christopher123 said:
Any unsanitized (read LDS) study of Harris shows he was a nut, finding spectacular religious experiences with anything that came along.
Read: Anti-mormon works.
christopher123 said:
No comment about J. Strang?
Chris <><
You mean like B. H. Roberts statements on Strang?
James J. Strang
First among these was one James J. Strang of Voree, Walworth county, in the southeast part of Wisconsin. He was but a recent convert to the Latter-day Saint faith at the death of the Prophet, having been baptized about four months previous to that event. Mr. Strang claimed that on the 18th of June, 1844, the Prophet Joseph wrote to him a letter of some considerable length, containing a revelation appointing him, James J. Strang, to be his successor as president and prophet of the church. The letter also appointed one Aaron Smith, 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:
"But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else [than Joseph Smith] shall be appointed unto this gift [to receive revelations and commandments for the church] except it be through him [Joseph Smith] for if it be taken from him, he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead."
Mr. Strang claimed that the appointment he received through the letter he represented as coming from Joseph Smith fulfilled the terms of the revelation above quoted; that is, he had been appointed through the Prophet. When he presented this "letter" and "revelation" to some of the saints in Michigan, 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. Strang 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.
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 unto him and ordained him to be a "prophet" to the church, and the successor to Joseph Smith as the "president" thereof.
Not many followed him from Nauvoo, for there his influence amounted to little; but in the scattered branches, especially in those of 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; also John E. Page, one of the twelve, who for several years previous to Joseph's death had been in precarious fellowship with the church. John C. Bennett had first supported Sidney Rigdon's pretentions, claiming to have 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 forgotten apparently, the "revelation" contained in the sealed document which appointed Mr. Rigdon president of the church.
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 instruction from the twelve as to preserve them from the deceitfulness of this apostate apostle.
John E. Page continued to support the claims of James J. Strang, and for so doing was excommunicated from the church.
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.
Or this by D. Michael Quinn:
James J. Strang had been baptized into the Church on 25 February 1844, and had left Nauvoo shortly thereafter to explore a possible location for the Mormons in Wisconsin. He claimed that while there he received a revelation in a letter from Joseph Smith dated 18 June 1844, which appointed him as Joseph's successor:
& now behold my servant James J Strang hath come to thee from far truth when he knew it not & hath not rejected it but hath had faith in thee the shepherd and stone of israel & to him shall the gathering of the people be fore he shall plant a stake of Zion in Wisconsin & I will establish it & there shall my people have peace & rest & shall not be mooved. . . .
Even at face value, the letter seemed to be no more than a local appointment, but Strang insisted the document designated him as Joseph's successor. Rather than presenting his claims to the Church in Nauvoo, Strang announced his position at a conference of the Church at Florence, Michigan, on 5 August 1844. The presiding elder of that branch, Crandall Dunn, denounced the claim as an imposture and observed that the postmark on the envelope of Strang's letter proved it to have been a forgery. Brigham Young in 1846 denounced the entire letter as a forgery: "Every person acquainted with Joseph Smith, and his style of dictation and writing might readily know that he never wrote nor caused to be written that letter to Strang." Modern analysts of the document have not only agreed with that verdict, but have also judged the signature of Joseph Smith on the letter to be a forgery. In addition to the letter, Strang also claimed that he had been ordained successor by an angel. Persisting in his claims, he was excommunicated by the branch at Florence, Michigan, on 5 August 1844, an action that was repeated by the apostles at Nauvoo.
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