PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2;

EXTRACTED FROM THE WRITINGS AND CRITICISMS OF

JOH\ K. PACtE, .1 ATIKS .1. BTRAX6, WILLIAH JI AKKSAXI> HYRIT1W P. BROWN,

TO WHICH ARE ADDED

A FEW NOTES IN BRACKETS, AND A SHORT COMMENTARY

* BY THE TRANSCRIBER,

WINGFIELD WATSON.

.

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2;EXTRACTED FROM THE WRITINGS AND CRITICISMS OF

JOHN E. PAGE, JAMES J. STRANG, WIIXIAM MARKSAND HYRtJM P. BROWN,

TO WHICH ARE ADDED

A FEW NOTES IN BRACKETS, AND A SHORT COMMENTARYBY THE TRANSCRIBER,

WINGFIELD WATSON.

Mr. John E. Page, who in the daysof Joseph Smith the seer, was one ofthe Twelve Apostles under him, andafterward became the President of theTwelve under James J. Strang, speaksin the defence of Mr. Strang's claimsas the successor of Joseph Smith asfollows:"It is as bright a laurel as hangson the temples of Joseph's characteras a prophet that the word of the Lordthrough him has been fulfilled in thiscase; That the Lord did, nine daysbefore Joseph was ' taken,' reveal tohim James J. Strang as the man totake Joseph's place on the earth inhis (Joseph's) 'stead.'" This fact, all circumstances considered in which Joseph was taken,'ought to convince every Mobocrat inMissouri and Illinois, that JosephSmith was a prophet, and that JamesJ. Strang is his successor. EmmaSmith, the prophet's widow, has toldme and many others, that the remarks

that stand at the head of the Letterof Appointment to J. J. Strang transpired in her hearing, while Josephheld the letter in his hand which hehad received from Mr. Strang, dated

the 24th of May, 1844. The postomeestamp on Mr. Strang's letter fromJoseph Smith is the same that is on aletter to me that I received from Brig-ham Young [of Nauvoo] when I wasin Boston in the winter of 1843.Who then can say under these circumstances that the Letter of Appointment to Mr. Strang is a forgery?If it is a forgery who forged it? Suppose for sake of the argument that itis a forgery; who is the man thatJoseph did appoint? It was notBrigham Young as we will see judging him out of his own mouth. If itcannot be found that Joseph appointed a man to stand in his stead in theprophetic office, Amen to Mormonism,with all its high sounding pretensions.It is virtually buried in everlastingoblivion, execrated to the lowest hell,the abode of all false prophets andliars, Brigham Young not excepted;for if he was appointed he lied like acoward, and published it in the Timesand Seasons of Aug. 15, 1844, page618, saying to the saints throughoutthe world, lyou are now without aprophet present xvith you in the fleshto guide you.' If he had continued

2 PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. %

and said, 'consequently Joseph was avile impostor, and I am done withMormonisn,' he would have shownforth a little logical' consistency, instead of a usurping hypocrite. Hearhim again:—" 'On the 8th of August, 1844, at a

special meeting of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,convened at the stand in the city ofNauvoo, President Brigham Youngcalled the the meeting to order, and

arranged the several quorums accord

ing to their standing and the rules ofthe church. The meeting had been

previously called, as stated to choosea guardian, or trustee for said church.And Brigham said, "Do you want aguardian, a prophet, a spokesman, orwhat do you want? If you want anyof these officers, signify it by raisingthe right hand." Not a hand wasraised' Times and Seasons, Vol. 5,page 637.

"Here then the Church virtuallyvoted that there should be no more aProphet, a Revelator, a Translator orSeer in the church, and Christ not yetcome, which was as much as to saythat Joseph Smith was one of themost damnable impostors that ever

cursed mankind with imposition; forwe have found above that Joseph hassaid that the Lord said, the keys ofmysteries' and receiving command

ments and revelations, was to abidewith him, or one planted in his steadtill the coming of Christ."And now hear Amasa Lyman onthat same occasion:" 'Elder Amasa Lyman followed andfully, accorded with the instructionsand views of Elder Young. I have

been at the back of the ProphetJoseph, and shall be at the back ofthe Twelve. There is no need, saysAmasa, of choosing a guardian orhead. The Apostles have the poweras they had anciently.""But hear this same Amasa Lymannow at the Brighamite Conferenceheld at Council Bluffs, Dec. 24, 1847." 'Amasa Lyman spoke on the subject, and said the idea of having theFirst President was nothing new; thatit had been all arranged long sinceby the Council (that is the Council ofthe Twelve) and there was no danger ofgoing wrong; that all bodies musthave a head, and all intelligencemustcome from the head. And the timehad come when the ends of the churchoould not be saved without a head,and the very man who was to be thehead had been at the head all the time.He asked who the head was amenableto, and answered, to his head; for nobodies however great were so highthat they had no head, and that thetime had comewhen the Twelve mustlead out the master spirits of theKingdom; must go to the east andwest, north and south, and plant theseeds of eternal life.." 'It was moved and peconded thatBrigham Young should be our FirstPresident. It was carried unanimously. It was next moved and carriedunanimously, that Heber C. Kimbalbe first counsellor to Brigham Young.It was next moved and seconded thatDr. W. Richards be appointed secondcounsellor. Carried unanimously.'"Ah! Amasa, a body live almostfour years without a head, of whichGod said it should not be without a

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2: 8

head until the Coming of Christ, thegreat head of the church? O consistency, where hast thou fled? If theTwelve Apostles have power to leadthe church four years 'without ahead,' why not always f"Why, Amasa, you contradict yourVenerable President, and throw the lieright smack in his face. For BrighamYoung in his apostolic epistle of Aug.15, 1844, says, ' LET NO MAN PRESUME FOR A MOMENT THATHIS (Joseph's) PLACE WILL BEFILLED BY ANOTHER. For Remember He Stands In His Own Placeand Always Will. And The TwelveApostles Stand In Their Own Placeand Always Will.' Times and Seasons, Vol. 5, page 618." Now Amasa is wolf hungry for aprophet, and neither he nor the churchcan live without one. And how, pray,shall we make one? Why we shallcall on the same people who once atthe beck of Brigham Young virtuallyvoted that they would not have aprophet to vote for this same BrighamYoung and make him a prophet. Infidels don't laugh, I beg of you, whilefools, hypocrites and usurpers playpeep and booh with each other. Letme tell you there is a divine reality inreligion, and that, too, in genuineMormonism. Rather lend us yoursympathy to help Us pity poor frailmortal man when left to himself, andhe steals the livery of heaven to servethe devil in.

"Let us now turn to Orson Pratt.Orson says:—'At this period of thechurch they had to select a FirstPresidency^ and they Would admitthat the argument of the apostates

(the Strangites) that the organizationof the church was not complete (without the First Presidency) was correct.'

"Who would have thought thatsuch language could have ever fallenfrom the lips of Orson Pratt, once thePrincipal of the Nauvoo University,and who W. W. Phelps calls theguage of Philosophy? Orson, whereand when did you learn that Godever called upon a people who had nohead or prophet to make a prophetfor him? If you will allow me toanswer, I think it originated at Council Bluffs; among a set of aspiringursupers, who had been driven fromthe city of Joseph under the 'cursings, wrath, indignation, and judgments' of God, 'upon your own heads,by your follies and all your abominations Which you - practiced before

the 'Lord.' For the Lord told thesaints at Nauvoo through Joseph in1841, that if they would do his will,'They should not bk moved out ofTheir place' (Nauvoo). Let us havethe whole sentence of the law uponthis point, and then judge whetheryou left Nauvoo tinder a blessing orunder a fiery curse." 'If ye labor with all your mights, Iwill consecrate that spot (the templeground, NatiVoo) that it shall be madeholy; and if my people will hearkenUnto my Voice, and unto the voice ofmy servants whom I have appointedto lead my people, behold verily I sayunto you they shall not be moved Out

of their place; but if they will nothearken unto my voice, nor tinto the

Voice of those men whom I have ap*pointed, they shall not be blest,— \kt

4 PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2.

cause they polute mine holy grounds,and my holy ordinances and charters,and my holy words which I give untothem. And it shall come to pass thatif you build a house unto my name,and do not do the things that I say, Iwill not perform the oath which Imake unto you, neither fulfill thepromises which ye expect at my hands,saith the Lord; for instead of blessing, ye, by your own work bring cursings, wrath, indignation, and judgments upon your own heads, by yourfollies, and by all your abominationswhich you practice before me,saith theLord.' Doc. and Cov. Sec. 103, P. 13,14.

"For proof that the Twelve wereapprised of the fact that JosephSmith had appointed James J. Strangas his (Joseph's) successor, I copy anentire article fromihe Times and Sea-eons, Vol. 5, page 631." 'Whereas Elders James J. Strangand Aaron Smith, have been circulating a revelation (falsely called) purporting to have been received byJoseph Smith on the 18th of June,1844; and through the influence ofwhich they have attempted and areattempting to establish a stake, called

Voree, in Wisconsin Territory, thereby leading the saints astray; thereforethe said James J. Strang and AaronSmith are cut off from the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,this 26th day of August, 1844. Byorder of the Council of the Twelve.WlLLAED BlCHAKDS, CLEBK.'

"When did any one notify Strang toappear to answer any charges?Never. Before what tribunal of theftkweh was he tried? No>te. Who

ever heard before of the idea of the

Quorum of the Twelve, sitting injudgment on the First President ofthe church? Nobody. The noticeproves that Strang had given you duenotice of his appointment and that,too, at the earliest date possible. Italso proves to a demonstration yourejected God, and all the laws that hehad given to the church providing forthe appointment of Joseph's successor, in case of his martyrdom,which was that 'none other should be

appointed except through him,' (Joseph) and thus has God lavished hisfourfold curses on you, and left youto do as you are doing."In the Times and Seasons, Vol. 5,page 718, W. W. Phelps says, Havethe Quorum of the Twelve the same

power and authority of the full Quorum of the First Presidency? Fes,they have. Well, then, do they notbecome the First Presidency, inasmuch as the First Presidency hasceased to be? Nothing can be moreclear, and certain than that they do.'"Mr. Phelps, where and when didyou learn that the Twelve have thesame 'power' and 'authority,' of thefull quorum of the First Presidents?Not in all the Books of God. Agreater perversion I should not expect from the simplest child that canread the alphabet. The Twelve are aPresidency in the church in all theworld abroad, and not at the seat ofthe First Presidents at home, actingunder the direction of the First Presidency of the church. The Twelveare also amenable to the council ofthe church over which the First Presidents of the church preside. ' There

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. '2.

is not any person belonging to thechurch who is exempt from this council of the church.' Doc. and Coy.,Sec. Ill, par. 36."Mr. Phelps, I advise you to neveragain pour forth any of your sarcasmon sectarians for their perversions ofthe Bible. It is time for you to hushlIt appears that your work did notstay done; for'"Elder "W. W. Phelps moved thatWe uphold Brigham Young, thePresident of the quorum of theTwelve, as one of the Twelve andFirst Presidency of the church. Thismotion was duly seconded, and carried unanimously' Times and Seasons, Vol. 5, page 692."The above transpired at the Nau-voo October conference of 1844. Herethen, the same people at the same

place, voted to make Brigham Youngprophet, that virtually voted only theAugust before that they 'did notwant a prophet, a guardian or anysuch thing,' but now they try to makehim a kind of mongrel officer, that I

cannot find words to describe, therefore I shall call him a nondescript; a

kind of a stay-at-home, and at thesame time travel in all the world;—

stay at home as the 'First Presidencyof the church' and travel in all theworld, as the President of the traveling high council ! But as Brigham'stransmogrification has not resultedin the purpose for which it was designed, these same people, who at onetime did not want a prophet, havetransformed him into an entire stay-at-home toady, to be a man-made

prophet, to fill the shoes of a God-made one. Poh! Does God thus

lie himself in making a prophet atone time, and in about three yearsafter, as a farmer would an old ox-sled, make him over again? Nonsensein the extreme. Saints of commonsense, is the one above described theone? Is such a prophet one thatGod endows with the keys of mysteries and revelations to lead a people into all truth, and sanctify themfor the bride of Christ, and exaltthem to the glory of the church ofthe first born? If so, let commonsense blush and hide her face."One may ask, how is the FirstPresident of the church constitutedor made. That Moses, Joshua, Johnthe Baptist, Jesus Christ, Peter andJoseph Smith were made prophetsby the call and ordination of God, noconsistent Latter Day Saint will dispute, and the case was never heard ofbefore the rise of the Brighamite faction, that a prophet, bearing the keysof mysteries and revelations was evercreated or constitued by the electivefranchise of the church of God."[They can elect or choose them tolead them after God calls and ordainsthem by angels, but no people, greator small, ever yet made a prophet of

God by their vote or franchise.]" The Popes of the Roman church,and the Bishops and Presidents ofthe several Protestant churches areconstituted such by the elective voiceof their several bodies, but not so inthe true church of God. God alwaysmakes his own prophets, and takesthem away when and for what purpose he pleases, independent of thevoice of the people. The authoritiesof the church can only require a pit*

6 PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2.

phet to make repairs to others if hehas done wrong in any ease wherethe sense of such authority requiresit; but there is no authority in theheavens above, nor on the earth be

neath nor under the earth, that can

either grant or take away his priesthood, or touch the keys of his ministry short of God himself, who called,

[ordained] qualified and granted such

keys, perfectly independent, and aside

from the voice of any other."Orson Pratt appeals to the circumstances of the church not being per*fectly organized under Joseph in itsfirst rise, and afterward grew into aperfect organization. Yes, Orson, Iadmit all that true. So it was in theformer day church. God first makesthe head, and then sets the head to

work to constitute the other membersof the body, but never yet did theLord make the other members of thebody, and then set them to work tomake the head; neither is it the lawGod has established in the things ofall nature; but no doubt Brighamwill make his ignorant dupes believethey cannot unmake him, now thatthat they have made him other thanto make him over again in the course

• of two, three, or four months more."It is said that Amasa Lyman 'reada revelation which President Younghanded him, given in the spring of1847.'

"Well, I suppose the audience of 60by 40 feet, swallowed it down asgood, sacred and divine, and that tooright in the face and eyes of the plainword of God, to the contrary, whichsays:—'Ye shall not receive theteachings of any that shall come be

fore you as commandments andrevelations except it be through Josephor him who he shall appoint; [by revelation from God] and this 1 (God)give unto you, that ye may not b&deceived and that ye may know theyare not of me.' Doc. & Cov., Sec. IV.p. 2.

"In the Times and Seasons, Vol. 5,page 638, Brigham Young says:—'Wehave no new revelations but beseechthe brethren to honor and obey theold ones.'"In one month and four days after(page 683) Brigham says:—' Everymember has the right to receive revelations for themselves, both maleand female.'

"According to the above idea everymember of the church, 'both maleand female,' was forever exonerated

from receiving revelations from anyother. From the same page in thesame speech, he sayst—'You are notgoing to be led without revelation.The prophet has stepped behindthe veil, and you have the right toobtain revelations for your own saZ-vation.'"On the next page John Taylor(one of the Twelve) says:—'We are inpossession of the same principles, thesame priesthood (of Joseph) the samemedium of communication and intel

ligence, and of those things whichnot only secures us happiness herebut hereafter. When we speak ofthese matters, we speak of thingswhich we know assuredly.'"Now, John, you did not 'know1any such thing. You either told awillfull falsehood or you Were asignorant of one of the first rudiments

PEOPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2. 7

of the Latter Day Saints, faith as aGentile sectarian. Joseph Smith asa prophet, revelator, translator and

seer held a sole priesthood like untoMoses, which constituted him a legis

lator or lawgiver to the church ofGod, which neither Brigham Young,nor yourself, nor any other man onearth held but Joseph Smith in hisday, which could not be conferred on

any other man in any other way thanthe way God had ordained, as I harequoted above; i. e., be appointed of

God through Joseph, and ordainedby angels. Had the idea been statedby you, or any other man in thechurch in Joseph's hearing, as youhave stated, he would have beentnrned over to the buffetings of Satanin a hurry if he did not repent."I should like to be favored with acopy of Brigham's 'new revelation,'although he has as much as said no

person is held responsible by it, be

cause he says;—'Every male andfemale has a right to obtain revelation for themselves.'"O what a tangled web we weaveWhen first we practice to deceive."

"George A. Smith asks the question.'How was Joseph made a prophet?Ans. Peter, James and John ordainedhim.' Yes, George, that is rightBut I ask how did God say Joseph'ssuccessor should be ordained? Ans.

He is to be appointed by revelationof God through Joseph, and ordainedby angels as the Lord told you(Joseph) before; that is, he ordainedby angels as Joseph was before. Doc.& Cov., Sec. XIV, p. 2." 'But', says one, 'Does not the Bookof Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 3,

P. 11, say that "three High Priestschosen by the body, appointed and

ordained to that office, and upheld bythe faith and prayers of the churchform the Quorum of the First Presidency of the church V ' No. It says nosuch thing. It says they form a Quorum of the Presidency of the church.'The term ''First' is not there, as it happens. There is quite a difference, too,between a definite and an indefinitearticle. The is definite, a is indefinite.Go back to the words of the question,and strike out the word lthe' beforeQuorum, and put a in its stead, andthen strike out- the word 'First'entirely, and then it will read precisely as it is written in the Book ofCovenants. There are quite a num

ber of quorums in the church, to wit;The prophet and his two counsellorsare the Quorum of the First Presidency of the church."The three High Priests referred to,are a Quorum of the Presidency ofthe church.

"The Twelve are a Quorum of thePresidency of the church."A President of a Stake and his twocounsellors are a Quorum of the Presidency of the church."The seven Presidents of the Seventies, are a Quorum of the Presidencyof the church."An Elder and his two counsellors,form a Quorum of the Presidency ofthe church.'•A Bishop and his two counsellors,are a Quorum of the Presidency ofthe church.

"A Priest (Aaronic) and his twocounsellors, are a Quorum of thePresidency of the church.

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2.

"A teacher and his two counsellors,are a Quorum of the Presidency ofthe church.

"A Deacon and his two counsellors,are a Quorum of the Presidency ofthe church." These all constitute the Presidency of the church, and all of these arechosen and set apart by the voice of

the church, except The Fiest Presidency, which are called and set apart

by direct revelation, and in no otherway."The President of the church whois also the President of the council isappointed by reyelation, and is

acknowledged in his administrationby the voice of the church; and it isaccording to the dignity of his officethat he should preside over the highcouncil [or supreme court] of the

church, and it is his privilege to beassisted by two other Presidents [or

Vice-Presidents] appointed after thesame manner that he himself was appointed; and in case of the absence ofone, or both of those who are appointed to assist him, he has power to preside over the oouncil without anassistant; and in case that he himselfis absent the other Presidents have

power to preside in his stead; both,or either of them. Doc. and Cov. Sec.

V: p. 6."To this council every other Quorum of the Presidency of the churchis accountable. The three HighPriests above referred to, are a Quorum of the Presidency of the church.Their Priesthood and Presidency..grow out of, or are appointed of, or

.from among those who have alreadyjooofavd the Prinstboocl givm of God,

to the First President, or Presidencyof the church.

"Therefore as these three HighPriests could not grow out of a Priesthood before it was given, and as therecould be no church to choose them, itremains as a matter of course that,the three High Priests spoken of, arenot, and cannot be the First Presidency of the church, bvt smply 'aQuorum of the Presidency of thechurch' of the High Priest's Quorum,not presiding over the whole churchas the First Presidency of the church,but of the church, presiding over apart of it., "Thus I close with a consciousnessI have discharged a duty which Iowed to God, and those who wereonce my companions in the gospel ofChrist. The time has been, when theviews I have presented above were theviews of those very men whom I havenoticed so lengthily; and they knowas well as I, that the above views weretheir views, and the views of thewhole church; at least that part of itthat made any considerable progressin the knowledge and discipline of thechurch. And further; they know thatif any man had in Joseph's day taughtas they are teaching now, he wouldhave been hurled over its battlementsin very short order.

"John E. Page."See Gospel Herald, Voree, Wis.,Aug. 17, 1848.The following are extracts from thecorrespondence of Mr. J. J. Strang toZenos H Gurley, when the latter wasa follower and ad*bcate of BrighamYoung and his claims. It will not beout of place to state here that Zenos

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2. 9

H. Gurley after this correspondencewas re-baptized into the church tinder

Mr. Strang and had been also ordained to the office a President ofthe Seventies and preached on variousmissions under Mr. Strang's administration, for several years." You give me credit" says Mr.Strang, "for making ''the most' ofDoc. and Cov. in my favor. It seemsI have made enough; for no man hasreviewed it

,

though it has diminishedthe Brighamites by thousands; butwhether I have made the most of it

or not, I made the same of mycause before I ever read the book.My position was taken before I everread one of all the revelations in theDoc. and Cov. and has never been

changed. It was formed simply onthe facts that really transpired, and I

have since merely showed that those

facts are such as that Book callsfor ^ ^ ^

" I remark that in what you havewritten, you have altogether passed

over the main question, not making

the slightest allusion to it. Thenumerous revelations contained in theDoc. and Cov. showing that the keys

of mysteries and revelations belongto the First President, and to nobodyelse, and that he must be appointed

by revelation, and ordained by the

ministrations of angels, you have altogether passed by, and merely builtup a negative position, on the simpleincident—the review of an objec-^JQJJ " 'f

c

*H ^ ^

[Mr. Gurley ,^st othj||; Brighamitesand Josephites, qlrotes the passage in

Doe. and Cov., sec. Ill: 11.]"Of necessity there are Presidents

or presiding officers, growing out ofor appointed of, or from among thosewho are ordained to the severaloffices in these two priesthoods. Ofthe Melchizedec priesthood, (or theHigh Priest's quorum) three presidingHigh Priests chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office,and upheld by the confidence, faithand prayers of the church, form a

quorum of the Presidency of thechurch."

"In all this," says Mr. Strang,"there is not one word said about'First Presidency.' " * * * "Thethree High Priests, are chosen by thebody, and ordained to an office growing out of that body or priesthood.When so set apart, they form 'aquorum of the presidency of thechurch.' Not the Presidency of thechurch, as you have quoted it. Nowthere are several quorums in thePresidency of the church, and if this

is not the Presidency of the HighPriests Quorum it still remains toshow affirmatively that it is someother particular Quorum of the Presidency— a thing you have not advanced one step in accomplishing.Nor have you done what it behoovedyou as a debater first of all to do—

given any answer whatever to the

overwhelming arguments of Elder

| John E.l Page, showing that thethree Presidents referred to, are the

Presidency of the High Priests Quorum."You have not made any answerwhatever to the fact that the three

High Priests referred to are onlyequal in their power to either theTwelve, any Quorum of the Seventies

10 PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2.

or a High Council of a stake. Doc.and Cov., sec. Ill : 11, 14 Whereasioe First Presidency is mrperioi toeither; I'oc. ana Cot., sec. Ill: i%.

Sec. XVI: 2. Sec. CIV: 6, 7, 11, 12;and consequently cannot be identical.

You have not shown by what meansihese three could be ordained, as the

First Presidency. The three are tobe chosen by the body, but the book.Joes not tell how they are to be ordained. If they are the Presidentsof the High Priests' Quorum, it isvery obvious how they are to be ordained, to wit: by their superiors,the First Presidency. But if theyr'.re the First Presidency they haveno superiors on earth. So who shall

ordain them? You say 'ordained by ;lie direction of the church;' bui

v here is'the authority for it" "VYhcj

c-uhl the church direct to ordain \them? Can they direct the inferior]to ordain the superior? The less tobless the greater ; If they did as-sup n to give any such direction., .would it be valid? The First Presi- j'lent of the- church holds a single j-sole priesthood, presiding over ailothers, and having uo fellow or equalon earth. Until the fountain canrise above its head, none on earth

can ordain to that priesthood. Con

sequently, God says to -Joseph, 'heshnll be ordained as I have told youbefore.' Doc. and Cov., sec. XIV: 2,given Feb.. Afcftil. And the only wayoe had told him before [how the President over the whole church is or

dained] was 'I have sent unto youPeter, James and John, (angels) bywhom I have ordained you,' etc.

Doc. and Cov., sec. I: ?, P.. giveu

Sept, 1830"Comuic i ': ' .. '', an." :w -. per

fectly agree - i'Ax rule:— "Whateveramount and kind of authority it tookto make the First President and proph 'et, the same it takes to make his successors in all time. As the predecessorwas called by revelation, so the sue

cessors must be; and as the predecea

sors were consecrated and set .-'pariby the icinis;i ^r,ion of angels, so thesuccessors must be. "' * * Thechurch has ever undei »t'.-od th : i theFirst President wa» cdb-d l .«r«U.-

tion. Doe. nr '.i'./ . '.

"Moieover, li . . '. '. ' on'

of the word of the entiri law tbnt the

'prophet, seer, revelator ;-.ud First''resident shall be appointed by ve- -

elation, and ordained by the minitration, of angels, and could substi

tute in the place of it the law that,

'of the Melchizedec Priesthood threepresiding High priests,' should hechosen by the body and ordained by

th ir direction to be the Fir»t Presidency you would still altogether failof supporting the pretensions of theBrighamites or of showing thr.t anyone among them has authority fromGod as the President of the church,

or as chief pastor of the flock of GodThere is no one among them, or

among any other party or division on

earth, who has ever been thus chos

en or thus ordained There hasnever been a ge: nssembly ofthe church held sh - ' no death ofJoseph, at which such an act could bedone at all. Nor have the Brigham-ite leaders ever claimed authority on

PROPHETIC CONTEOVEESY, No. 2. 11

that ground. Their claims until lastDecember were founded on the following facts:'''1st Th? vote of the meeting ofAugust 8th, (.814. that Hhe churchwouxd not have a Prophet,' etc. 2d.The Apostolic letter of BrighamYoung of August 15, 1844, declaringthat Joseph was not to have a successor at all ; but that the Twelve (asa Quorum) held the Keys of power todictate the affairs of the church in all

the world. 3d. The votes of threesuccessive conferences, Oct., 1844,

April, 1845. and Oct., 1845, declaringthat the Qnorum of the Twelve werethe Fk.jt Presidency of the church.neither of wh; acts comes up in anysense to tii.' ' o iv choosinjr three fromthe Meichizedec Pri' 'od, and

having them orflinmv 1 their direc

tion. Their an w.i.- uoi the choosingof thpee or any other number. Itwas merely passing ;i vi'',. ro confer a

now jurisdiction and ml'' ' 'nal andincongruous prorogatum .i Twelveor Thtktbek. ;' ^nA long beforebeen chosen ' "/ i';ce.

"In Decern ' e. . '' i. 'iempt wasmade iv ''ritch u£ '' matters by

wLiit ii" ighamites please to callan eL of a First Presidency.Can you recognize that act as a valid

'

creation of a First Presidency? Atanother time, than the regular time jof holding conferences, at a place Ithat God had not appointed for the j

less, acknowledging with unblushingaffronfery that the truth is againstthem, (see their minutes, Herald, vol.Ill, No. 20) proceed to vote in Brig-ham Young, H. C. Kimball and Wil-lard Richards, First Presidents.Three years ago they boasted 200,000members in the church. Nov/ theyboast of prosperity, and yet got together only 600 men, women andchildren to choose a First Presidency,to preside over the whole church. Ifthat is what is meant by being! chosen Ly the body, I have the English language yet to learn. As forordination they had none at all. Ofcourse not, there was nobody to ordain them.

"Do yon not perceive, dear sir, thatthis whole proceeding is founded onan abandonment of the doctrine thata valid Priesthood must be called byrevoln+; I will not raise a pointagaiua. ihem on the score of theircorrnpi cnn iuct. I they are theLord's n.i .intcd. l-' '' 9 not do themharm. Though ihe) commit everycrin''' forbkiucju in the decalogue,and all the sins which are not namedtherein, be they in his hand.s, notmine. He alone has power to makeprophets, and he is abundantly powerful to unmake them. Be they inhis hands, not the hands of man.

But I cannot forbear to press uponyou this point raised by elder Page,

that upon your theory, if the body olgathering of the Saints, on grounds i the church should bocorao corruptthat he had not consecrated to them,

there assembles together of this

whole the little few that can findroom on the space of forty feet bysixty, and declaring themselves head-

(and more than once the whole churchof God on earth has becomo corruptaud gone to the perdition of ths ungodly) a veritable iucarmto dovilmight bo olo :ted by the bjdy, 'to bo

12 PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2.ft

like unto Moses, yea to be a seer,revelator, translator and a prophet.''T shall be most happy to hearfrom you again. I wish you to meetthe main point by showing how aprophet to stand instead of Josephshould be appointed, and how and by

whom he should be ordained. Andif you show anj different rule thanthat contained in Doc. and Co v.,sec. XIV: 1, 2; Sec. I: 2, 3; Sec. LI:1; will you please show when theyceased to be the word of God. Acause is sometimes rested on a singletrain of reasoning; an argumentlike the successive links of a chain,which if you sever one, all fall tothe ground. But ours is based on alarge number of cumulative proofs,like collateral bolts, where you haveevery one to destroy before you can

overthrow our position. A reiteration of old oft-answered objectionswill not do, but a meeting of thewhole question—an answer separately of each of the proofs put forth,and if an old objection is persisted in,it is not sufficient to merely name it,but show by a review of our criticisms

that we have not removed it.

"James J. Strang."Gospel Herald, Aug. 10, 1848.Jobn E. Page to A. P. Ringer, in1848,—an extract:"You say you are 'not connectedwith any of the present organizations,but as strong- in the faith of PRIMITIVE MORMONISM, as any manin this lower world? If that is afact I must say I pity everybody else,and despair of my own salvation.Let me tell you candidly, your ownwords show clearly that you are yet a

stranger to the very rudiments otMormoDism, which is found in thefollowing words:" 'I have sent forth the fulness ofmy gospel by the hand of my servant

JdSeph Smith; and in weakness have'I blessed him, and I have given untohim the Keys of the mystery of thosethings which have been Sealed; eventhings which Were from the foundation 6f the world, and the thingswhich shall come from this time un

til the time of my coming, if he abidein me, and if not, another will I plantin his stead.' Doc. and Gov., Sec.XI; 4."By this we learn that the 'Keysof Mysteries' was to abide in thechurch with Joseph, or his successors,until the coming of Christ. Now ifChrist has suffered the church to beleft void of those Keys for even oneday, it proves positively that Josephwas an imposter from the beginningof his ministry. Now as we bothagree in the fact that Joseph was atrue prophet, of course the Keys ofof Mysteries and revelations is withsomebody who is actually and practically takingthe lead of the church inthis dispensation ; and still you arenot decided as to who that person is,

and are still strong in the faith andknowledge of 'primitive MORMONISM,' as any man on earth. Oh'consistency! hasten the time of thyreturn. ^ ^ * ^

"You say 'you have been investigating Mv (David) Whitmer's claims.'

Strange business, indeed. What! investigate a man's claims who h; 'a not

yet said one word for himself, as having any claims to the 'Keys of Myste

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2. 18

ries and revelations,' as Joseph's suecessor? It is true that William E. Mc-Lellan has been beating a reveille towake up David Whitrner to a remembrance that Joseph ordained him tobe his successor, but for some reasonor other David won't hear. He seemsto be more stupid than the little boySamuel when he was called to be aprophet. * * * * Why? TheJLord never told Joseph that heshould ordain his successor. In September, 1830, the Lord told Josephand Oliver, 'I have sent unto youPeter, James and John (angels) to or-you,' &c. In February, 1831, fivemonths after, the Lord said to thechurch through Joseph relative toJ osepti's successor that Joseph shouldappoint (by revelation) but Godwould ordain his successor as he(Joseph) was ordained, as the Lordhad told him before.' Read Docand Cov., sec. L: 3; sec. XIV: 1, 2.''Who on earth then possesses anindisputable 'appointment' and 'ordination' in the form that fills theLetter of the word of God, on thisall important point, to a minutia?Ans. JAMES J, STRANG, and noother man. Admitting that Josephdid under auy impulse or occasion,attempt to ordain Whitrner or anyother man to be hi successor in theprophetic office, he assumed a prerogative that did not belong to him;for the Lord said to him in both alternates, that is, either in his apos-tacy or martyrdom, no thould 'onlyappoint' his successor, not ordainhim. * * * * Any man that willsay he is a believer in the Doc. andCov. as the word of God, and deny

James J. Strang as Joseph Smith'ssuccessor in the prophetic office,is ignorant of the vjord of God relative to that matier, or willfully disobedient. "John E. Page."

See Gospel Herald (Voree, Wis.) ofJuly 13, 1848.In the same number of that paperwe find an epistle of considerablelength fromWilliam Marks, addressedto all enquiring and faithful LatterDay Saints, who had not yet heard ofthe claims of James J. Strang. Itwould indeed be a pleasure to be able

to insert William Marks' wh J.le articlebut we have room for only a part.''Beloved Brethren," —says Mr.Marks, "I have great reason to fearthat you have lost sight of one of the

greatest principles in the revealedreligion of heaven to man, which isthis: That God never had a churchupon the earth which he acknowl

edged to be his church, without giving to that church a legal interpreterof the Law and commandments ofGod, for the salvation of that people,and that the legal interpreter of the

law and the commandments of God,

given for the salvation of the church,

is the prophet, seer, revelator. andtransip.tor to the church; the FirstPresident of the whole church. Can-sequently without a prophet at the

head of the church, as a leader and

interpreter of the law and command

ments of God, there is no salvation ;

for without a prophet to act in theabove capacity, there can be no finaldecision in spiritual matters whichmight arise in the church; and theconsequence would be that, the

church would soon be divided into

L-l PROPHETIC CONTEGYEESY, No. 2.

different factions or parties, understanding the law and the commandraents differently, and we should havea Babylon among ourselves, andshould be no better off than the p_o-fessed religious world of the presentage. * * * *

"When the Lord commenced 1 iswork in our day to raise up a pec.pleunto himself, the first thi he cidwas to raise up a proph . throughwhom, to reveal his law and commandments to the children of men;even Joseph Smith, and through himthe Lord revealed the everlasting gospel. And when a sufficient numberhad received the gospel at the baudsof the authorized priesthood wh. chthe Lord had established, the churchwas organized on the 6th of April,1830, and at that time there was noother court known in the church butthe highest court; even the supremecourt, over which the prophet himself

presided; and after his decision, it being a final sion in »ny matter, it\\ as hud i i ri it.:±crc-.uo.e no more be-"tre the Lord The ._\,,;rt just named, as the only court at that time, and thefirst court established in the church ofGod in our day, and the only one'which was necessary until the churchbecame large, then it became necessary to organize lesser courts, as inthe" days of Moses, (see Exodus, XIII)to judge the smaller matters. Andnow in regard to this highest court,how is the supreme judge of thishighest couri in the church appointed ?Ans. 'The President of the church,who is also the President of the Counoil, (or supreme court) is appointed

by revelation.' Doc. and Cov., Sec.

|V:6. Well, now suppose a 'question| should arise among the elders abroad,

concerning any point of doctrine, how

could it be disposed of? Why, itwould be cfiiried up before the su

preme j1 ..ifv '' the highest tiourt inthe chu, i. .unmy, at the s'-M of the

First Presidency, where a flnsO decision would k: had by that -o.jt, andthere world be an end of i e matter,and it would bo -had no moir in re

membrance" L-afore the Lord.'"O yes, yo:i say, I know f at wasthe order while Joseph Sin., i wasliving, but Joseph is deao Well,

what of that!' Did not the I u-d saythat if Joseyh was taken, h shouldappoint anr-.her in his (o rsph's)stead? See Doc. and Gov., Sec. XIV :2.We ask what another in Joseph's

stead was to be appointed for? The

; Lord has answered that question inI the paragraph ji st referred to above*.

|To teach the revelations and coni-

; mandments which the Lord had giv-

[en, and should give through Joseph.That is, to give ihe sense of them, andcause the saints (or people) to under--

stand their meaning in iheir tru?

I light, as well as to receive revelations! and commandments for the salvationof the church as Joseph did, and to -

preside over the whole church, andalso over the highest court in thechurch. Well, say you, if we can findthe evidence that the Lord has appointed a prophet in Joseph's stead,then we will receive him. Well, theletter of appointment 1 y or throughJoseph can be found in (he first number of the Yoroe Herald, bearing dateJune 18, 1844, and mailed at the Nau-voo Postofuce, June 19, directed to

PKOPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2.h

i :

James J. Strang, of Burlington, "Wisconsin Territory. In that letter youtari find the appointment of President Strang as Joseph's successor indie First residency of the wholecV'i '.'.'li' .'.n ii -j v' upp- 'intn'ont ofVorw o M"— /ion, and a com-inRiidiiioji; io ' - alnts to gatherfchera, and iu Uie country round about,

and al-o telling th'-m if tb \y scatieredthe ungodly of the world would swallow them up.''So we see that, as in the days ofMoses, we have a supreme court

where a final decision can bo had, and June, 18-14. Among many other thing -

an end of controversy in all matters of told him on that occasion, ho says:doctrine, in the church. Now, breth- 'Unto thee has the Lord thy God giv-rea, what shall we do under existing en salvation.' For whom? Ans. Forcircumstances? Shall we run and flea as many as will obey the law andinto the wilderness'? No, there is no I commandments of God, given for th"prospect there. For Brigfiam Young | salvation of his church in this dispe;

tains, according to their own showing,will require irrigation in order to produce crops, .and that being the case it

is a parched place. And they say alsothat it is a salt land, and so did Jeremiah say it should be, and in the wilderness.

"Well, says some one of the saini:who is about discouraged, where shall

we go for salvation? The Lord ha ianswered that question in a visfo;'

and revelation given to his servant.James [at his ordination by theangels of God] on the 27th day of

told the saints in Nauvoo, the sameyear ;;i "winch Joseph Smith waskilled, that they need not suppose'for a moment that his place will be1'ulcl by another'; thus giving theword of the Lord, by Joseph, the lie.St\ Dos. and Gov., Sec. LI: 2. Well,he is the man who assumes the author

ity to preside over the church and tolead them. And where has he led'"cm w ho have followed him? Welet Jeremiah answer this ques-

U i, XVII: 5, 6. 'Thus saith theLord, cursed be the man that trusteth

in man, and maketh flesh his arm, andwhose heart departeth from the Lord,for he shall be like the heath in thedesert, and shall not see when goodcometh ; but shall inhabit the parched

places in the wilderness in a salt landand not inhabited.' Their location inthe salt valley of the Rocky Moun-

sation."Now, brethren, how .much betteroff are the apostate Twelve and theirfollowers than Babylon the Great ofthis present age? For they (the Brighamites) are without a prophet as wellas all the rest of Babylon. And herewe have it again: No prophet, no salvation; no revelation, no salvation.

And again, how are the Brighamitosto settle any question of doctrine or

discipline originating among them?You say you hardly know. Well,will suggest an idea for your considoration. Perhaps they will do asother sectarians do under like circumstances. But how is that, you ask?Why, the Caiholics consult and abidethe decision of the Pope; if I understand it right; and other sects, at leastsome cf them, appeal to Dr. AdamClark, Mr. Scott, John Wesley, Mr.

16 PEOPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2._jsaints, I was earnestly looking for one,Elisha-like, to stand in the footstepsof Joseph, to teach the. law of theLord, and to be like unto Moses ; yeato be a seer, a prophet, a revelator and

translator. But alas! I was disappointed, until a dayspring from onhigh revealed the glorious intclligence that God had not east off hispeople. In justice to you, my God,and Bro. James J Strang, I must saythat early in the fall of 1845, (October) I went to Voree to investigate theclaims of brother Strang to the Presidency of the church. It was just afterhe had found the plates. * * * Wewent into an investigation of hisclaims in good earnest for / was notto be imposed upon, if I could avoidit. I asked him if Joseph sent himthat letter. He answered, yes. I thenasked him, who ordained him? Hereferred me to Doc. and Gov., Sec.XIV: 2; also Sec. L: 1, 2, 3, and saidhe was ordained by an angel. Thiswas before he saw Reuben Miller, andbefore the Voree Herald waspublished.

* * *

"With all candor, brethren, I askyou in the name of honesty, sinceritybrotherly kindness, and God's eternaltruth, to investigate the claims ofBro. Strang, and mind the injunctionof Bro. Paul, prove all things andhold fast that which is good. Investigate philosophically, scientificallyand honestly before God, knowingthe time has come when men willheap to themselves teachers, havingitching ears, and they will turn fromthe truth to fables, not waiting forGod to give them their teachers.

Campbell, and others. But they, noneof them, have a thus saith the Lord.And I suppose the Brighamites willabide the decision of their principalmen, as they too are without a prophet, and of course without the meansof salvation." I will now suggest another idea ;The Lord says by Isaiah, XXIV : 5.'The earth also is defiled under theinhabitants thereof; because theyhave transgressed the laws, changedthe ordinances, and broken the ever

lasting covenant.' What ordinance isit that the Lord says they havechanged? I answer, poradventurethe ordinance by which a final decision in matters of difference of doctrine might be had by a thus saiththe Lord. For in the absence of aprophet that ordinance could not be

observed, and consequently the laws

would be transgressed, and the everlasting covenant would be broken,

for I understand that the Lord by aneverlasting covenant has promised to

give- salvation to the children of menby a prophet, and without a prophetthere is no salvation." Thus for William Marks.

Hyrum P. Brown's testimony:"To all the saints of God in all theWorld, Greeting:— * * * Sincethe martyrdom of the prophet Joseph,I have been seeking after truth, honesty, and justice as it is in Jesus, andhad I not known that there is a divinereality in the gospel of Jesus Christ,as taught by Joseph and Hyrum, Iwould long since no doubt have beena miserable infidel. * * * At hisdeath, like all the rest of the honest

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2. 17

Has not this been verified in theBrighamite organization?

"Hyetjm P. Brown."See Gospel Herald (Voree, Wis.)Sept. 21, 1848.

John E. Page again, upon thetheory that young Joseph Smith wasappointed to be his father's successor

in the prophetic office. The extractbelow is from his remarks upon "Lyman Wight, and his position.""Lyman Wight seems to cherishthe idea that is ignorantly held outby some others, that Joseph, theprophet's son, will yet come up andtake his father's original place in thechurch as the prophet ti the church ;whereas there is not one aiugle word

in all the book of Doc. and Cov. towarrant the idea."It is true that the son is warranteda claim to the priesthood that wasconferred on his father by linealdescent, but not the Presidency ofthe church : that depends entirely onthe appointment of his father, [byrevelation from God.] And as Joseph's son has made no such claim, itis to be reasonably presumed that hedoes not recognize any such appoint-

. ment. If he does, God has beenslack concerning his promises, andleft his people to wander like sheopwithout a shepherd in a dark andcloudy night, subject to the mostdamnable imposition that ever cursedthe earth without an exception in theannals of ecclesiastical history. Canthe mind of man once conceive of theidea in the character of the God ofheaven, that if Joseph was his prophet to gather such a mighty host intohis church as 40,000 in and about

Nauvoo, and as many as 200,000 inabout 14 years, and this to build upZion, in the last days, preparatory tothe second advent of the Son of God,

and then leave them to be deceived

as much as they have been by impostors, in case Joseph's son is theonly true successor to his father inthe Prophetic Presidency of thechurch? O no! no!! NO!!! Again Isay NO. God forbid that I for onemoment should cherish such an idea

of my heavenly Father, and his SonJesus Christ."See Gospel Herald August 31, 1848.It is now and ever will be to theshame of the founders of the Reorganization that they can believe

the almighty capable of such grossindifference to his people as to leave

them in the hands and entirely underthe power and influence of the abovenamed impostors and deceivers forfull 16 years, and then when imposition, outrage, and usurpation had

completely gotten them in their powerand mastery, coolly rise up to informthem they were gone wrong and"were rejected," etc. This is onlyone among the many gross follie3 the

Reorganization makes the almightyguilty off. It is not easy to see howthe almighty in this case has "risen

up early," and sent a prophet towarn Israel. But in Mr. Strang'sappointment ho has acted very much

like himself.Whatever else may be said of JohnE. Page, William Marks and manyothers who have defended the claims

of James J. Strang, we can only wishthat their fortitude, consistency, andintegrity as men had been as strong,

3VEK6Y, No. 2.

and powerful as their arguments. Ini heir cases we can only say that the

.spirit of God which is always mightyis one tiling, and po''i uuman naturewhen left to itself is another, and verydifferent thing. Without reflectingipon the sad h'i lory of John E. Page,ind his fall from grace, and the successive changes and positions of William Marts, and the sad leaning hereat one time, and there at another, ofhimself and many others; aside fromall these human follies and frailties,we present their arguments to thereader, conscious that the works and

arguments of all, must either stand orfall upon tlipir own merits, or lack ofmerit, as thu ruse may be. Solomon'sfail from grace does not make hieproverbs any less wise or valuable.Moses' being taken away for sin, andDavid's sin against Uriah, do notmake eiiher the word of the Lord toMoses or the Psalms of David any theless true or excellent. Oliver Cow-dory's letters and teachings, and Parley P. Pratt's Voice of Warning, arejust as true and convincing to-dayas they ever were, notwithstandingthe fall of their authors from graceind favor with God Jusi, so with theArguments and testimonies of thosewho have witnessed and testified inbehalf of Mr. Strang's claims as aprophet of Cod If Oliver Cowdery'sworks, or I rail's Yoice of Warning,an be argued down to-day, in God'slame let them go down. Just so withJohn E. Page, William Marks,, llyramP. Drown, Y,' Jliiam Smith, George J.Adams, Jason W. Briggs, Zenos H.Gurley, John Shippy, Samuel Oral-arc, and a host of others, who all

bore a faithful testimony everywherefor years, that God had appointedJames J. Strang in accordance withHis law, and His word to JosephSmith, to be prophet in Joseph'sstead. If their arguments which theythen used, and have put on record,can be argued down by sound logic-down let them go. A decent respectfor their own standing and the opinions of their fellow men, however,

ought to have prompted them to a de

cent refutation of their own arguments, and testimonies, if possible, before running into a positii n which theyknew was totallyat war with their former arguments and testimonies. If theywere really honest and sincere men,

when they first took hold of Mr.Strang's claims,— and I suppose theywould be offended if we should assert;they were anvthing else— their subse

rvient departure from their own honestconvictions and powerful testimoniesleave us and all reasonable men, undera very strong conviction that in depart-

j ing from their testimonies they eitherdeparted frcu the sober truths of Godand high heaven, or else that honest,prayerful, sincere and faithful investigation before God in order to fine;

the truth is exceedingly poorly arvfmeanly rewarded. Can any decent

man come to any other conclusion?

Does God thus give stones and scorpions to those who honestly ask and

seek of Him bread and fish ?These men constantly upbraidedthe followers of Bri; iiam Young as apeople who would not reason or thinkfor themselves, but yielded themselvesinto the hands of the Brighamiteleaders as putty or clay in the hands

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2.

of their manipulators, to i . moldedinto any form that was phasing tothem. But believing- thi i ' owe --tory,they were no such putty '' cla^ ; butmen who dare to do rigi.' ; me whoin the face of any odds dared tc . aves-tigate the claims of any man wi.houtfear, or the hope of favor from any.And now, after those long years oflabor and toil, of which the above extracts are but a small example, tobuild men up in the faith of James J.Strang as a prophet of God, and successor to Joseph, they have been, andstill are, exceedingly anxious to convince us all that from 1845 to 1856they were only a lot of sincere madmen and deceivers?Well, to those who siill survive ofthis class of men, or i heir followers,we wish to offer a fi w suggestions,which we sincerely hope ihey will actupon, before they enteo tain any hopeof drawing us away from the chumsof Mr. Strang;First of all, you must show that thewords in Doc. and Gov., "The President of the church who is also thePresident of the Council (or SupremeCourt of the church) is appointed byrevelation," has ceased to be the lawof God, and when?

Second, as we are told in that lawseveral times that the revelation appointing Joseph's successor mustcome through Joseph, and forbids us

to receive law or revelation from anyother for the government of thechurch on pain of being deceived,will you please inform us when thishas also ceased to be the law of God?Then, Third; as you have whileStvangites, by overwhelming argu

ments, shown that the Letter of Appointment to Mr. Strang is a genuineletter written by Joseph >nith, andmailed at >iauvoo, and duly receivedin Burlington, Wisconsin; will younow show that those arguments wereall false, and that Joseph Smith neverwrote that letter, and that there was nothus saith the Lord in that letter appointing Mr. Strang to be JosephSmith's successor?Fourth; will you show us inwhat way Mr. Caleb ;:. t5aro.esbecame a criminal in '-ius thatletter from the postoffici . Burlington for the pur alleged?And how Mr. Strang r.ui.v downiand reading that loti . ' ' i.: r.; -nes;nd also in the pre.-. -nee -*.aron

j Smith, a presiding High Priest ou aj mission there, became a criminal inso doing? Will not the same arguments that show this Letter of Vp-pointmont to Mr. Strang to be innine also prove that all otherclaiming to be sent by Joseph ;.from Nauvoo to anybody else, torany other purpose, to be ungenuinealso? It is positively astoundingwith what indifference and disregardof the counsels of God and the prophet whom he by the hands of angelsordained and anointed to be his

mouth to the people in these last

days, both Brighamites and Joseph-ites, set aside this letter of JosephSmith, and the revelation of God

Almighty contained in it! Neversince the world began has there been

a mor,» gross and rebellious departure from God, and his counsels thanin the rejection of that letter.

The Brighamites, immediately after

20 PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2.

the death of Joseph antL Kyrum,assume that the neck of the dead

body is properly the head, and thedead body agreed to this assumptionupon the part of tna neck. Nearlyfour years elapse anJ they discoverthat this was all wrong and they thengo to work and take a few of theneck leaders or ligaments, and dis-tenc them a little beyond the neckand vote and proclaim them the head.But what change of positions we findon the part of this Brighamite church !First, the position was that therewere "sealed documents" left in thehands of a few of the Twelve at Nau-voo, which were to be opened when allthe Twelve got home and would decidewho the person was whom Josephleft to succeed him, which sealeddocuments were never opened normentioned afterward.Second, it was "hush, Brother Miller! Let there be nothing said aboutthis question, or we will have littleJoseph killed as his father was."

(See Prophetic Controversy, page 4)Third, "the Twelve have the powerto lead the church."Fourth, they elect a First Presidency above the Twelve and lo! lo!these have the power to lead thechurch !Fifth, it is taught that all the quorums of the Melchizedec Priesthoodfrom the quorum of the First Presidency down to Seventios are all"equal in authority and power, onewith the other;" and consequentlythat were all the quorums taken awaybut the Seventies, the latter quorumcould go to work and ordain to thenext quorum (the High Priests) above

them; then these High Priests couldcommence and ordain the Twelve,

and then the Twelve could ordain the

First Presidency over the wholechurch !

If this is not an example of menmaking themselves "wise above that

Which is written," I know not whereto find it in all the history of man.We defy all the Brighcmites, and allthe Josephites on the earth to furnisha single example of thus making a

lawful priesthood in all the books ofGod, from the days of Adam down tothe present time.

The law everywhere stares us inthe face in all tho inspired writings,that no man can confer a degree of

authority or priesthood that he does

not hold himself, and that whatsoeveris more or less than this, cometh ofevil In the church of God it hasever been understood that its officers

consist of various quorums, each one

of which is a step or degree in au

thority above the other, from the

quorum of the deacons to the quo

rum of the First Presidency; andthat no one or more in any one ofthese quorums can ordain another to

a quorum above theia. This beingan eternal rule in God's Kingdom, itfollows as an absolute necessity that,

as often as the Chief Shepherd ofGod's flock or church is taken or cutoff—he being the highf st in authority and power and gifts in that church—some heavenly messenger must replace that officer by anointing and

ordination under his hands; otherwise the body is dead. But if it be afact that all the quorums of the Melchizedec Priesthood from the Seven

PKOPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No: 2. 21

ties upward are all equal with theFirst Presidency of the church inauthority, power, and gifts, and thare-

fore angelic ordinations are notneeded as long as even a Seventy is onearth, jast as Brighaniites teach, wemay very reasonably ask the followjug questions:First. As Moses was ordained under the hands of Jethro to a higherdegree of the Melchizedec Priesthood,what was the necessity of Mosesbeing again ordained under thehands of angels to be a prophet, seer,revelator and deliverer to Israel?For the New Testament tells us intwo places that he was so ordained,

(Acts 7: 35. Gal. 3:19. Inspired

Translation.)Second. Why did not Moses leave theordination of Joshua to the Seventies,High Priests, or The Twelve in hisday, when he was about to be taken

from earth? For these offices werein the church in Moses' day, as wellas in Christ's day, and in our own day.

(Num. 11: 16, 17. 12: 5 to 8. 13: 1 to15. Josh. 24: 31.)Third. Why did not Zecharias, thefather of John, who was a High Priestin the temple of God, ordain Jesus aprophet like unto Moses? (Luke 4:17 to 21. Acts 5: 31.)Fourth. Why did not Jesus leavethe appointment and ordination ofPeter to the prophetic office, to therest of the twelve instead of saying tohim, "J will give unto thee the Keys ofthe Kingdom of heaven?" For remember, this was said -to Peter longafter Peter was ordained to be one ofthe Twelve Apostles. (See Doc. and

Cov., Rev. given April, 1829. Matt.16: 19.)Fifth. Is it any where said in thestandard works of the church, that theTwelve Apostles are prophets, seers,revelators and translators to thechurch ? Not once.Sixth. Is it anywhere said in theseworks that The Twelve have the Keysof Mysteries and revelations? Never.Seventh. Is it anywhere said inthose works that any man who be

longs to any one of the Quorums ofthe priesthood can, under any circumstances, ordain a man to a Quorumabove him? Not in one instance. Weknow very well that in their (judicial)"decisions," or in the settlement ofdifficulties arising among brethrenanywhere in all the world, the Quorumof the Seventies, the Twelve, and thethree High Priests of the HighPriests' Quorum, —all these Quorums,or a majority of them, are sa^id to beequal one with the other. But allknow that the "decisions" of these

Quorums and the Priesthood of theseQuorums, is another and very different thing.The language of Mr. Strang that"whatever amount of authority, or

whatever law, rule, or power it takesto place the predecessor in office, thesame authority, rule, law or power ittakes to place or make his successorin office," is a grand and universaltruth. It is true in every nation, kindred, tongue, tribe, or people, underthe whole heavens ; always has been,

and it ever will be, as long as any inhabitants live upon the earth. Thename is true in God's eternal King

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No., 2.

dom wherever it has been known toexist. If there is any truth that " liter Day Saints ought to have learnedlong ere this, it is that no man or setof men on earth can either' irn''e orunmake a prophet of God; Sh i asthe angels of God, acting tinder the

immediate instructs . of the Almighty, have made i jseph Smith a

prophet of the Most TTigh, by the ordination and imi-1.-" j.:n of theirhands, they alone can make and con

stitute his successor, or one to act inhis stead. They certainly ought toknow that when Jose- . "'!?. . ' or anyprophet like unto i. : i away

that he leaves none .. . n n equal

in power, authority, and gil'i..; andthat being the case, absolute neces

sity demands that the power that

made him, must also make his suc

cessors. No power less than the an

gels can do it. According to this uni,ersal law. therefore, if we can onlyfind out how one prophet liko untoMoses has been constituted and made,

we have the Key to the mode or pattern as to how they were all constituted find made. Joseph Smith, it is

expressly declared, was a prophet like

unto Moses. Moses himself was ordained by angels, as before referredto. (Acts 7: 35. Gal. 3: 19. Inspired

Translation). Here are two cases.When the prophetic office was con

ferred on Peter, it was conferred bythe Saviour of mankind who is placedabove all angels. Here are threecases of the ordination and anointingof prophets like unto Moses under thehands of heavenly messengers. OfJesus himself it is expressly said thatho was anointed to the prophetic of

fice under the hands of God himself.

(See Luke 4: 16 to 21. Acts 5: 31:10:38.42. Heb. 1:8, 9. It is wellknown by all bible students that theword Christ signifies the Anointed.See also Dan. 9: 24.) Now we are informed, in many places in all thestandard books of the church in thoselatter days, that the office of Prophet.Seer, Revelator, and Translator to tht-church of God as held by Joseph-Smith, Peter, James and John, JesusChrist and Moses is the same officeexactly as that held by Melchizedecin his day. It follows therefore, thaias no mortal man or set of men canconfer this office, that Melchizedecmust of necessity have been also ordained by some one of the heavenlyhost. And now does it need anyadditional evidence to prove that

prophets liko unto Moses are consecrated, ordained, and anointedunder the hands of angels'? With somany eases of this kind before us, canwe regard those who oppose theclaims of James J. Strang as anything short of absolute and openrebellion against God almighty:Mormons especially, who are sup

posed as saints, to know more of theorder of heaven, and the holy priesthood than sectarians; for them to befound fighting these things, how canwe help regarding them as rebelsand opposer* of God's law, and theorder of his house? If they can de-lend themselves from these chargesso let them. We have no idea thatthe arguments presented here is going to convert under the present circumstances, any great number ofeither the leaders or the led in either

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2,

the ranks of Brigham Young or theyoung Josephites. Yet we cannotbut think that thej ,vill lay thesethings soberly to heart in days tocome, when placed side by side withthe many other things vritten whichthey have rejected. l or we cannotbut think that the day is near athand, when the refuge of both Brig-hamite and Josephite lies will beswept away, and the eyes of many of

the honest-hearted among them willue opened.For many years they all haveclassed Mr. Strang with Brewster,Baneeney, Gladden Bishop, and various other paper kite upstarts and

apostates, and with an air of triumphhave asked us "where is your prophetncmf' f "Who is your prophet now?'''';Who did Strang leave to succeedhim," etc. etc? Just as though ourfailure to answer any of these questions was proof positive that theyhad been led by a true prophet sincethe day of Joseph Smith's death andthat James J. Strang was a black'mpostor, and the letter of appointment written by the almighty andbis prophet, a whole-cloth fraud anda lie. We have, howevpi this muchof an advantage of eh er these twobodies of Mormons; that is, that wehave been led for twelve yearn by aprophet like unto Moses ; whereas the;,have had only man-made prophetfrom the death of the prophet .1, sephup till this year, 1887. If I a ' in thedark, I ask to be enlightened. IfBrigham Young, John Taylor, orYoung Joseph has brought forth anyof the lost glories of the past, anymvsterv of God's Kingdom, any reve

lation that enlightens us upon thndark things of holy writ, let themname them.

"I have given unto Joseph the Key?of the mystery of those things wbielare sealed until I shall appoint untithem another in his stead."If either Brigham, Taylor, or JoseplIII was appointed to succeed Joseph,does not this Inxig'iage imply thaiwhoever was appointed should enter

upon the bringing forth of thosesealed mysteries ? If Mr. Strang hasnot entered upon this vn-'n. and

brought forth much of t ^ . . . r —1records of the NephuS s, w- /«'.i iit? And as neither Tayk ' ,i icgnor Joseph III has brought forth aniota of these things, in the past fortyyears, what evidence is there that

they, or any one of them, will everbring them forth? Absolutely none-'Is not this great fact a most witheringcount against them? The possessionof the Urim and Thummim constitute.-,

a Seer. Did any one of these men everhandle or see the Urim and Thummim? Did any one of them ever walkand talk with God face to face as allprophets like unto Moses since theworld began have done? From allthat is written in relation to trueprophets, or prophets of God likeinto Mose it is sa^e enougho set down the dowing as' iie unmistakable cnaractei-^tics bjwhich they may be known:First. A man whom God deto fill such an . iffice, he (God) willcall him to it by his own voice fromthe heavens. Second. God will sendhis any h To ordain and anoint himto that o«W T-

24 PBOPHETIC CONTEOVEESY, No. 2.

such anointing and ordination, sucha man will have the privilege of speaking with God face to face. Fourth,

he will be a lawgiver to God's people so far as God will give them law.Fifth. He will possess the TJrim andThummim, and will be the only lawful revelator to God's people. Sixth.He will have the ministry of angels,andwill have power to accomplish anything that is really necessary to thesafety and welfare of God's people,whether it be in revealing the mysteries of the present, the past, or the

future; whether it be in dividing ofhe sea, turning rivers out of theirourses, or removing mountains;

whether it be in smiting the earth/ith famine, pestilence, or the detraction of armies;—indeed there isaarcely any bounds can be set to the' rorks of such prophets. But, ofourse, all these things depend large-

y upon the wants, obedience, desires,

aithfulness, and Y.'orthiness of the

ieople. It always was so; it always.rill be.

To conclude, as we have been in-brmed, that both Josephites and3righamites are making some con-

erts among the inexperienced

jtrangites, it was thought advisableo put these things side by side withhe"Diamond"and "Prophetic Controversy"; especially as they are designedto meet what appears to be a new

feature in Brighamism; namely, that"the Twelve, the three Presidents of

the High Priests' quorum, and theSeventies were all equal in authorityand power with the First Presidencyover the whole church." A grosserperversion of God's law was never

thought of) unless indeed that it wasin the setting up of the Be-organiza-tion by "two High Priests, and oneSenior President of the Seventies;"which two High Priests and one Senior President of the Seventies we areleft to conjecture were Jason W,Briggs, Zenos H. Gurley and a somebody else, who we conjecture wasHyrum P, Brown, all three of whomwere some little time before officersin the church under James J. Strang,received their priesthood in thatchurch* separated themselves from it,

and had their priesthood taken fromthem. And with such a priesthood, in connf-jtion with WilliamMarks, another av ..state from the

Strangite body, they undertook to ordain Young Joseph as a Prophet ofGod like unto Moses, to occupy the

place of his father! If there is anything bolder than that in the shape ofa claim to priesthood on record,

against any people, it has never yetcome to light. We have several timesbeen treated to "the history of theEeorganizatiOn, by Zenos H. Gurley,"in the Saints Herald, but they havenever yet given us squarely the names

of those "two High Priests, and thatone Senior President of the Seventies." We imagine that it wouldnot do. Somebody might raise thequestion of genuineness.

Though neither a prophet nor theson of a prophet myself, in answer tothe question, "who is your prophetnoivV' etc., at the risk of my ownsalvation, I will put the followingprophecy on record: That the prophetic office as held by Joseph Smithand James J. Strang has never yet

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2. 25

been vacated one moment either bythe death of Joseph Smith or JamesJ. Strang. I know not where thatprophet is, or where he will comefrom ; but I am as well satisfied thatthere is now on earth a living prophet,seer, revelator and translator such asJoseph Smith and James J. Strangwas, as I am satisfied of any othergreat fact or truth in the wholescience or system of Mormonism.

If tho question be asked, Whydoes he not then make his appearance

among the Latter Day Saints? I cannot say just why exactly; but myhonest conviction is simply this:

That when they feel a great deal lessinterested in prophets of their ownmake, and a great deal more inprophets of God's make, he will bevery apt to show himself amongthem, and not till then. I am strongly of the opinion that if God shouldsend a Moses to the people of Utahunder the present circumstances theywould reject him. The motto therebeing that, whatever God sends tothem "must come through the properchannel," &c. That means that aslong as John Taylor is at the headof that people, there is no need ofany prophet being sent from God.And the Josephites are not one whitbetter. Indeed, they have somehow

got it that young Joseph is the"one mighty and strong" who is tolead the Latter Day Saints out ofbondage. A greater or more grosspiece of folly and fraud was neverpalmed upon man. The day is nearwhen the shame they have all heaped

upon the Strangites shall rebound

upon both these Brighamites andJosephites four fold.I cannot, however, but feel to sympathize with the Utah Mormons intheir persecutions, and have said andwritten many things in their defense,simply because I feel that they arepersecuted for their faith in a righteous and divine principle; but I haveno faith in either Brigham Young orJohn Taylor's claims as legally appointed prophets of God, and nevercan. Neither can I look upon Utahas a lawfully appointed gatheringplace for the saints. It was not appointed by revelation through anytrue or lawfully constituted prophet,and was therefore not authorised ofGod. The prophecy of Joseph thatthey "would be driven to the RockyMountains," &c, is a very differentthing to a direct revelation throughhim, appointing that land as a placeof gathering. Their temple buildingalso, and their baptisms for the d«adtherein I fully believe will be reckoned as naught in the eyes of theAlmighty in days to come. It is decreed in these days that the gospelshall roll forth until it fills the wholeearth, but does that argue that men

in high places in the church of Godwould not ursurp dominion, andthereby for a time shut out the lightof heaven from the honest in heart TIf God has decreed in these daysthat he will raise up one mighty andstrong like unto Moses to lead theSaints out of bondage as their fathers were led at the first, doe '* this

26 PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2.

imply that no one has usurped dominion, misled the saints, and

brought them into bondage ?

What would be the wisdom ofraising up one like unto Moses, tolead the saints out of bondage if thereis now just such a prophet as Moseswas, already among them ? If JohnTaylor is just such a prophet, what isthe need of looking to God for himto raise up one? and if he is not sucha prophet, what business has he to

claim to be the leader of God's people? Now that their enemies areabout to take the last vestige of human rights away from them, and deliver them into the hands of theirmost inhuman oppressors—"serpents,cockatrices that cannot be charmed"—to be robbed, plundered, trampledupon, and enslaved with impunity,will not John Taylor arise in theMajesty of God, and at least, Joshualike, point out a remedy? And if hedoes not show himself a prophet ofGod, now in their distress, what evidence can he offer that he over was a

prophet, either as Joseph, or asMoses? And as Joseph was to

appoint one who was to be

like unto Moses, does it not followthat if he is not such a prophet, thatBrigham Yovng was not; and thatboth have rejected him whom Godhas appointed, and that God hastherefore left them to themselves,with the rest of their usurping brethren to prove their own nothingness,in the sight of all people? Why cannot John Taylor now, as Jeremiahand all other true prophets in thepast, point out or tell the people ofUtah what the wrong is on the part

of the people there, and give them atleast a chance to right it? Have thepeople there absolutely rebelled

against his counsel, that the enemyhas got, and is getting such powerover them? Is Zion (the purein heart) to be moved out of herplace? God says she shall not; andhe says also that she shall not be

brought into bondage. Is it not always well with God's people, whenthey are willing to do as their prophets command them? And have theUtah Mormons refused to do so ?Now, it will be asked by some,"what have you Strangites to offer us

now, provided we should lose faithin John Taylor, as a true Prophet?"We answer; nothing only what Godhas given us by both Joseph andJames. If the Letter of Appointment and the ordination of James,and the revelations and law that he has

brought forth from the records thathave been sealed, by Urim and Thum-mim, and by the ministry of angels,are not worth having, then, myfriends, you need not have them ! Ifit is just as well to continue to be ledby a false prophet, as to learn the

things of God through a true one,and find out thereby that you have

been misled and deceived for fortyyears, is for each to decide for himself. One thing more. As God haspromised us one like unto Moses tolead us out of bondage, as our fatherswere led out of the Egyptian bondage, the prayers of all should go upto God, that he may fulfil his promisein this thing. We are in bondageand going faster and faster into it,and the day is hastening when there

PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2. 27

'will be no safety in Utah, and surelynowhere else, for Latter Day Saints,unless the Lord comes forth "out ofhis hiding place" in their behalf; or,in other words, sends one like untoMoses, ordained by angels, from hishiding place, as he sent Moses fromhis hiding place.You are not asked to cease in anywise from well-doing; nor from anyduty, either in the house or in thewarning of sinners from the error oftheir ways. The appointment ofVoree as a refuge of the oppressed,

will have some significance by andby. The people will find that Godwas not trifling with his people whenhe appointed that place as a refuge

to them out of Nauvoo, through the

prophet Joseph, and that he will notbe mocked in anything that he hassaid to James. Amen.Boyne, Charlevoix Co., Mich., (.

February, 1887. 1

POSTSCRIPT.The following two paragraphs aretaken from a work by Dr. Franklin D. Richards, entitled "A Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel,"and claims to be the teachings of

Joseph Smith the Seer."Different Degrees of the Melehize-dec, Priesthood: — Answer to thequestion, 'Was the Priesthood of jMolchizedec taken away when Moses

died?' All Priesthood is Melcbize-dec. but there are different portionsor degrees of it. That portion whichbrought Moses to speak face to face

with God was taken away ; but thatwhich brought the ministry of angelsremained. All the prophets had the

Melchizedec Priesthood, and wereordained by God himself."The reader will do very well to scanthe above carefully and compare withMr. Strang's teachings on the prophetic office, contrasting these thingswith the Brighamite teachings, that"All the officers and quorums of theMelchizedec Priesthood are equal inpower and authority with the firstPresidency, and that any one of themcan be prophet, seer, revelator, andtranslator, if he is only chosen bythe voice of the church, to lead it."Shame on such teachings!Another extract from the Compendium : "All things whatsoever God inhis infinite wisdom has seen fit andproper to reveal to us while we aredwelling in mortality, in regard toour mortal bodies, are revealed to us* * * independent of * * *

this mortal tabernacle. * * * butare revealed to our spirits preciselyj as though we had no bodies at all ;j and those revelations which will saveour spirits will save our bodies. Godreveals them to us in view of no eternal dissolution of the body, or tabernacle. Hence the awful responibility,that rests upon us, in relation to ourdead; for all the spirits who havenot obeyed the gospel in the flesh,must obey it in the spirit, or bedamned.'' (See pages 287 and 284 ofCompendium.) God told Abrahamthat even should he die he was ableto fulfill all his words to him. Johnthe Baptist's ministry was not morethan entered upon as a preparer ofthe way of the Messiah when Herodbeheaded him. And certainly thework of Jesus was but merely begun

28 PROPHETIC CONTROVERSY, No. 2.

when he was crucified. The Brig-hamites have from the start said that

Joseph Smith since his death hadentered more largely upon his ministry than while in the flesh ; yet someof them think they see some thingswherein the word of the Lord to Mr.Strang ''has failed." We wouldadmonish them not to be too hastyin their judgment. That was thevery ground upon which the Jews ofChrist's time fell, and were driven todarkness. Being disobedient to thecounsels of God through John theywSre quite satisfied that the word ofGod through the prophets was not

fulfilled in Jesus, and their darknessremains to this day. Just so with allwho have rejected the word of Godthrough Joseph appointing James tothe prophetic office and Voree as a

refuge for the oppressed. They havebeen driven on and on into darkness

and unless they repent while theyhave opportunity, their fate will besimilar to that of tLe Jews.The reader is here informed thatthe Doctrine and Covenants followedhere by John E. Page, James J.Strang, and William Marks, is the oldNauvoo edition. W. W.March, 1887.

ro

.

.