We believe that the keys of the priesthood are the divine authority and power given by God, through the influence of the Spirit, to direct and govern the church on earth.

 

While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes the keys of the presidency passed to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, led by Brigham Young, we believe that Joseph Smith III received these keys through a combination of lineal right, prophetic designation, divine call, and formal ordination.

 

The “keys of the presidency” are inherent to the office of the President of the Church, which holds the “right of presidency” over all church offices and is responsible for receiving “the oracles for the whole church” (RLDS D&C 107:39; LDS D&C 124:125–126).  “Keys” equal authority (RLDS D&C 68:2c; 104:8c; LDS D&C 68:17; 107:15).  These keys ultimately come from God through his Spirit, but they are conveyed at ordination by those with Melchizedek priesthood authority, which itself holds the right of presidency.

 

The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things. —RLDS D&C 104:3b; LDS D&C 107:8

 

Joseph Smith Jr. held the right of presidency. He was a prophet, seer and revelator to the church, and thereby held the keys as “the head of the church.”  As part of his responsibilities, he was commanded to designate or appoint his successor (see section 43).

 

D&C 43

2) For behold, verily, verily I say unto you, that ye have received a commandment for a law unto my church, through him whom I have appointed unto you, to receive commandments and revelations from my hand.

3) 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.

4) 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.

5) And this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations, or commandments;

6) And this I give unto you, that you may not be deceived, that you may know they are not of me.

[Italics added]

 

In obedience to this law given to the church, Joseph Jr., designated his son Joseph to be his successor and follow in the prophetic office; who then received all of the keys, gifts and blessings of that office at the time of his ordination; which “rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made” (LDS D&C 107:40).

 

D&C 124 (LDS)

57) For this anointing have I put upon his [Joseph Smith Jr.’s] head, that his blessing shall also be put upon the head of his posterity after him.

58) And as I said unto Abraham concerning the kindreds of the earth, even so I say unto my servant Joseph:  In thee and in thy seed shall the kindred of the earth be blessed.

 

Just as Alma “appointed” his son Alma to succeed him as the head of the church (LDS Mosiah 29:42; Alma 4:4; 5:3) there should be no difference when Joseph Smith III was set apart by his father Joseph, to be the Prophet over the church of God.

 

There were no apostles in the church until 1835, thus the men who ordained the martyr as President of the High Priesthood held the same priesthood authority as did Nauvoo stake president and high priest William Marks. If a high priest could ordain the martyr to this position, a man with the same office could certainly ordain Joseph Smith III. Brigham Young should have recognized such authority for he said, “Whoever is ordained to the office of Elder to a certain degree possesses the keys of the Melchisedec Priesthood; and suppose only one Elder should be left on the earth, could he go and set in order the kingdom of God?  Yes, by revelation” (Journal of Discourses, 9:88).

 

Our belief is that under the leadership of Briggs, Gurley, and Marks the Reorganization was carried out by men with priesthood authority by virtue of their ordination under the leadership of the martyred prophet.

 

• Jason W. Briggs

Jason Briggs was baptized in the year 1841, ordained an Elder in 1842

 

As an instance of many men of this character, we quote the experience of Elder Jason W. Briggs, given in testimony in the Temple Lot suit:—

“I united with the church in 1841, and I remained with it. I have accounted myself a member of that church from that time on, from 1841 to 1885, but I have been in different organizations at different times, as I have already stated; but when in each of these organizations I supposed I was under the church.

“When I found out that they were teaching anything that was not authorized by the church before 1844, as the law is set forth in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, why, I left it at once.

“I always supposed when I belonged to these different organizations that they were the true and direct descendants of the original church, and as soon as my error was revealed to me, I left them, —left them as soon as I found out they were not under the church. These parties whom I have mentioned as having been members of the original church, under my administration in Wisconsin, and afterwards united with me under the banner of some of these other men, was not the true church, did not pretend to be the true church; but it was their belief and faith in joining these various organizations that they were representing the original church.

“I did not understand at that time that my authority to build up the church was derived from William Smith or Strang.  I had that authority by virtue of my eldership in the original church.”

—RLDS Church History, Volume 3, p. 196

An extract of the revelation received by Jason Briggs states:  “Therefore, let the elders whom I have ordained by the hand of my servant Joseph, or by the hand of those ordained by him, resist not this authority, nor faint in the discharge of duty, which is to preach my gospel as revealed in the record of the Jews, and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and cry repentance and remission of sins through obedience to the gospel, and I will sustain them, and give them my Spirit; and in mine own due time will I call upon the seed of Joseph Smith, …” (RLDS Church History, Volume 3, p. 201).

 

• William Marks

“William Marks was a High Priest in the days of the Martyr, and hence held the same authority by which Joseph the Martyr was ordained”, when he laid hands on Joseph III for ordination to President of the RLDS Church (See RLDS Church History Volume 3 pg. 251).

 

In September, 1837, he was chosen a member of the High Council at Kirtland on the third of that month.  On the 17th of the same month he was appointed agent for Bishop N. K. Whitney, to transact the business of the Bishop at Kirtland, in order to liberate the Bishop so that he might travel, as provided for in the revelation of September, 1832. (See D&C 83:23, LDS D&C 84:112-116)

 

On October 8, 1839, a stake of Zion was organized at Commerce (afterwards Nauvoo), Illinois, and William Marks was chosen as President of the Nauvoo stake, and of the High Council, which position he held until after the death of Joseph Smith, in 1844.

—Church History, Vol. 3, pp. 721–722

 

A vision of William Marks, received by the prophet Joseph Smith, Jr.:

“I would just say to Brother Marks, that I saw in a vision while on the road, that whereas he was closely pursued by an innumerable concourse of enemies, and as they pressed upon him hard, as if they were about to devour him, and had seemingly obtained some degree of advantage over him, but about this time a chariot of fire came, and near the place, even the Angel of the Lord put forth his hand unto Brother Marks, and said unto him, ‘Thou art my son, come here,’ and immediately he was caught up in the chariot, and rode away triumphantly out of their midst.  And again the Lord said, ‘I will raise thee up for a blessing unto many people.’  Now the particulars of the whole matter can not be written at this time, but the vision was evidently given to me that I might know that the hand of the Lord would be on his behalf.” —Millennial Star, Vol. 16, p. 131

 

• Zenas H. Gurley, Sen.

Baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on April 1, 1838, and in June, 1838, was ordained an elder by James Blakeslee.  While at Far West he was ordained to the office of seventy (Church History, Vol. 3, pp. 743).

 

Zenas Gurley and others had learned “that a command from God is authority to do all he requires, be it more or less” (The Story of the Church (Reorganized), 1955 Edition, page 414).

 

It has been said by some in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that these men lost their priesthood authority because they did not follow Brigham Young out west.  Authority is lost when we cease to follow Christ not when we cease to follow man.  Authority comes from God; and as long as these men were following the teachings of Jesus as restored through the prophet Joseph, and we believe they were, then they would have retained their priesthood, and their authority would still be valid.  Priesthood authority of a man does not depend upon which man or group of men he follows but rather upon whether or not he follows Christ.  Only as a man continues to abide with Christ and in his doctrine can he remain close to the source of his priesthood authority.  Apostasy in its most awful sense is not the result of a man or group of men ceasing to follow the leadership of other men—it is the result of their departure from Christ.  This is why these men severed connection with Brigham Young, J. J. Strang, and William Smith—for in each instance they believed that to have followed these men further would have meant separation from Christ.

 

One resolution passed in the early days of the Reorganization in support of this very idea states:

“Resolved further, that a connection with those factions during the dark and cloudy day, does not necessarily invalidate the priesthood; holding as we do that those factions could neither confer nor take away the priesthood.” —Church History, Vol. 3, p. 433

 

We would also point out that Briggs, Gurley, and Marks were never rebaptized into any other organization, unlike Brigham and his followers.  They never did sever their allegiance with the cause of God which they had espoused.  They did sever their connections with men and groups of men when they saw these men and their factions departing from Christ and his doctrines.

 

At the ordination of Joseph Smith III, we see that God kept his promise to the Martyr, and William Marks was raised up for a blessing unto many people!  “And again the Lord said, ‘I will raise thee up for a blessing unto many people.’ …The vision was evidently given to me that I might know that the hand of the Lord would be on his behalf.”  It was not by chance that William Marks would be a part of the ordination of Joseph Smith III as prophet, seer, and revelator of Christ’s church on earth.