Origin of the 'Reorganized' Church and the Question of Succession

by Joseph Fielding Smith

THE GODHEAD.

The first article of faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reads as follows:

"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."

We accept these three personages as the supreme governing council in the heavens. The Father and the Son have tabernacles of flesh and bones, and the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. (D. & C. 130:22). We worship the Father in the name of the Son, who is the Mediator between God and man, and His is the only name given whereby man can be saved (D. & C. 18:23). We accept Jesus as the Only Begotten Son of the Father in the flesh, although we are all His offspring in the spirit, (Acts 17:28) and therefore His children. This is the teaching of "Mormonism."

We are accused by the Reorganites, however, of departing from the doctrines of the Prophet Joseph Smith in that we believe in a plurality of Gods. That we believe in a plurality of Gods is true, and if they do not—and they confess almost unanimously that they do not—then they are not following the teachings and revelations of Joseph Smith. If the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are separate and distinct personages, then they are three Gods, then they are plural, this fact Joseph Smith taught to the world. But our Reorganite friends quote from a purported discourse of President Brigham Young to the effect that Adam is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. But this discourse even if reported correctly—which we have reason to believe is not the case—is not the doctrine of the Church and has not been received by the Church. Joseph Smith the Prophet taught a plurality of Gods, and moreover, that man, by obeying the commandments of God and keeping the whole law will eventually reach the power and exaltation by which he also will become a God. And if Reorganites do not accept this truth, then they have departed from the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The doctrine of plurality of Gods, did not originate with Brigham Young, but was taught him by Joseph Smith.

In a discourse delivered by the Prophet in Nauvoo at the April conference of the Church in 1844, he said:

"I will go back to the beginning before the world was, to show what kind of a being God is. What sort of a being was God in the beginning? Open your ears and hear, all ye ends of the earth, for I am going to prove it to you by the Bible, and to tell you the designs of God in relation to the human race, and why He interferes with the affairs of man.

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make Himself visible,—I say, if you were to see Him today, you would see Him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another.

* * * * * * * *

"I shall comment on the very first Hebrew word in the Bible; I will make a comment on the very first sentence of the history of creation in the Bible—Berosheit. I want to analyze the word. Baith—in, by, through, and everything else. Rosh—the head. Sheit—grammatical termination. When the inspired man wrote it, he did not put the baith there. An old Jew without any authority added the word; he thought it too bad to begin to talk about the head! It read first, 'The head one of the Gods brought forth the Gods.' That is the true meaning of the word—Baurau signifies to bring forth. If you do not believe it, you do not believe the learned man of God. Learned men can teach you no more than what I have told you. Thus the head God brought forth the Gods in the grand council.

"I will transpose and simplify it in the English language. Oh ye lawyers, ye doctors, and ye priests, who have persecuted me, I want to let you know that the Holy Ghost knows something as well as you do. The head God called together the Gods and sat in grand council to bring forth the world."—(See Era, January, 1909).

In another discourse delivered June 16, 1844 the Prophet said:

"And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father: to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."—(Rev. 1:6). It is altogether correct in the translation. Now, you know that of late some malicious and corrupt men have sprung up and apostatized from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they declare that the Prophet believes in a plurality of Gods; and, lo and behold! we have discovered a very great secret, they cry, 'The Prophet says there are many Gods, and this proves that he has fallen.'"

"I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text for the express purpose. I wish to declare I have always, and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the Elders fifteen years. I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a spirit; and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods. If this is in accordance with the New Testament, lo and behold! we have three Gods anyhow, and they are plural; and who can contradict it? The text says—'And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father.' The apostles have discovered that there were Gods above, for Paul says God was the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. My object was to preach the Scriptures, and preach the doctrine they contain, there being a God above the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ I am bold to declare. * * John was one of the men, and the Apostles declare they were made kings and priests unto God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It reads just so in the Revelations. Hence, the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible. It stands beyond the power of controversy. A wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein.'

"Paul says there are Gods many, and Lords many * * * But to us there is but one God—that is, pertaining to us; and he is in all and through all. But if Joseph Smith says there are Gods many and Lords many, they cry: 'Away with him! Crucify him, crucify him!' Mankind verily say that the Scriptures are with them. Search the Scriptures, for they testify of things that these apostates would gravely pronounce blasphemy. Paul, if Joseph Smith is a blasphemer, you are. I say there are Gods many, and Lords many, but to us only one; and we are to be in subjection to that one, and no man can limit the bounds or the eternal existence of eternal time. * * * Some say I do not interpret the Scriptures the same as they do. they say it means the heathens' gods. Paul says there are Gods many, and Lords many; and that makes a plurality of Gods, in spite of the whims of all men. * * You know, and I testify, that Paul had no allusion to the heathen gods. I have it from God, and get over it if you can. I have a witness of the Holy Ghost, and a testimony that Paul had no allusion to the heathen gods in the text. I will show from the Hebrew Bible that I am correct, and the first word shows a plurality of Gods; and I want the apostates and learned men to come here and prove to the contrary, if they can. An unlearned boy must give you a little Hebrew. Berosheit Baurau Eloheim ait aushamayeen vehau auraits, rendered by King James' translators, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. I want to analyze the word Berosheit. Rosh, the head; sheit, a grammatical termination. The Baith was not originally put there when the inspired man wrote it, but it has been since added by an old Jew. Baurau signifies to bring forth; Eloheim is from the word Eloi, God in the singular number; and by adding the word heim, it renders it Gods. It read first—'In the beginning the head of the Gods brought forth the Gods,' or, as others have translated it—'The head of the Gods called the Gods together.'

* * * * * * *

"The head God organized the heavens and the earth. I defy all the learning in the world to refute me. 'In the beginning the head of the Gods organized the heavens and the earth.' * * If we pursue the Hebrew text further, it reads—'Berosheit baurau Eloheim ait Aushamayeen vehau auraits,' 'The head one of the Gods said, 'Let us make man in our own image.' I once asked a learned Jew 'If the Hebrew language compells us to render all words ending in heim in the plural, why not render the first Eloheim plural? He replied—'That is the rule, with few exceptions; but in this case it would ruin the Bible.' He acknowledged I was right. I came here to investigate these things precisely as I believe them. Hear and judge for yourselves: and if you go away satisfied, well and good.

"In the very beginning the Bible shows there is a plurality of Gods beyond the power of refutation. * * * The word Eloheim ought to be in the plural all the way through—Gods. The head of the Gods appointed one God for us; and when you take a (this) view of the subject, it sets one free to see all the beauty, holiness and perfection of all the Gods."—(See Mill. Star, Vol. 24:108, et seq).

This is the doctrine taught by Joseph Smith the Prophet at Nauvoo, and we accept his teachings as authentic. "But this was not published until after the Prophet's death," says our Reorganite objectors, and "Brigham Young tampered with history and made it read to suit himself, therefore we do not accept it." Nevertheless these two discourses were delivered before the congregation of the Saints and thousands of them heard the Prophet deliver these remarks, and if he had not spoken as here represented, the Apostles would not have dared publish his remarks within a month or two after they were delivered, for the people would have discovered the deception. But thousands of them have testified that these discourses were delivered by Joseph Smith. None can, without successful contradiction, say he did not deliver them. Again, the objection is raised, that these discourses were never accepted by the Church as doctrine, and therefore are not binding even if the Prophet did deliver them. Very well; the fact remains that the Church has accepted the Bible as far as it is translated correctly. Therefore, where it is not translated correctly we should receive the correct translation when it is given. The Prophet says the Hebrew word Eloheim is plural and means Gods, and should have been so translated in the Bible throughout. Is that true? If you think not, why not accept the Prophet's challenge to prove to the contrary? If you cannot, then hold your peace about it being binding!

Well, my friends of the "Reorganization" we will give you another quotation from the Prophet Joseph Smith, this time it was published before his martyrdom and that too by himself, for which he declared he stood responsible (See Times and Seasons, Vol. 3:710). This quotation is taken from the Book of Abraham in the Times and Seasons for March 1, 1842, which the Prophet says are some ancient records "from the Catacombs of Egypt, purporting to be the writings of Abraham, which he made in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus." These records were translated by the Prophet at Nauvoo, and in the MS. History of the Church prepared under his direction, he declares that they are absolutely the writings of Abraham, a fact which a reading of them will show. If you accept Joseph Smith as a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, you must, if you believe he translated the record, accept these writings, at least as the genuine translations of Abraham's record. There is no room for quibbling here.

This is from the Prophet's translation:

"Thus, I Abraham, talked with the Lord face to face, as one man talketh with another. * * * * *

"Now the Lord had shewn unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones, and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and He said, these, I will make my rulers; for He stood among those that were spirits, and He saw that they were good; and He said unto me, Abraham, thou art one of them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born. And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and He said unto those, who were with Him, We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an Earth whereon these may dwell; and we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate, shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate, shall have glory added upon their heads forever and forever.

Verse 23. "And the Lord said, who shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man, here am I, send me. And another answered and said, here am I, send me. And the Lord said, I will send the first. And the second was angry and kept not his first estate, and, at that day, many followed after him. And then the Lord said, let us go down; and they went down at the beginning, and they organized and formed (that is, the Gods) the heavens and the earth. And the earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate; because they had not formed anything but the earth; and darkness reigned upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of the Gods was brooding upon the face of the water.

24. And they said, the Gods, let there be light, and there was light. And they, the Gods, comprehended the light, for it was bright; and they divided the light, or caused it to be divided from the darkness, and the Gods called the light day, and the darkness they called night. * * * * *

25. And the Gods also said let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and it shall divide the waters from the waters. And the Gods ordered the expanse, so that it divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse: and it was so, even as they ordered. And the Gods called the expanse heaven. * * *

26. And the Gods ordered, saying, let the waters under the heavens be gathered unto one place, and let the earth come up dry, and it was so, as they ordered; and the Gods pronounced the earth dry."

Thus it continues unto the end of the 32nd verse in each verse declaring that the formation of the earth was done under the direction of the Gods. This agrees admirably with the discourses delivered at Nauvoo in 1844, previously quoted. Is it true doctrine? It certainly was taught by Joseph Smith, so in accepting it, we are not so far out of harmony with his teachings on this subject as our enemies have stated. Here again we hear another objection from our Reorganite brethren. Say they: "This Book of Abraham was never accepted by the Church in the Prophet's day as doctrine and it has not been so accepted by us; it is not a part of 'our authorized doctrines and deeds,' therefore it is not binding on us." Perhaps so, you may not have accepted it. That does not destroy the truth of this doctrine, which the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Church in his day did accept—the Doctrine of plurality of Gods. Do you deny this? If so then you deny the revelations of God given through the Seer and you are out of harmony with the revelations given through that man. The Bible and the Doctrine and Covenants both have been received as the law of the Church, and these sacred books both teach the doctrine of plurality of Gods. First as to the Bible: I quote in each instance from the "Inspired Translation."

"For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward."—(Deut. 10:17).

Joshua says: "The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know."—(Josh. 22:22).

David the Psalmist says: "Oh give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever.

"Oh give thanks unto the God of gods; for His mercy endureth forever.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His mercy endureth forever."—(Psalm 136:1-3).

Again he says in the 138th Psalm: "I will praise Thee with my whole heart; before the gods, will sing praise unto Thee."

But you say these were the heathen gods? but that will never do, surely the Lord is not the chief God of the heathen gods. Perhaps we may discover more light on the subject.

Again the Psalmist sings: "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. * * * I have said ye are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High."

Say what you will of the other passages, but of this you must admit that the heathen gods are not mentioned, for this truth received the divine approval of the Redeemer Himself as He taught the apostate Jew: Hear Him:

"I and my Father are one."

"Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shown you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

"The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, maketh thyself God."

"Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

"If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the Scriptures cannot be broken;

"Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?"

And the Jews were shocked, just as a Reorganite minister is, with this doctrine of plurality of Gods, and they sought the life of the Savior, but He was delivered out of their midst.

The Apostle John in his First Epistle and third chapter also teaches this doctrine:

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

If the faithful, who keep the commandments of the Father are His sons, then they are heirs of the kingdom and shall receive of the fulnesss of the Father's glory, even until they become like Father. And how can they be perfect as their Father in heaven is perfect if they are not like Him?

In the revelations given to Joseph which were accepted by the Church before 1844, the doctrine of plurality of Gods is also taught. From the "Vision" one of the grandest revelations ever given to man, I quote the following:

"And again, we bear record for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the Gospel of Christ, concerning them who come forth in the resurrection of the just: They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on His name, and were baptized after the manner of His burial, being buried in the water in His name, and this according to the commandment which He has given, that by keeping the commandments, they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power: and who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true; they are they who are the Church of the firstborn; they are they into whose hands the Father has given all things; they are they who are priests and kings, who have received of His fulnesss, and of His glory, and are priests of the Most High after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son; wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God; wherefore all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs, and they are Christ's and Christ is God's and they shall overcome all things."—(D. & C., Sec. 76:50-60. Reorganite edition, 76:5).

How could this doctrine be stated plainer? This is the doctrine taught by the Savior to the Jews, by David in his psalms and by others of the prophets. Here it is stated emphatically that they who are of the Church of the Firstborn (i. e., those who keep the whole law) even "as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God!" Where is it written? In this section; and in the words of the Savior wherein He says, referring to David's Psalm, "the Scriptures cannot be broken" (John 10:34-36). Doesn't this teach plainly the doctrine of plurality of Gods? Does it not teach the fact that the children shall, through obedience, sometime obtain the exaltation of the Gods themselves? If not what does it mean? Even a Reorganite dare not argue that these are the heathen gods!

Now, if they overcome all things, then there are not some things that they do not overcome. If these are to receive "of His fulnesss and of His glory, and if into their 'hands the Father has given all things, then the Father has not withheld some of the fulnesss of His glory, or some things. And if they receive His fulnesss and His glory, and if all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs," how can they receive these blessings and not become Gods? They cannot. Yet this is doctrine received by the Church and taught by Joseph Smith the Seer.

Speaking of this same subject in the revelation on Priesthood (Sec. 84:35-40. Reorganite edition, 83:6) the Lord says:

"And also all they who receive this priesthood receiveth me, saith the Lord, for he that receiveth my servants receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth my Father, and he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom. Therefore, all that my Father hath shall be given unto him; and this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.^[1] Therefore, all those who receiveth the priesthood receiveth this oath and covenant of my Father, which He cannot break, neither can it be moved; but whoso breaketh this covenant, after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come."

Here again we are given to understand that those who are faithful in obtaining the priesthood and magnifying their calling that they become of the Church of the Firstborn, receiving ALL THAT THE FATHER HATH! and this according to an oath and covenant that cannot be broken. Now, again, how are they to receive all that the Father hath, if something is withheld? And if something is not withheld, how can they receive all that He hath and not become as He is, that is, Gods themselves?

Here is another revelation given to the Prophet December 27, 1832. This is section 88 and verses 106-7 (Reorganite edition, 85:33):

"And again, another angel shall sound his trump, which is the seventh angel, saying, It is finished! It is finished! the Lamb of God hath overcome and trodden the wine-press alone; even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God; And then shall the angels be crowned with the glory of His might, and the saints shall be filled with His glory, and receive their inheritance and be made equal with Him" (i. e., with Christ).

How can the Saints receive of His fulnesss and be equal with the Lord and not be as He is, that is Gods? This is not the doctrine of Brigham Young (for then in the eyes of Reorganites it would be blasphemy), but these are the revelations of the Lord to Joseph Smith. And these revelations have been received by the "Reorganized" Church as binding on them, yet they do not accept the truth these revelations contain. Therefore, they prove themselves to be those who have departed from the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith.