| 739 In a pamphlet published by William Smith in 1851, Jason W. Briggs was named as one of the Twelve Apostles. (See this volume, p. 84.) Whether he accepted and was ordained to that office or not we do not know.
The attitude of Elder Briggs during his association with different factions, as well as when he became interested in the movement to reorganize, is best told in his own language as given while a witness in the Temple Lot suit. He stated.-
"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, . . . 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 descendant of the original church, and as soon as my error was revealed to me, I left them. . . . When I joined the organization as led by James J. Strang I accepted him as the head of the church; that is, I accepted him as the leader and President of the Church, as the successor of Joseph Smith in the Presidency of the Church. . . . I always understood that Strang claimed to be the successor of Joseph Smith by virtue of an appointment which he had received from Joseph Smith. . . .
"As soon as myself and others who had joined his organization found out that he had been teaching other things not authorized by the church, we discarded him; yes, sir, we did. . . . 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. . . . These people with whom I was associated in Wisconsin were people who were contending for the original doctrine of the church, in its purity.
(page 739) |
