by John P. Pratt
12 May 2021, 1 Serpent (SR), 1 Lord (UMa)
©2021 by John P. Pratt. All rights reserved.
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1. Joseph Smith III 1.1 In Prophecy 1.2 Rejected by LDS 2. Revelations 2.1 Priesthood to All Races 2.2 Calling of Apostle 2.3 Patriarch Duties 2.4 Acceptable Behavior 3. Conclusion Notes |
Recent articles have reviewed how Joseph Smith III had been anointed by his father, the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., to someday lead the Church. At the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, Sidney Rigdon volunteered to be the "Guardian" of the Church until Joseph Smith III, only 11 at that time, would become of age. Brigham Young campaigned for the Quorum of Twelve Apostles to lead until then. He won the vote, but three years later in December 1847, Brigham decided that he, not Joseph III, should be the next president of the Church. That led to the rise of the Reorganized LDS Church (RLDS) where Joseph III would preside from 1860 to 1914.
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This article briefly reviews prophecies about Joseph III which have been covered in detail in earlier articles. It then summarizes several important principles which the Lord revealed to President Joseph Smith III. Each one discussed covers a subject which the LDS Church has not understood, and hence thought to be of interest to LDS readers, to see what they have missed.
On or about 5 Jun 1844, three weeks before the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, the Prophet Joseph anointed and ordained his son Joseph Smith III to someday be the president and prophet of the Church to finish what he had left undone. According to his secretary, James Whitehead, that was done in the presence of apostles John Taylor and Willard Richards and several others. Joseph had already prophesied several times about this son continuing in his place.[1]
Let us now review both the fact that Joseph III is found in prophecy in the Book of Mormon, and then how he was tacitly rejected by Brigham Young.
The Book of Mormon contains a prophecy of Joseph Smith III, but it has not been noticed nor understood until the coming forth of The Sealed Book, translated by the seer Mauricio A. Berger in Brazil. Let us consider it briefly.
Lehi quoted a prophecy given by his ancestor Joseph of Egypt, mostly likely recorded on the brass plates, to his son Joseph. It states that in the far future he, Joseph of Egypt, would have a descendant who would be a great seer among his descendants. This seer would bring forth a knowledge of the ancient covenants (2 Nephi 3:7). Virtually all commentators agree that this prophecy refers to Joseph Smith, the Prophet.
Then there follows something strange. It states that:
And thus prophesied Joseph, saying: Behold, that seer will the Lord bless; and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise, which I have obtained of the Lord, of the fruit of my loins, shall be fulfilled. Behold, I am sure of the fulfilling of this promise; And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father. — 2 Nephi 3:14-15 (emphasis added).
This verse has been understood to refer to the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr because it states that he will be named for his father. Apparently contradicting this interpretation, however, it also states that he will not be killed by his enemies, for they will be confounded. But that was not true; the prophet's enemies were successful and murdered him at the age of only 38. Could that interpretation be wrong?
This confusion is explained in detail in The Sealed Book, translated from the first portion of the hitherto sealed Plates of Mormon, of which I am a witness.[2] A detailed side-dy-side comparison of the version of this prophecy in the Book of Mormon compared to The Sealed Book is provided in an earlier article,[3] but the longer new account is clear: there are two seers mentioned in the prophecy. The second is Joseph Smith III, named for his father, who lived to be 82. It was his enemies who were confounded. Joseph of Egypt had seen that the first seer would be killed by some "ray" (pistol or rifle ball) from the hand of the enemy (Sealed Moses 12:7), so Joseph of Egypt prayed that the first seer's son would be protected from premature death. That is the promise which he says he obtained from the Lord.
Why is it not clear in the Book of Mormon? After all, the account there sounds like it was describing one single seer. My proposed answer is that it is a complicated prophecy and when Nephi recorded it on the small plates, perhaps he did not understand it perfectly. What he wrote was true but not clearly stated because, apparently, it may not have been perfectly understood at the time. In the wisdom of the Lord, the more accurate account of the prophecy has been preserved in The Sealed Book.
Thus, given that Joseph III was prophesied in the Book of Mormon, let us discuss how he was prevented from ascending to the presidency of the LDS Church.
The debate after the martyrdom between Sidney Rigdon and Brigham Young about who would lead the Church was mostly about who would be the "Guardian" of the Church until Joseph III, then only 11 years old, would be of age to do so. Brigham won the debate, so the understanding was that the Quorum of Twelve would guide the Church in the interim. But then at the end of 1847, Brigham decided that he should be the next president and won enough support at Council Bluffs, Iowa, to be voted in.
Many members realized that this was a betrayal of the wishes of Joseph Smith, so the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was founded in 1860 with Joseph Smith III as prophet and president. He held that position for over fifty years and received many revelations which were published in the RLDS D&C. Let us now review some of those revelations.
Many important revelations from the Lord were received and published by Joseph Smith III, which were added to the Doctrine and Covenants of the RLDS Church. No comparable revelations from LDS Church presidents were ever added to their Doctrine and Covenants other than some instructions to Brigham Young about how to organize a wagon train after having failed to finish the Nauvoo temple on time (D&C 124:28,32,48). A personal vision to Pres. Joseph F. Smith has also been posthumously added, but it was apparently not intended to be for the Church.
Let us begin with a revelation which might have saved the LDS Church being in the midst of so much controversy in the 1960s and 1970s.
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Could all of that stress have been avoided? After all, Joseph Smith ordained those with African heritage to the priesthood, the classic example, Elijah Abel, being in the Third Quorum of Seventy for nearly fifty years, until his death.[4]
It turns out that the policy to deny them the priesthood originated with Brigham Young. This issue has been the subject of countless books, including analysis of teaching in the Bible and the Book of Abraham, all of which discussion is beyond the scope of this article. The point here, no matter what their status and access to the priesthood was in the past, is that the Lord gave a revelation on the subject in the RLDS D&C 116 to Joseph Smith III which clarified the controversy, back in 1865. The slaves had just been freed and so the question arose about their receiving the priesthood.
Here is entire RLDS D&C section containing the word of the Lord given 4 May 1865:
Hearken, ye elders of my church. I am he who hath called you friends. Concerning the matter you have asked of me, Lo, it is my will that my gospel shall be preached to all nations in every land and that men of every tongue shall minister before me; therefore, it is expedient in me that you ordain priests unto me of every race who receive the teachings of my law and become heirs according to the promise.
Be ye very careful, for many elders have been ordained unto me and are come under my condemnation, by reason of neglecting to lift up their voices in my cause; and for such there is tribulation and anguish; haply they themselves may be saved (if doing no evil) though their glory, which is given for their works, be withheld or, in other words, their works are burned, not being profitable unto me.
Loosen ye one another's hands, and uphold one another, that ye who are of the Quorum of Twelve may all labor in the vineyard, for upon you rests much responsibility; and if ye labor diligently, the time is soon when others shall be added to your number till the quorum be full, even twelve.
Be not hasty in ordaining men of the Negro race to offices in my church; for verily, I say unto you, All are not acceptable unto me as servants; nevertheless, I will that all may be saved, but every man in his own order; and there are some who are chosen instruments to be ministers to their own race. Be ye content; I, the Lord, have spoken it. — RLDS D&C 116:1-4 (emphasis added).
Can you hear the Voice of the Lord in that revelation? Is it the same Voice that gave the revelations to his father, the Prophet Joseph Smith? It is my witness to you that it is the same Voice, and that this is a true revelation from the Lord!
Just think of how much grief and heartache could have been avoided if this revelation from the Lord had been known to, or perhaps even been received by, the LDS Church! The Church could have been a leader in giving equality rather than having been one of the last holdouts. In fact, many observers both within the Church and outside believed that the LDS Church had finally simply caved into the pressure from demonstrations and the media. It was not good press for the Church!
Note also the difference between this revelation and that received by LDS leaders in 1978. LDS President Kimball held a meeting with the apostles where each presented his view on the subject. All agreed that the time had come for all worthy men to receive the priesthood. Then they all prayed for the confirmation of heaven of their decision. All testified that they felt a powerful witness from the Holy Ghost. A Declaration was later added to the LDS D&C stating that President Kimball had received a revelation, but the witness of the apostles only testified of a strong confirmation of their decision. In other words, no revelation was added to the D&C, but only a declaration that one had been received.[5]
The calling of an apostle has changed greatly from what is taught in the Doctrine and Covenants. There it is stated that calling of an apostle is to go throughout the world and teach the gospel, opening branches where possible. The Quorum of Twelve is referred to as the "traveling councilors" (D&C 107:23) as opposed to those who preside over organized stakes. In fact, an apostle had no authority at all to preside in a stake. In the speech when Orson Pratt convinced Church members to support Brigham Young to be president, the principal argument was that it would free up the apostles to travel throughout the world. That did not, however, happen, and the Quorum of Twelve instead took over the management of the entire Church.
It is also important to understand that originally an apostle could have either the priesthood level of an elder or of a high priest. The office of "apostle" was an office in the Church rather than in the priesthood. For example, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer were "apostles" when they were elders in the Church, called with the same calling as the Apostle Paul had been (D&C 18:9). In the Quorum of Twelve, some apostles had only been ordained to be elders and others had been ordained to be high priests.
What new information was revealed to President Joseph Smith III? In the LDS Church, the office of apostle is considered to be a lifetime calling. After the death of President David O. McKay, the apostle Alvin R. Dyer, ordained on 5 Oct 1967, and counselor to President McKay, continued to be a lone apostle for the rest of his life, serving both as an Assistant to the Twelve and as a Seventy. Interestingly, he was never a member of the Quorum of Twelve.[6]
The question arises, where does it say in the scriptures that "apostle" is a lifetime calling? Once a man is called to preach throughout the world, always traveling, is he never allowed to retire? What should have happened to Elder Dyer when he was released from the First Presidency?
That question was answered by the Lord when members of the RLDS Quorum of Twelve grew old and/or unhealthy, being unable to function fully as an apostle. Here is what the Lord said:
Thus saith the voice of the Spirit: In order that the Quorum of Twelve may be placed in better condition to carry on the work of the ministry in various fields of occupation, it is expedient that Elders W. H. Kelley, I. N. White, and J. W. Wight be released from the active duties of the apostolic quorum on account of increasing infirmities of age and incapacity caused by illness of body, and stand with their associates among the high priests and patriarchs of the church for such special service as may be open to them, according to wisdom and the call of the Spirit. — RLDS D&C 130:2 (emphasis added).
This may seem like merely an administrative detail, but for the LDS Church, the calling of an apostle is the highest calling in the Church and considered to be a lifetime calling. The fact that there was an adopted rule, found nowhere in scripture, that the senior member of the Twelve should lead the Church has caused considerable problems when the President became incapacitated.
There is an interesting dichotomy in the Church organization which has been resolved in different ways. In one sense the Presiding Patriarch of the Church is the highest priesthood position therein. Just what does that mean relative to presiding over the Church?
On more than one occasion, the Prophet Joseph Smith stated that the Presiding Patriarch was the highest office in the Church.[7] The Lord has verified that in the order given in which the officers of the Church should be sustained in general conference: the Presiding Patriarch is to be sustained first (like a quorum of one), followed by the First Presidency, followed by the Quorum of Twelve Apostles (D&C 124:123-128). When President Joseph F. Smith was set apart as the President of the LDS Church, it was done by the Presiding Patriarch John Smith. That appears to be the correct order.
So just what is the role of the Presiding Patriarch? His duties have never been understood to preside over the Church, but his "presiding" role has been to preside over the stake patriarchs of the Church.
In the fledgling Reborn LDS Church headquartered in Brazil, there is a First Presidency and a Patriarch. The Lord organized that Church to be a continuation of the original church founded by the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is known there that the Patriarch is the highest office in the Church, so the question arose in the minds of some elders, just what should the procedure be if something were to happen to the Church President Mauricio Berger. Who should be the next president, in the case that Pres. Berger had not designated anyone? Should it be the Patriarch or the First Counselor in the Presidency?
This was a repeat of the question which arose at the martyrdom of both the president, Joseph Smith, and also the patriarch, Hyrum Smith, in 1844. President Berger has answered this question by quoting the Lord that the counselors in the First Presidency hold all of the necessary keys to preside (D&C 90:6). At the time of Joseph Smith, that verse was ignored in the debate between the First Counselor Sidney Rigdon and the Apostle Brigham Young. The LDS Church has been managed by apostles ever since. It was this question which gave rise to my article, "Know Church Organization!".[8]
The duties of the Presiding Patriarch were carefully defined in a revelation, which clearly answers the question about to what extent the Presiding Patriarch is to preside:
The patriarch is an evangelical minister. The duties of this office are to be an evangelical minister; to preach, teach, expound, exhort, to be a revivalist; and to visit branches and districts as wisdom may direct, invitation, request, or the Spirit of God determine and require; to comfort the Saints; to be a father to the church; to give counsel and advice to individuals who may seek for such; to lay on hands for the conferment of spiritual blessing, and if so led, to point out the lineage of the one who is blessed.
He is to be free from responsibility — ministerial — as a traveling minister and from the care of the local branch or church and district affairs. When traveling and preaching, holding revival meetings, he is to labor in connection with the branch and district officers, not subject to the ministerial control of the missionary in charge, except he should transcend his bounds and teach false doctrine or be found in transgression. He is not to meddle with branch affairs or district affairs. He is not to listen to complaints made by individuals to him; but if persons insist upon presenting their troubles, he is to request them and require them to make them in writing, signing the name, giving time, place, and character of the trouble, with the witnesses, which it will be his duty to present to the branch or district officers, as the case may require. He is not to be put in charge of either branch or district. These are the privileges which attach to the office of patriarch and evangelical minister.
The Presiding Patriarch is to be considered the first, and when patriarchs meet in council, is to preside. Besides these duties, the patriarch may meet with quorums in their quorum meetings, where he may be asked for counsel, but will not have either voice or vote, except by courtesy, having no direct control of quorums. — RLDS D&C 125:3-5 (emphasis added).
These inspired verses make it clear that the Presiding Patriarch is the highest office because it is totally spiritual, not in any way one of presiding over the Church, but only over the other patriarchs.
It seems fitting to include one entire revelation which contains a variety of wise counsel for how the saints should behave, including speech, dress, hymns, sacrament procedures, and other instructions:
1 It is not yet expedient that the Quorum of the Twelve shall be filled; nevertheless, separate my servants James W. Gillen, Heman C. Smith, Joseph Luff, and Gomer T. Griffiths unto the office of apostle, that the quorum may be more perfectly prepared to act before me. I have still other men of my church who shall be designated in their time if they still continue faithful unto me and in the work whereunto they are now called.
2 There is a great work to be done by mine elders; and that they may be fitted to do this work and the accomplishment thereof be not prevented, it is enjoined upon them that they shall not only be kind of heart and of a lowly spirit, that their wisdom may be the wisdom of the Lord and their strength the strength of the Spirit, but they shall lay aside lightness of speech and lightness of manner when standing to declare the word and shall study to approve their ministrations to the people by candor in speech and courtesy in demeanor, that as ministers of the gospel they may win souls unto Christ.
3 The elders and men of the church should be of cheerful heart and countenance among themselves and in their intercourse with their neighbors and men of the world; yet they must be without blame in word and deed. It is, therefore, not seemly that they indulge in loud and boisterous speech or in the relating of coarse and vulgar stories or those in which the names of their God and their Redeemer are blasphemed. Men of God, who bear the vessels of the Lord, be ye clean in your bodies and in your clothing; let your garments be of a sober character and free from excess of ornamentation. Avoid the use of tobacco, and be not addicted to strong drink in any form, that your counsel to be temperate may be made effectual by your example.
4 That the work of restoration — to which the people of my church are looking forward — may be hastened in its time, the elders must cease to be overcareful concerning the return of those who were once of the faith but were overcome in the dark and cloudy day, fearing, lest they should bring in hidden heresies to the overthrowing of the work; for verily, there are some who are chosen vessels to do good, who have been estranged by the hindering snares which are in the world and who will in due time return unto the Lord if they be not hindered by the men of the church. The Spirit says, Come. Let not the ministers for Christ prevent their coming.
5 And the Spirit saith further: Contention is unseemly; therefore, cease to contend respecting the sacrament and the time of administering it; for whether it be upon the first Lord's day of every month or upon the Lord's day of every week, if it be administered by the officers of the church with sincerity of heart and in purity of purpose, and be partaken of in remembrance of Jesus Christ and in willingness to take upon them his name by them who partake, it is acceptable to God. To avoid confusion, let him who presides in the sacrament meeting and those who administer it cause that the emblems be duly prepared upon clean vessels for the bread and clean vessels for the wine or the water, as may be expedient; and the officer may break the bread before it is blessed and pour the wine before it is blessed; or he may, if he be so led, bless the bread before it be broken and the wine before it be poured; nevertheless, both bread and wine should be uncovered when presented for the blessing to be asked upon it. It is expedient that the bread and wine should be administered in the early part of the meeting, before weariness and confusion ensue. Let him that partaketh and him that refraineth cease to contend with his brother, that each may be benefited when he eateth at the table of the Lord.
6 The service of song in the house of the Lord, with humility and unity of Spirit in them that sing and them that hear, is blessed and acceptable with God; but song with grievous sadness in them that sing and bitterness of spirit in them that hear is not pleasing to God. Therefore, in all the congregations of the people of God, let all strife and contention concerning song service cease; and that the worship in the house of the Lord may be complete and wholly acceptable, let them who shall be moved thereto by a desire and the gift to sing take upon them the burden and care of the service and use therein instruments of music of the reed and of the string, or instruments of brass in congregations that are large, and as wisdom and choice may direct. Let the young men and the maidens cultivate the gifts of music and of song; let not the middle-aged and the old forget the gladsomeness of their youth, and let them aid and assist so far as their cares will permit. And remember that Saints should be cheerful in their warfare, that they may be joyous in their triumph. Nevertheless, let the organ, and the stringed instrument, and the instrument of brass be silent when the Saints assemble for prayer and testimony, that the feelings of the tender and sad may not be intruded upon. To facilitate unity in the song service of the church, those to whom the work of providing a book of song has been intrusted may hasten their work in its time.
7 And the Spirit saith further: Inasmuch as there has been much discussion in the past concerning the Sabbath of the Lord, the church is admonished that — until further revelation is received or the quorums of the church are assembled to decide concerning the law in the church articles and covenants — the Saints are to observe the first day of the week, commonly called the Lord's day, as a day of rest, as a day of worship, as given in the covenants and commandments. And on this day they should refrain from unnecessary work; nevertheless, nothing should be permitted to go to waste on that day, nor should necessary work be neglected. Be not harsh in judgment but merciful in this, as in all other things. Be not hypocrites nor of those who make a man an offender for a word.
8 Prosecute the missionary work in this land and abroad so far and so widely as you may. All are called according to the gifts of God unto them; and to the intent that all may labor together, let him that laboreth in the ministry and him that toileth in the affairs of the men of business and of work labor together with God for the accomplishment of the work intrusted to all.
9 Be clean; be frugal; cease to complain of pain, and sickness, and distress of body; take sleep in the hours set apart by God for the rebuilding and strengthening of the body and mind; for even now there are some, even among the elders, who are suffering in mind and body, who have disregarded the advice of the Spirit to retire early and to rise early, that vigor of mind and body should be retained. Bear the burdens of body of which the Spirit of healing from the Lord in faith, or the use of that which wisdom directs, does not relieve or remove; and in cheerfulness do whatever may be permitted you to perform, that the blessing of peace may be upon all. Amen. — RLDS D&C 119:1-9.
Here are some of the salient items covered:
That section contains much wise advice from a loving Parent. Although some similar advice is contained in LDS D&C 88, it bears repeating because it is still ignored in this day of working through the night. Moreover, many of the parts of the law of the Church in D&C 42, such as the commandment to dress simply, are repeated. Even in 1894 much of that law seemed outdated, so the Lord repeated that His law had not changed: "the law given to the church in Section 42, over the meaning of some parts of which there has been so much controversy, is as if it were given today;" (RLDS D&C 122:6).
Thus, we see many wonderful revelations continued to be given all during the life of Joseph Smith III!
This article reviewed the claims of Joseph Smith III, son of the Prophet Joseph Smith, to have been designated by the Lord to succeed the Prophet as President of the Church someday. Those are based not only on evidence that the son had been anointed and ordained to be such, but also on an more clear understanding of the prophecy of Joseph of Egypt that someday there would be a son of Joseph the Prophet with the same name, whom their enemies would not succeed in martyring, as they did to the Prophet. It was noted that when Brigham Young became LDS Church President, it was clear that the LDS Church had rejected Joseph III, so the Reorganized Church was founded, with Joseph III as President from 1860 until his death in 1914.
Then several revelations from the Lord given through Joseph III were reviewed in detail to show the richness and diversity of topics. Perhaps the most important for LDS to see what they missed was the revelation in 1865, just after the slaves had been freed, stating that the Lord had placed men in all races who could be ordained to be Church leaders of their own people. Joseph had given the priesthood to men with African descent, but Brigham Young began the policy of prohibiting slaves from Africa from being ordained. It was not until 1978 that the LDS ban was lifted.
Thus, the legacy of Joseph Smith III is still available, but the LDS Church was deprived of it being given directly to them. It is hoped that this article might bring these revelations to the awareness of LDS Saints to appreciate the words given through him by the voice of the Lord.