But little is heard of James J. Strang in the church until after the
death of the prophet Joseph; but that he was a man of considerable
intellectual ability there can be no question. Mr. Strang claimed that
about ten days before his death the prophet Joseph gave to him a
letter containing a revelation appointing him [James J. Strang] to be
his successor as President and Prophet of the church. The letter also
appointed Mr. Strang's counselor, and commanded the Twelve Apostles to
proclaim Voree, Wisconsin, as the gathering place of the saints. Mr.
Strang attempted to strengthen his claim to the position of President
and Prophet of the church by reference to the revelation which says:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye have received a
commandment for a law unto my Church, through him whom I have
appointed to receive commandments and revelations from my hand.
And this ye shall know assuredly that there is none other
appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations, until
he be taken, if he abide in 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.[A]
[Footnote A: Doc. and Cov., sec. xliii.]
Mr. Strang claimed that the appointment he received through the letter
here presented as coming from the prophet Joseph, fulfilled the terms
of the revelation above quoted; for he had been appointed through the
prophet Joseph.
When he presented this "letter" and "revelation" to some of the saints
in Michigan, viz., to those living in the town of Florence, St. Joseph
County, they asked him if the Twelve that were commanded in his
"revelation" to proclaim Voree, Wisconsin, as the gathering place for
the saints, were the Twelve Apostles at Nauvoo. He replied they were.
Did they know anything of this "revelation?" They did not. Had he been
ordained a prophet? He replied no. The saints were suspicious of his
claims, and would not receive him.[A]
[Footnote A: See letter of Crandell Dunn, who was presiding over the
branches of the church in Western Michigan at the time--_Mill. Star_,
Vol. VIII., p. 93.]
This question as to his ordination presented a serious difficulty to
Mr. Strang, a difficulty which he tried to surmount by announcing soon
afterwards that immediately after the martyrdom of the prophet Joseph,
an angel appeared to him and ordained him to be a prophet to the
church, and the successor to Joseph as the President thereof.
He presented himself in Nauvoo and succeeded in drawing to his support
a number of restless men--men who had been neglectful of their duties
in the church of Christ, and of a disposition to follow any person who
promised them change and excitement. Not many followed him from
Nauvoo, however, for there his influence amounted to little; but in
the scattered branches, especially in those in Wisconsin, he succeeded
in deceiving many. Among those who accepted and sustained his claims
were William Smith, the only surviving brother of the prophet Joseph;
the notorious John C. Bennett, who had been excommunicated from the
church for his crimes, and afterward plotted with the enemies of
Joseph to bring to pass his destruction; and also John E. Page, one of
the Twelve, who for several years previous to Joseph's death had been
in bad repute with the church. John C. Bennett had first supported
Sidney Rigdon, claiming to have received a sealed document from the
prophet Joseph--when as yet he was in full fellowship with the
church--with a strict charge not to open it until after the prophet's
death. When he opened it, lo! it contained what purported to be a
revelation from the deceased prophet appointing Sidney Rigdon to be
his successor. John C. Bennett averred that this was as it should be,
and so eagerly was this purported revelation accepted by the
supporters of Mr. Rigdon, that they had it published and widely
circulated among the branches of the church. But when Mr. Strang came
forward with his claims, John C. Bennett turned from Sidney Rigdon and
supported Mr. Strang--having forgot, apparently, the "revelation"
contained in the sealed document which appointed Mr. Rigdon President
of the church![A]
[Footnote A: _Mill. Star_, Vol. VIII, p. 94.]
John E. Page, in support of the Strang movement, intercepted a company
of saints in Michigan, en route from Canada to Nauvoo. He represented
that it was the will of the Lord that they should settle in Voree,
Wisconsin, Mr. Strang's gathering place, and not go to Nauvoo. This
company, however, were prudent enough not to receive his
representations without investigation. They sent messengers to Nauvoo
who received such instructions from the Twelve as preserved them from
the deceitfulness of this apostate Apostle. John E. Page continued to
support the claims of James J. Strang, and for doing so was
excommunicated from the church,[A] and swelled the number of those who
have made shipwreck of faith through opposing legitimate authority.
[Footnote A: John E. Page was disfellowshipped from the quorum of the
Twelve, February 9th, 1846; and excommunicated from the church June
27, 1846.]
Mr. Strang in a short time changed his gathering place from Voree,
Wisconsin, to Beaver Island, in the north end of Lake Michigan. He
organized a township on Beaver Island, went to the state legislature
and succeeded in having the whole group of islands in north Lake
Michigan organized into a county, under the name of Manitou County,
which for some years Mr. Strang represented in the Michigan state
legislature.
Mr. Strang was not satisfied with being Prophet and President of the
church, he must also be a king; and accordingly was crowned and given
a scepter[A]--"The attribute to awe and majesty, wherein doth sit the
dread and fear of kings!"
[Footnote A: _The Saints' Herald_, Vol. XXXV, p. 718.]
He was crowned by George J. Adams, also an apostate from the church.
At one time Mr. Adams had been appointed to go on a mission to the
empire of Russia, to preach the gospel; but before he started he was
found to be in transgression. His appointment was, of course,
cancelled; and subsequently, as he still further transgressed, he was
excommunicated from the church, after which he joined Mr. Strang at
Beaver Island.
It may be well to observe, in passing, that all these aspirants for
place and power manifested an insatiable desire for the honors and
titles of men, a thing which shows them to be as vain as they were
ambitious, and distinguishes them from true leaders (especially those
whom God calls), who so loose themselves in their work, that self is
unthought of, much less the empty honors and titles of men. Mr. Strang
was not only a "king" in name, but also one in disposition if those
who represent his conduct speak truly. Arbitrary and cruel in his
methods of government, he finally provoked much dissatisfaction among
his followers, and not a few dissensions.
The people whom he gathered together on Beaver Island soon fell into
disrepute with their neighbors. They are represented as claiming that
the earth was the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; that they were the
Lord's saints and heirs to that which was the Lord's, and hence did
not hesitate to purloin their neighbor's goods. In other words, they
were accused by their neighbors with being an organized community of
thieves, who thrived by plundering more honest people. It is not our
prerogative to pronounce upon the truth or falsity of these charges.
It is enough to say that Mr. Strang and his followers were held in
great abhorrence by the other inhabitants of the Manitou group of
islands and the people on the neighboring main-land; and in the summer
of 1856, there was a general uprising of the people in those parts
which resulted in the killing of Mr. Strang--some accounts say, by two
men of his own party, and the breaking up of his organization.
Once more we stand face to face with the prophetic words of President
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!_