- a.
- b. Our Heritage, pages 66–71.
After the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the church went through an important lesson of how the Lord's church should be organized and operated. What they learned about the succession of the presidency of the church is still in effect today, for it was ordained of the Lord to be so. Before I summarize and explain what happened, I think I need to mention the scripture in the Bible where Jesus talks to Peter about the foundation upon which the church is built. Matt 16:13-19
13 ¶When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
This topic of this conversation between Jesus and his apostles is that Jesus affirmed that the apostles knew that He was the Son of the living God. Continuing with that topic, Jesus expressly addresses Peter with the affirmation that upon the knowledge of Jesus being the Son of God, will the church be built - for it is only that fact, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against. To assure this, Jesus gives Peter the keys of the kingdom, keys of truth and priesthood power, to be able to communicate with Jesus after He is gone and do His will, with His power and in His name.
The keys that were given to Peter, were lost as the apostleship after Christ death deteriorated because of unbelief and twisting of truths. Over 1800 years later, the keys were restored by an angelic Peter, James and John to Joseph Smith. The passing of these keys is an example that it was not Peter who was the rock the church was to be built upon, neither was it Joseph Smith who was the rock the church was to be built upon. It has been and always will be Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, as the foundation and rock of the church. Any man that claims other wise is false. In the words of President Joseph Fielding Smith:
“No man of himself can lead this church. It is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ; he is at the head. …
“He chooses men and calls them to be instruments in his hands to accomplish his purposes, and he guides and directs them in their labors. But men are only instruments in the Lord’s hands, and the honor and glory for all that his servants accomplish is and should be ascribed unto him forever.
“If this were the work of man, it would fail, but it is the work of the Lord, and he does not fail” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1970, 113; or Improvement Era, June 1970, 26).
In fact, after the death of Joseph, Sidney Rigdon, one of Joseph's counselors in the First Presidency of the church, proclaimed that no one could replace Joseph Smith and that there should be a guardian placed over the church and that it should be himself. There were very few who received him as such.
Those who had been called to serve in the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, by the Lord, through Joseph Smith, acted as a governing body to ask the Lord and determine the course that should be taken. Brigham Young, the President of the quorum of the Twelve said only that he wanted to know "what God says." In a meeting of the membership of the church Sidney Rigdon spoke for over an hour, but only received a few people in support of his views. Brigham Young also spoke and this was the experience of George Q. Cannon:
Brigham Young then spoke briefly, comforting the hearts of the Saints. As Brigham spoke, George Q. Cannon remembered, “it was the voice of Joseph himself,” and “it seemed in the eyes of the people as if it were the very person of Joseph which stood before them.” William C. Staines testified that Brigham Young spoke like the voice of the Prophet Joseph. “I thought it was he,” Staines said, “and so did thousands who heard it.” Wilford Woodruff also recalled that wonderful moment and wrote, “If I had not seen him with my own eyes, there is no one that could have convinced me that it was not Joseph Smith, and anyone can testify to this who was acquainted with these two men.” This miraculous manifestation, seen by many, made clear to the Saints that the Lord had chosen Brigham Young to succeed Joseph Smith as leader of the Church.The experience above is peculiar to the succession of the Presidency from Joseph smith to Brigham Young. However, the Priesthood keys passed from Joseph Smith (before his death) to Brigham Young and the other 11 apostles is the same in our day. When a prophet dies, the First Presidency is dissolved and the 12 apostles, along with the remaining members of the dissolved First Presidency, importune the Lord for direction in who the next prophet is to be. President Gordon B. Hinckley explains this process:
Succession of Presidency
When a new prophet is called, each member of the church is encouraged to ask Heavenly Father in prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, if that man is indeed the man to lead the church and hold and operate ALL of the keys of the Priesthood. As it was int he time of Joseph and Brigham, the Lord will testify through the Holy Spirit if the newly called prophet his new chosen mouth piece and instrument.
A note, aside from the formality of the succession of a prophet; I do believe the Lord calls prophets to guide the church and even the world, to those who would listen. because the man is called of God, I believe the prophet would never lead the people astray. I trust him, along with his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to establish and confirm eternal truths and doctrines that will help me have the most joy in my life. I trust that because the ways of God are unchangeable, they will not sway to popular vote, social persuasion and political promptings. If I believe God is in charge, and that He chooses which man, and men, to be his human mouth piece, his hands and exemplify His heart, so that the world can know God and know how to return to Him.
Here is one more short video about the necessity of a living prophet.
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