A Bit of History

If you google The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you will get a number of sites that will lead you to one of the two official Church websites (lds.org and mormon.org). The first site that is not an official Church site is that of "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." Note the subtle difference in "Latter-day." This website correctly notes that not many people have heard of this particular church.

But I have. This is because I served my mission in Michigan, and as a part of my mission we covered the area of Beaver Island. This is, as noted in its name, an island off the west coast of Michigan in Lake Michigan. There isn't much on the island, from what I understand, but it does contain an interesting history in connection with the early history of the Church.

After Joseph Smith's death in 1844, a major question arose among members of the Church having to do with leadership. Joseph had never publicly declared the appropriate mode of prophetic "succession" (for lack of a better term) if he were to die. I say publicly with a bit of a hesitation. I wonder if it was supposed to be this way, to try the hearts of the Saints, to see what choice each individual would make.

As it turns out, the public declaration, as it were, occurred in August of 1844 at a meeting in which many of the Saints saw or heard Joseph speak during a short sermon of Brigham Young's. The majority of the membership followed Brigham and the other Apostles, but some split off into smaller groups following this man or that.

Those who ended up on Beaver Island followed a man named James Strang. The church that I mentioned above is the product of this group. The man who currently heads up the church is an intelligent, well-read man. I have never met him, but I have read things he has written and I have a great deal of respect for him.

That's all. I find this very interesting.