"We prayed with Mother Smith before we left her; and she and the
family manifested good feelings. I am sorry the old lady should be
troubled, she is a good woman and has passed through much trouble
for the cause of truth, and has the respect and confidence of the
whole Church."[A]
[Footnote A: Ibid.]
After his failure in Nauvoo, and in Wisconsin in connection with Mr.
Strang, we next hear of William Smith in the winter and spring of
1850, visiting those who had been members of the church in Illinois
and Kentucky, teaching "lineal priesthood as applied to the Presidency
of the church." That is, he taught that his brother Joseph's eldest
son had a right by virtue of lineage to succeed to the Presidency of
the church; but also taught in connection with this that it was his
right as the only surviving brother of the former President, uncle and
natural guardian of the "seed" of Joseph the prophet, to stand, in the
_interim_, as president _pro tem_ of the church. There seemed to be a
general acquiescence with this by the members of the church remaining
in the districts where he labored--most of whom were either apostates
or weak in the faith--and in the spring of 1850, he called a
conference to assemble in Covington, Kentucky, where he effected an
organization by having himself sustained as President _pro tem_, of
the church, and Lyman Wight[A] and Aaron Hook as counselors _pro tem_
to the President _pro tem_, and Joseph Wood as counselor and
spokesman. It is claimed that many of the "saints" in northern
Illinois and southern Wisconsin, were identified with this
movement.[B]
[Footnote A: I cannot learn that Lyman Wight, once a member of the
quorum of the Twelve, sanctioned this use of his name, or that he ever
was connected with this attempt at organization on the part of Wm.
Smith.]
[Footnote B: See Jason W. Briggs quoted by Tullidge in his supplement
to the Life of Joseph, Josephite edition, p. 577.]
A year later, viz., in the summer of 1851, Palestine, Lee county,
Illinois, was designated as a Stake of Zion, a gathering place for
the saints, and the home of William Smith. At the October conference
held at Palestine that year, there was a confession of belief in and
the practice of polygamy, which resulted in many immediately
withdrawing from the organization; and, it is said, that the
declaration proved the means ultimately of its complete
destruction.[A]
[Footnote A: Tullidge's Hist. of Joseph the prophet (Josephite
edition, p. 577). Tullidge must be regarded as favorably disposed to
the "Josephites," as he became identified with that movement. I
mention the fact here as I find it necessary to depend upon him for
facts occasionally.]
This was the last effort of William Smith at organizing a church;
subsequently, when an organization was effected with Joseph Smith,
eldest son of the prophet, as its President, he became nominally
connected with that movement, but he was never prominent or
influential. In the summer of 1880, the writer, then on a mission in
the state of Iowa, in company with Hyrum Jensen, called at the home of
William Smith, near Elkader, and found him living in poverty and
obscurity.
As I think upon this man, and of how far he fell--from the office of
an Apostle and Patriarch to the Church--when I think of his vain
attempt to become President of the church, and, failing in that,
attempting to lead away a party, then organizing a faction from the
remnants of the church left in Illinois and Wisconsin, and every
effort of his ending in failure--I think of the prophetic words of
President Brigham Young:
_All that want to draw away a party from the Church after them,
let them do it if they can, but they will not prosper!_