And They Knew Not Joseph

An 1844 paper raises doubts about the Mormon succession

In Mormon history the year 1844 is decisive killed in Illinois, and his disciples were plunged into turmoil. After months of arguing, Brigham Young convinced a majority of the flock it was Smith's will to give control to an inner council called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As its head, Young succeeded Smith as Prophet. Ever since, the presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has passed to the senior Quorum member.

Last week new controversy erupted over the legitimacy of that succession. The dustup results from the chance discovery of what appears to be a transcript of a blessing given by Smith to his son Joseph III. In it the Prophet declares the boy to be his chosen successor.

Some of Smith's disciples have long felt the son was his true spiritual heir. Though a majority followed Young to Utah, some stayed behind, including Smith's mother, widow and brother. Joseph Smith III, only eleven when his father died, eventually became head of the largest dissident group, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Based in Independence, Mo., this church has always been led by direct descendants of the Prophet, currently Great-grandson Wallace B. Smith, 51.

Mormons-- only the Utah group uses that name -- acknowledge that the Prophet may have given a special blessing to his eldest son, but they doubt that it amounted to an anointment. Besides, there was no documentation. At least not until last month, when a dealer in Mormon antiques, Mark Hermann, 26, of Sandy, Utah, purchased a collection of papers from a descendant of Smith's secretary, Thomas Bullock. One of the documents, dated Jan. 17, 1844, contained a text of Smith's blessing, including these crucial words: "... the anointing of the progenitor shall be upon the head of my son, and his seed after him, from generation to generation. For he shall be my successor to the Presidency of the High Priesthood: a Seer, and a Revelator, and a Prophet, unto the Church; which appointment belongeth to him by blessing, and also by right . . ."

Hofmann showed a photocopy of the single sheet of blue-lined white paper to Mormon Church Archivist Donald Schmidt, who displayed only mild interest. Hofmann incorrectly assumed that the church already had a copy. But when he consulted a historian the Missouri church, separate the ways. Utah establishment suddenly decided to acquire it from the dealer in exchange for other historic books and papers. Last week, as word of the document's existence finally be came public, officials of the two rival churches made a surprise announcement: the Smith blessing was being turned over to the Reorganized Church in a trade for an 1833 Mormon book worth up to $20,000.

For the 224,000-member Missouri group, the testament is a highly welcome acquisition since it fortifies a major tenet of faith. In an official statement, President Smith and other leaders of the Reorganized Church said that the document "confirms the historical view" it has always held about the church succession. Historian D. Michael Quinn, of the Mormons' own Brigham Young University, put it even more bluntly: the terms of the blessing "mean only one thing in the Mormon Church, that Joseph Smith III would be president of the church."

But Utah Mormon officials had a much cooler reaction. Earl Olson, assistant managing director of the Mormons' historical department, says that the discovery requires little or no " re-evaluation" of how the 4.7 million-member church pick its leaders. In other words the rival groups probably their will continue to go their seperate ways.

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