Part 2

This law applies to the First Presidency as well as to the humblest officer in the church:

Of the Melchisedek Priesthood, three presiding High Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith and prayer of the Church, from a quorum of the Presidency of the Church.[A]

[Footnote A: Doc. and Cov. sec. cvii, 22.]

It is not enough that the men constituting the First Presidency of the church be "appointed and ordained to that office;" they must also be "chosen by the body" and "upheld by the confidence, faith and prayer of the church." President Brigham Young on this subject says:

Joseph presided over the Church by the voice of the people. . . . Does a man's being a Prophet in this Church prove that he shall be the President of it? I answer, no. A man may be a prophet, seer and revelator, and it may have nothing to do with his being President of the Church. Suffice it to say that Joseph was the President of the Church, so long as he lived. The people chose to have it so. He always filled that responsible station by the voice of the people. . . . . The keys of the priesthood were committed to Joseph to build up the kingdom of God on the earth, and were not to be taken from him in time or in eternity; but when he was called to preside over the Church, it was by the voice of the people, though he held the keys of the priesthood independent of their voice.[A]

[Footnote A: Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, p. 133.]

But, mark you, he did not hold the power to preside over them contrary to their voices, that is, contrary to their consent. President Taylor says:

It is by the voice of God and the voice of the people that our present President [Brigham Young] obtained his authority. He obtained his authority first from God, and secondly from the people; and if a man possesses five grains of common sense, when he has the privilege of voting for or against a man, he will not vote for a man who will oppress the people; he will vote according to the dictates of his conscience; for this is the right and duty of this people in the choice of their President and other leading officers of the kingdom of God.[A]

[Footnote A: Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, p. 229.]

Thus in ecclesiastical as in civil government it is true that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. We shall have occasion in the course of our argument, to recur to this principle and its importance in respect to the subject treated in this writing.

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 himself. The Sunday following the meeting above described he addressed the saints for a long time, blessed them in the name of the Lord; telling them emphatically that he was with the Twelve. He wished to know the mind of the church in relation to his returning to Pittsburg, they said, "go in peace."[A] Yet all the while he was thus seemingly accepting the decision of the church and seeking its counsel, secretly he was holding meetings with men of questionable integrity in the church, telling them that it was revealed to him before leaving Pittsburg that the church would reject him; but, nevertheless, he was the proper person to lead the church--to be its Guardian; for to that position he had been called of God, and held keys of authority higher than any ever conferred upon the Prophet Joseph--the keys of David which, according to his representations, gave him the power to open and no man could shut; to shut and no man could open; and the power to organize armies for the destruction of the Gentiles. In fact his fervid imagination pictured himself a great military chieftain, by whose prowess all the enemies of God were to be subdued. He secretly ordained men to be prophets, priests and kings to the Gentiles. 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 God. Meantime, while he in public had spoken of the virtues and honor of the martyred prophets, Joseph and Hyrum, in the highest terms, in his secret meetings he began to cast reflections upon their conduct, and hint at the existence of grave iniquity among the Twelve and in the church.

[Footnote A: Pamphlet on Sidney Rigdon, by Elder J. M. Grant, p. 18.]

As soon as the Twelve learned of these proceedings on the part of Elder Rigdon, they called upon him to explain by what authority he held secret meetings and ordained men to the aforesaid offices. He sought to evade the question, 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 officers. His brethren sought to convince him of his error, but at this point he refused to be corrected. The quorum of the Twelve, with the presiding bishop of the church, held a council meeting to consider his conduct, and concluded to demand Elder Rigdon's license. He refused to surrender it, saying that he had not received it from the Twelve and he would not give it up to them. He was then cited before the council of the church which has a right to try a president of the high priesthood, viz., the presiding bishop of the church assisted by twelve high priests.[A]

[Footnote A: And inasmuch as a president of the high priesthood shall transgress, he shall be had in remembrance before the common council of the church, who shall be assisted by twelve counselors of the high priesthood; and their decision upon his head shall be an end of controversy concerning him.--Doc. and Cov., sec. cvii, 82, 83.]

He refused to appear before this council, and therefore, after giving him due notice and an opportunity to appear and defend himself, the council convened in the presence of a large congregation of the saints on the 8th of September, 1844, and proceeded to hear evidence in the case. The evidence established the insubordination of Elder Rigdon and the irregularity of his course, 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 priests, and also by the great congregation of the saints. Ten only, and they of Rigdon's following, voting in the negative.[A]

[Footnote A: See the minutes of Sidney Rigdon's trial in Grant's pamphlet on Sidney Rigdon, pp. 19 to 37.]

After his excommunication he made an attempt at organizing a church, choosing twelve apostles, etc., but his efforts amounted to but little. He soon retired from Nauvoo to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, which he established as his headquarters. He sent missionaries to many branches of the church to represent his claims to the Presidency, but they succeeded in getting only slight support and that for the most part from among those weak in the faith. His church, never strong either in numbers or prominent men, soon crumbled into decay; Sidney Rigdon himself sank out of sight and in 1876 he died in obscurity in Alleghany county, state of New York.

The fate of Sidney Rigdon and the fate of the organization which he founded prove the prophetic character of the words of Brigham Young:

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

II.

Following the attempt of Sidney Rigdon to become the "Guardian of the Church," we will consider the efforts of William Smith, brother to the prophet Joseph, to become its President. He was a member of the quorum of the Twelve at the death of the prophet, though for some time his conduct had been such as to bring him into disrepute among the Saints. He was of a turbulent, ungovernable disposition; a man of fierce passions and violent temper. When the saints were driven from Missouri, in 1838, and his brother Joseph cast into prison, such was his vindictiveness against the prophet that at a general conference of the church held near Quincy, Illinois, May 4th, 1839, he was suspended from fellowship; but was afterwards restored, mainly through the pleadings of that same brother against whom he railed with such bitterness of speech.

Shortly after the martyrdom of his brothers, Joseph and Hyrum, William was ordained to the office of patriarch to the church, to succeed Hyrum Smith, who held that office at the time of his death. 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 Church." Whereupon a number of persons of a disposition ever ready to take advantage of a word or make men an offender because of it, begun to ask if William was Patriarch "over" the church, did not that also make him President of the church. In the issue of the _Times and Seasons_ following, 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 church, not "over" it. He, of course, also denied that William was President of the church.[A]

[Footnote A: _Times and Seasons_, Vol. VI, No. 9 and No. 10, Art. _Patriarchal_.]

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 church; or that he took advantage of the phrase "Patriarch over the Church," to bring forward claims to the Presidency which he had previously entertained, may not be accurately determined; but most likely it was the latter, because on the occasion of the writer's visit to William Smith, at his home, near Elkader, Clayton County, Iowa, late in the summer of 1880, he claimed to have been anointed, appointed, and ordained by the prophet Joseph to succeed to the office of President of the church after the prophet's death.

William Smith, however, based his claim to the position of president, mainly upon the fact that he was the brother of the Prophet, the only surviving brother, and therefore he should succeed to his brother's position. He claimed to find a precedent for this in scripture. 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 law, after Peter and Paul and Barnabas and others were through speaking on the subject, James, "the Lord's brother," is represented as saying:

Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles have turned unto God; but that we write unto them; that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood.[A]

[Footnote A: Acts xv, 19, 20.]

The "sentence" of James here is regarded as the "decision" of the council; and William Smith argued that if James gave the decision of the council, he must have been the president of the council; and if president of the council, then President of the church; and since James was the Lord's brother and succeeded him in the Presidency of the church, so in this dispensation, as in the former one, the surviving brother of him who stood at the head of the church should succeed to the Presidency.

But this sophistry is confronted by the stubborn fact that the Lord Jesus had said to the Apostle Peter in the most direct terms:

I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.[A]

[Footnote A: Matt. xvi.]

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 church. In modern revelation, too, the order in which the Apostles have been named who have administered to men on the earth--has been invariably Peter, James and John--Peter always named first as the leader, the chief.[A]

[Footnote A: John the Baptist at the time he conferred on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic Priesthood (May 15, 1829) said that "he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchisedek."--(Hist. Joseph, _Mill. Star_, supplement, Vol. XIV, p. 15.)

"I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, . . . and also with John, the son of Zacharias...and also with Peter. James and John whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you Apostles and special witnesses of my name."--(Doc. and Cov., sec. xvii 5, 12.)

"Again what do we hear? . . . the voice of Peter, James and John in the wilderness, between Harmony . . . and Colesville . . . declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom," (Doc. and Cov., sec. cxxviii, 20), and so throughout. It is scarcely probable that Peter would thus invariably have been named first unless that had been his place, as the chief, that is, the presiding Apostle.]

William Smith, however, did not command much of a following in this first attempt to make himself a leader. His profligate life was too notorious in Nauvoo to make it possible for him to wield much influence even as a schismatic. His efforts at leadership on this occasion resulted only in violent denunciations of those who would not receive him, and his final expulsion from the church. At the general conference held on the 6th of October, 1845, he was disfellowshipped from the quorum of the Twelve, and on the 12th of the same month, more of his wickedness having come to light, he was excommunicated from the church. He shortly afterwards became associated with James J. Strang and other apostates in an attempt to establish a church in the state of Wisconsin, but that failed as we shall see.

Here it will be proper to note the support which Lucy Smith, mother of William, gave to his claims to the Presidency. I regret being under the necessity of quoting her in such a controversy, as it shows this good and noble woman to have been very much mistaken in this matter, and one must ever be sorry to see those who are upright mistaken, especially in so grave a matter as this under consideration. One must ever feel a delicacy in referring to the words and actions of the mother of Joseph and Hyrum, of Don Carlos and Samuel H. Smith. She was a woman who had suffered much for the work of God and the testimony of Jesus; who in addition to toil, sickness, poverty and exile had lived to see her two noblest sons murdered, and two other sons and her husband laid away in premature graves, indirectly the victims of that relentless persecution which followed her family and the church from the beginning. These sufferings and her great age doubtless will account for that weakness of mind through which, and not through any wrong intent, I feel sure, she was led into this error of supporting the claims of her son William. But glad as I would be to pass by this matter for the sake of Sister Lucy Smith, I cannot do so, for the reason that the Josephites quote her as supporting the claims of "Young Joseph," and I wish to show by her support of William that she did not do it.

The evidence that Sister Lucy Smith sustained the pretentions of William Smith to the Presidency and not those made in behalf of "Young Joseph," is found in the journal of the late President John Taylor, a member of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the time in Nauvoo:

Friday, June 27th, 1845.

This was the anniversary of the day that Brothers Joseph and Hyrum were killed and myself shot. We met together (the quorum of the Priesthood) to pray, several of the Twelve were present. When I returned [home] in the evening, Mrs. Taylor showed me a copy of a vision that Mother Lucy Smith had, stating that her son William was head of the Church; the following is a copy:

FIRST VISION.

Brothers and children, I was much troubled and felt as if I had the sins of the whole world to bear, and the burden of the Church; and I felt that there was something wrong. I called on the Lord to show me what was wrong, and if it was I. I called upon him until I slept. I then heard a voice calling on me saying, awake, awake, awake, for the only son that thou hast living, they for his life have laid a snare. My aged servant Joseph who was the first Patriarch of this Church, and my servant Hyrum who was the second Patriarch, my servant Joseph who was Prophet and Seer, and my servants Samuel, William and Don Carlos--they were the first founders, fathers and heads of this Church, raised up in these last days, and thou art the mother, and thy daughters have helped, and they are the daughters in Israel, and have helped raise up this Church. Arise, arise, arise, and take thy place, you know not what has been in the hearts of some; but he said thou shalt know. He told me what it was; but I shall not tell. (I saw William in a room full of armed men and he having no weapons. They would have crushed him down, if it had not been for the power of God; and many of the family would have been cut off--[the] Lord having softened their hearts. Two of them had blacker hearts than the rest, and I know who they are, and I will tell them if they will come to me. Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball know it is so, and dare not deny it.) Call upon the Twelve, let all things be set in order, and keep their hearts pure from this time hence forth; the voice saith be merciful, and then Zion shall arise and flourish as a rose. What I was told I cannot tell.

Thou art the mother in Israel, and tell thy children all to walk uprightly. Thy son William, he shall have power over the churches, he is father in Israel over the patriarchs and the whole of the Church; he is the last of the lineage that is raised up in these last days. He is Patriarch to regulate the affairs of the Church. He is President over all the Church, they cannot take his apostleship away from him. The Presidency of the Church belongs to William, he being the last of the heads of the Church, according to the lineage, he having inherited it from the family from before the foundation of the world. Thou art a mother in Israel. Thy spirit arose and said in eternity that it would take a body to be a mother to prophet[s] who should be raised up to save the last dispensation. And the spirit said unto me to be faithful, (and that I was faithful,) and tell the Church to be faithful. And the spirit said I should live until I was satisfied with life.

Brothers and children, I want you to take notice that the burden of the Church rests [on William].

SECOND VISION.

Joseph came to me and said: "That day is coming when I shall wave the scepter of power over my enemies. Be patient my brothers and sisters, the day is coming when you shall have eternal life and be rewarded for all your troubles."

THIRD VISION.

Father came to me and I said, Father, have you come? And he said "yes." I said tell me where you have been. And he said, "I have been all around here. I have come to you again to tell you one thing certain, which I have told you many times before. It is my prayer and the prayers of our sons that you live to take care of William and my daughters, and see that they have their rights and standing where they ought to have it." He turned to go away, and I said I will go with you. He said you must stay.

The following persons were present at the time this vision was related:

William Smith, A. Milliken, W. I. Salisbury, David Elliott, Robt. Campbell, Elias Smith, Joseph Cain, Bro. Stringham, Chas. Kelly, Bro. McLery, Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Milliken, Mrs. Salisbury, Mrs. McLery, Mrs. Kelly, Mrs. Sherman.

On June 30th, 1845, at the request of Sister Lucy Smith, seven of the Twelve, with Bishops Miller and Whitney and Elder Cahoon, met at her house to talk over these visions in respect to William. Several members of her family were present. It was also arranged for William Smith to be present, but he failed to appear. I copy from Elder Taylor's journal, under date of June 30th:

The conversation was full and free. President Young stated that William was aiming at power and authority and priesthood that did not belong to him; that he would sustain William in his office and calling, but would not allow him to tread upon his or any other man's neck; that if the Church wanted to have William Smith, he would mention it to them, and they should have their choice. This, however, neither the Church, nor the Twelve would consent to; for if it had been put to them--I do not suppose that twenty would have voted for him, out of the many thousands there are in the Church. Mother Smith said he [William] did not want it; she did not profess to be a revelator only for herself and family, that she wanted peace, union and harmony. The Twelve all expressed the same feeling and manifested the greatest kindness to Mother Smith as did also the bishops.

Though William did not meet with the Twelve, he addressed a letter to President Brigham Young which was read at the above meeting. After complaining about the article on Patriarchs, which had appeared in the _Times and Seasons_, he concludes thus:

"My proposition is, my share of the kingdom, 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 Church, this will give me a right to visit all branches of the Church, and intrude on no man's rights; and further to attend to all of the ordinances of God, no man being my head, I will reconcile all difficulties, and Elder Young can stand as the President of the Church, and by my most hearty wish and consent. This will settle all difficulties and restore peace and good order, and farther than this, I cannot say, only that I want all men to understand that my father's family are of the royal blood, and promised seed, and no man or set of men can take their crown or place in time nor eternity. Brother Young, the above is my proposition and will settle all difficulties at once, and these are my avowed sentiments and no equivocation.

WILLIAM SMITH."[A]

[Footnote A: Taylor's Journal under date of June 30, 1845.]

To this letter the Twelve wrote an answer before leaving the house of Mother Smith. In said letter the brethren regretted not having had the pleasure of meeting William. They had had considerable talk with

"Mother Smith, and find her possessing the best of feelings towards the whole Church. As to your requests in your letter we would say: we are perfectly willing and wish to have all things right, but there are some ordinances in the Church that cannot be administered by any person out of this place at present, but must be done here. As to having the right to administer all ordinances in the world and no one standing at your head, we could not sanction, because the President of the Church, and each one of our quorum are amenable to the quorum of which you are a member. But as to your right to officiate in the office of Patriarch, we say you have the right to officiate in all the world wherever your lot may be cast, and no one to dictate or control you excepting the Twelve, which body of men must preside over the whole Church in all the world."

The following postscript was added:

"We have read this to Mother Smith, Catherine, Lucy, and Arthur, and they express their satisfaction with it, as well as those of the council who are present."[A]