James Strang

[VideoGameJunkie]

I rarely see his name get brought up, but why did many early Mormons, including some of Joseph Smith's surviving family members, and some of the Book of Mormon gold plate witnesses follow James Strang to his new church. He appeared like a Joseph Smith wannabe, yet had early Mormon followers. Why was he so influential to those close to Joseph Smith?

[VideoGameJunkie]

[James] Strang was supported by all of the family of Joseph Smith. He was joined by the mother, wife, and three sisters of Joseph Smith. He was sustained by the only surviving brother of Joseph Smith, and his brothers-in-law. He was believed by all of the living Book of Mormon witnesses, except one who was no longer a member of the church...

David Whitmer

One of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. One of six original members of the church. President of the church in Missouri, 1834. Addressed throughout the D&C. A high priest in Far West, Missouri, 1838. Hiram Page wrote to James Strang in early 1846 indicating that David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and Hiram Page received a tract about his succession claims and “read it with joy and gladness,” and “all the witnesses of the Book of Mormon living in that region received the news with gladness,” and addressed James Strang “as a prophet of God to tell them what to do.” In a second letter from April 1847, they also invited James Strang to come to Missouri and get the “church records, and manuscript revelations.”


Jacob Whitmer

One of the eight witnesses to the Book of Mormon, 1830. Jacob Whitmer owned a Book of Commandments. A high priest in Far West, Missouri, 1838. Hiram Page wrote to James Strang in early 1846 indicating that he, along with David Whitmer and John Whitmer, received a tract about his succession claims and that they “could not rest till they had gone and communicated the glad news to their brother [Jacob Whitmer] who lived at some distance,” and “all the witnesses of the Book of Mormon living in that region received the news with gladness,” and addressed James Strang “as a prophet of God to tell them what to do.” In a second letter from April 1847, they also invited James Strang to come to Missouri and get the “church records, and manuscript revelations.”


John Whitmer

One of the eight witnesses to the Book of Mormon, 1830. Scribe for translation of Book of Mormon. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, 1830. Addressed throughout the D&C. Designated by revelation to keep a sacred history of the church (D&C 69), as the first official church historian, 1831. Scribe for revelations of Joseph Smith, and draft of Book of Commandments. Assistant president of the church in Missouri, 1834. Edited the Messenger and Advocate, 1835-1837. Helped purchase Far West, Missouri. As the church historian, he said that Joseph Smith appointed James Strang as his successor. Hiram Page wrote to James Strang in early 1846 indicating that David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and Hiram Page received a tract about his succession claims and “read it with joy and gladness,” and “all the witnesses of the Book of Mormon living in that region received the news with gladness,” and addressed James Strang “as a prophet of God to tell them what to do.” In a second letter from April 1847, they also invited James Strang to come to Missouri and get the “church records, and manuscript revelations.” John Whitmer wrote in his manuscript history: “God, knowing all things, prepared a man whom he visited by an angel of God and showed him where there were some ancient record hid, and also put in his heart to desire of faith to grant him power to establish a stake to Zion in Wisconsin Territory, whose name is James J. Strang. Now at first Smith was unfavorably disposed to grant him this request, but being troubled in spirit and knowing from the things that were staring him in the face that his days must soon be closed, therefore he enquired of the Lord and behold the Lord said ‘Appoint James J. Strang a prophet, seer and revelator unto my Church, for thou shalt thereby do a mention thy cup is bitter, etc.’ Shortly after the appointment of James Strang, the mob gathered and took by stratagem Joseph and Hyrum Smith and conveyed them to Carthage, the seat of justice in and for the county of Hancock as if to try them by the law of the land for their crimes, they murdered them and thus the Lord’s anointed fell by the brutal hand of man and they are gone the way of all the earth and James Strang reigns in the place of Smith, the author and proprietor of the Book of Mormon.”

[rockpond]

1 hour ago, VideoGameJunkie said:

I rarely see his name get brought up, but why did many early Mormons, including some of Joseph Smith's surviving family members, and some of the Book of Mormon gold plate witnesses follow James Strang to his new church. He appeared like a Joseph Smith wannabe, yet had early Mormon followers. Why was he so influential to those close to Joseph Smith?

James Strang was one of several who had a claim to be the Prophet Joseph's successor.  There are still members of the Strangite branch of the LDS movement around today.

[VideoGameJunkie]

16 minutes ago, rockpond said:

James Strang was one of several who had a claim to be the Prophet Joseph's successor.  There are still members of the Strangite branch of the LDS movement around today.

I never heard about him until the CES letter.

[rockpond]

33 minutes ago, VideoGameJunkie said:

I never heard about him until the CES letter.

I've never read the CES letter so I can't comment as to what it says about Strang.  He seemed to have a small but loyal following.  I'm not expert, but I believe he claimed Joseph had named him a successor at some point.  A claim that obviously wasn't believed by Brigham Young or the rest of the 12.  He also later claimed to translate some ancient scripture... or something like that.  Then he established the "Kingdom of God" on an island.  It's an interesting story, but not one that I've had the energy to devote much time to.

[Calm]

Quote

He seemed to have a small but loyal following.

IIRC, it started out larger but then fell off to the ultimately small but loyal group when he didn't follow the pattern of Joseph as most expected him to and they left.  Part of his appeal was an alleged letter from Joseph apppointing Strang his successor.  It appears to be a forgery.

[Damien the Leper]

I believe John Hajicek is a member of that church. He has an amazing collection of Restoration materials. He's a guy a LDS historian should sit down with.

[Nevo]

On 1/4/2016 at 1:00 PM, VideoGameJunkie said:

[James] Strang was supported by all of the family of Joseph Smith. He was joined by the mother, wife, and three sisters of Joseph Smith.

William Smith claimed that "the whole Smith family excepting Hyrum's widow uphold Strang" ("Opinions of the Smith Family," Voree Herald 1, no. 6 [June 1846]: 1), but there are reasons to doubt this. As his biographer, Kyle Walker, notes,

Quote

In one of his earliest letters to Strang in March [1846], William had coupled his support of Strang's movement with that of the entire Smith family. He included the names of his mother, sisters, and their spouses on two letters, implying that his family unitedly supported Strang. William's younger sister Katherine later issued an affidavit: "I now in truth declare that I never signed my name to such [a] certificate of document; neither did I give my consent for anyone to sign it. I never knew anything about Strang or his work, nor heard of him for several years after I left Nauvoo. I do not believe that my mother, Lucy Smith, or my sisters, Lucy Millikin and Sophronia McClerrie, signed any such certificate. . . . So I say the whole thing was a forgery. Whoever the perpetrator was, his acts will surely be revealed sometime, as justice will prevail." And, in fact, Jenkins [Salisbury] and Katherine were actually absent from Nauvoo when Smith included their names. Obviously, William exploited his family to make himself a more appealing candidate in Strang's movement.

— Kyle R. Walker, William B. Smith: In the Shadow of a Prophet (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2015), 327.

William's mother and two of his sisters (Sophronia and Lucy) and their families moved to Knoxville, Illinois, in September 1846 to avoid the Battle of Nauvoo, staying with Isaac Paden, "a Church leader who had only recently shifted his loyalty from Brigham Young to James Strang, and who was presiding over a branch of approximately thirty-six Strangites organized in the city." According to Walker, while taking refuge at the Paden home ("stowed into a room about 15 by 12 feet"), "the Smiths presumably attended this loosely organized Strangite branch during the winter of 1846–47, which, combined with William's declarations that all his family supported Strang, became the foundation of rumors that Lucy Smith and all her children were Strangites. Surviving accounts are contradictory about the level of support William's mother and sisters actually gave Strang. . . . [But] if the Smith women had considered the possibility of affiliating with the Strangites, they ultimately decided against it. In the spring of 1847, they returned to Nauvoo and only William made the trip to Voree" (Walker, 329–330).

William Smith was the only Smith to offer clear and unambiguous support for Strang, and there is a question about whether even he believed in Strang's claims. Walker writes: "It is difficult to decipher whether [William] was truly convinced of Strang's calling as Joseph's successor or whether he saw Strang's rising movement as an opportunity to meet his personal ambitions and receive the recognition that his excommunication had stripped away with his offices. William's almost immediate and dramatic shift away from the idea of lineal succession, something Strang opposed but which William had vigorously advocated since leaving Nauvoo, supports the latter interpretation" (Walker, 325).

Edited January 6, 2016 by Nevo

[VideoGameJunkie]

2 minutes ago, Nevo said:

William Smith claimed that "the whole Smith family excepting Hyrum's widow uphold Strang" ("Opinions of the Smith Family," Voree Herald 1, no. 6 [June 1846]: 1), but there are reasons to doubt this. As his biographer, Kyle Walker, notes,

William's mother and two of his sisters (Sophronia and Lucy) and their families moved to Knoxville, Illinois, in September 1846 to avoid the Battle of Nauvoo. They stayed with Isaac Paden, "a Church leader who had only recently shifted his loyalty from Brigham Young to James Strang, and who was presiding over a branch of approximately thirty-six Strangites organized in the city." Walker continues: "The Smiths presumably attended this loosely organized Strangite branch during the winter of 1846–47, which, combined with William's declarations that all his family supported Strang, became the foundation of rumors that Lucy Smith and all her children were Strangites. Surviving accounts are contradictory about the level of support William's mother and sisters actually gave Strang. . . . [But] if the Smith women had considered the possibility of affiliating with the Strangites, they ultimately decided against it. In the spring of 1847, they returned to Nauvoo and only William made the trip to Voree" (Walker, 329–330).

William Smith was the only Smith to offer clear and unambiguous support for Strang, and there is a question whether even he believed in Strang's claims. Walker writes: "It is difficult to decipher whether [William] was truly convinced of Strang's calling as Joseph's successor or whether he saw Strang's rising movement as an opportunity to meet his personal ambitions and receive the recognition that his excommunication had stripped away with his offices. William's almost immediate and dramatic shift away from the idea of lineal succession, something Strang opposed but which William had vigorously advocated since leaving Nauvoo, supports the latter interpretation" (Walker, 325).

Thanks for the info!

[Grudunza]

Rather than being evidence of their deception, I think the BoM witnesses following Strang is actually evidence that supports their BoM testimony.  If they had knowingly lied and been part of a willful deception with the BoM plates, why join so eagerly to this other offshoot?