This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints) |
| Date | 1844–1850s |
| Location | Nauvoo, Illinois; Kirtland, Ohio; Salt Lake Valley, Utah Territory; various locations in United States, Canada, and England |
| Participants | Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Sidney Rigdon, James Strang, William Smith, Lyman Wight, John C. Bennett, Emma Smith, Orson Pratt, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, Wilford Woodruff, Joseph Smith III, Zerubbabel Snow |
| Outcome | Fragmentation into multiple Latter Day Saint movement denominations, establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley, creation of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now Community of Christ), enduring schismatic groups |
Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints) The succession crisis after the death of Joseph Smith in 1844 was a pivotal period in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, triggering competing leadership claims, legal battles, and migration. Rivalries among senior figures and divergent interpretations of authority led to the formation of multiple denominations including the Brighamite Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Reorganized Church led by Joseph Smith III. The crisis reshaped institutional structures in Nauvoo, Illinois, Kirtland, Ohio, the Salt Lake Valley, and communities across England, Canada, and the eastern United States.
From its founding in New York (state) in 1820s and formal organization in Palmyra and Kirtland, Ohio, the movement centered authority on Joseph Smith as prophet, seer, and revelator. Early disputes involved figures such as Oliver Cowdery, William Law, and Sidney Rigdon amid revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants and events at the Kirtland Temple. Tensions over hierarchy appeared during the Kirtland Safety Society episode and the Kirtland Camp exodus, with leaders like Alvin Smith (deceased), John C. Bennett, and Lyman Wight later asserting divergent priorities. The development of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and High Council norms created competing bases of authority in Nauvoo, where provident offices and temple functions concentrated power.
The assassination of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith at Carthage, Illinois in June 1844 produced an immediate leadership vacuum. In Nauvoo a political crisis intersected with militia arrangements like the Nauvoo Legion and municipal institutions including the Nauvoo Neighbor press. Prominent claimants—Brigham Young as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Sidney Rigdon as surviving member of the First Presidency, and James Strang claiming a letter of appointment—mobilized followers. Meetings at the Mansion House and public assemblies erupted into legal contests and schismatic organizing, drawing intervention from Illinois militia authorities and influence from American politicians in Springfield, Illinois and beyond.
Multiple leaders advanced competing models of succession. Brigham Young emphasized apostolic seniority via the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, leading to the migration to the Salt Lake Valley and formation of the Brighamite Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sidney Rigdon proposed a plural presidency with himself as "Protector," founding a small Rigdonite faction. James Strang produced purportedly new revelations and a royal coronation on Beaver Island—establishing the Strangite church. Followers of William Smith and Lyman Wight formed separate groups; Wight led a contingent to Texas. In the Midwest, Emma Smith and others supported the later leadership of Joseph Smith III, culminating in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and a focus on succession by heredity. Smaller sects—Bickertonites, Rigdonites, Strangites—and numerous independent schismatic congregations emerged.
The crisis precipitated legal contests over Nauvoo Charter provisions, property rights including the Nauvoo House and Temple Lot disputes, and criminal prosecutions related to the 1844 murders and acts of dissent. Doctrinally, claims invoked texts like the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and revelations about priesthood, prophetic succession, and plural marriage; Brighamite endorsement of plural marriage contrasted with Reorganized repudiation. Organizational innovations included the elevation of the Quorum of the Twelve as a governing body, alterations to the First Presidency succession processes, and canonical developments under leaders like Orson Pratt and Wilford Woodruff. Litigation over the Temple Lot and property standoffs involved courts in Illinois and later in Utah Territory and influenced U.S. legal precedent on religious property.
The succession crisis led to permanent institutional bifurcation: the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under Brigham Young consolidated a centralized hierarchy, vast migration along the Mormon Trail and settlement patterns in the Western United States. The Reorganized Church (now Community of Christ) crystallized in the Midwest with distinct doctrinal contours and leadership claims via Joseph Smith III. Dozens of smaller groups persisted—Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Strangite Church, FLDS offshoots—each tracing authority to different succession principles. The crisis therefore reshaped demographic distributions, missionary outreach in England and Continental Europe, and relations with federal authorities culminating in conflicts during the Utah War and subsequent legal reforms in Territorial governance.
Scholars from the 19th century to contemporary historians have debated the crisis through lenses including institutional analysis, charismatic authority, and legal history. Early apologetic accounts by Orson Pratt and polemical narratives by opponents like William Law contrasted with revisionist work by Fawn Brodie and contextual studies by Richard L. Bushman and D. Michael Quinn. Research in archives—Church History Library, Library of Congress, state archives—has produced studies on succession mechanisms, gender roles involving Emma Smith, and the role of print media such as the Times and Seasons. Recent scholarship situates the crisis within American religious pluralism, frontier politics, and transatlantic migration, engaging historians of 19th-century United States, legal historians, and specialists in religious studies.