ,wm4    
,marks1 who complained before the       
mayor's court about the actions of these
 special police4 ,after the             
investigation of their complaints       
,joseph1 in his journal1 says3 ,whatever
 can be the matter with these men8 ,law 
and ,marks ,is it that the wicked flee  
when no man pursueth1 that hit pigeons  
always flutter1 that drowning men catch 
at straws1 or that presidents ,law and  
,marks are absolutely traitors to the   
church1 that my remarks should produce  
such excitement in their minds8 4 4 4   
,the people in the town are astonished1 
almost every man saying to his neighbor1
 ,is it possible that brother ,law or   
brother ,marks is a traitor1 and would  
deliver brother ,joseph into the hands  
of his enemies in ,missouri8 ,if not1   

what can be the meaning of all this8    
,the righteous are as bold as a         
lion4--7,hist4 ,jos4 ,s41 ,mill4 ,s41   
,vol4 ,,xxii1 p4 #fca47 ,yet this man of
 whom the prophet could write these     
words1 is the chief man in ordaining his
 son ,president of the church6          
,footnote ,b3 ,he had previously been   
dropped by the high council because he  
persisted in sustaining the claims of   
,sidney ,rigdon as against those of the 
,twelve4--,times and ,seasons1 ,vol4 ,v1
 p4 #fib4  ,footnote ,c3 ,see his ,aut4 
in ,josephite ,ed41 ,life of ,joseph1 p4
 #ged4  ,zenas ,h4 ,gurley for years    
followed fames ,j4 ,strang's leadership1
 and advocated his claims4 ,subsequently
 apostatizing from him and uniting with 
,mr4 ,jason ,w4 ,briggs1 in forming the 
,reorganized church4 ,any authority held
 by ,mr4 ,gurley previous to the death  
of ,joseph the prophet1 was destroyed by
 his leaving the church of ,christ to   
follow the apostate ,james ,j4 ,strang2 
hence any ordination received under his 

hands was worthless4  ,i have not been  
able to learn what position1 if any1    
,messrs4 ,powers and ,blair held in the 
church previous to the martyrdom of the 
prophet2 but it is enough to know that  
about the time young ,joseph decided to 
take the ,presidency of the ,reorganized
 church1 they were associated with      
,william ,marks,a in the work of        
reorganizing the church4 ,it is claimed 
for them1 however1 as also for ,mr4     
,gurley1 that they were apostles called 
by prophecy in the ,reorganized         
church4,b  ,footnote ,a3 ,life of       
,joseph ,smith 7,tullidge7 ,josephite   
,ed4 p4 #ggd4  ,footnote ,b3 ,the       
,saints' ,herald1 ,vol4 ,,xxxix1 p4     
#cge4  ,it has already been stated how  
seven ,josephite apostles were called   
and ordained in our sketch of the rise  
of the ,josephite church4 ,seven men    
were called to form a majority of the   
quorum of the twelve1 by a revelation   
through ,h4 ,h4 ,deam2 but ,messrs4     
,rogers and ,blair were not in that     

number1 hence they must have been called
 subsequently4 ,but no matter when they 
were called1 if they held any apostolic 
authority1 they held it by virtue of    
some ordination received at the hands of
 some one or more of the seven apostles1
 chosen through ,mr4 ,deam's revelation4
 ,now1 ,i affirm that among all those   
seven men who were called to form the   
majority of the quorum of the twelve1 in
 the ,reorganization not one of them    
held the apostleship2 that they could   
not give what they did not possess2 that
 therefore neither the seven men called 
to be apostles1 in ,april1 #ahec1       
received the apostleship1 nor any whom  
they subsequently ordained4  ,further on
 ,i shall show that the church of       
,christ was not disorganized at the     
death of ,joseph and ,hyrum ,smith1 nor 
at any other time since it was organized
 by the commandment of ,god1 to ,joseph 
the prophet1 in #ahcj2 and therefore1   
this ,reorganization which began its    
existence in #aheb-c must have been a   

spurious institution1 and1 therefore1   
incapable of bestowing legitimate       
authority upon anyone4  ,the methods of 
argument by which the claims of the     
,reorganization are sustained must be   
noticed1 for they are as erroneous as   
they are misleading4 ,after the ,april  
conference of the ,reorganization in    
#ahec1 a pamphlet was issued entitled ,a
 word of consolation to the scattered   
,saints1 in which a justification of the
 proceedings of said conference is      
attempted4 ,in that pamphlet it is said3
      ,in justification of the course   
then taken1 and the principles          
involved on the question of authority1  
we have ever courted1 and     still     
court1 investigation in the rigid       
character of the facts in     the first 
organization4,a ,here they are3 ,joseph 
,smith and ,oliver     ,cowdery were    
ordained to the lesser priesthood by an 
angel2 then     by their authority1 and 
a commandment1 they on the #fth day of  
,april1 ordained each other ,elders1 and

 the eldership ordained high     priests
 and apostles1 and this high priesthood1
 ordained1 by     commandment1 the      
president of the high priesthood1 the   
highest     office in the ,church2 so   
that the alleged lesser1 ordaining the  
greater is common to both the first     
organization and the     ,reorganization
 alike4 ,the same class of facts justify
 both1 or     condemn both4,b  ,footnote
 ,a3 ,meaning the organization on the   
#fth of ,april1 #ahcj4  ,footnote ,b3   
,life of ,joseph the ,prophet1          
,josephite edition1 p4 #fja4  ,there is 
one important fact in the history of the
 organization of the church in #ahcj1   
which the authors of the above quoted   
pamphlet have overlooked4 ,it is a fact1
 too1 which destroys all likeness       
between the organization of the church  
and its alleged reorganization1 and all 
the fine-spun theories about the lesser 
ordaining the greater4 ,that overlooked 
fact is that ,joseph ,smith and ,oliver 
,cowdery held the apostleship on the    

#fth of ,april1 #ahcj1 and by its power1
 and not by the power of the ,aaronic   
priesthood--as alleged by the ,josephite
 writers--organized the church of       
,christ4 ,in proof of this ,i submit the
 following3  ,when ,joseph and ,oliver  
were ordained to the ,aaronic priesthood
 by ,john the ,baptist1 ,may #aeth1     
#ahbi1 they were informed by ,john that 
he operated under the direction of the  
apostles ,peter1 ,james and ,john1 who  
held the keys of the ,melchisedek       
priesthood1 which1 in due time1 the     
heavenly messenger said1 would be       
conferred upon them4,a ,here then is a  
promise made to them of the ,melchisedek
 priesthood4  ,footnote ,a3 ,hist4      
,joseph ,smith1 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4     
,,xiv1 p4 #ae1 supplement4  ,in an      
address written to the saints by the    
prophet ,joseph1 under date of          
,september #fth1 #ahdb1 he says3        
,again what do we hear8 4 4 4 4 ,the    
voice of ,peter1 ,james and ,john     in
 the wilderness between ,harmony1       

,susquehanna county1 and                
,colesville1 ,broome county1 on the     
,susquehanna ,river1 declaring          
themselves as possessing the keys of the
 kingdom and of the     dispensation of 
the fullness of times4  ,this doubtless 
fixes the place where the apostleship   
was conferred upon the prophet4 ,now as 
to the time4 ,in a revelation given in  
,september1 #ahcj1 referring to ,joseph 
and ,oliver1 and speaking of partaking  
of the sacrament again on earth1 the    
,lord said3--      ,the hour cometh that
 ,i will drink of the fruit of the vine 
with     you on the earth1 and with     
,moroni 4 4 4 4 4 and also with ,john   
the     son of ,zacharias 4 4 4 4 and   
also with ,peter1 ,james and ,john whom 
,i have sent unto you1 by whom ,i have  
ordained you and confirmed     you      
apostles1 and especial witnesses of my  
name4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov4  
sec4 xxvii4  ,in another revelation     
dated ,june1 #ahbi1 the ,lord says3--   
,and now1 ,oliver ,cowdery1 ,i speak    

unto you and also unto ,david           
,whitmer1 by the way of commandment2 for
 behold1 ,i command all men             
everywhere to repent1 and ,i speak unto 
you1 even as unto ,paul mine            
,apostle1 for you are called even with  
that same calling with     which he was 
called4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov4
 ,sec4 xviii4  ,this revelation is the  
one which informed these men that       
,twelve ,apostles would be called and   
foretold that ,oliver ,cowdery and      
,david ,whitmer would be appointed to   
select them4 ,from the above quotation  
it is evident that ,oliver and ,david   
had received the apostleship at that    
time1 and1 of course1 ,joseph had       
received it also4,a ,this revelation1   
let it be remembered1 was given in      
,june1 #ahbi1 ten months before the     
organization of the church in ,april1   
#ahcj4 ,and it was by virtue and power  
of that apostleship which holds the keys
 of the ,melchisedek priesthood1 that   
the church of ,christ was organized2    

elders1 high priests1 seventies1 and    
apostles ordained2 high councils and    
stakes of ,zion organized2 and the whole
 church of ,christ set in order4 ,it was
 not the lesser ordaining the higher--as
 claimed by ,josephite writers--that is 
not the order in the church1 nor the    
manner in which the church was organized
 on the #fth of ,april1 #ahcj4 ,it is   
true that ,joseph and ,oliver ordained  
each other elders of the church of      
,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day ,saints1  
on the day the church was organized2 but
 they did not do that by virtue of the  
,aaronic priesthood which had been      
conferred upon them1 but by virtue of   
the apostleship they had received4      
,joseph and ,oliver had just been       
accepted by their brethren to be the    
presiding elders in the church1 and     
proceeded to ordain each other to that  
office4,b ,whereupon ,josephite writers 
rush to the conclusion that by virtue of
 their ordination to the lesser         
priesthood1 they proceeded to ordain    

each other elders in the higher or      
,melchisedek priesthood1 and that that  
eldership ordained high priests1 and    
apostles1 and that the high priesthood1 
thus brought into existence1 by         
commandment ordained the ,president of  
the high priesthood--the highest office 
in the church4 ,that is the order of    
things by which the ,josephite          
reorganization was brought into         
existence2 that is1 the lesser ordaining
 the greater6 ,this argument in support 
of their proceeding commits them forever
 to that position1 they cannot escape   
it1 and it damns their organization     
beyond all hope of redemption2 for      
nothing can be clearer than the         
self-evident proposition that a man     
cannot give that which he does not      
possess4 ,besides the contention is     
straight against the statement of the   
prophet ,joseph himself as to how we in 
this generation came by the priesthood1 
even as published in ,josephite works3--
  ,footnote ,a3 ,while in this          

revelation which refers to ,oliver and  
,david as apostles1 ,joseph is not      
called an apostle1 yet we know he was   
such for in the revelation which        
commanded that the church be organized  
on the #fth of ,april1 #ahcj1 it is     
said3 ,which commandments were given to 
,jesus ,christ1 to be the first elder of
 this church2 and to ,oliver ,cowdery1  
who was called of ,god an apostle of    
,jesus ,christ1 to be the second elder  
of the church1 and ordained under his   
hand4--,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 xx1 #b1 #c4
  ,footnote ,b3 ,his4 ,joseph ,smith1   
,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4 ,,xiv 7,supplement71
 p4 #bf4      ,the ,savior1 ,moses1 and 
,elias gave the keys of the priesthood  
to     ,peter1 ,james and ,john on the  
mount1 when they were transfigured      
before him4 4 4 4 ,how have we come at  
the ,priesthood in the last     days8   
,it came down in regular succession4    
,peter1 ,james and ,john     had it     
given to them1 and they gave it to      
others--presumably     referring to     

himself and ,oliver ,cowdery4,a         
,footnote ,a3 ,life of ,joseph the      
,prophet1 ,josephite edition1 p4 #dic4  
,there is no similarity between the     
organization of the church of ,christ on
 the #fth of ,april1 #ahcj1 and the     
alleged reorganization in #ahec4 ,the   
first was organized by men holding the  
keys of the holy ,melchisedek           
priesthood--the apostleship--which      
possesses the power to organize the     
church1 ordain all the officers therein 
and set all things pertaining to it in  
order4 ,but the reorganization is       
accomplished by men of very questionable
 standing and authority as to their     
priesthood2 and apparently conscious of 
the inadequacy of even the priesthood   
they claim to have possessed to perform 
the task before them--virtually the     
organization of the church of           
,christ--they fly to the untenable      
position1 as false in philosophy as it  
is in fact1 that the lesser can ordain  
the greater1 until that greater thus    

created can ordain a still greater1 even
 the greatest of all6 ,investigated1    
then1 in the rigid character of the     
facts in the first organization1 the    
reorganization is found strewn along the
 sharp-edged rocks of absurdity2 and the
 conviction is forced upon the mind of  
the investigator that ,mr4 ,smith was   
not ordained to be ,president of the    
church by those holding legal authority4
  ,josephites lay much stress upon the  
following passage in one of the         
revelations3      ,i say unto you that  
ye have received a commandment for a law
 unto     my church through him whom ,i 
have appointed unto you to receive      
commandments and revelations from my    
hand4 ,and this ye shall know           
assuredly1 that there is none other     
appointed unto you to receive           
commandments and revelations until he be
 taken1 if he abide in me4     ,but     
verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 that   
none else shall be     appointed unto   
this gift except it be through him1 for 

if it be     taken from him1 he shall   
not have power1 except to appoint       
another     in his stead2 and this shall
 be a law unto you1 that ye receive     
not the teachings of any that shall come
 before you as revelations     and      
commandments2 and this ,i give unto you 
that you may not be     deceived1 that  
you may know that they are not of me4   
,for verily ,i     say unto you1 that he
 that is ordained of me1 shall come in  
at the     gate and be ordained1 as ,i  
have told you before1 to teach those    
revelations which you have received1 and
 shall receive through him     whom ,i  
have appointed4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,doc4  
and ,cov4 sec4 xliii4  ,josephites      
insist that this revelation provides    
that the successor of the prophet       
,joseph must be appointed by him4       
,following is their reasoning upon the  
passage3      ,we find in a former      
commandment1 given ,february1 #ahca1 4 4
 4 these     very pertinent and         
instructive words in respect to how and 

by     whom the successor of ,joseph the
 ,seer would be selected and            
appointed4 ,it says3 ,but verily1       
verily1 ,i say unto you1 that none      
else shall be appointed unto this gift  
of revelator1 seer1     prophet1 etc41  
for the church1 to receive 'commandments
 and     revelations' for a 'law' unto  
the church--,ed except it be through    
him ,joseph the ,seer2 and it then adds 
that even if the ,lord     should take  
that gift from ,joseph1 he shall not    
have power     except to appoint another
 in his stead2 so that in any event the 
successor in the office of chief        
presiding seer1 prophet and             
revelator to the church 7which always   
carries with it the     presidency of   
the church and its priesthood71 must be 
selected and     appointed through and  
by the predecessor--,joseph the ,seer4,a
  ,footnote ,a3 ,the ,saints' ,herald1  
,vol4 ,,xxxix1 p4 #ceh1 the words in    
italics are all the ,josephite writer's4
  ,the circumstances under which the    

revelation above quoted was given are   
these3 ,there came to the church at     
,kirtland in #ahca a woman making great 
pretentions to the power of revealing   
laws and commandments to the church2 and
 some of the saints were much perplexed 
to know in what light to regard her and 
her alleged revelations4 ,joseph1 to set
 their minds at rest1 inquired of the   
,lord and received the revelation from  
which the passage under consideration is
 taken4,a ,the revelation read in the   
light of these facts means simply this3 
,first the ,lord gives the saints to    
understand that ,he has appointed       
,joseph ,smith1 the prophet1 to receive 
revelations as laws and commandments for
 ,his church and no one else but him1   
until he should be taken from the earth1
 provided he remained faithful to the   
,lord2 second1 in the event of the      
prophet ,joseph not being faithful1 even
 then he shall still have power to      
ordain some one else to take his place2 
third1 the one who succeeds to the      

position of the prophet ,joseph1 must   
come in at the gate1 and be ordained as 
the ,lord had before instructed the     
church--that is1 he must be accepted by 
the church1 and be ordained by the      
direction of a general conference4,b    
,footnote ,a3 ,hist4 of ,joseph1 ,mill4 
,star1 ,vol4 ,,xiv1 p4 #fj1 supplement4 
,footnote ,b3 ,the revelation teaching  
that none but ,joseph should be the     
law-giver to the church until he be     
taken from the earth if he remained     
faithful1 etc41 was given ,february1    
#ahca1 but before this the ,lord had    
made it the law of the church that no   
person is to be ordained to any office  
in this church1 where there is a        
regularly organized branch of the same1 
without the vote of that church4 4 4 4  
,every president of the high priesthood 
7or presiding elder7 4 4 4 is to be     
ordained by the direction of a high     
council or general conference4--7,rev4  
given ,april1 #ahcj1 ,doc4 and ,cov4    
sec4 xx47 ,the president of the high    

priesthood is also the ,president of the
 church1 hence the foregoing law applies
 to the ,president as well as other     
officers of the church--he must be      
sustained by the church and if he is    
not1 he cannot act in that position4    
,the information thus given officially  
to the church was calculated to preserve
 the saints from following unauthorized 
law-givers4 ,through it they learned    
that ,joseph1 if he remained faithful1  
would be the law-giver to ,israel2 if he
 transgressed he should retain          
sufficient of the power of revelation to
 designate whom the ,lord would have to 
succeed him2 and in that or any other   
event the man who becomes ,president    
must come in at the gate and be ordained
 as described in one of the laws of the 
church previously given4 ,there was     
surely no need after this that any      
should be deceived4 ,but to argue from  
what is set down in this revelation that
 the only possible way for a successor  
in any event1 to be appointed to the    

church was through ,joseph ,smith the   
prophet1 is clearly an error2 for the   
only provision made in this revelation  
for him to appoint his successor is in  
the event of his own transgression2 and 
,i affirm that ,joseph ,smith was       
faithful to ,god and the church up to   
the day of his death4 ,never in his life
 was he more faithful1 more favored by  
,god1 or more powerful1 or fruitful in  
revelation or intelligence than in the  
closing year of his life4 ,he was ,god's
 mouthpiece to the church of ,christ on 
earth to the very moment that he sealed 
his testimony with his blood at         
,carthage1 ,illinois4  ,having received 
premonitions of his approaching fate1 he
 desired that his brother ,hyrum who had
 shared his toils1 dangers and          
responsibilities1 and who under all     
circumstances however trying had been   
true and just and merciful--he desired  
that this brother should succeed him in 
leading the church4 ,it so happened1    
however1 in the providences of ,god that

 ,hyrum fell a martyr before ,joseph2   
and therefore the man whom the prophet  
desired to succeed him1 as well as      
himself1 were taken from the earth4 ,so 
that notwithstanding the fact that      
,joseph desired ,hyrum to succeed to the
 ,presidency1 and had appointed him to  
that place1 both himself and the one he 
appointed being taken away by the hand  
of death--the question confronts us just
 as it would have done had ,joseph never
 intimated that he wanted ,hyrum to     
succeed him4 ,and ,i now ask1 in the    
absence of both ,joseph and ,hyrum1     
where was the authority lodged to lead  
the church and carry on the work of     
,god8 ,was the church disorganized8 ,had
 ,god been so shortsighted1 so unlike   
himself1 as to establish his church in  
such a manner that at the death of two  
of his servants it crumbled to pieces8  
,can it be that ,god1 with whom all     
things are as present1 had not foreseen 
this fate which overtook his servants   
,joseph and ,hyrum1 and failed to       

provide for such an emergency8 ,o1      
charge not the ,lord with such lack of  
wisdom1 or his church with such         
imperfection in its organization6       
,,vii4   ,in the church there are three 
general presiding councils1 of equal    
authority4 ,these are the ,first        
,presidency2 the traveling presiding    
high council1 or ,twelve ,apostles2 and 
the first quorum of ,seventy4 ,in proof 
of the assertion1 ,i quote the ,doctrine
 and ,covenants3      ,of the           
,melchisedek priesthood1 three presiding
 high priests1     chosen by the body1  
appointed and ordained to that office1  
and     upheld by the confidence1 faith 
and prayer of the church1 form a        
quorum of the ,presidency of the church4
      ,the twelve traveling counselors  
are called to be the ,twelve            
,apostles1 or special witnesses of the  
name of ,christ in all the     world2   
thus differing from other officers in   
the church in the     duties of their   
calling4 ,and they form a quorum1 equal 

in     authority and power to the three 
,presidents previously mentioned4       
,the ,seventy are also called to preach 
the gospel and to be     especial       
witnesses unto the ,gentiles and in all 
the world4 ,thus     differing from     
other officers in the church in the     
duties of their     calling2 and they   
form a quorum equal in authority to that
 of the     ,twelve special witnesses or
 ,apostles just named4,a  ,footnote ,a3 
,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 cvii  ,it is the  
order of the law of ,god1 however1 that 
the ,twelve act under the direction of  
the ,first ,presidency1 and the ,seventy
 under the direction of the ,twelve4 ,it
 is also provided that in the decisions 
of either the ,twelve or the ,seventy1  
those quorums must be unanimous--every  
member in each quorum must be agreed to 
its decisions1 in order for said        
decisions to be entitled to the same    
blessings that the decisions of a quorum
 of three ,presidents receive4 ,however1
 when circumstances render it impossible

 to be otherwise1 a majority of the     
members may form a quorum4,a  ,footnote 
,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 xvii4  ,the   
decisions of these quorums or either of 
them are to be made in all              
righteousness1 in holiness1 and         
lowliness of heart1 meekness and long   
suffering2 and in that event their      
decisions are final4 ,but if their      
decisions are unrighteous they may be   
brought before a general assembly of the
 several quorums which constitute the   
spiritual authorities of the church--in 
no other way can there be an appeal from
 their decisions4,a  ,footnote ,a3      
,ibid1 verses #bg-cc4  ,these are the   
limitations set to the equality of these
 quorums and the only limitations1 and  
now in case of the absence1 destruction 
or rejection of the first of these three
 great councils1 upon whom does the duty
 and responsibility of ,presidency fall8
 ,we could well-nigh let the ,josephites
 themselves answer that question4 ,they 
say3      ,now let us examine the order 

of ,presidency in the ,church4          
,supposing the ,first ,president is     
absent1 who presides in council     or  
in conference8 ,the counselors1 both or 
either of them4 ,and why8     ,because  
they are the highest authority present4 
,true4 ,then here is     the key to     
unlock the whole secret of the          
,presidency of the     ,church4 ,hear it
 then6 ,the highest authority presides  
always4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,from the      
pamphlet issued by the ,reorganization1 
entitled ,a ,word of ,consolation to the
 ,scattered ,saints1 quoted by          
,tullidge4 ,life of ,joseph1 ,josephite 
edition1 pp4 #ehi-ij4  ,the closing     
assertion is made well-nigh as strong as
 type can be made to say it2 and to it  
,i respond3 that is true4 ,now let us   
consider the situation at ,nauvoo after 
the death of the prophet ,joseph1 and   
then see where the ,presidency of the   
church would fall according to this     
,josephite doctrine that the highest    
authority presides always4  ,the prophet

 ,joseph1 his brother ,hyrum and ,sidney
 ,rigdon constituted the ,first         
,presidency at the time of the          
martyrdom4 ,joseph and ,hyrum being     
taken1 ,sidney ,rigdon alone was left of
 that great quorum4 ,we have already    
spoken of the delinquency of ,mr4       
,rigdon in the performance of his duty  
during the five years preceding the     
prophet's death1 of ,joseph's efforts to
 be rid of him and of his standing in   
his quorum at the time his two          
associates were assassinated at         
,carthage4 ,he sought to be appointed   
,guardian of the church1 but was        
unanimously rejected by the assembled   
quorums of priesthood and the saints at 
,nauvoo4 ,this was clearly their right1 
and when the unfaithfulness of ,sidney  
,rigdon and his unfitness for the place 
is taken into account1 not even         
,josephites can say the church did wrong
 in rejecting him4 ,in the very meetings
 where he sought to be appointed        
,guardian of the church there stood the 

man whom the prophet ,joseph had        
ordained to take his place--,amasa      
,lyman4 ,but ,elder ,lyman had never    
been presented to the people to be      
sustained by their vote1 and hence his  
appointment was not completed1 and he   
had no claim even to the counselorship  
to the ,presidency4 ,the death of the   
prophets1 ,joseph and ,hyrum1 and the   
rejection of the unworthy ,sidney       
,rigdon1 removed the ,first ,presidency 
from the church4 ,in ,hyrum ,smith there
 fell by martyrdom the only man that the
 prophet ,joseph had designated to      
succeed him in the ,presidency2 so that 
not only was the ,first ,presidency     
removed from the church1 but the only   
man concerning whom the prophet had     
expressed a desire to succeed him was   
also removed4 ,then upon whom devolved  
the ,presidency8 ,upon the next highest 
authority in the church--the ,twelve    
,apostles4 ,and as they possessed equal 
authority with the ,first ,presidency1  
there was nothing the ,first ,presidency

 could do but what the ,twelve could do4
 ,so long as the ,first ,presidency     
existed the ,twelve could only operate  
under their direction1 but now that     
there was no ,first ,presidency in      
existence1 the ,twelve stood in their   
place1 with full power and authority to 
act as the presiding quorum in the      
church4  ,the church was no more        
disorganized by the death of ,joseph and
 ,hyrum and the rejection of ,sidney    
,rigdon than the government of the      
,united ,states becomes disorganized    
when the president dies1 or is          
impeached4 ,the ,twelve possessing equal
 power and authority with the ,first    
,presidency1 in case of the death or    
removal of that ,presidency1 have all   
the keys and authority necessary to     
preside over all the church1 direct in  
all the affairs thereof1 and move right 
on with the work of ,god4  ,when the    
,lord stretched forth his hand to       
establish his church in these last days1
 and for the last time1 committing unto 

men the keys of his kingdom1 and a      
dispensation of the gospel for the last 
time2 and for the fullness of times1 in 
the which ,god will gather together in  
one1 all things1 both which are in      
heaven and which are in earth--it is not
 to be supposed1 ,i say1,a that in a few
 years he would permit that church thus 
brought forth out of obscurity to become
 disorganized1 and fall back into       
darkness4 ,the thought is preposterous4 
,there is nothing in all that ,god has  
revealed to indicate that he ever       
contemplated its disorganization2 but on
 the contrary1 there is every           
encouragement to believe that it will go
 on from grace to grace1 from faith to  
faith1 from one victory to another      
until1 like the little stone of         
,daniel's vision1 it shall become a     
great mountain and fill the whole earth4
  ,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov4 sec4    
xxvii1 #ac4  ,the position of ,josephite
 writers that it was an usurpation for  
the ,twelve to assume the ,presidency of

 the church when the ,first ,presidency 
was removed by the death of ,joseph and 
,hyrum and the rejection of ,sidney     
,rigdon1 is false4 ,the other position  
that the high council at ,nauvoo was the
 proper authority to succeed to the     
functions of the ,presidency is equally 
false4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,in proof that  
,josephite writers assume both these    
positions1 see ,the ,saints' ,herald1   
,vol4 ,,xxxix1 pp4 #djg-h  ,in support  
of their first position1 viz41 that it  
was an usurpation for the ,twelve to    
assume the ,presidency of the church at 
,nauvoo after the death of the prophet1 
,josephites rely upon the following3    
,the ,twelve will have no right to go   
into ,zion1 or any of her     stakes1   
and there undertake to regulate the     
affairs thereof where     there is a    
standing high council2 but it is their  
duty to go     abroad and regulate all  
matters relative to the different       
branches     of the church4 ,when the   
,twelve are together1 or a quorum of    

them1     in any church1 they will have 
authority to act independently1 and     
make decisions1 and those decisions will
 be valid4 ,but where there     is not a
 quorum they will have to do business by
 the voice of the     church4 ,no       
standing high council has authority to  
go into the     churches abroad and     
regulate the matters thereof1 for this  
belongs     to the ,twelve4,a  ,footnote
 ,a3 ,hist4 ,joseph ,smith1 ,mill4      
,star1 ,vol4 ,,xv1 p4 #bfa4 ,the        
instructions are from the prophet       
,joseph4  ,wherein the usurpation lies1 
according to ,josephite argument1 is in 
this3 ,the ,twelve came to ,nauvoo1     
where there was a regularly organized   
stake1 and undertook to regulate the    
affairs thereof4 ,the reply to that     
sophistry--no1 it is not even           
sophistry--it is simply an inaccurate1  
not to say untrue1 statement4 ,the      
,twelve did not come to ,nauvoo to      
regulate the affairs of that stake      
independent of its standing high        

council4 ,their action was in relation  
to the whole church of ,christ1 and not 
to the affairs of ,nauvoo stake4 ,it was
 a matter which affected all the stakes 
of ,zion and all the branches of the    
church throughout the world1 as much    
those branches scattered throughout the 
,united ,states and ,great ,britain as  
those in the stake at ,nauvoo1 that the 
,twelve came to ,nauvoo to regulate4    
,matters of such high importance were   
considered and decided upon which the   
,twelve and the ,twelve only1 in the    
absence of the ,first ,presidency1 could
 deal with2 and in those matters the    
,twelve not only consulted with the high
 council of the ,nauvoo stake1 but they 
called a general assembly of all the    
quorums and arranged them in their      
order,a to act as the highest spiritual 
authorities in the church4 ,the quorums 
sustained the action of the ,twelve in  
every particular1 and from the united   
action of the assembled quorums of the  
priesthood there is no appeal4,b        

,footnote ,a3 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4 ,,xxv4
 ,nos4 #ad1 #ae1 #af4  ,footnote ,b3    
,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 cvii4  ,in support
 of the ,josephite assumption that the  
high council at ,nauvoo was the proper  
authority to regulate the affairs of the
 church and not the ,twelve1 the        
following is quoted3      ,the standing 
high councils1 at the ,stakes of ,zion1 
form a quorum     equal in authority1 in
 the affairs of the ,church1 in all     
their decisions1 to the quorum of the   
,presidency1 or to the     traveling    
high council4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and
 ,cov4 sec4 cvii1 #cf4  ,the answer to  
this assumption is1 first1 that the high
 council is a judicial and not a        
presiding or executive council1 as is   
proven by the following3      ,the high 
council was appointed by revelation for 
the purpose of     settling important   
difficulties which might arise in the   
,church1     which could not be settled 
by the ,church or the bishop's          
council,a to the satisfaction of the    

parties4,b  ,footnote ,a3 ,that is1     
court4  ,footnote ,b3 ,doc4 and ,cov4   
sec4 cii1 #b4  ,hence the equality here 
referred to must have reference to      
judicial not to administrative affairs  
in the church4 ,the second answer to the
 assumption is that the standing high   
council in a stake of ,zion is a local  
council1 limited in its operations to   
the particular district of country      
comprising the stake4 ,if any proof were
 needed to sustain the statement it     
would be found in the words of the      
prophet ,joseph3      ,no standing high 
council has authority to go into the    
churches     abroad and regulate the    
matters thereof1 for this belongs to the
     ,twelve4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,hist4 of
 ,joseph ,smith1 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4    
,,xv1 #bfa4  ,surely no one will contend
 that the standing high council in one  
stake could go into another stake and   
attempt to regulate the affairs thereof2
 for that would create confusion4       
,nothing can be clearer in the          

organization of the church than the fact
 that the standing high councils in the 
stakes of ,zion are judicial not        
executive bodies1 limited in their      
jurisdiction to the stakes in which they
 are respectively located2 and hence not
 the proper councils to undertake the   
general ,presidency of the church1 or   
administrative functions of any kind4   
,,viii4   ,let us now proceed to the    
proof that ,joseph ,smith1 the prophet1 
did not take the keys of authority with 
him from the church1 when he fell a     
martyr to the truth1 but that said keys 
of authority remained with the church1  
more especially with the quorum of the  
,twelve4  ,on ,march #hth1 #ahcc1 the   
,lord said to ,joseph ,smith3           
,verily1 ,i say unto you1 the keys of   
this kingdom shall never be     taken   
from you1 while thou art in the world1  
neither in the world     to come2       
nevertheless1 through you shall the     
oracles be given unto     another yea1  
even to the church6,a  ,footnote ,a3    

,the italics are mine4 ,r4 ,doc4 and    
,cov41 sec4 xc4  ,joseph and ,hyrum1    
then1 did not take with them the oracles
 of ,god necessary to make the church   
efficient in accomplishing the work that
 ,god designed it to perform4 ,though   
the keys given to the prophet were never
 to be taken from him1 either in this   
world or that which is to come--though  
for ever he is to stand as the          
,president of the great dispensation of 
the fullness of times--yet the keys of  
authority and power committed to his    
hands may be given to another1 even to  
the church1 not to his posterity1 mark  
you4  ,this revelation makes it easy to 
believe that there was inspiration in   
the declaration of ,brigham ,young1     
uttered when he heard for the first time
 of the martyrdom of ,joseph and ,hyrum4
 ,he was at ,peterboro1 ,n4 ,h41 when   
the sad intelligence reached him3--     
,the first thing that ,i thought of was 
whether ,joseph had taken the     keys  
of the kingdom with him from the earth4 

,brother ,orson ,pratt     sat on my    
left1 we were both leaning back in our  
chairs4 ,bringing     my hand down on my
 knee1 ,i said1 the keys of the kingdom 
are     right here with the church4,a   
,footnote ,a3 ,brigham ,young1 quoted by
 ,tullidge4 ,see ,life of ,brigham      
,young1 p4 #ajf4  ,in line also with    
this revelation under consideration is  
the testimony of the spirit of ,god to  
,parley ,p4 ,pratt4 ,this elder while   
making his way on foot across the       
prairies of ,illinois towards ,nauvoo1  
bowed down with grief at the loss of    
,joseph and ,hyrum1 heard the spirit of 
,god say3      ,lift up your head and   
rejoice1 for behold it is well with my  
servants ,joseph and ,hyrum4 ,my servant
 ,joseph still holds the keys     of my 
kingdom in this dispensation1 and he    
shall stand in due time     on the      
earth1 in the flesh1 and fulfill that to
 which he is     appointed4 ,go and say 
to my people in ,nauvoo that they shall 
continue to pursue their daily duties1  

and take care of     themselves1 and    
make no movement in church government to
 organize     or alter anything until   
the return of the remainder of the      
quorum     of the ,twelve2 but exhort   
them that they continue to build up the 
house of the ,lord1 which ,i have       
commanded them to build in              
,nauvoo4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,autobiography
 ,p4 ,p4 ,pratt1 p4 #cfa4  ,the keys had
 not been taken from ,joseph--he is yet 
to stand on the earth and fulfill all   
that is appointed to him--the work which
 under ,god he had founded was to go on1
 is the significance of this message of 
the spirit4  ,a carping criticism may   
ask3 ,how can ,joseph ,smith forever    
stand at the head of the dispensation of
 the fullness of times1 never have the  
keys of authority thereof taken from    
him1 and yet give those keys or oracles 
to another1 even to the church--how can 
this thing be8 ,it can be upon the same 
principle that ,god can give his power  
to men1 even the priesthood1 and yet not

 diminish aught from his own power3     
,upon the same principle that ,jesus    
could say to ,peter1 ,i give unto you   
the keys of the kingdom1 and whatsoever 
you bind on earth shall be bound in     
heaven1,a and yet ,jesus lose nothing in
 dignity of office1 in authority1 or the
 possession of keys4 ,upon the same     
principle that ,peter1 ,james and ,john1
 7whom ,john the ,baptist declared to   
,joseph ,smith and ,oliver ,cowdery     
possessed the keys of the priesthood of 
,melchisedek17 could give the keys of   
the priesthood of ,melchisedek to       
,joseph ,smith1 and yet not strip       
themselves of them4 ,so ,joseph ,smith  
could give the keys or oracles of the   
priesthood to the church and still hold 
them--giving the keys to the ,twelve    
more especially1 and yet stand in his   
place1 without losing one iota of power 
ever conferred upon him4 ,it is a case  
where the one possessing keys of power  
and authority can give and not diminish 
his own store2 but even increase it more

 abundantly1 being made richer the more 
he gives1 when bestowing upon those who 
are worthy to receive such high things2 
even as ,god increases the ever widening
 circle of his own power by giving that 
power--the priesthood--to his faithful  
sons4  ,footnote ,a3 ,matt4 xvi4  ,it   
now remains for me to prove that the    
prophet ,joseph did give the oracles to 
another--and that they remained with the
 church4  ,on the #gth of ,august1      
#ahdd1 at a meeting of the ,twelve      
,apostles1 high council of the ,nauvoo  
stake1 and high priests1 held in the    
,seventies' ,hall1 in a speech following
 one made by ,sidney ,rigdon1 ,brigham  
,young1 speaking of the ,twelve1 said3  
,joseph conferred upon our heads all the
 keys and powers belonging     to the   
apostleship which he himself held before
 he was taken away1     and no man or   
set of men can get between ,joseph and  
the ,twelve in     this world or the    
world to come4 ,how often has ,joseph   
said to the     ,twelve1 ,i have laid   

the foundation and you must build       
thereon1     for upon your shoulders the
 kingdom rests4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,hist4 
,joseph ,smith1 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4     
,,xxv1 p4 #bcb4  ,in his speech in      
behalf of the claims of the ,twelve     
,apostles to lead the church1 on that   
memorable day1 the #hth of ,august1     
#ahdd1 ,brigham ,young said3      ,i say
 unto you that the quorum of the ,twelve
 have the keys of the     kingdom of    
,god in all the world4      4 4 4 4     
,you,a cannot appoint a prophet2 but if 
you will let the     ,twelve remain and 
act in their place1 the keys of the     
kingdom are     with them and they can  
manage the affairs of the church and    
direct     in all things aright4,b      
,footnote ,a3 ,the saints4  ,footnote   
,b3 ,history of ,joseph ,smith1 ,mill4  
,star1 p4 #bae-f4  ,whence this         
confidence on the part of ,brigham      
,young before the church to make so bold
 a declaration that the keys of the     
kingdom were still with the church--held

 more especially by the ,twelve8 ,it    
arose from the fact that the prophet    
,joseph had committed those keys to the 
,twelve4  ,elder ,woodruff1 writing from
 ,salem1 ,mass41 under date of ,october 
#aath1 #ahdd1 at a time when the claims 
of ,sidney ,rigdon were still agitated1 
said3      ,has the prophet ,joseph     
found ,elder ,rigdon in his counsels    
when he     organized the quorum of the 
,twelve1 a few months before his death1 
to prepare them for their endowment8    
,and when they received their           
endowment1 and actually received the    
keys of the ,kingdom of ,god1     and   
the oracles of ,god1 keys of revelation1
 and the pattern of     heavenly things2
 and thus addressing the ,twelve1       
exclaimed1 upon     your shoulders the  
kingdom rests1 and you must round up    
your     shoulders1 and bear it2 for ,i 
have had to do it until now4 ,but now   
the responsibility rests upon you4 ,it  
mattereth not what becomes     of me4,a 
,footnote ,a3 ,times and ,seasons1 ,vol4

 ,v1 p4 #fih4  ,that was when ,wilford  
,woodruff was a young man2 let us hear  
him forty-eight years' later1 when he   
stood up under the weight of eighty-five
 years and in the presence of a large   
congregation said3      ,i remember the 
last speech that he ,joseph the prophet 
ever gave     us before his death4 ,it  
was before we started upon our mission  
to     the ,east4 ,he stood upon his    
feet some three hours4 ,the room was    
filled as with consuming fire1 his face 
was as clear as amber1 and     he was   
clothed upon by the power of ,god4 ,he  
laid before us our     duty4 ,he laid   
before us the fullness of this great    
work of ,god2     and in his remarks to 
us he said3 ,i have had sealed upon my  
head     every key1 every power1 every  
principle of life and salvation that    
,god has ever given to any man who ever 
lived upon the face of the     earth4   
,and these principles and this          
,priesthood and power belong     to this
 great and last dispensation which the  

,god of heaven has     set his hand to  
establish in the earth1 now1 said he1   
addressing     the ,twelve1 ,i have     
sealed upon your heads every key1 every 
power1     and every principle which the
 ,lord has sealed upon my head4 ,and    
continuing he said3 ,i have lived up to 
the present time1 ,i have     been in   
the midst of this people and in the     
great work and labor     of redemption4 
,i have desired to live to see this     
temple the     ,nauvoo temple built4    
,but ,i shall never live to see it      
completed1     but you will4 ,after     
addressing us in this manner he said3 ,i
 tell     you the burden of this kingdom
 now rests upon your shoulders2 you     
have got to bear it off in all the      
world1 and if you don't do it     you   
will be damned4,a  ,footnote ,a3        
,remarks of ,president ,woodruff        
following a discourse on ,priesthood and
 the ,right of ,succession1 by the      
writer in #ahib4--,see ,appendix4  ,the 
testimony of ,wilford ,woodruff in his  

youth is the same as in his old age2 the
 same when a missionary in the eastern  
states traveling without purse or scrip1
 as when ,president of the church of    
,jesus ,christ1 honored and loved for   
his unswerving integrity and truth4     
,under date of ,january #bcrd1 #ahdh1   
,president ,brigham ,young1 in a letter 
to ,orson ,spencer1 ,president of the   
,british ,mission1 informing him of the 
organization of the ,first ,presidency  
of the church at ,winter ,quarters in   
#ahdh1 said3--      ,joseph told the    
,twelve1 the year before he died1 there 
is not one     key or power to be       
bestowed on this ,church to lead the    
people into     the celestial gate but  
,i have given you1 showed you1 and      
talked it     over to you1 the kingdom  
is set up1 and you have the perfect     
pattern1 you can go and build up the    
kingdom1 and go in at the     celestial 
gate1 taking your train with you4,a     
,footnote ,a3 ,mill4 ,star1 ,vol4 ,x1 p4
 #aae4  ,and now for a testimony from   

the enemy's camp that the ,twelve were  
the proper persons to lead the church1  
after the prophet ,joseph's death3      
,,notice666      ,after mature and      
candid deliberation ,i am fully and     
satisfactorily     convinced that ,mr4  
,sidney ,rigdon's claims to the         
,presidency of the     ,church of ,jesus
 ,christ of ,latter-day ,saints1 are not
 founded in     ,truth4 ,i have been    
deceived by his specious pretences1 and 
now     feel to warn every one over whom
 ,i have any influence to beware of     
him1 and his pretended visions and      
revelations4 ,the ,twelve are     the   
proper persons to lead the church4,a    
,,william ,,marks4,b      ,,nauvoo1     
,dec4 #i1 #ahdd4  ,footnote ,a3 ,italics
 are mine1 ,r4  ,footnote ,b3 ,times and
 ,seasons1 ,vol4 ,v1 p4 #gdb4  ,this is 
that same ,william ,marks who after this
 testimony became the associate of      
,james ,j4 ,strang and subsequently was 
the chief man in ordaining young ,joseph
 to be ,president of the church4 ,he is 

a type of the character of men who      
founded the ,reorganized church4  ,this 
completes our direct testimony that the 
keys of authority and power held by the 
prophet ,joseph were not taken from the 
earth by him1 but that he had given them
 to another1 even to the church1 the    
authority to exercise the powers        
thereof1 after his death1 more          
especially belonging to the ,twelve as  
the highest general presiding quorum in 
the church in case of the absence1      
destruction or rejection of the ,first  
,presidency4 ,let it be remembered that 
all the keys of priesthood which the    
prophet ,joseph held were given to the  
,twelve2 and they from time to time1 as 
occasions required1 have given those    
keys of authority to other worthy men2  
and thus all the authority1 keys of     
priesthood1 and heavenly powers         
conferred upon the prophet ,joseph have 
been preserved unto the church1 and are 
with it to this day4  ,the array of     
testimony presented1 taken in connection

 with the law of the church as given in 
the revelations of ,god1 clearly        
demonstrates that the church of ,jesus  
,christ of ,latter-day ,saints was not  
disorganized at the death of the        
prophets ,joseph and ,hyrum2 that such a
 thing was never contemplated in the    
work of ,god in this dispensation2 and  
since the church has never been         
disorganized1 any organization claiming 
to be the ,reorganized church of ,jesus 
,christ of ,latter-day ,saints is a     
counterfeit1 and writes fraud in the    
very title of it4  ,now that we draw to 
the close of our consideration of the   
claims of this ,reorganized church1 we  
cannot point to its destruction as we   
have done in the case of ,sidney        
,rigdon's church1 ,william ,smith's     
church and ,james ,j4 ,strang's church2 
for the ,reorganized church still       
exists4 ,but its doom is written as     
distinctly as that of the other false   
churches that we have seen crumble to   
pieces into shapeless heaps of ruin4 ,it

 is only a question of time with regard 
to its failure4 ,,mene1 ,,mene1 ,,tekel1
 is written upon its walls--,god hath   
numbered thy kingdom--weighed in the    
balances--found wanting6     ,,ix4   ,if
 any man thinks he has influence among  
this people to lead away a party1 let   
him try it1 and he will find out that   
there is power with the ,apostles which 
will carry them off victorious through  
all the world1 and build up and defend  
the church and kingdom of ,god4,a       
,footnote ,a3 ,history of ,joseph       
,smith1 ,mill ,star1 ,vol4 ,,xxv1 p4    
#baf4  ,there is yet another line of    
evidence to be adduced in support of the
 great truth that the church has never  
been disorganized in this dispensation1 
and therefore has never stood in need of
 a reorganization4,a ,that evidence is  
based upon the favor and blessing of    
,god which has followed the church of   
,christ led by the ,twelve ,apostles    
from ,nauvoo1 and their successors in   
the leadership of the church4  ,footnote

 ,a3 ,josephites try to make it appear  
from a statement in the general epistle 
of the ,twelve issued in #ahdg1 to the  
effect that they were about to          
reorganize the church with a ,president 
and two counselors1 that ,president     
,brigham ,young and his associates      
considered the church disorganized1 7see
 discourse by ,alexander ,h4 ,smith4    
,the ,saints' ,herald supplement of     
,june #bdth1 #ahic47 ,but it will be    
observed that the reorganization        
contemplated in the epistle of the      
,twelve is limited to reorganizing the  
,first ,presidency1 the only quorum that
 was disorganized4 ,for the same        
purpose1 reference 7see same discourse7 
is made to the re-baptism of the saints 
after their arrival in ,salt ,lake      
valley4 ,but this was merely a renewal  
of covenants1 which to make more        
impressive was accompanied by baptism2  
and neither reflected discredit on the  
first baptisms of the parties--from     
which is always reckoned the standing of

 the person in the church--nor carried  
any idea with it that the church had    
become disorganized4  ,the first thing  
to be considered as indicating the favor
 of ,god which attended the church under
 the ,presidency of the ,twelve         
,apostles1 is the fact that the church  
was held together through that trying   
period immediately following the        
martyrdom of the prophets ,joseph and   
,hyrum4 ,though aspirants arose on every
 hand to usurp authority and deceive the
 saints1 calm and unmoved stood the     
quorum of the ,twelve1 as watchmen upon 
the towers of ,zion4 ,they sounded a    
warning when danger arose2 they reproved
 the saints with sharpness when moved   
upon by the ,holy ,ghost to do so2 and  
members of their own quorum did not     
escape this reproof whenever pride or   
vain ambition or any other evil was seen
 in their conduct4 ,the fear of man was 
taken from their hearts4 ,conscious of  
the rectitude of their own intentions1  
and strong in the favor of ,god1 they   

neither trembled at the frowns of men in
 high places1 nor fawned at the feet of 
those in power4 ,with manly courage they
 put their trust in ,god1 and sought    
only to do that which the inspiration of
 ,god dictated4 ,the saints recognized  
in their deportment the conduct of true 
shepherds1 ready to lay down their lives
 for the flock of ,christ1 and they     
trusted them implicitly4  ,thus trusted 
by the saints the ,twelve went on       
building upon the foundation laid by the
 prophet ,joseph4 ,they took steps to   
push the building up of ,nauvoo1 but    
their chief interest and their most     
strenuous efforts centered in completing
 the ,temple and ,nauvoo ,house4 ,the   
work of ,god so well begun by ,joseph   
,smith1 instead of being retarded by his
 martyrdom1 seemed to receive fresh     
impetus2 as if the blood of the martyrs 
had already added new strength to the   
church4 ,men who had thought the whole  
of ,mormonism was comprised in what they
 called the genius of ,joseph ,smith1   

looked on in astonishment as they saw   
the church become more firmly           
established after his taking off than   
while he lived4 ,they soon began to see 
that ,joseph ,smith a martyr was more   
potent than ,joseph ,smith alive4  ,the 
quorums of the priesthood were greatly  
increased2 the number of missionaries   
multiplied4 ,not only was the welfare of
 the church at ,nauvoo the subject of   
the ,apostles' care1 but the branches   
scattered throughout the states of the  
,american ,union and ,great ,britain    
received their watchful attention4  ,the
 ,temple was completed1 many of the     
servants and saints of ,god received    
their washings1 anointings and blessings
 therein1 in fulfillment of the great   
desire of the prophet ,joseph4  ,this   
accomplished1 and mobocracy again       
raising its horrid front1 to plague the 
church1 the ,twelve turned their faces  
towards the west2 for they remembered   
that ,joseph himself had prophesied that
 the saints would yet be driven to the  

,rocky ,mountains1 and there become a   
mighty people4,a ,isaiah1 too1 long     
centuries before this time1 had declared
 that it should come to pass  ,footnote 
,a3 ,under date of ,august #fth1 #ahdb1 
,joseph writes in his history3 ,i       
prophesied that the saints would        
continue to suffer much affliction1 and 
would be driven to the ,rocky           
,mountains1 many would apostatize1      
others would be put to death by our     
persecutors1 or lose their lives in     
consequence of exposure or disease1 and 
some of you will live to go and assist  
in making settlements and build cities  
and see them become a mighty people in  
the midst of the ,rocky ,mountains4     
,in the last days1 that the mountain of 
the ,lord's house shall be              
established in the top of the mountains1
 and shall be exalted     above the     
hills2 and all nations shall flow unto  
it4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,isaiah ii1 #b4    
,it gives evidence of divine inspiration
 in the ,twelve that in the midst of    

their perplexities at ,nauvoo1 during   
the last year the church remained there1
 their hearts were inclined to lead the 
church of ,god to the place indicated as
 its abode in the last days1 both by    
ancient and modern prophecy4  ,that     
great exodus of the church from ,nauvoo1
 with the subsequent journey of the     
saints across the wilderness of ,iowa   
and the great plains which form the     
eastern slope of the ,rocky ,mountains1 
is one of the most remarkable events in 
either ancient or modern history1 when  
considered in the light of the          
circumstances under which it took       
place--a people well nigh stripped of   
all their worldly possessions1 teams and
 wagons improvised with such animals and
 materials as in the hurry of their     
departure1 under the menace of mob      
violence1 could be gathered             
together2--indifferently clothed and    
provisioned for contact with the        
hardships inseparably connected with    
such an enterprise1 and the lapse of    

time ere they could replenish their     
scanty stores2-- making their way       
through an unexplored wilderness1 a     
great part of which was desert2--seeking
 a destination a thousand miles from the
 frontiers of civilization2--absolutely 
without any base of supplies1 trusting  
solely to the providences of ,god for   
their daily needs2-- warlike tribes of  
,indians on every hand--and yet1 under  
the direction of the ,apostles1 they    
accomplished the great enterprise with  
little loss of life1 and in an          
incredibly short space of time6  ,this  
exodus and the subsequent settlement of 
the saints in the valleys of ,utah1     
confirmed the greatness of ,president   
,young's genius in the minds of the men 
of the world1 but to all who have an    
abiding faith in the divinity of the    
great work of ,god in the last days1 it 
bears witness that the ,lord was with   
,president ,brigham ,young and his      
fellow ,apostles1 by the inspiration of 
the ,holy ,spirit2 and confirms the     

faith of the ,latter-day ,saints1 that  
their leaders held divine authority1 and
 were the proper men to preside over the
 church of ,christ after the martyrdom1 
of the prophet ,joseph4  ,not only was  
the exodus from ,nauvoo successfully    
executed1 but the location of the       
,latter-day ,saints in the ,rocky       
,mountains was equally well carried out4
 ,removing the church to ,salt ,lake    
valley resulted in founding             
commonwealths throughout the            
inter-,rocky ,mountain region2 for the  
saints settling in the mountains made it
 possible for others to establish homes 
there also2 and it must be remembered   
that the ,latter-day ,saints have not   
only settled ,utah but have formed      
extensive colonies in ,idaho1 ,arizona1 
,wyoming and ,colorado4  ,the church    
while in the eastern states never       
numbered more than three or at the most 
four stakes of ,zion4 ,but since coming 
to the west the stakes of ,zion have    
increased to thirty-six1 each with its  

high council1 its high priests' quorum1 
its several elders' quorums1 and stake  
organizations of ,relief ,societies1    
,improvement ,associations for both     
sexes2 and quite a number of the stakes 
have church academies where theology is 
made a leading feature of the           
curriculum4  ,within these thirty-six   
stakes are about five hundred organized 
wards1 presided over by bishops1 who are
 assisted in their labor of preserving  
the saints in the faith1 looking after  
the poor1 and keeping down iniquity1    
etc41 by local quorums of priests1      
teachers and deacons4 ,in addition to   
all this1 there are ward organizations  
of ,relief ,societies1 ,improvement     
,associations for both sexes1 and       
,primary ,societies for children4 ,in   
each ward1 also1 is a ,sunday ,school   
for the instruction of the youth4       
,throughout the stakes of ,zion there   
are #ejd ,sunday ,schools1 with a total 
membership1 including officers1 teachers
 and pupils1 of #gb1eai2 in the         

libraries of the ,sunday ,schools are   
#bc1eda volumes2 and more than fifteen  
thousand dollars is expended annually in
 ,sunday ,school work4  ,in the         
organized stakes the saints number about
 two hundred and fifty thousand2 and    
though but few individuals among them   
can be considered wealthy1 yet they are 
a prosperous1 contented1 and therefore a
 happy people4 ,a greater per centage of
 them own the homes they live in and the
 lands they cultivate1 than is the case 
with any other community in all the     
world2 and they are freer than any other
 people on earth from those difficulties
 arising in the industrial world which  
embitter the relations of employer and  
employed4 ,peace is in their            
habitations2 ,god is honored at the     
family altars1 as well as in the public 
sanctuaries2 faith and confidence in    
,god abound on every hand1 and          
everywhere one may see evidences that   
,god is with the people4 ,he has neither
 forsaken them nor their leaders1 as ,he

 would have done had they turned away   
from ,his gospel1 trampled ,his church  
under their feet1 or blasphemed ,his    
priesthood by employing it to fleece the
 saints and aggrandize themselves4      
,such is the condition of the work of   
,god within the organized stakes of     
,zion--such are the results attained1   
the development as to organization1     
increase of numbers1 and temporal and   
spiritual prosperity4 ,but while this   
great work has been going on at the     
gathering places of the saints1 the     
foreign work of the church has not been 
neglected4 ,on the contrary the work of 
preaching the gospel to the world has   
been made to keep pace with the         
development of the work at the gathering
 places of the saints4 ,among the first 
acts of the ,twelve after the martyrdom 
of ,joseph and ,hyrum was one to greatly
 increase the numbers of the            
seventies--the quorums of the priesthood
 which more especially constitute the   
foreign ministry of the church4 ,at the 

,october conference in #ahdd the quorums
 of seventies were increased from two to
 ten4 ,since that time the seventies    
have been increased1 until now,a they   
number one hundred and seven quorums1   
comprising a body of seven thousand men1
 whose special calling it is to preach  
the gospel abroad4 ,josephites complain 
against the church for thus increasing  
the number of quorums of seventy2 and   
mark it down as a violation of the order
 of the church1 and quote as proof the  
following from the ,doctrine and        
,covenants3  ,footnote ,a3 #ahid4       
,and these seven presidents are to      
choose other seventies1 besides     the 
first seventy1 to whom they belong1 and 
are to preside over     them2 and also  
other seventy1 until seven times        
seventy1 if the     labor in the        
vineyard of necessity requires it4,a    
,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov41 ,sec4    
cvii1 #ie1 #if4  ,this they say limits  
the number of quorums to seven1 and     
therefore no more than seven ought to be

 chosen4 ,the prophet ,joseph1 however1 
when the first quorums of seventy were  
being organized said3      ,if the first
 ,seventy are all employed1 and there is
 a call for     more laborers1 it will  
be the duty of the seven ,presidents of 
the     first ,seventy to call and      
ordain other seventy and send them forth
     to labor in the vineyard1 until if 
needs be1 they set apart seven     times
 seventy1 and even until there are one  
hundred and forty and     four thousand 
thus set apart for the ministry4,a      
,footnote ,a3 ,hist4 ,joseph ,smith1    
under date of ,may #bnd1 #ahce4 ,mill4  
,star1 ,vol4 ,,xv1 p4 #bfa4  ,not only  
have the quorums designed to form the   
foreign ministry of the church been     
greatly increased1 but they have been   
employed4 ,since the death of the       
prophet ,joseph1 in addition to         
maintaining the missions in those       
countries where proclamation of the     
gospel had been made during his         
lifetime1 missions have been established

 in the following countries1 and tens of
 thousands of the honest in heart       
gathered out of them3  ,france1         
,germany1 ,holland1 ,belgium1 ,denmark1 
,sweden1 ,norway1 ,iceland1 ,italy1     
,switzerland1 ,jersey ,islands1         
,hindostan1 ,malta1 ,cape of ,good      
,hope1 ,mexico1 among a number of       
,indian tribes in the ,western ,states  
and ,territories in the ,united ,states1
 ,sandwich ,islands1 ,samoa1 ,friendly  
,islands1 ,new ,zealand1 ,turkey1 and   
the mission has lately been reopened in 
,palestine4  ,in a number of these      
countries periodicals have been         
published4 ,this is the case in ,france1
 ,germany1 ,switzerland and ,denmark4   
,the ,book of ,mormon since the death of
 the prophet ,joseph has been translated
 and published in the following         
languages3  ,french1 ,german1 ,danish1  
,italian1 ,dutch1 ,welsh1 ,swedish1     
,spanish1 ,hawaiian and ,maori4  ,it has
 also been translated but not yet       
published in ,hindostanee and modern    

,hebrew4 ,and thus the testimony of the 
,nephites to the great truths that the  
,lord is ,god1 that ,jesus is the       
,christ1 and the gospel the power of    
,god unto salvation to all those who    
believe and obey it1 is being sent to   
all the world in well-nigh all the      
languages thereof by the church of      
,christ2 and the saints are ridding     
their garments of the blood of this     
generation both by preaching the gospel 
by word of mouth and also by sending    
forth the written word4  ,the phase of  
the great ,latter-day work which seemed 
most to occupy the attention of the     
prophet ,joseph ,smith in the last year 
of his life1 was that which relates to  
the salvation for the dead4 ,of this he 
preached most frequently2 often was it  
the subject of his correspondence1 his  
whole mind seemed given to it4 ,elijah  
had visited him in ,kirtland ,temple and
 had restored the keys of the priesthood
 which turn the hearts of the fathers to
 the children1 and the children to the  

fathers1 lest the whole earth be smitten
 with a curse4 ,therefore1 said ,elijah1
 the keys of this dispensation are      
committed into your hands1 and by this  
ye may know that the great and dreadful 
day of the ,lord is near1 even at the   
doors4,a ,no wonder then that this      
matter occupied his mind when the keys  
for the salvation of the dead were      
placed in his hands attended with all   
the responsibility that attaches        
thereto4 ,following are his views upon  
the greatness1 importance and future    
prospects of this work for the dead3    
,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov4 ,sec4 cx4 
,the earth will be smitten with a curse1
 unless there is a welding     link of  
some kind or other1 between the fathers 
and the children1     upon some subject 
or other1 and behold what is that       
subject8 ,it is     the baptism for the 
dead4 ,for we without them cannot be    
made     perfect2 neither can they      
without us be made perfect4 ,neither can
     they nor we be made perfect1       

without those who have died in the      
gospel also2 for it is necessary in the 
ushering in of the     dispensation of  
the fullness of times1 which            
dispensation is now     beginning to    
usher in1 that a whole and complete and 
perfect     union1 and welding together 
of dispensations1 and keys1 and         
powers1 and glories should take place1  
and be revealed from the     days of    
,adam even to the present time2 and not 
only this1 but     those things which   
never have been revealed from the       
foundation of     the world1 but have   
been kept hid from the wise and the     
prudent1     shall be revealed unto     
babes and sucklings1 in this            
dispensation     of the fullness of     
times4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,doc4 and ,cov41
 ,sec4 cxxviii4  ,and this is the work  
the prophet of ,god had in mind to do   
for all the generations of men from     
,adam to the present dispensation6 ,no  
wonder it was the controling theme of   
both his tongue and pen2 his meditation 

by night1 his thought by day4 ,and as a 
proof to the world that the keys of the 
priesthood which administer in these    
holy ordinances for the dead were       
committed to the ,twelve and have been  
with the ,presidency of the church from 
the days of the prophet until now1 ,i   
point to the four magnificent temples   
reared by the saints in ,utah to the    
name of the most high ,god--erected for 
the express purpose of performing this  
work which so burdened the mind of the  
prophet ,joseph in the last year of his 
life4   ,josephites of course profess a 
belief in this great feature of the work
 of ,god--in baptism for the dead and   
the sealing powers linking together all 
the dispensations that have been given  
to man1 and all the families and kindred
 of the earth2 but where are their      
temples in which this work is going on8 
,show me thy faith by thy works6 ,mr4   
,smith claims to have been ordained by  
his father to be ,president of the      
church1 to have inherited his father's  

priesthood and office1 but where1 ,i    
ask1 is the evidence that he has        
inherited his father's interest1        
anxiety1 and activity in respect to his 
greater part of the work of the         
dispensation of the fulness of          
times--the work that touches the        
interests of the generations of men that
 are past as well as those that are now 
alive1 or shall live in the generations 
to come8 ,when ,elijah's cloak fell from
 his receding form to the shoulders of  
,elisha1 not only the material garment  
fell upon him1 but also the spirit and  
the power of ,elijah was upon ,elisha1  
and he did the works of the departed    
prophet4 ,so has it been with those who 
have succeeded to the ,presidency of the
 church since the death of the prophet  
,joseph4 ,great as the work for the     
living has been since then1 still       
greater has been the work for the dead2 
in proof of which ,i give the following 
information respecting the work done in 
the temples of ,god4 ,the report from   

each temple dates from the commencement 
of work therein up to ,december #cast1  
#ahic4;,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,i am indebted 
to the ,presidents and ,recorders of the
 respective temples for the information 
here given4  ,st4 ,george ,temple3      
,baptisms for the                       
dead44444444444444444444444444#bfd1aeh  
,ordinations to the priesthood for the  
dead444444#dc1gec     ,endowments for   
the dead444444444444444444444444#aab1cej
  ,logan ,temple3      ,baptisms for the
 dead44444444444444444444444444#bci1dhj 
,ordinations to the priesthood for the  
dead444444#dc1dcc     ,endowments for   
the dead444444444444444444444444#ajg1def
     ,sealings 7husbands and wives7 for 
the dead444444#cj1jgb     ,sealings     
7children to parents7 for the           
dead444444#f1gce  ,manti ,temple3       
,baptisms for the                       
dead44444444444444444444444444#aeg1ihi  
,ordination to the priesthood for the   
dead4444444#bh1jgf     ,endowments for  
the dead4444444444444444444444444#fg1jfb

     ,sealings 7husbands and wives7 for 
the dead444444#bc1hjj     ,sealings     
7children to parents7 for the           
dead444444#d1ddi  ,salt ,lake ,temple3,a
      ,baptisms for the                 
dead144444444444444444444444444#ba1gej  
,ordinations to the priesthood for the  
dead1444444#d1ihj     ,endowments for   
the dead14444444444444444444444444#c1fdc
     ,sealings 7husbands and wives7 for 
the dead1444444#c1gjj     ,sealings     
7children to parents7 for the           
dead14444444#igc  ,footnote ,a3         
,dedicated ,april1 #ahic1 the report is 
for #h months4  ,the total number of    
baptisms for the dead1444444444#fhc1cgg 
,of ordinations to the                  
priesthood1444444444444444444#abj1bcb   
,of                                     
,endowments14444444444444444444444444444
444444444#cjj1eaa ,of sealings          
7including wives and husbands and       
children to the parents--#c ,temples    
only reported1744#fi1gdi  ,let us       
consider another proof that the church  

led to the mountains of ,israel under   
the ,presidency of the ,apostles is     
indeed the very church of ,christ1 and  
that it has never been disorganized1 or 
lost the favor of ,god4  ,during his    
personal ministry on earth1 ,jesus said3
      ,if the world hate you1 ye know   
that it hated me before it hated        
you4 ,if ye were of the world1 the world
 would love his own1 but     because ye 
are not of the world1 but ,i have chosen
 you out of the     world therefore the 
world hateth you4,a  ,footnote ,a3 ,st4 
,john1 xv4  ,again he said3             
,blessed are ye when men shall hate you1
 and when they shall     separate you   
from their company1 and shall reproach  
you1 and cast     out your name as evil1
 for the ,son of ,man's sake4 ,rejoice  
ye in     that day1 and leap for joy2   
for1 behold1 your reward is great in    
heaven2 for in like manner did their    
fathers unto the prophets 4 4     4 4 4 
,woe unto you1 when all men shall speak 
well of you8 for so     did their       

fathers to the false prophets4,a        
,footnote ,a3 ,st4 ,luke vi4  ,during   
the lifetime of the prophet ,joseph from
 the first time he called upon the ,lord
 when a mere lad1 to the day he fell by 
the old well-curb at ,carthage jail1    
pierced by the bullets of assassins1 the
 adversary was ever upon the alert for  
his destruction4 ,the hearts of the     
wicked were stirred against him1 false  
priests combined both against him and   
the work which under ,god1 he founded2  
officers of the law with false charges  
and unlawful warrants dogged his        
footsteps1 mobs rose in acts of violence
 against him and his people2 he was made
 acquainted with the tyranny of unjust  
judges1 corrupt courts1 and the gloom of
 the prison cell4 ,he was made to feel  
that the world did not love him1 that he
 was not of the world1 that the ,powers 
of ,darkness hated the church of        
,christ4 ,since the death of the prophet
 ,joseph1 the same ,powers which pursued
 him and the work he established have   

continued their hostilities against the 
,church of ,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day
 ,saints4 ,it is the elders of that     
church1 not the elders of the           
,reorganized church1 who have been      
hunted by mobs1 and beaten for no other 
crime than calling men to repentance4   
,it is the blood of the elders of the   
,church of ,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day
 ,saints1 not of the ,reorganized       
church1 which today unavenged crimsons  
the soil of the states of ,georgia1     
,tennessee and ,mississippi4  ,it is the
 ,church of ,jesus ,christ of           
,latter-day ,saints1 not the            
,reorganized church which has been      
constantly assailed1 despoiled of its   
property1 its members driven into exile1
 hundreds thrust into prison1 whole     
communities terrorized--and all this    
through the administrators of the       
government acting under a mistaken zeal 
created by the persistent               
misrepresentations of sectarian priests 
and religious bigots--some of our       

friends of high standing in the         
,reorganization joining in the hue and  
cry against the saints of ,god and      
aiding in the work of misrepresentation4
  ,yet all this has not retarded the    
work of ,god4 ,it has gone steadily     
forward4 ,the injustice that has been   
done the church is beginning to be      
recognized4 ,already the government has 
restored the personal property it       
confiscated4 ,and as for the fines1     
imprisonment1 and exile inflicted on so 
many of the saints during the past ten  
years1 these things have only           
contributed to spreading abroad         
knowledge respecting the gospel and its 
restoration4 ,the ,lord has his own way 
of accomplishing his purposes4 ,to the  
peasant shepherds on the hills of       
,judea1 he sent the angels of heaven to 
testify of the birth of the ,messiah2   
and doubtless the testimony of these men
 was sufficient to found faith in the   
minds of the people among whom they     
moved that the great hope of ,israel was

 fulfilled--the ,messiah was born4 ,but 
the king as well as the peasant must    
have a testimony that the ,son of ,god  
had come into the world2 and hence from 
the far east wise men skilled in the    
knowledge of the heavenly bodies and    
their movements and their signs are     
brought to the court of proud ,king     
,herod1 to testify that ,messiah1 the   
promised ,king and ,redeemer of ,israel 
is born4  ,preaching without purse or   
scrip by the ,twelve ,apostles1 and     
other servants of ,god1 might answer all
 the purposes for spreading abroad a    
knowledge of the gospel among the common
 people4 ,the gospel1 however1 was not  
designed for the poor and the lowly     
only2 it is meant also for the rich and 
the proud among men4 ,and when ,god     
would have it proclaimed to magistrates1
 rulers1 governors1 kings and emperors1 
he called his servant ,paul and led him 
through such experiences1 including     
mobbings1 whippings1 exile and          
imprisonment1 as brought him in contact 

with the great and high ones of the     
earth4 ,not only before the judges and  
governors of ,judea and the petty kings 
who visited them was the gospel         
preached1 but1 as there is good reason  
to believe1 it was declared before the  
purple-robed ,emperor of ,rome4 ,through
 this means the kings of the earth      
learned the ,christian story and the    
plan of salvation included in it4 ,it   
was preached not only in the humble     
homes of the poor1 but also in the      
marble palaces of the ,caesars4  ,so in 
this dispensation of the fulness of     
times1 the ,lord has led his servants   
and his church through such experiences 
as will best make known the great work  
of the last days--the opening of the    
heavens and the committing of a         
dispensation of the gospel to the       
children of men4  ,preaching the gospel 
without purse and scrip by the elders of
 the church has been a very successful  
method of making known the truth among  
men4 ,there is something in it which    

goes right home to the hearts of the    
honest4 ,it is a method1 too1 which has1
 in the main1 built up the church so    
far4 ,there are classes1 however1 as in 
the dispensation opened by the personal 
ministry of ,messiah1 that would never  
be reached by such a method4 ,these are 
the rich and great1 the proud and high1 
the judges1 legislators1 presidents and 
kings of the earth4 ,how long1 for      
example1 would it be under the method of
 preaching the gospel without purse and 
scrip before the humble elders of the   
church working in that way would get a  
hearing before the president and his    
cabinet1 not once but repeatedly8 ,or   
how long would it be under the aforesaid
 method of preaching before the ,house  
of ,representatives1 or the more        
aristocratic ,senate of the ,united     
,states would devote day after day to   
the consideration of ,mormonism8 ,how   
long would the elders be preaching      
without purse and scrip1 though zealous 
as angels1 before they could arrest the 

attention of the ,supreme ,court of the 
,united ,states sufficiently to have the
 judges sit in solemn session1 clad in  
all the vestments of their high office  
to listen to an explanation of          
,mormonism8 ,i risk the assertion that  
such things could never have been       
attained by the elders preaching without
 purse or scrip4 ,yet such a remarkable 
hearing as hinted at above has been     
given to ,mormonism in all these great  
divisions of the general government of  
the ,united ,states4 ,and by becoming   
for many years a national question1 it  
has been kept prominently before the    
world2 and not only the masses have been
 aroused by the proclamation of its     
principles1 but the attention of        
statesmen and rulers has been attracted 
to it1 and to them1 in a manner1 the    
gospel has been preached4 ,what though  
it hath been preached by some through   
envy and strife1 to paraphrase the words
 of ,paul8 ,what then8 ,notwithstanding 
every way1 whether in pretense or in    

truth1 ,christ is preached and therein  
do the saints rejoice1 yea1 and they    
will rejoice2 for they know that this   
shall turn to their salvation4,a ,god   
hath not left himself without witnesses 
among the great ones of the earth2 but  
ever and anon as they have heard about  
the truth and of the truth1 in cabinet  
council1 ,senate chamber1 legislative   
hall1 the courts of kings and the       
palaces of princes--the spirit of ,god  
hath testified to their hearts that the 
gospel they heard preached1 whether     
preached of strife or of good-will1 was 
the truth of heaven1 and for that       
testimony statesmen1 judges1 governors  
and kings shall give an account in the  
day of judgment to the ,god who gave it 
to them4  ,footnote ,a3 ,the passage    
paraphrased will be found in ,paul to   
the ,philippians i1 #ae-bj4  ,but what  
of all this8 ,why1 where the lambs are  
the vultures are gathered together4 ,the
 very violence towards the church of    
,christ on the part of hate-inspired    

men1 moved upon by the spirit of him who
 in heaven rebelled against the truth of
 ,god and the priesthood1 bears witness 
that the keys of the priesthood are     
still with the ,church of ,jesus ,christ
 of ,latter-day ,saints1 and hence      
,lucifer1 through wicked men and in     
diverse ways1 seeks its destruction4    
,marvel not if the world hate you1 it   
hated me before it hated you1 if you    
were of the world the world would love  
its own6 ,and in the evidences of the   
hatred of the wicked for the ,church of 
,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day ,saints   
may be read the negative proof of their 
acceptance with ,god as his church4  ,my
 task is ended4 ,i have taken two great 
prophecies of ,brigham ,young1 prophet1 
seer1 and ,president of the church of   
,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day ,saints in
 his day1 and traced out their          
fulfillment4 ,the first prophecy--  ,all
 that want to draw away a party from the
 church after them1 let them do it if   
they can1 but they will not prosper--was

 proven to be true by a brief           
consideration of the rise and fall of   
the principal factions called into      
existence under the leadership of       
ambitious1 wicked men4 ,we have seen go 
to pieces upon the rock of ,president   
,young's inspired prediction ,sidney    
,rigdon's church1 ,william ,smith's1    
,james ,j4 ,strang's1 and the           
organization1 such as it was1 founded by
 ,george ,miller and ,lyman ,wight--none
 of them prospered4 ,we have considered 
the claims of the ,reorganized or       
,josephite church1 built from the ruins 
of these other churches just enumerated4
 ,its pretentions have been viewed from 
every standpoint1 and are found lacking 
in every element of consistency and     
truth4 ,misconceptions of the work and  
laws of ,god constituted its foundation2
 and the folly1 sophistry1 ignorance and
 vain ambition of--to be                
charitable--mistaken men1 comprise its  
superstructure6  ,we have taken the     
second part of ,president ,brigham      

,young's inspired prophecy--,if any man 
thinks he has influence among this      
people to lead away a party1 let him try
 it1 and he will find out that there is 
power with the ,apostles which will     
carry them off victorious through all   
the world1 and build up and defend the  
church and kingdom of ,god--and have    
found the truth of it demonstrated in   
the history of the ,church of ,jesus    
,christ of ,latter-day ,saints4 ,the    
favor1 blessing1 power and glory of ,god
 have indeed attended the labors of the 
,apostles who led the ,saints from      
,nauvoo1 and the ,presidencies of the   
church which succeeded them2 of a truth 
there has been with those ,apostles and 
their successors a power which has      
carried them off victorious through all 
the world1 and built up and defended the
 church and kingdom of ,god4            
,,appendix4  ,,testimony ,,of ,,prest4  
,,wilford ,,woodruff4      ,remarks     
following a lecture delivered by ,elder 
,b4 ,h4 ,roberts1 in     the ,assembly  

,hall1 ,salt ,lake ,city1 ,february     
#bcrd1 #ahib1 under the     auspices of 
the ,y4 ,m4 ,m4 ,i4 ,associations of the
 ,salt ,lake ,stake1     on ,priesthood 
and the ,right of ,succession4   ,i     
realize it is somewhat late1 but ,i want
 to beg the indulgence of this assembly 
a few moments4 ,i felt that as ,i was a 
member of these ,mutual ,improvement    
,associations ,i wanted to attend this  
meeting and hear this lecture4 ,i did   
not wish to interfere with the time of  
,brother ,roberts4 ,he has given us an  
excellent discourse1 and has told us the
 truth4 ,there are a few things         
pertaining to this subject about which  
,i wish to bear my testimony to the     
young men of ,israel4  ,first1 ,i wish  
to say a few words regarding            
,priesthood4 ,there is no mistake about 
the ,priesthood of ,god ,almighty4 ,the 
,god of heaven himself has created and  
redeemed this world by the power of that
 ,priesthood2 and no being that ever    
dwelt on this earth ever has been or    

ever will be able to do or perform any  
work pertaining to salvation unless it  
is by that eternal and everlasting      
,priesthood4 ,and where that ,priesthood
 of ,almighty ,god is manifest1 the     
power of that ,priesthood is with the   
people1 no matter what age or generation
 they have lived in4 ,and ,i wish to say
 that there has been no generation1 no  
dispensation1 any greater than the one  
in which ,joseph ,smith was raised up4  
,he laid the foundation of this great   
work1 under ,god1 and ,he established   
the ,church upon the face of the whole  
earth1 in fulfillment of revelation and 
prophecy1 from ,father ,adam down to our
 day2 and the ,lord has made1 and will  
make no mistake in regard to calling a  
people or giving them the ,priesthood4  
,as ,i have said1 ,joseph ,smith        
organized the ,church4 ,he lived but a  
short time with us--though longer than  
the ,savior did after ,he entered the   
ministry4 ,the ,savior lived about three
 and a half years from the time ,he     

commenced ,his ministrations among the  
people until ,he was crucified4 ,joseph 
,smith lived some fourteen years1 if ,i 
mistake not1 after he organized this    
,church4 ,he also was slain4 ,but before
 he died1 he organized the ,church with 
,apostles1 ,patriarchs1 ,pastors1       
,teachers1 and the whole government of  
the ,church of ,god2 and that           
,priesthood he organized or laid the    
foundations of remained with the people 
after his death1 as ,brother ,roberts   
has said tonight4 ,the ,twelve ,apostles
 stood next to the ,first ,presidency of
 the ,church2 and ,i am a living witness
 myself to this work4 ,i am a living    
witness to the testimony that he gave to
 the ,twelve ,apostles when all of us   
received our endowments under his hands4
 ,i remember the last speech that he    
ever gave us before his death4 ,it was  
before we started upon our mission to   
the ,east4 ,he stood upon his feet some 
three hours4 ,the room was filled as    
with consuming fire1 his face was as    

clear as amber1 and he was clothed upon 
by the power of ,god4 ,he laid before us
 our duty4 ,he laid before us the       
fullness of this great work of ,god2 and
 in his remarks to us he said3 ,i have  
had sealed upon my head every key1 every
 power1 every principle of life and     
salvation that ,god has ever given to   
any man who ever lived upon the face of 
the earth4 ,and these principles and    
this ,priesthood and power belong to    
this great and last dispensation which  
the ,god of ,heaven has set ,his hand to
 establish in the earth4 ,now1 said he  
addressing the ,twelve1 ,i have sealed  
upon your heads every key1 every power1 
and every principle which the ,lord has 
sealed upon my head4 ,continuing1 he    
said1 ,i have lived so long--up to the  
present time--,i have been in the midst 
of this people1 and in the great work   
and labor of redemption4 ,i have desired
 to live to see this ,temple at ,nauvoo 
built4 ,but ,i shall never live to see  
it completed2 but you will4 ,now1 we    

didn't suppose but what he would live4  
,we didn't comprehend what he meant4    
,neither did the ,twelve in the days of 
the ,savior comprehend what ,he meant   
when ,he said1 ,i am going away from    
you2 if ,i go not the ,comforter will   
not come unto you4 ,and so we did not   
understand ,joseph when he said he would
 not live to see that ,temple completed2
 it was not given us to realize it at   
that time4  ,after addressing us in this
 manner he said3 ,i tell you the burden 
of this kingdom now rests upon your     
shoulders2 you have got to bear it off  
in all the world1 and if you don't do it
 you will be damned4 ,that was pretty   
strong language1 but it was full of     
meaning1 it was full of significance4   
,joseph was trained in the ,priesthood  
before he came to this planet4 ,he      
understood the ,priesthood perfectly    
before he came here4 ,he understood its 
work and its lineage1 so far as lineage 
applies to offices in the priesthood4   
,he also understood that he was going   

away from this earth2 but we did not    
know it until after he was put to death4
 ,i was in ,boston with ,president      
,young the very hour he and his brother 
,hyrum were slain4 ,and at that moment  
there was a power of darkness surrounded
 us1 a feeling of heaviness that ,i     
never felt before4 ,i had never seen    
,president ,young feel so bad in my life
 before as he did that hour4  ,nearly   
all the quorum of the ,twelve were on   
missions in the eastern ,states when the
 terrible tragedy at ,carthage took     
place2 and we did not hear of it for    
some time afterwards4 ,we returned to   
,nauvoo4 ,it has been repeated to you   
here tonight what was done in the       
conference in ,nauvoo4 ,i do not know   
whether there is anyone present here    
tonight but myself who was at that      
conference--there are but few living who
 were present on that occasion4 ,brigham
 stepped forth as a leader of ,israel1  
as has been said here tonight by        
,brother ,roberts1 and ,sidney ,rigdon  

also tried to get the presidency2 but   
when his name was put to a vote before  
the conference of the ,latter-day       
,saints1 and they were asked if they    
wanted him as their guardian1 to guide  
them in the ,celestial ,kingdom1        
,brigham said3 ,all who do1 raise your  
right hand1 and ,i did not see a hand   
raised in his favor in that             
congregation4  ,brigham then asked if   
they wanted the ,twelve ,apostles to    
step forth and magnify their calling and
 build up the ,church and establish the 
,kingdom of ,god in all the earth4 ,all 
who do1 raise your right hand1 and      
almost every soul in that congregation  
voted2 and when ,brigham ,young arose   
and commenced speaking1 if ,i had not   
seen him with my own eyes1 there is no  
one that could have convinced me that it
 was not ,joseph ,smith speaking4 ,it   
was as the voice and face of ,joseph    
,smith2 as anyone can testify who was   
there and acquainted with these two men4
  ,several men have claimed authority to

 lead the ,church1 but the ,prophet     
,joseph never conferred any such        
authority upon any of them4 ,the keys of
 the ,presidency after his death were   
held by the ,twelve ,apostles1 and by   
them only1 until the ,council of the    
,first ,presidency was reorganized4  ,i 
name these things to show that the ,lord
 has put his mark of approval upon the  
acts of the ,apostles who followed the  
,prophet ,joseph ,smith in the          
establishment of this great work upon   
the earth2 and the ,priesthood will     
continue here and the work increase     
until ,jesus ,christ shall come in the  
clouds of heaven4  ,i wish here to ask a
 question4 ,how has every man who has   
gone on his own authority and left the  
,church1 and undertaken to build up a   
,church to himself1 succeeded8 ,how has 
he prospered8 ,what has he done8 ,why1  
just as they did who tried to establish 
,strangism1 and ,rigdonism and every    
other ism that has ever arisen8 ,they   
have gone overboard4 ,the power and     

influence of ,god have not been with    
them2 the ,priesthood has not been with 
them2 the ,lord has not called them to  
do the work they tried to do1 and the   
result has been a failure--a complete   
failure every time4  ,on the other hand1
 how has ,he prospered and blessed those
 who have gone forth to the nations of  
the earth and declared the ,gospel of   
,christ to the millions upon millions of
 their fellow men8 ,why1 ,he has        
prospered and blessed them richly1 and  
opened their way to success4 ,who are   
they who have gone forth to the nations 
of the earth and who have visited the   
islands of the sea1 and have            
accomplished this great work of         
gathering1 built cities and reclaimed   
the desert8 ,not those who tried to lead
 different factions from the ,church1   
not those who were ambitious to lead the
 people of ,god2 but it has been the    
,elders of ,israel1 those who have      
received the ,priesthood from the hands 
of ,joseph ,smith and his followers1 or 

through the authority which ,god gave   
them4 ,who are they who came here to    
these valleys of the mountains whose    
coming had been pointed out by the      
finger of ,god8 ,who are they who have  
built these ,temples and erected        
edifices to the great ,jehovah8 ,why1 it
 is the same class of men that was true 
to ,joseph1 those who have been true to 
,god and the covenants they made4 ,has  
,god made any mistake8 ,read the        
revelations of the ,almighty2 they speak
 for themselves4 ,the ,lord has         
appointed this people to come to this   
land2 this is a great work2 we are      
living in a great dispensation--the     
dispensation of the last days4 ,the     
,lord has not deceived any one in this  
matter2 ,he will deceive no man in      
regard to this work4 ,this people have  
traveled from place to place ever since 
the organization of this ,church1 until 
today they are settled here in the      
valleys of these mountains and have     
prospered and increased marvelously2 and

 they will continue to grow and increase
 in strength and power until ,christ    
comes upon the earth4  ,a man cannot    
leave this ,church without the power of 
,god leaves him4 ,it has been the power 
of the ,priesthood that made men great2 
and no man can handle it only according 
to the order of ,god4 ,if they do they  
will fall1 as has been stated in the    
revelations of ,god1 read by ,brother   
,roberts this evening4 ,i want to say to
 the young men of ,israel1 go and do    
what is right2 you need have no fears   
regarding the authority of this work4   
,the ,lord has called the weak things of
 this earth4 ,he has called them from   
the plow1 from the plane the workshop   
and the hammer--,he has taken the       
illiterate men of the world and sent    
them forth to preach the ,gospel to the 
inhabitants of the earth4 ,even the     
,lord ,jesus ,christ was born in a      
stable and cradled in a manger4 ,he came
 forth and fulfilled the prophecies4    
,his whole life was one of poverty and  

affliction4 ,he was scorned and hated by
 the world of mankind4 ,his ,apostles   
were selected from among the poor and   
the humble of the earth4 ,so it is with 
the men who have led the ,church in     
these days4 ,they have been called from 
various vocations4 ,they have been men  
who were humble1 and ,god has been with 
them4 ,god has established ,his work1   
and ,he has sent ministers to the       
different nations of the earth4  ,i wish
 to say to the ,latter-day ,saints1 all 
that we have to do is to be faithful1 to
 keep ,his commandments1 to be humble1  
to seek ,him in mighty prayer and all   
will be well with us4  ,there has been a
 great deal of work done in this        
dispensation4 ,the ,lord called this    
people to the valleys of the mountains  
in fulfillment of prophecy4 ,old father 
,jacob1 in blessing ,joseph and         
,ephraim1 told them what would take     
place with them and their posterity to  
the latest generation2 that their       
blessings should extend to the utmost   

bounds of the everlasting hills4 ,we are
 here as descendants of ,joseph and     
,ephraim1 and ,abraham1 who were        
patriarchs and holy men of ,god4 ,they  
had the ,priesthood1 and it has been    
continued and handed down from          
generation to generation as long as ,god
 has had a people upon the earth4 ,he   
has revealed it in this dispensation    
through the ,prophet ,joseph1 and it is 
here to stay and will remain until      
,christ comes4  ,i want to say to the   
young men and maidens of the ,latter-day
 ,saints1 have no fears from what you   
hear through the outside world or from  
those who are professing to build up the
 kingdom of ,god1 but who have not got  
the ,priesthood as established by the   
,almighty through ,joseph ,smith4 ,if   
you will do your duty all will be right4
 ,i am thankful for the privilege of    
living so long4 ,i have seen the        
progress of this work almost from the   
commencement4 ,i thank ,god for what ,i 
see today4 ,i see great improvement but 

there is still great room for           
improvement among us now4  ,i wish to   
say to our young men there is an evil   
power1 a growing power of darkness      
around and amongst us4 ,the powers of   
darkness desire to lead the young men of
 ,israel astray4 ,they think if they can
 do this1 if they can get them to do    
wickedly1 they can weaken this ,church4 
,but our young men are raised up to     
follow in the footsteps of their        
fathers1 and not to be easily led       
astray4  ,i pray ,god my ,heavenly      
,father to bless the ,latter-day        
,saints1 that we may all have faith in  
,him and in the revelations and promises
 ,he has given1 and in all the truths we
 have received1 and if we do so1 all    
will be well with us4 ,we have come here
 upon a mission4 ,our mission is a great
 and responsible one2 it is mighty4 ,in 
fact1 we have been called to leave our  
homes1 our fathers1 our mothers1 our    
wives1 our children1 all that is dear to
 us1 and to go abroad to preach the     

,gospel to the inhabitants of the earth4
 ,we have been called to do this1 and as
 ,brother ,joseph ,smith said1 if we do 
not round up our shoulders and help to  
bear off this kingdom1 we shall be      
damned4 ,no man can receive the         
,priesthood from the hands of the       
,almighty and abuse it but what it will 
be answered upon his head4  ,therefore1 
let us all1 old and young1 improve the  
time1 live our religion1 have faith in  
,god and ,his works4 ,the ,lord brought 
us here1 ,his power has been upon us2 by
 ,his power and ,his blessings we have  
built temples and beautified homes2 and 
there has never been a people that ,i   
know of that have ever had the power to 
rear as many temples in so short a time 
as we have done in the mountains of     
,israel4 ,let us remember this and be   
faithful1 remembering our fasting and   
prayers1 call upon the ,lord in secret  
prayer1 and ask him to bless and direct 
us4  ,the ,lord is with us1 ,his hand is
 over us1 and he is guiding this work   

and will continue to do so until ,zion  
shall arise and be built up and shall   
stand in beauty1 power and become the   
glory of the whole earth1 while the     
judgments of ,god shall extend          
throughout the nations4  ,may ,god bless
 you as ,mutual ,improvement            
,associations1 may ,he bless every      
organization and association that has   
been established as helps and           
governments to this great latter-day    
work2 and may we be blessed in all our  
endeavors to do right--which may ,god   
grant1 for ,christ's sake4 ,amen4