LINEAGE.

We will now consider this "law of lineage." From section 86, they quote

to us as follows:

"Therefore, thus saith the Lord unto you with whom the Priesthood

hath continued through the lineage of your fathers, for ye are

lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the

world with Christ in God; therefore your life and the Priesthood

hath remained and must needs remain through you and your lineage,

until the restoration of all things spoken by the mouths of all the

holy prophets since the world began."

But they fail to quote the eleventh and succeeding verse:

"Therefore, blessed are ye if ye continue in my goodness, a light

unto the gentiles, and through the Priesthood, a savior unto my

people Israel. The Lord hath said it, Amen."

But to whom was this revelation given? Was it to the Prophet Joseph

Smith alone? Is this a promise that his seed shall inherit the

Priesthood? Certainly not. This revelation was given December 6,

1832, to the Elders of the Church. Therefore, when members of the

"Reorganization" declare that Joseph Smith was one of these Elders

and must be included with his posterity in the promise, we meet their

argument with the counter statement, that the promise was also to Hyrum

Smith, to Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, Parley P.

Pratt, Orson Pratt, and a large number of other Elders who never have

been identified with the "Reorganization," nor have their children, and

to them this promise is as sure as to the seed of any others. We must

not lose sight of the fact that no man can lay claim to salvation, nor

to the Priesthood of God, simply because he had a faithful father. The

inference in this eleventh verse is, that if they are not faithful,

then they will not receive the fulfilment of the promise. The posterity

of Joseph Smith, like the posterity of any other Elder of Israel, will

stand or fall on their own foundation which they have builded. And if

the sons of Joseph Smith refuse to keep the commandments, the blessings

will pass them by; but God's work will continue until the consummation

of all things.

Again they quote from section 112 as follows:

"For verily I say unto you, the keys of the dispensation which ye

have received, have come down from the fathers; and last of all

being sent down from heaven unto you."

This revelation was given to Thomas B. Marsh and the Apostles in July,

1837; and while it is true that the Priesthood which these men held

did come down from the fathers, it was not from father to son, from

generation to generation, in the flesh. For the Priesthood, as we

know, was conferred on the heads of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery

by Peter, James and John. Joseph Smith's grandfather did not hold the

Priesthood nor his fathers before him for generations upon generations.

So we must look at this in a broader sense than our friends are willing

that we should do. What is meant by the Priesthood coming down from

the fathers, and that it must needs remain through the lineage of the

Elders of the Church? It means simply this, that the Priesthood has

come down from those who held it in ancient days and has been conferred

upon men in this day according to promise, because they are of the seed

of Joseph of the tribe of Ephraim. For the Lord promised to bless the

children of Ephraim in the latter days with His power. And when the

Church was established it was with the promise that it was never again

to be destroyed; therefore, it must needs be that the Priesthood remain

through the lineage of the Elders of the Church. But it will be through

those who are faithful, and not the unfaithful sons, and there is not

one word in these passages that declares that the Presidency of the

High Priesthood descends from father to son, and that it is the right

of the son of Joseph Smith to succeed his father. Not one word!

They also quote section 110; to the effect that the generations were

to be blessed through the seed of Joseph Smith. That passage is from a

vision received by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, April 3, 1836, when

they received the keys of various dispensations, and is as follows:

"After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of

the Gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all

generations after us should be blessed."

Therefore they say that unless the sons of the Prophet Joseph Smith

were in the true Church and held the Priesthood, this promise would

fail. Not so, however. As I have said, if those sons are not faithful

the realization of the promise will pass them by until some of the seed

of Joseph Smith will stand up to receive the blessing. Furthermore,

this promise was not made solely to Joseph Smith. Oliver Cowdery

received the same blessing; but he left the Church and went into

forbidden paths, and the promised blessing was taken from him and given

to another. So it will be with the sons of Joseph the Prophet; if they

repent not they shall not receive the blessing. The Lord has declared:

"Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not

fulfilled? I command and a man obeys not, I revoke and they receive

not the blessing."

I stated that this blessing that was given to Oliver Cowdery was taken

from him and given to another. In the Doctrine and Covenants, section

124:94-95, this is found:

"And from this time forth I appoint unto him (that is Hyrum Smith)

that he may be a prophet, and a seer, and a revelator unto my

Church, as well as my servant Joseph.

"That he may act in concert also with my servant Joseph, and that

he shall receive counsel from my servant Joseph, who shall show

unto him the keys whereby he may ask and receive, and be crowned

with the same blessing, and glory, and honor, and Priesthood, and

gifts of the Priesthood, that once were put upon him that was my

servant Oliver Cowdery."

Here the blessings of Oliver Cowdery are transferred to the head

of Hyrum Smith, and, therefore, we can say with equal emphasis

that in the seed of Hyrum Smith, as well as in the seed of Joseph

Smith, all generations after him shall be blessed. For the Lord hath

spoken it! Now, the seed of Hyrum Smith are not connected with the

"Reorganization." However, in the words of another let me say:

"That the descendants of Joseph Smith, and those of Hyrum Smith,

stand before God as do all other men, assured of honor or dishonor,

exaltation or degradation, according to their individual works."

We are also referred to verses 56-58 of section 124, which, perhaps, is

a passage on which they lay the greatest stress of all. I shall read

beginning with the fifty-sixth verse, and ask you to follow me closely

and I will read it as clearly as I possibly can:

"And now I say unto you, as pertaining to my boarding house which I

have commanded you to build for the boarding of strangers, let it

be built unto my name, and let my name be named upon it, and let my

servant Joseph, and his house have place therein, from generation

to generation;

"For this anointing have I put upon his head, that his blessing

shall also be put upon the head of his posterity after him.

"And as I said unto Abraham concerning the kindreds of the earth,

even so I say unto my servant Joseph, in thee and in thy seed shall

the kindred of the earth be blessed."

You see it says, "this anointing have I put upon his head." What

anointing does this refer to? Notice that it says, "as pertaining to

my boarding house * * let my servant Joseph, and his house have place

therein, from generation to generation." That is the anointing the

term "this" refers to. It is the place in that boarding house, and has

nothing to do with the Presidency of the Church. I have already shown

to you that in the seed of Hyrum Smith as well as in the seed of Joseph

Smith the generations after them were to be blessed; there is nothing

in this promise indicating that the posterity of either of them shall

have right to the Presidency of the Church.

But they say this blessing does not refer to the boarding house in

which the Prophet Joseph paid stock for himself and generations after

him; but that it refers to the blessing of his progenitors; that

is, to the birthright which was given to Joseph--the right of the

primogeniture. And considering this passage Heman C. Smith, in his

"True Succession," has the following to say:

"Here then is the blessing given to Joseph to occupy in this

position, and to discharge these duties and responsibilities. But

some one objects that this is not called a 'blessing;' but is it

not a blessing? However, to silence this caviling, we refer the

reader to the blessing of Joseph Smith as pronounced by his father

on the occasion of the ordination of the High Council. February 19,

1834, Joseph in his history says:

"'My father Joseph then laid his hands upon my head and said,

"Joseph, I lay my hands upon thy head and pronounce the blessings

of thy progenitors upon thee, that thou mayest hold the keys of the

mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, until the coming of the Lord.

Amen.'" (True Succession, p. 44).

Then he goes on to say that this is the blessing referred to in the

revelation I have just quoted from, and that it was the blessing of the

primogeniture. The birthright of the first born. But Mr. Heman C. Smith

is too hasty. Invariably in quoting this blessing given to the Prophet

by his father and which is found in the Times and Seasons, volume 6,

pages 994-5, they tactfully refrain from quoting what immediately

follows. I will quote it from the Times and Seasons:

"He also laid his hands upon the head of his son Samuel and said,

'Samuel, I lay my hands upon thy head, and pronounce the blessing

of thy progenitors upon thee, that thou mayest remain a Priest of

the Most High God, and like Samuel of old, hear His voice, saying,

Samuel, Samuel. Amen.'

"John Johnson also, laid his hands upon the head of his son Luke

and said, 'My Father in heaven, I ask thee to bless this my son,

according to the blessings of his forefathers, that he may be

strengthened in his ministry, according to his holy calling. Amen.'"

This proves to us that the blessing of the progenitors was not

necessarily the blessing of the first born; nor was it the right to

the Presidency of the Church; for Samuel received a blessing similar

to that of his brother Joseph, and neither of them received the

birthright in these blessings. I shall now show you that it was Hyrum

Smith who received the blessing of the first born--the birthright--and

it was not the Presidency of the Church either, for they are not the

same. However, before I show this I want to read a paragraph from the

history published by the "Reorganized" Church. This is volume 2, and

is "written and compiled" by Joseph Smith and his assistant, Heman C.

Smith, their historian. On pages 462-3 they give the dying blessings

pronounced by Patriarch Joseph Smith on the heads of his children. They

introduce this account in the following words:

"In connection with the fact that Joseph's and William's children

are identified with the Reorganization, while Hyrum's and Samuel's

are in Utah, it is interesting to note that the children of the two

former were to be blessed after them, while the children of the two

latter are not mentioned.

"The account of this deathbed scene and the blessings, as given by

Lucy Smith, the mother of the Prophet and widow of the Patriarch,

is as follows:"

Here is the blessing of Hyrum Smith:

"My son Hyrum, I seal upon your head your patriarchal blessing,

which I placed upon your head before, for that shall be verified.

In addition to this, I now give you my dying blessing, You shall

have a season of peace, so that you shall have sufficient rest to

accomplish the work which God has given you to do. You shall be

as firm as the pillars of heaven unto the end of your days. I NOW

SEAL UPON YOUR HEAD THE PATRIARCHAL POWER, and you shall bless the

people. This is my dying blessing upon your head in the name of

Jesus. Amen."

There is the birthright!

And now Joseph's blessing:

"Joseph, my son, you are called to a high and holy calling. You

are even called to do the work of the Lord. Hold out faithful and

you shall be blessed and your children after you. You shall even

live to finish your work. At this Joseph cried out, weeping, 'Oh!

my father, shall I?' 'Yes,' said his father, 'you shall live to

lay out the plan of all the work which God has given you to do.

This is my dying blessing on your head, in the name of Jesus. I

also confirm your former blessing upon your head; for it shall be

fulfilled. Even so. Amen."

On first thought it is a little strange that the children of Joseph

the Prophet are to be blessed after him, while that promise is not

in the blessing of Hyrum Smith. However, let us examine the blessing

given to Hyrum Smith a little more closely. The first sentence reads:

"My son Hyrum, I seal upon your head your patriarchal blessing, which

I placed upon your head before, _for that shall be verified_. And what

followed was in addition to that former blessing so there was no need

of repeating what that former blessing contained; but it was to be

verified. I have before me that former blessing. This is a patriarchal

blessing given by Patriarch Joseph Smith on the head of his son Hyrum,

December 9, 1834, in Kirtland, Ohio, and is recorded in Patriarch

Joseph Smith's book of blessings on pages 1 and 2, and is in the

handwriting of Oliver Cowdery. Here is a portion of it:

"Hyrum, thou art my oldest son whom the Lord has spared unto me.

* * * * Behold thou art Hyrum, the Lord hath called thee by that

name, and by that name He has blessed thee. Thou hast borne the

burden and the heat of the day, thou hast toiled hard and labored

much for the good of thy father's family; thou hast been a stay

many times to them, and by thy diligence they have often been

sustained. Thou hast loved thy father's family with a pure love,

and hast greatly desired their salvation. Thou hast always stood by

thy father, and reached forth the helping hand to lift him up when

he was in affliction, and though he has been out of the way, thou

hast never forsaken him nor laughed him to scorn; for all these

kindnesses the Lord my God will bless thee."

I promised that I would prove to you that when the Patriarch blessed

Joseph, his son, with the blessing of his progenitors, that it was not

the birthright, but that that blessing was reserved for Hyrum. Here is

the proof, or at least a portion of it. The blessing continues:

"I now ask my Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, to

BLESS THEE with the SAME BLESSING with which Jacob blessed his son

Joseph, for thou art his true descendant, and thy posterity shall

be numbered with the house of Ephraim, and with them thou shalt

stand up to crown the tribes of Israel; when they come shouting to

Zion. * * * *

"The Lord will multiply his choice blessings upon thee and thy

seed after thee and thou with them shall have an inheritance in

Zion, and they shall possess it from generation to generation, and

thy name shall never be blotted out from among the just, for the

righteous shall rise up, and also thy children after thee, and say

thy memory is just, that thou wert a just man and perfect in thy

day."

We see that Hyrum was blessed with the blessing of Joseph, and we learn

from the fifth chapter of I Chronicles that through the transgression

of Reuben, Joseph received the birthright, and he got it from his

father Jacob. In the second verse we read:

"For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief

ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's."

Before we leave this chapter in Chronicles let me state that if Joseph

received the birthright, and if the birthright and the Presidency of

the Church were inseparable, then it should have been through Joseph

that the Messiah should have come; but we learn that Judah prevailed

above his brethren in this particular.

So you see Hyrum was blessed with Joseph's blessing, and in his dying

blessing his father declared that it should be verified! I maintain

that the birthright therefore was not the blessing of his progenitors

that was given to Joseph, neither to Samuel Smith.

Our friends have solemnly informed us there was "no blessing to the

children of Hyrum Smith." I desire to call your attention to a few

expressions in the blessing which I have just read. The promise is

here given that the posterity of Hyrum Smith shall be numbered with

the house of Ephraim and shall stand up with their father to crown the

tribes of Israel when they come shouting to Zion. Now, how can they

crown the tribes of Israel unless they hold the Priesthood and are

faithful men? Again, the promise is made to them that they shall have

an inheritance in Zion and possess it from generation to generation,

and their names never were to be blotted out. Now, how could this be

unless they were members of the Church holding the Priesthood? For

the faithless and unbelieving and the apostate was not to be numbered

in Zion, but his name was to be blotted out. I think you will agree

with me that these gentlemen in their preface to these blessings spoke

rather hastily of the children of Hyrum Smith.

I have here another blessing. This was given by the Prophet Joseph to

his brother Hyrum December 18, 1833, at Kirtland, and is also recorded

in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery and is on file in the Historian's

office, Salt Lake City. This blessing shows to us that the Prophet

Joseph Smith recognized the fact that his brother Hyrum had received

the birthright. He says:

"Blessed of the Lord is my brother Hyrum, for the integrity of his

heart; he shall be girt about with strength, and faithfulness shall

be the strength of his loins; from generation to generation he

shall be a shaft in the hands of his God to execute judgment upon

His enemies."

I will pause here. We are told that faithfulness shall be the strength

of his loins. This is a figure. We all understand what it means. It

means that the children of Hyrum Smith shall be faithful and from

generation to generation shall be a shaft in the hands of God to

execute His judgments. That is what it means!

But the blessing continues:

"And he shall be hid by the hand of the Lord, that none of his

secret parts shall be discovered unto his enemies unto his hurt.

* * * He shall stand in the tracks of his father, and be numbered

among those who hold the right of Patriarchal Priesthood, even the

Evangelical Priesthood and power shall be upon him. His children

shall be many and his posterity numerous, and they shall rise up

and call him blessed."

Here we have the Prophet acknowledging that his brother Hyrum should

receive the birthright, for it was the right of Patriarchal Priesthood,

even the Evangelical Priesthood that was conferred upon the first born,

and not the office of President of the Church.

We learn from the Doctrine and Covenants that there are two offices

in the Church that descend from father to son. One is that of the

Bishopric, for upon Aaron and his sons the Lord conferred this

Priesthood (section 68:16-18). The other is that of the Evangelist.

This we learn in section 107, but our friends misconstrue this section

and try to make it appear that it is the Melchizedek Priesthood that is

meant.[2]