Succession in the Presidency
14 Episodes
This series will deal with the history surrounding succession in Church leadership, beginning with the crisis of 1844 which grew out of the immediate aftermath of the tragic murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. We will walk through no less than eight possible succession paths that were either explicitly laid out by Joseph Smith or were viewed as entirely plausible based on certain interpretations of statements Joseph made or actions he took. This all helps us to understand why succession in the presidency wasn’t immediately cut and dry in the minds of many Church members in 1844 and to understand the basis on which several other branches of the Restoration exist, even today, outside of the one initially led by Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles out to Utah.
Art Credit: Photo courtesy BOOM from Pexels
Episodes
Episode 1
The Eight Possible Succession Paths
The immediate aftermath of the tragic murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in 1844 was marked by shock and grief within the Church, and in the weeks that followed an ecclesiastical crisis arose concerning who should be Joseph Smith’s successor as president of the Church. As it turns out, Joseph Smith had never publicly and unambiguously designated a clear successor to the presidency of the Church. The confusion arose not because Joseph had …
70 Min
Episode 2
Two Contenders: Sidney Rigdon vs. Brigham Young & The Twelve
In August 1844, there were two major contenders to assume leadership of the church following the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. On the one hand was Sidney Rigdon, a gifted man who had been at Joseph Smith’s side as his confidante since 1830. Sidney initially proved quite effective as Joseph’s scribe and mission companion, and later as his first counselor. Over time, however, Joseph lost confidence in Sidney’s stability and, therefore, his ability to serve effectively as ,,,
57 Min
Episode 3
Six Days in August
Aside from a small handful of events, like the First Vision, the translation of the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of priesthood keys, it is possible that what happened in Nauvoo on August 8th, 1844 was the most critical, pivotal moment in our history forever shaping the trajectory of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was the day Church members in Nauvoo voted on who would lead the Church following the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. And the stakes could not …
76 Min
Episode 4
The Contested Reorganization of the First Presidency in 1847
Shortly after the Nauvoo Saints voted on August 8, 1844 to sustain the Twelve Apostles as the new leaders of Church, Sidney Rigdon was excommunicated (for reasons we will discuss in this episode). Then for more than three years, between 1844 and 1847, Brigham Young and the Twelve led the Church as a group of equals. Together they oversaw the completion of the Nauvoo temple and organized an exodus out of the United States. Yet after leading a vanguard company to …
77 Min
Episode 5
The Two Orsons and the Question of Succession
Who is next in line to become the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Today this is not a difficult question. It is well understood that whoever is the next most senior apostle to the current Church president will be the next president, should he live long enough. The singular issue is seniority. It all boils down to seniority. So, what determines seniority among the apostles? Again, today there is a ready answer to this question. But it was not always so. In fact, in …
70 Min
Episode 6
A Young Apostle Questions Succession By Seniority
From the history we’ve covered in this series so far, we know that the succession plan of having the most senior apostle become the next Church president took time to develop and wasn’t fully fleshed out in Joseph Smith’s lifetime. In fact, it was during the decades of President Brigham Young’s presidency that this plan was ultimately finalized … well, mostly. It turns out that prior to President John Taylor’s death, there was one young apostle who challenged this plan of succession one last time. …
67 Min
Episode 7
What If the Church President Can't Serve Due to Poor Health?
Between the presidencies of Lorenzo Snow in 1898 and Russell M. Nelson today, there have been a few key clarifications relative to the inner workings of Church government at the level of the Church presidency. And on this episode of Church History Matters we want to talk about them! The first of these clarifications deals with the confusion introduced during Joseph F. Smith’s presidency surrounding the role and position of the presiding Church Patriarch within the Church’s hierarchy. The second is …
58 Min
Episode 8
What If All the Apostles Died At Once? Succession Q&R with Dr. Daniel C. Peterson
In the unlikely event that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve all died simultaneously, how would that affect succession? In this hypothetical worst-case scenario, would the keys of the kingdom be lost? And, if an apostle came down with a debilitating health problem, is there any precedent for making him an emeritus apostle? And speaking of apostles, is there a set procedure in calling them, or does the method vary from Church president to president? Also, sometimes …
56 Min
Episode 9
Who Are the Strangites, the Josephites, and the Bickertonites?
After the succession crisis of 1844, not every member of the Church chose to sustain and follow Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. And many of these members eventually formed or joined alternative restoration movements which became separate, distinct, and independent churches from one another. In fact, over the last 180 years there have actually been hundreds of Churches that have branched off from the same Joseph Smith–era restoration trunk. In this …
74 Min
Episode 10
A Deep-Dive Into the LDS Strangite Movement (w/ Dr. Kyle Beshears)
Who was James J. Strang? And why were his claims so appealing to so many of those Latter-day Saints who did not follow Brigham Young and the Twelve after the succession crisis of 1844? Why did his movement experience so much initial success but then dissipate so quickly? Some have made strong comparisons between James Strang and Joseph Smith, but how accurate are these comparisons really? On this episode of Church History Matters, we sit down with ,,,
61 Min
Episode 11
A Deep-Dive Into the "Bickertonite" Movement (w/Josh Gehly)
Following the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in 1844, Sidney Rigdon, who had been Joseph’s 1st Counselor, made the claim to Church members in Nauvoo that he was the rightful successor to lead the Church as its guardian. After his falling out with the Twelve apostles, Sidney left Nauvoo and travelled to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania where he built up a church there separate and apart from the Church Brigham Young and the Twelve led to Utah. And, today, the only branch of the Restoration that …
66 Min
Episode 12
A Deep-Dive Into the Community of Christ (w/ Andrew Bolton)
Among many of those Nauvoo Saints who did not choose to follow Brigham Young and the Twelve Apostles into the mountains of Utah, there was an emerging hope that someone from the Smith family would step forward and begin a reorganization of the Church Joseph Smith Jr. had established. In 1851 a soft reorganization began and built up to that culminating moment of 1860 when the eldest son of Joseph and Emma Smith, Joseph Smith III, stepped forward at the age of 28 and …
64 Min
Episode 13
Mormon Fundamentalism (w/Dr. Brian Hales)
Most of the main branches of the Restoration were formed within roughly two decades of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. One clear exception, however, is the Mormon Fundamentalist movement. Here’s a little backstory: In 1890 President Wilford Woodruff issued a manifesto announcing the Church’s intention to submit to those laws recently passed and declared constitutional by the US Supreme Court forbidding plural marriage. Then in 1904, as a result of the Reed Smoot hearings …
64 Min
Episode 14
Why Does God Guide Those Not of His Church? (w/Dr. Christopher Blythe)
From the brief survey of some of the various branches of the Restoration in this series, a few things have become apparent. First, it’s clear that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not have a monopoly on a love of the Book of Mormon. Many Restoration cousins also deeply revere this sacred text, have their faith in Christ strengthened because of it, and draw near to God by abiding by its precepts. Second, and perhaps more puzzling to some Latter-day Saints, it’s also clear …