Zioneer
Banned
Hello everyone! This is MormonMobster, and this post marks the beginning of my TL effort to create both a slightly more tolerant alternate-history LDS church, as well as the much more jarring goal of creating an independent Republic of Deseret! I hope you all enjoy it.
In the short time after the death of Joseph Smith,, many thought the Church of the Latter-Day Saints would dissolve. Those against the Mormons believed that with the death of the prophet, the remaining leaders would fight amongst each other, and what they called "Joe Smith's cult" would break into weak splinter groups. The Mormons themselves were divided on how their beloved leader should be succeeded. Towards the end of his life, Joseph seemed to indicated his brother Hyrum should be his successor. But Hyrum too, had died alongside his brother when a mob stormed Carthage Jail, where they had been imprisoned on charges of treason.[1]
Because of Joseph and Hyrum's sudden deaths, it was unclear who should be leader of the Church. The four[2] main claimants all had different justifications for why they should be leader. The most popular, Brigham Young based his authority on the fact that he was most senior of the Twelve Apostles, which he pointed to as having been decreed by Joseph and therefore God to be the governing body of the Church. Sidney Rigdon based his assumption of leadership on his position as part of the First Presidency, a three-man group composed of the prophet and two Apostles called to be his closest advisers. Unlike Young, Rigdon had taught that Joseph was to be the only prophet of the Church, with an office to be created called "Protector of the Church" to fulfill most of the Prophet's role as leader.
The last two claimants had less administrative and more "spiritually" based claims. James Strang had produced tin plates called the Voree Plates which he claimed were scriptures on par with the Book of Mormon. A sizable portion of Saints had joined him because of his evidence.[3] The last candidate, John C Bennett, was a shadowy figure, hated by Mormons and the Gentiles[4] alike for shady ways, denouncing both when it suited him. Bennett based his claim on his possession of a weapon which he claimed was the sword of Laban, an artifact of great worth in Mormon theology. Strang and Bennett initially both gained large followings, as they had hard "proof" of their spiritual authority.
With all these competing would-be religious leaders, both member and foe could be excused for thinking that the LDS church would break up into various splinter cults.
However, perhaps as the Mormons in Deseret today believe, God thought differently.
___________
As with all my TLs, this is the footnotes section. Any word marked with a number will be explain in this section.
[1]The anti-Mormon groups really liked imprison Joseph for treason. He was jailed several times, and nearly executed each time. The last time, the anti-Mormon mobs stormed Carthage Jail to make sure Joseph didn't get away.
[2]In OTL, there were quite a few minor claimants to being prophet (a couple of former Apostles being two of them), but only three main contenders; Sidney Rigdon, Brigham Young, and James Strang. Bennett was merely a scheming fellow joining each claimant after the last one had kicked him out, then after all Mormon groups had banished him, he denounced them and called the militia on them. I figure that he just as easily could have declared himself prophet. This is one of the two PoDs. As for what the Sword of Laban actually is, you'll see...
[3]Strang specifically had the Voree Plates, which unlike Joseph Smith's Gold Plates, have been found. Thing is, the Voree Plates were in the same code that Strang used for his personal journal. I'll give Strang credit though; neither the Voree plates nor his journal have been deciphered. He was good at codes.
[4]Jewish and early Mormon word for those who do not have a covenant with God/do not have the Gospel.
Prologue: The Succession Crisis.
In the short time after the death of Joseph Smith,, many thought the Church of the Latter-Day Saints would dissolve. Those against the Mormons believed that with the death of the prophet, the remaining leaders would fight amongst each other, and what they called "Joe Smith's cult" would break into weak splinter groups. The Mormons themselves were divided on how their beloved leader should be succeeded. Towards the end of his life, Joseph seemed to indicated his brother Hyrum should be his successor. But Hyrum too, had died alongside his brother when a mob stormed Carthage Jail, where they had been imprisoned on charges of treason.[1]
Because of Joseph and Hyrum's sudden deaths, it was unclear who should be leader of the Church. The four[2] main claimants all had different justifications for why they should be leader. The most popular, Brigham Young based his authority on the fact that he was most senior of the Twelve Apostles, which he pointed to as having been decreed by Joseph and therefore God to be the governing body of the Church. Sidney Rigdon based his assumption of leadership on his position as part of the First Presidency, a three-man group composed of the prophet and two Apostles called to be his closest advisers. Unlike Young, Rigdon had taught that Joseph was to be the only prophet of the Church, with an office to be created called "Protector of the Church" to fulfill most of the Prophet's role as leader.
The last two claimants had less administrative and more "spiritually" based claims. James Strang had produced tin plates called the Voree Plates which he claimed were scriptures on par with the Book of Mormon. A sizable portion of Saints had joined him because of his evidence.[3] The last candidate, John C Bennett, was a shadowy figure, hated by Mormons and the Gentiles[4] alike for shady ways, denouncing both when it suited him. Bennett based his claim on his possession of a weapon which he claimed was the sword of Laban, an artifact of great worth in Mormon theology. Strang and Bennett initially both gained large followings, as they had hard "proof" of their spiritual authority.
With all these competing would-be religious leaders, both member and foe could be excused for thinking that the LDS church would break up into various splinter cults.
However, perhaps as the Mormons in Deseret today believe, God thought differently.
___________
As with all my TLs, this is the footnotes section. Any word marked with a number will be explain in this section.
[1]The anti-Mormon groups really liked imprison Joseph for treason. He was jailed several times, and nearly executed each time. The last time, the anti-Mormon mobs stormed Carthage Jail to make sure Joseph didn't get away.
[2]In OTL, there were quite a few minor claimants to being prophet (a couple of former Apostles being two of them), but only three main contenders; Sidney Rigdon, Brigham Young, and James Strang. Bennett was merely a scheming fellow joining each claimant after the last one had kicked him out, then after all Mormon groups had banished him, he denounced them and called the militia on them. I figure that he just as easily could have declared himself prophet. This is one of the two PoDs. As for what the Sword of Laban actually is, you'll see...
[3]Strang specifically had the Voree Plates, which unlike Joseph Smith's Gold Plates, have been found. Thing is, the Voree Plates were in the same code that Strang used for his personal journal. I'll give Strang credit though; neither the Voree plates nor his journal have been deciphered. He was good at codes.
[4]Jewish and early Mormon word for those who do not have a covenant with God/do not have the Gospel.
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