You see it says, "this anointing have I put upon his head." What anointing does this refer to? Notice that it says, "as pertaining to my boarding house * * let my servant Joseph, and his house have place therein, from generation to generation." That is the anointing the term "this" refers to. It is the place in that boarding house, and has nothing to do with the Presidency of the Church. I have already shown to you that in the seed of Hyrum Smith as well as in the seed of Joseph Smith the generations after them were to be blessed; there is nothing in this promise indicating that the posterity of either of them shall have right to the Presidency of the Church.
But they say this blessing does not refer to the boarding house in which the Prophet Joseph paid stock for himself and generations after him; but that it refers to the blessing of his progenitors; that is, to the birthright which was given to Joseph—the right of the primogeniture. And considering this passage Heman C. Smith, in his "True Succession," has the following to say:
"Here then is the blessing given to Joseph to occupy in this position, and to discharge these duties and responsibilities. But some one objects that this is not called a 'blessing;' but is it not a blessing? However, to silence this caviling, we refer the reader to the blessing of Joseph Smith as pronounced by his father on the occasion of the ordination of the High Council. February 19, 1834, Joseph in his history says:
"'My father Joseph then laid his hands upon my head and said, "Joseph, I lay my hands upon thy head and pronounce the blessings of thy progenitors upon thee, that thou mayest hold the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, until the coming of the Lord. Amen.'" (True Succession, p. 44).
Then he goes on to say that this is the blessing referred to in the revelation I have just quoted from, and that it was the blessing of the primogeniture. The birthright of the first born. But Mr. Heman C. Smith is too hasty. Invariably in quoting this blessing given to the Prophet by his father and which is found in the Times and Seasons, volume 6, pages 994-5, they tactfully refrain from quoting what immediately follows. I will quote it from the Times and Seasons:
"He also laid his hands upon the head of his son Samuel and said, 'Samuel, I lay my hands upon thy head, and pronounce the blessing of thy progenitors upon thee, that thou mayest remain a Priest of the Most High God, and like Samuel of old, hear His voice, saying, Samuel, Samuel. Amen.'
"John Johnson also, laid his hands upon the head of his son Luke and said, 'My Father in heaven, I ask thee to bless this my son, according to the blessings of his forefathers, that he may be strengthened in his ministry, according to his holy calling. Amen.'"
This proves to us that the blessing of the progenitors was not necessarily the blessing of the first born; nor was it the right to the Presidency of the Church; for Samuel received a blessing similar to that of his brother Joseph, and neither of them received the birthright in these blessings. I shall now show you that it was Hyrum Smith who received the blessing of the first born—the birthright—and it was not the Presidency of the Church either, for they are not the same. However, before I show this I want to read a paragraph from the history published by the "Reorganized" Church. This is volume 2, and is "written and compiled" by Joseph Smith and his assistant, Heman C. Smith, their historian. On pages 462-3 they give the dying blessings pronounced by Patriarch Joseph Smith on the heads of his children. They introduce this account in the following words:
"In connection with the fact that Joseph's and William's children are identified with the Reorganization, while Hyrum's and Samuel's are in Utah, it is interesting to note that the children of the two former were to be blessed after them, while the children of the two latter are not mentioned.
"The account of this deathbed scene and the blessings, as given by Lucy Smith, the mother of the Prophet and widow of the Patriarch, is as follows:"
Here is the blessing of Hyrum Smith:
"My son Hyrum, I seal upon your head your patriarchal blessing, which I placed upon your head before, for that shall be verified. In addition to this, I now give you my dying blessing, You shall have a season of peace, so that you shall have sufficient rest to accomplish the work which God has given you to do. You shall be as firm as the pillars of heaven unto the end of your days. I NOW SEAL UPON YOUR HEAD THE PATRIARCHAL POWER, and you shall bless the people. This is my dying blessing upon your head in the name of Jesus. Amen."
There is the birthright!