Of the second office in the church which descends from father to son—the office of bishop—the revelations of God provide that the literal descendants of Aaron—among the first born of his sons—have a right by virtue of their lineage to that position, if at any time they can prove their lineage, or do ascertain it by revelation from the Lord. But even in that case they must be designated by the Presidency of the Melchisedek priesthood, found worthy, and ordained by that Presidency, or by its direction, otherwise they are not legally authorized to officiate in that calling.[A]
[Footnote A: Doc. and Cov. sec. lxviii.]
These are the only offices in the priesthood which descend by lineage; yet Josephite writers quote the following in support of "young Joseph's" claims to the Presidency by lineage:
Therefore thus saith the Lord unto you [Joseph the martyr][A] with whom the Priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers, for ye are lawful heirs according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God; therefore your life and the Priesthood hath remained, and must needs remain[B] through you and your lineage, until the restoration of all things spoken of by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began.[C]
[Footnote A: Words in brackets are the Josephite writer's.]
[Footnote B: Italics in the above are Josephite's.]
[Footnote C: Doc. and Cov. sec. lxviii.]
It is only by inserting the words, "Joseph the martyr," into the revelation—as the Josephite writer has done—that the passage can be made to apply at all to the prophet Joseph personally. The revelation quoted is one that was given, explaining the parable of the wheat and tares, and begins thus:
Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servants, concerning the parable of the wheat and of the tares, etc.
Throughout the Lord addresses his "servants" and not Joseph Smith personally. Hence the statement in the passage that the priesthood had continued through the lineage of their fathers; that they were lawful heirs according to the flesh; that it must remain through them and their lineage until the restoration of all things—was a statement concerning, and a promise made as much to the other elders addressed on that occasion and their posterity, as to Joseph Smith and his posterity; and the insertion in the passage of "Joseph the martyr" in order to make the passage apply to him personally and to his posterity alone, is another instance of a Josephite writer's trickery.