after the latter-day Saint Prophet
Joseph Smith was murdered by a mob in
Carthage Jail the members back in Nauvoo
didn't really know what to do
who was gonna lead them now that Joseph
was gone what was gonna happen to the
church this problem this was exacerbated by
the fact that before Joseph died he made
as many as eight different references to
who should succeed him in this episode
we're gonna specifically look at the
claims of his son Joseph Smith the third
and the break-off sect known as the
reorganized Church of Jesus Christ later
renamed the Community of Christ in the
very first faith and beliefs episode I
did I made it clear that my purpose
wasn't to bash on other faiths but
rather to explain why we believe the
things we believe so I don't want to
come across as harsh towards our friends
at the community of Christ but it is
important to explain why we did not take
the same route they did after Joseph
Smith's death you're free and encouraged
to come to your own conclusions let's do this
 
there are some claims that Joseph Smith
privately or publicly indicated that his
son should be his successor and lead the
church after Joseph's death one day
Simba the Sun will set on my time here
and will rise with you but when Joseph
Smith was killed his son was only 11
years old so when the topic of who
should lead the church came up it was
mainly a decision between the quorum of
the twelve led by Brigham Young or the
last surviving member of the First
Presidency Sidney Rigdon one latter-day
Saint John H Carter claimed Joseph had
said his son would succeed him and said
in the late 1800s I believe it today
just as strongly as I ever did and it
was under that belief that I followed
president Young West so some people
believe that Sydney or the twelve would
take control of the church and when
Joseph the third was old enough he would
take the reins well the church sided
with the twelve Sidney started his own
break off sect which quickly crumbled
into nothingness meanwhile the church
moved west to Utah but Emma Smith and
her children including Joseph the third
stayed behind in Nauvoo Illinois and
soon disassociated themselves with the
church now we need to talk about a man
named Jason Briggs Briggs originally
followed Brigham Young's leadership but
felt the church had fallen into apostasy
by 1846 probably due to plural marriage
he left and affiliated with the
break-off sect of a man named James
Strang who we'll talk about in another
episode but then Strang started
practicing plural marriage so Briggs
left that sect and joined up with
William Smith's sect until they started
practicing plural marriage as well it
was at that point that he claimed to
have received a revelation to establish
the reorganized Church of Jesus Christ
which he officially did in 1852 and you
guessed it no plural marriage that said
he and other leaders of his organization
were of the opinion that their leader
needed to be someone of Joseph Smith's
lineage in 1860 Joseph Smith the third
now aged 27 agreed to be that leader
eventually disagreements arose between
Briggs and Smith and Briggs ironically
ended up leaving the very church he
created ironic so did Joseph Smith
actually name his son as his
successor I don't know maybe he did maybe
he didn't the question I have isn't so
much about whether or not Joseph the
third should have been leading the
church but rather which church did
Joseph the third end up leading Joseph
Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 43
in 1831 after Oliver Cowdery claimed to
be receiving revelation for the church
the revelation in D&C to the elders of
the church reads and this he shall know
assuredly that there is none other
appointed unto you to receive
Commandments and revelations until
Joseph be taken if he abided me but
verily verily I say unto you that none
else shall be appointed unto this gift
except it be through him for if it be
taken from him he shall not have power
except to appoint another in his stead
and this shall be a law unto you that
you receive not the teachings of any
there shall come before you as
revelations or Commandments and this I
give unto you that you may not be
deceived that you may know they are not
of me Jason Briggs claimed to receive a
revelation for the whole church
according to the revelation given to
Joseph Smith this could not have been
possible unless Briggs was appointed by
Joseph himself to do so which was not
the case so even if Joseph planned on
his son succeeding him
the church Joseph the third ended up
presiding over was founded upon an
unauthorized revelation received by
Jason Briggs nonetheless the community
of Christ teaches that they are the true
continuation of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter day Saints over time
huge key doctrines that Joseph taught
were abandoned such as eternal marriage
temple ordinances and the nature of the
Godhead but of course this is all from
the perspective of someone who does not
adhere to their beliefs so if you have
more questions about this group feel
free to research them on your own
there's a link to their website in the
description that's a little crash course
on this topic hope you learn something
and have a great day
