D&C 135-136 Succession & Splinter Groups I Come Follow Church History I Lynne Hilton Wilson

Scripture Central

Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 852 Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

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Summary

In this episode of Come Follow Church History, host Lynne Hilton Wilson is joined by BYU professor and historian Janiece Johnson for a captivating deep dive into one of the most pivotal—and often misunderstood—moments in Latter-day Saint history: the 1844 succession crisis. In the immediate aftermath of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faced an uncertain and deeply emotional crossroads. Without its founding prophet, who would lead the Saints? Lynne and Janiece unpack the confusion, tension, and spiritual searching that followed, exploring the claims of various contenders—including Sidney Rigdon, who argued for guardianship of the Church—as well as other voices who stepped forward during this turbulent period. Together they trace how fear, grief, and competing visions for the future created a moment of genuine crisis for the Saints. With expert insight, Janiece Johnson provides rich historical context, helping viewers understand the different claims to take leadership of the Church—and how the eventual path forward reshaped the trajectory of the Restoration. If you’re interested in Latter-day Saint history, the legacy of Joseph Smith, or the development of Church leadership, this episode offers a thoughtful and faith-focused look at a defining moment in 1844. Tune in for a conversation filled with depth, clarity, and remarkable historical detail.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Many people claimed that they thought Joseph had given them the right to succession.
0:05.0	And Joseph had not clearly outlined how that was going to work.
0:10.0	But it was hard for the Saints.
0:12.0	Joseph receives keys himself.
0:13.0	When other people are brought in to also hold keys is a question.
0:19.0	The 12 apostles are told that they are quorum equal in power to the first presidency.
0:24.8	Sydney is arguing, and I'm going to be the guardian of the church.
0:28.6	I'm just going to hold up everything that Joseph did.
0:31.9	Brigham describes of the time of the martyrdom just having a horrendous feeling of darkness. Mosiah Hancock says, I saw in him the look of the martyrdom, just having a horrendous feeling of darkness.
0:38.1	Mosiah Hancock says, I saw in him the look of Joseph and the voice of Joseph.
0:42.8	Those who had the Spirit of Lord sought.
0:45.1	Not everyone in that meeting saw it.
0:47.3	But they all get their own witness in their own way.
0:56.1	Hello, welcome back to Scripture Central. I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson, and we're thrilled again
1:00.9	to have Janice Johnson here with us. Thanks, Lynn. It's good to be here. And today we get to
1:05.7	speak on the last few sections of the Doctrine Convents. Before we do that, I'd like to send a little bit of our
1:11.5	time on the historical background of some of the succession and splinter groups that came.
1:17.0	You know, as we at Scripture Central try to build faith in Jesus Christ, this is very important.
1:23.2	What happened? Were these prophecies given that other people were supposed to be leading the church?
1:27.6	You know, there's a lot of hard questions in this section of after Joseph's death.
1:32.0	Yeah, and I think that sometimes as Latter-day Saints or as Brighamites or, you know,
1:38.4	whatever we want to, whatever people might call ourselves, we kind of just assume that it was a done deal because of how things ended up.
	...

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