Blood Atonement and the Origin of Plural Marriage: A Discussion

by Joseph Fielding Smith; R. C. Evans

The ministers of the "Reorganized" Church, or the "New Organization," as it was first called,^[1] declare that the Church at the death of the Prophet Joseph and Patriarch Hyrum Smith, was badly divided, its members scattered to the four winds, and that the Church was rejected with its dead. They also claim that the "Reorganization" is composed of the faithful who did "not bow the knee to Baal," but remained true to the "original faith" as revealed and practiced by the Prophet Joseph Smith. In the words of their president: "The individuals who kept this covenant (the new and everlasting covenant) were accepted of Him and were not rejected, nor their standing before God put in jeopardy by the departure of others from the faith. Whatever the office in the priesthood each held, under the ordinations ordered by the call of God and vote of the Church, would remain valid. They could as elders, priests, etc., pursue the duties of warning, expounding, and inviting all to come to Christ, and by command of God could build up the Church from any single branch, which, like themselves, had not bowed the knee to Baal, or departed from the faith of the Church as found in the standard works of the body at the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith."^[2]

It is strongly implied in this quotation from the writings of the president of the "Reorganization" that all those who followed President Brigham Young and the Twelve Apostles, lost their Priesthood and standing before the Lord, and that the founders of the "New Organization" and their followers were the only ones who remained true and steadfast to the Truth. The evidence in this regard is against them. The truth is that the founders of the "Reorganized" church were the ones who followed every will-o-the-wisp, bowed the knee to Baal and departed from the faith, while the Twelve and the Saints on the other hand, pursued an even course and were steadfast under all trials and difficulties even to the end.

It is not true that the Church was broken, scattered and rejected following the martyrdom and that the "Reorganization" is a portion of the original church. Their organization did not come into existence until some sixteen years after the death of the Prophet and Patriarch and was an outgrowth of the movement under James J. Strang.

There was a movement on foot to divide the Church, following the assassination of the Prophet and Patriarch, but its range was not as extensive as has generally been supposed. The chief actors in this movement were Sidney Rigdon, James J. Strang and William Smith, each of whom aspired to lead the Church. Mr. Rigdon based his claim to the presidency on the fact that he had been the first counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and therefore by right should be the "guardian" of the Church. His claim was in conflict with the position of the Church and the teachings of the Prophet. He laid his case before the conference of the Church August 8, 1844, and his claim was rejected by the Saints almost unanimously. At the same conference the Twelve Apostles were sustained as the presiding quorum of the Church. Mr. Strang's claim to the presidency was based on his statement that the Prophet had appointed him as his successor by letter, a few days before the martyrdom. William Smith claimed the right of presidency by virtue of being the brother of the Prophet.

Each of these men gathered around him a few followers, principally of that class of restless, erratic individuals, who never remain contented very long in any one place or under any circumstances; but none of them gathered many followers. Their organizations barely existed for a few years and then disappeared; the fragments becoming the nucleus of the "Reorganization."

The movement which resulted in the bringing forth of the "Reorganized" church, was of more recent date and was due principally to the efforts of two men, viz., Jason W. Briggs and Zenas H. Gurley. Mr. Briggs was born June 25, 1821, at Pompey, Oneida County, New York. He joined the Church June 6, 1841, and members of the "Reorganization" declare that he was ordained an Elder in 1842. His home was in Beloit, Wisconsin, from 1842 to 1854. After the death of the Prophet, Mr. Briggs sustained the Twelve Apostles and the Church and was apparently true to them until the exodus in 1846. At that time he lost heart, turned from the Church in its darkest hour and sought the favor of the world. Some time subsequent to this he joined the movement under James J. Strang. In Strang's organization he did missionary work, received honors and organized a branch. In 1850 he renounced Mr. Strang and joined with William Smith, in the latter organization he was "ordained" an "apostle." He soon tired of William Smith, and in 1851 joined with Zenas H. Gurley who was at that time a follower of James J. Strang. These two men then organized a church of their own which afterwards was known as the "Reorganized" church. In 1886 Jason W. Briggs withdrew from this organization of his own begetting, declaring that it was not the Church of Christ.

Zenas H. Gurley was just as unstable as Mr. Briggs. He was born at Bridgewater, New York, May 29, 1801, joined the Church in April, 1838, and moved to Far West, from whence he was driven with the Saints in the expulsion of 1838-39. After this expulsion he settled in Nauvoo, where, in 1844, he was ordained a Seventy,^[3] under the direction of President Joseph Young, and on the 6th day of April, 1845, he was ordained senior president of the twenty-first quorum of Seventy. He sustained the Twelve and followed their teachings and remained with the Church until February, 1846, (the month of the exodus) when he also left the Church and shortly afterwards joined with James J. Strang. Mr. Gurley was endowed in the Nauvoo Temple with his wife January 6, 1846, and of that event the record of Seventies states under date of January 10, 1846:

President Zenas H. Gurley arose and said that the Presidents of the quorum (21st) had received their endowment. He observed that it was remarkable for the unusual outpouring of the Holy Spirit.—Page 29.

Again speaking of the authorities of the Church he said:

He remembered forcibly the sayings of the First Presidents of Seventy, that we should so live that no charge can be brought against us. A few years ago the men in high standing in this Church were as little as we are. They obtained their exaltation by patient submission to right, and minding their own business.—Page 29.