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Chapter twenty
THE RIGHT OF SUCCESSION IN THE
PRESIDENCY
The Presidency of the priesthood was given in the creation
before the world was formed:
Words of JS, Page 8 "The Priesthood was first given to
Adam: he obtained the FIRST PRESIDENCY & HELD
THE KEYS OF IT, FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION; he obtained
it in the creation before the world was formed as in Gen. 1,
26:28...."
This presidency came down through Jesus Christ:
Teachings, Descent of Priesthood , Page 158
"....Christ is the Great High Priest; Adam next. "
And He, Christ, obtained this honor as he was the
"firstborn" or was the first to receive the glory of the
fullness of the Father. Thus he is head of the Church of the
Firstborn, named in his honor:
D & C 93:2 "....1 am the true light THAT LIGHTETH EVERY
MAN THAT COMETH INTO THE WORLD;
3 And that I am in the Father, and the Father in me,
and the Father and I ar e one
4 The Father because he gave me of his
fulness , and the Son because I was in the world
and made flesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of
men.
.................
21 And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the
beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn
;
22 And all those who are begotten through me are
partakers of the glory of the same,and are the church of the
Firstborn ."
This honor came down from the fathers to that son who
overcame the world or, in other words, was SPIRITUALLY
REBORN:
Moses 6:10 "And Adam lived one hundred and
thirty years, and begat a son IN HIS OWN LIKENESS,
AFTER HIS OWN IMAGE. and called his name Seth
."
The foregoing informs us that Seth was the spiritual
image and likeness of Adam and qualified for the
birthright.
Continuing with Verse 13 "Seth lived one hundred and five
years, and begat Enos, and prophesied in all his days, and
taught his son Enos in the ways of God; wherefore Enos
prophesied also.
.................
17 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan. And Enos
and the residue of the people of God came out from the land,
which was called Shulon, and dwelt in a land of promise,
which he called after his own son, whom he had named
Cainan.
.................
19 And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat
Mahalaleel;....
20 And Mahalaleel lived sixty-five years, and begat
Jared;....
21 And Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and
begat Enoch; .........And Jared
taught Enoch in all the ways of God.
22 And this is the genealogy of the sons of Adam, who was
the son of God, with whom God, himself, conversed.
23 And they were preachers of righteousness
, and spake and prophesied, and called upon all men,
everywhere, to repent; and faith was taught unto the
children of men."
As it was in the foregoing scripture so it would be that his
right continue through the RIGHTEOUS of the chosen
lineage:
Abraham 1:2 " I became a rightful heir, a High
Priest, holding the right belonging to the
fathers .
3 It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down
from the fathers, from the beginning of time, yea, even from
the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down
to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, or the
first man, who is Adam, or first father, through the fathers
unto me."
This is consistent with the Book of Mormon:
Alma 5:3 "I, Alma. having been consecrated by mv
father. Alma. to be a high priest over the church of God! he
having power and authority from God to do these
things , behold, I say unto you that he began to
establish a church in the land which was in the borders of
Nephi;"
Now we come to the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times
where the Priesthood that holds that RIGHT OF PRESIDENCY is
continued through the chosen lineage:
D & C 107:8 "The Melchizedek Priesthood holds
the right of presidency , and has power and
authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of
the world, to administer in spir~tual things. "
He who is president of the priesthood is to appoint a
successor, the same as it was anciently:
D & C 43:1 "O HEARKEN, ye elders of my church, and give
ear to the words which I shall speak unto you.
2 For behold, verily, verily, 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 hand.
3 And this ye shall know assuredly - that there is none
other appointed unto you to receive commandments and
revelations until he be taken, if he abide in me.
4 But verily, verily, I say unto you, that NONE ELSE
SHALL BE APPOINTED UNTO THIS GIFT EXCEPT IT BE THROUGH HIM:
FOR IF IT BE TAKEN FROM HIM HE SHALL NOT HAVE POWER EXCEPT
TO APPOINT ANOTHER IN HIS STEAD.
5 AND THIS SHALL BE A LAW UNTO YOU. THA T
YE RECEIVE NOT THE TEACHINGS OF ANY THAT SHALL COME BEFORE
YOU AS REVELATIONS OR COMMANDMENTS;
6 AND THIS I GIVE UNTO YOU THAT YOU MAY
NOT BE DECEIVED. THAT YOU MAY KNOW THEY ARE NOT OF ME.
7 FOR VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT HE THAT
IS ORDAINED OF ME SHALL COME IN AT THE GATE AND BE ORDAINED
AS I HAVE TOLD YOU BEFORE. TO TEACH THOSE REVELATIONS WHICH
YOU HAVE RECEIVED AND SHALL RECEIVE THROUGH HIM WHOM I HAVE
APPOINTED . "
To be consistent with scripture the appointment was to go
from father TO THE SON who was righteous
and would thus insure that the truth and light of the gospel
would continue to be taught in its restored fullness without
error.
And because Joseph did not have a son old enough he ordained
his brother Hyrum (T 8` S, Vol. 5, Page 559).
But before he was killed he chose his son:
Lyman Wight, an apostle during the lifetime of Joseph the
Martyr, wrote:
".... if you had been present when Joseph called on me
shortly after we came out of jail (Liberty Jail, Missouri,
Ed.) to lay hands with him on the head of a youth, and heard
him cry aloud, 'you are my successor when I depart,' and
heard the blessings poured on his head, - I say had you
heard all this, and seen the tears streaming from his eyes -
you would not have been led by blind fanaticism, or a zeal
without knowledge." TT & E, Page 79
Another who made a sworn statement in the United States
Circuit Court was James Whitehead, pnvate secretary to
Joseph Smith from June, 1842 until the time of the
martyrdom:
"I recollect a meeting that was held in the winter of 1843,
at Nauvoo, Illinois, prior to Joseph Smith's death, of his
successor. His son Joseph was selected as his
successor . Joseph Smith did the talking. There
were present Joseph and Hyrum Smith, John Taylor, and some
others who also spoke on the subject; there were twenty-five
I suppose at the meeting. At that meeting Joseph Smith ...
was selected by his father as his successor. He was ordained
and anointed at that meeting. Hyrum Smith, the Patriarch,
anointed him, and Joseph his father blessed him and ordained
him, and Newell K. Whitney poured the oil on his head, and
he was set apart to be his father's successor in off~ce,
holding all the powers that his father held." (Complainants'
Abstract, 28) TT & E, Page 79
John H. Carter, Sr., also testified of this appointment in
the same court proceedings:
"l am living in Utah County, about three miles from Provo
City, on what is called Provo Bench. That is in Utah
Territory. I came here the 3rd of October, 1850 .... I held
an elder's license in the original church, and held a high
priests' license and belonged to the High Council.
.................
I was a member of the church at the time Joseph Smith was
killed, and was there when Brigham Young took the lead, and
was in the meeting when he was nominated and voted in, and
so on up to his death - the death of Brigham Young.
I was present at a meeting in the City of Nauvoo, in the
State of Illinois, at which something was said or done about
the successor of Joseph Smith.
................
Joseph Smith came on the stand leading his son, young
Joseph, and they sat him down on a bench at the prophet's
right hand, and Joseph got up and began to preach and talk
to the people, and the question he said was asked by
somebody, 'If Joseph Smith should be killed or die, who
would be his successor?' And he turned around and said,
pointing to his son, 'there is the successor.'
.................
I have always believed that ever since I heard Joseph say
the words I have stated, ... and I believe it today just as
strongly as I ever did, and it was under that belief that I
followed President Young west with the branch of the church
now known as the Salt Lake Branch. That was the teaching and
the ideas held out by the officers and elders, including
Brigham Young and other prominent elders of the church, who
afterwards came west and located here at Salt Lake City; and
it was the teaching in Utah Territory for several years
after the death of Joseph Smith. Here in Salt Lake
City they publicly taught and held out the idea to the
members of the church that Joseph Smith the son of Joseph
Smith. Junior. would eventually be the President of the
Church ." (Complainants' Abstract, 179-181) TT
& E, Pages 80 & 81
And they did teach that young Joseph would some day be
President of the Church:
Journal of Discourses, VIII, 69 "What of Joseph Smith's
family? What of his boys? I have prayed from the beginning
for sister Emma and for the whole family. There is not a man
in this Church that has entertained better feelings toward
them. Joseph said to me, 'God will take care of my children
when I am taken.' They are in the hands of God. and
WHEN THEY MAKE THEIR APPEARANCE BEFORE THIS PEOPLE. FULL OF
HIS POWER THERE ARE NONE BUT WILL SAY - 'AMEN! WE ARE READY
TO RECEIVE YOU .'
And all this was according to young Joseph's partriarchal
blessing given by his grandfather, Joseph Smith Sr. which
stated:
"YOU SHALL HAVE POWER TO CARRY OUT ALL
THAT YOUR FATHER LEFT UNDONE WHEN YOU BECOME OF
AGE. " TT & E, Page 82
After the martyrdom Brigham Young approached Wilford
Woodruff on the subject:
Comp. History, III, 315, "Oct. 12, (1847), I had a
question put to me by President Young, WHAT MY OPINION WAS
CONCERNING ONE OF OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES BEING APPOINTED AS
THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH WITH HIS TWO COUNSELORS
. I answered that a quorum like the twelve who had been
appointed by revelation, confirmed by revelation from time
to time - I THOUGHT IT WOULD REOUIRE A REVELATION TO
CHANGE THE ORDER OF THAT QUORUM . (But) Whatever
the Lord inspires you to do in this matter, I am with you."
(Also History of Church, Vol. VII, Footnote, Page 621)
The foregoing Bolded informs us that Pres. Young was
concerned about making one of the twelve apostles president
of the Church since IT WAS NOT ACCORDING TO THE
ORIGINAL PATTERN .
Because of this, at the April conference in 1845 in Nauvoo
ALL of the Twelve were accepted as the First Presidency and
leaders of the Church and sustained separately by unanimous
vote (History of the Church, Volume 7, Page 392.)
Then on December 5, 1847 (one and a half years later)
Brigham Young was sustained IN A DIFFERENT MANNER
THAN USUAL when eight members of the Twelve (which
included Brigham Young) met in Orson Hyde's house at Winter
Quarters and ELECTED HIM PRESIDENT (History
of the Church, Vol. 7, Page 621 and Footnote).
According to the foregoing the members of the Church were
not given the opportunity to vote (approve) of this
appointment THROUGH THE CHURCH ORDER OF
"COMMON CONSENT ." (D & C 26:2, 28:13,
38:34, 124:125 & 144)
The late Raymond Taylor while making a five year authorized
study of his grandfather, President John Taylor, found in
the records of the Church Historical Society that
Brigham Young ordained three of his children to apostles and
his son, Brigham Young, Jr. to succeed him as president of
the church which proves that Pres. Young continued to be
aware of the pattern followed for succession to the
presidency. However, IN ORDER FOR THE PATTERN TO BE CORRECT
THE RIGHT OF PRESIDENCY SHOULD CONTINUE FROM FATHER TO SON
THROUGH HIM WHO WAS PRESIDENT OF THIS LAST DISPENSATION -
THE LINEAGE ORIGINALLY APPOINTED.
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