Council of 50, Succession, and Leadership Hierarchy in the Church

The immediate aftermath of the tragic murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in 1844 was marked by shock and grief within the Church, and in the weeks that followed an ecclesiastical crisis arose concerning who should be Joseph Smith’s successor as president of the Church. As it turns out, Joseph Smith had never publicly and unambiguously designated a clear successor to the presidency of the Church. The confusion arose not because Joseph had never addressed the issue directly but because he had made several statements at various times which seemed to open up multiple succession options—eight, to be exact.  

In this episode of Church History Matters, we’ll walk through the eight possible succession paths that were either explicitly laid out by Joseph Smith, or were viewed as entirely plausible based on certain interpretations of statements Joseph made or actions he took. In addition to being historical interesting, these eight plausible paths help us understand why succession in the presidency wasn’t immediately cut and dry in the minds of many Church members in 1844 and the basis on which several other branches of the Restoration exist today outside of the one initially led by Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.