TL;DR
- Early Mormonism fused folk magic, Hermetic philosophy, Native‑American millenarianism, and radical temple rites.
- Joseph Smith’s 1844 murder unleashed a succession melee: Sidney Rigdon, James Strang, Brigham Young, William Smith, Lyman Wight, etc.
- Brigham Young’s coalition won; he centralized power in the Twelve, publicly embraced polygamy, exported Nauvoo temple ordinances, and muted treasure‑digging folkways.
- Rigdonites, Strangites, and the later RLDS clung to earlier threads Young down‑toned—monogamy, communalism, dynastic/prophetic succession, fresh scripture.
- The resulting Utah church kept Joseph’s bolder cosmology (exaltation, baptism for the dead) but became institutionally conservative, slowly “mainstreaming” its occult edges.
The Esoteric Origins of Mormonism and Changes Under Brigham Young
Early Mormonism’s Esoteric and Folk-Religious Core (Joseph Smith Era)#
In its first decade under Joseph Smith (1830s – early 1840s), Mormonism was marked by intense esotericism and folk religious practices. Joseph Smith and his close associates (like Sidney Rigdon) drew on a “magic world view” common in their time – treasure-digging folklore, seer stones, divining rods, and other occult practices were part of Joseph’s early life. Scholars note that Smith’s theology in Kirtland and Nauvoo showed parallels to Hermetic and occult traditions: for example, both Hermeticism and early Mormonism celebrated the “mutuality of spiritual and material worlds,” taught the existence of pre-existent intelligences, a divine Adam, a “fortunate Fall,” and emphasized the mystical power of marriage/sexuality and human divinization (becoming gods). This meant early Latter-day Saint cosmology was highly unorthodox and mystical, far removed from mainstream American Protestantism.
Folk Magic and Freemasonry: Joseph Smith’s family believed in folk magic, and Joseph himself used seer stones for translation and revelation. By the Nauvoo period (early 1840s), Smith also became a Freemason, and within weeks he introduced the secret Nauvoo temple endowment – a ritual clearly influenced by Masonic ceremony. Doctrines like baptism for the dead (a proxy ritual for deceased souls) were introduced, thrilling members with their universalist, esoteric appeal. Hermetic/alchemical themes of eternal progression and human exaltation thrived in Nauvoo: Smith taught that God Himself was once a man and that exalted humans could become gods (as articulated in the 1844 King Follett discourse). Such ideas – essentially a “radical… hermetic occult” strand in theology – set Mormonism apart.
Interactions with Native Americans: Early Mormonism was also suffused with millenarian ideas about Native Americans. The Book of Mormon taught that Native peoples were a remnant of the House of Israel (Lamanites), destined to receive the gospel. Joseph Smith sent missions to Indigenous tribes as early as 1830, and he saw their eventual redemption as part of fulfilling prophecy. This led to a romanticized vision of “interactions with Native Americans” – seeking out Indian converts and envisioning a New Jerusalem where Natives and Latter-day Saints would be united. (In Nauvoo, Joseph even organized a secret Council of Fifty that discussed an eventual westward move to Indian Territory.) These enthusiastic plans were rooted in Joseph’s belief in modern revelation and Israelite destiny for Native Americans – another esoteric element that would later be tempered by the practical realities of the Utah frontier.
Sidney Rigdon’s Influence: Sidney Rigdon, Joseph’s early collaborator, helped infuse the church with Restorationist primitivism and communitarian ideals. A former Campbellite preacher, Rigdon had advocated “having all things in common” (communal living) before joining Smith. Under Rigdon’s influence, the church in the 1830s experimented with the Law of Consecration (shared property) and saw outpourings of spiritual gifts – speaking in tongues, visions, healings – especially during the Kirtland, Ohio period. In Nauvoo, new institutions like the Female Relief Society were founded (with hints that Joseph envisioned expanded roles for women, including giving healing blessings and even a form of priesthood authority). Nauvoo also brought political innovations: Joseph received revelations of the “Council of Fifty,” a secret theocratic council to help establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. He even ran for U.S. President in 1844, blending religion with bold temporal ambitions. In sum, by 1844 Mormonism was a heady mix of charismatic religion, occult-infused theology, bold new rituals, communal and theocratic ideals, all centered on Joseph Smith’s prophetic leadership.
The Succession Crisis of 1844: Competing Visions of Mormonism#
Joseph Smith’s assassination in June 1844 triggered an intense succession crisis. Without a clear procedure in place, multiple leaders stepped forward, each claiming the right to lead – and significantly, each emphasized different aspects of Joseph’s legacy. This crisis serves as a prism through which to see what elements of early Mormonism were preserved or lost going forward.
Sidney Rigdon – “Guardian” of the Church: As the surviving member of the First Presidency, Rigdon argued he should naturally take charge. He claimed a revelation appointing him to be “Guardian of the Church” – essentially a caretaker prophet until Joseph’s young son could eventually lead. Rigdon appealed to his long relationship with Joseph and his 1841 ordination by Joseph as a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator in the First Presidency. Importantly, Sidney Rigdon and his followers were inclined to roll back some of the recent Nauvoo innovations. In late 1844, Rigdon relocated to Pittsburgh and “peeled back” the church to a more primitive form: they even reverted to the original name “Church of Christ”, rejecting the newer “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” title. Rigdon’s newspaper was named The Messenger and Advocate – resurrecting the Kirtland-era publication title. His fledgling church attempted to live in common on a farm (a throwback to the communitarian experiments of the early 1830s). Rigdon also pointedly opposed plural marriage and other secret Nauvoo doctrines – he had been uncomfortable with polygamy (his own daughter had allegedly been targeted as a plural wife). Indeed, prominent Nauvoo dissenters who decried polygamy and theocracy – such as William Law and John C. Bennett – aligned with Rigdon. All this suggests that Rigdonism “froze” Mormonism at an earlier stage: emphasizing the Book of Mormon and biblical primitivism, without the more radical Nauvoo-era plural marriage, temple endowment, or political kingship. Rigdon’s claim implied that Joseph’s true legacy was a pure church unsullied by later excesses – and that legacy, he felt, was in jeopardy under the Twelve.
Brigham Young and the Twelve – Keys of the Kingdom: Brigham Young, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, emerged as Rigdon’s chief rival. Young denied the need for any single “prophet-president” successor at that moment, arguing that Joseph had conferred all the priesthood keys on the Twelve before his death. In an August 8, 1844 church meeting in Nauvoo, Brigham famously proclaimed that rather than a guardian or a new First Presidency, the Quorum of Twelve should collectively lead the Church. According to many later testimonies, during this meeting Brigham Young seemed to miraculously take on Joseph’s voice and mien, convincing the majority that the “mantle of Joseph” rested on him and the Twelve. (Sidney Rigdon, however, denied any such transfiguration and accused Young of deceit.) Under Young’s logic, the institutional authority of the Church had been vested in the Twelve – a more bureaucratic and less mystical approach than Rigdon’s personal claim. Brigham and his brethren excommunicated Rigdon in September 1844 for “making a division” and even “ordaining Prophets, Priests & Kings” without authorization. (This charge hints that Rigdon had been performing unauthorized ordinances – perhaps anointing men as prophets, priests, and kings as Joseph had done in the secret endowment circles.) By year’s end, Young effectively routed Rigdon’s faction and assumed de facto leadership.
James J. Strang – The Prophetic Upstart: A completely different approach came from James J. Strang, a relatively new convert who produced a letter of appointment allegedly from Joseph Smith, naming Strang to succeed him. Strang claimed to have seen angels and, in 1845, to have unearthed and translated ancient metal plates (the Voree Plates), positioning himself as a charismatic prophet in Joseph’s mold. Many Saints initially saw Strang as continuing Joseph’s prophetic, revelatory ministry, in contrast to Brigham Young’s administrative style. Tellingly, Strang’s followers sang a pointed hymn: “The Church without a prophet is not a church for me.” This was a direct critique of Young’s leadership, since Brigham at first claimed no prophetic titles for himself beyond being head of the Twelve. Strang offered new scripture, new revelations, new doctrines – he produced The Book of the Law of the Lord (purportedly an ancient record with new teachings) and gathered followers to Voree, Wisconsin. He also initially condemned polygamy, winning over many disaffected by rumors of plural marriage in Nauvoo. For a time in the late 1840s, Strang’s “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” (as he called it) was a serious rival to the Brighamite church. Notably, early prominent Mormons like Martin Harris (Book of Mormon witness), William Smith (Joseph’s brother), and apostle John E. Page sided with Strang, precisely because he promised to preserve and continue Joseph’s visionary, expansionist religious project without the taint of Brigham’s pragmatism or polygamy.
Other Claimants and Perspectives: Several smaller factions also held pieces of Joseph’s legacy. Apostle Lyman Wight, for example, rejected Young’s leadership and led a group to Texas – he insisted Joseph Smith had authorized a colony there, and he would not abandon that prophetic instruction (the Utah-bound church ignored Wight’s Texas mission). Others, like William Marks (Nauvoo Stake President) and Emma Smith (Joseph’s widow), opposed polygamy and distrusted Brigham; they initially hoped the church might reject plural marriage and perhaps follow Joseph’s lineal heir. Indeed, many Saints believed Joseph Smith’s own family ought to lead. Joseph’s eleven-year-old son, Joseph Smith III, was quietly believed by some to be designated for future leadership. This sentiment coalesced years later (in 1860) as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) under Joseph III. The RLDS position was that the true succession went through lineal descent (father-to-son), combined with appointment by Joseph. They pointed to an 1844 blessing document (since verified authentic) in which Joseph Smith Jr. blessed his son to be his successor. Brigham Young’s assumption of power, from the RLDS perspective, violated Joseph’s intent and the proper “law of succession.” In fact, Sidney Rigdon’s Church of Christ had likewise argued Brigham’s 1844 takeover was illegitimate – a breach of church law and order. Thus, each faction championed certain doctrines or principles as “Joseph’s true legacy.” And significantly, those things the Brighamites downplayed or abandoned (e.g. communal economics, a one-man Prophet, lineal succession, etc.) were precisely upheld by others as essential to Mormonism.
Brigham Young’s Leadership: Doctrinal Continuities and Losses#
By 1847, Brigham Young had prevailed in leading the largest group of Saints on an arduous exodus to the American West. He reorganized the First Presidency with himself as church president in December 1847, firmly establishing the primacy of the Twelve’s authority. This Brighamite branch (today’s LDS Church) carried forward many of Joseph Smith’s Nauvoo doctrines – but it also modified or muted certain esoteric elements over time. The period from the succession crisis through the Utah settlement (1844 – 1852) is especially crucial: it was a refining moment when Mormonism could not encompass every radical idea from Nauvoo and had to choose what to emphasize.
Plural Marriage Becomes Central (and Public)#
Under Joseph Smith, plural marriage was taught secretly to a select few. Brigham Young not only continued the practice but expanded and publicly proclaimed polygamy in 1852, making it a defining tenet of Utah Mormonism. This was a major departure from the path of Rigdon’s and later RLDS churches, which flatly rejected polygamy as anathema. Many who could not accept plural marriage – such as William Bickerton, a convert in Pennsylvania – left Brigham’s church once polygamy was made public. (Bickerton would go on to form a dissenting Latter Day Saint church that upheld the Book of Mormon but maintained Victorian monogamy and a more orthodox Christianity.) In this sense, Brigham’s succession preserved a controversial Nauvoo doctrine that other branches saw as a gross innovation. What was “lost” to those who left Brigham’s camp was a monogamous, more Protestant-compatible Mormonism – but what was gained for those who followed Young was a continuation of Joseph’s “Abrahamic” marital theology on a wide scale.
Temple Rites and Secret Societies#
The Nauvoo temple endowment and related rituals (eternal marriage sealings, the Second Anointing, etc.) were guarded and perpetuated by Brigham Young’s faction, albeit in secret for years. After the Nauvoo Temple was abandoned in 1846, the migrating Saints carried the temple ordinances with them – performing endowments in makeshift “Endowment Houses” in Utah until new temples could be built. Baptism for the Dead, introduced by Joseph, was “ensconced” into Utah temple practice and continues in LDS temples today. By contrast, the RLDS Church under Joseph Smith III never adopted temple ordinances or vicarious baptisms as formal practices. Similarly, other schisms like the Strangites and Cutlerites performed limited temple rituals (Strang, for instance, planned a temple and even had himself crowned king in a public ceremony in 1850, mimicking Joseph’s secret Council of Fifty kingship). But by and large, Brigham Young’s church became the primary custodian of the Nauvoo esoteric temple theology – including eternal family sealings and the cosmological teachings that accompanied them.
However, one aspect did change: the overt relationship with Freemasonry. After Joseph’s death, the Nauvoo Masonic lodge was disbanded as the Saints left Illinois. In Utah, Masonic lodges (dominated by non-Mormon locals) pointedly banned Latter-day Saints from membership for decades. Freemasons saw the Mormon endowment as a rip-off of Masonry and resented the LDS practice of secret oaths – and they were also offended by Mormon polygamy and theocracy. As a result, under Brigham’s tenure the church grew distant from Freemasonry; it stopped encouraging any involvement with Masonic orders. LDS leaders even began to downplay the Masonic influence on the temple rites, teaching instead that Masonic similarities were coincidences or corruptions of an original temple priesthood. By the late 19th century, Utah Mormons portrayed Freemasonry as a “secret combination” to be avoided, and only in recent decades have relations thawed. So, while the temple endowment (with its Masonic-derived symbols) survived, the early Nauvoo blend of Masonry and Mormonism was essentially severed after the succession. That folk-Masonic milieu of Nauvoo became a private religious sphere in Utah, no longer entwined with mainstream fraternal Masonry.
Continuing Revelation and Leadership Style#
A subtle but important shift under Brigham Young was a move from open canonized revelation to a more pragmatic, council-based leadership. Joseph Smith had regularly dictated “Thus saith the Lord” revelations (compiled in the Doctrine and Covenants) and added whole new scriptures to the faith’s canon. Brigham Young, by contrast, produced relatively few new revelations and no new scriptural volumes after Joseph. In 1847 he did issue one significant revelation (Doctrine and Covenants section 136) at Winter Quarters, guiding the camp of Israel west. But thereafter, most of Brigham’s teachings were delivered in sermons and later compiled in the Journal of Discourses. The charismatic model of a lone prophetic seer gave way to a more bureaucratic model: a president working with a quorum of apostles. No one after Joseph in the LDS Church would claim the kind of expansive translator/prophet role (with new books of scripture) that Joseph had. This was something many early dissidents noticed – hence the Strangite refrain “the church without a prophet is not for me.” Strang and later breakaway prophets (like William Bickerton, or Utah schismatic Joseph Morris in the 1860s) all criticized the LDS leadership for allegedly stifling prophetic gifts.
To faithful Brighamites, however, authority and “keys” trumped the need for flashy new revelation. They believed the Twelve had received from Joseph every priesthood key necessary to direct the Kingdom. Brigham Young claimed he was not introducing new doctrine but simply “carrying out the program” Joseph had established. In reality, Brigham did introduce doctrinal innovations, but often couched them as teachings rather than formal “scripture.” The most notorious was his Adam–God doctrine (taught in the 1850s), a speculative teaching that Adam was God the Father and the literal progenitor of Jesus Christ. This esoteric cosmology went beyond anything Joseph publicly taught – and notably, it conflicted with James J. Strang’s theology. (Strang’s revelations affirmed a more monotheistic stance: that God the Father is a distinct supreme being, and that Jesus was the first exalted man – aligning more with Joseph’s King Follett doctrine – but rejecting Brigham’s radical Adam-God twist.) Ultimately, Adam–God was later repudiated by the LDS Church, showing that not all of Brigham’s doctrinal experiments endured. But it exemplifies how Brigham’s era shifted Mormonism’s esoteric focus: away from generating new canonized texts and more into preaching interpretations of Joseph’s revelations (or sometimes, Brigham’s personal theological speculations).
Church Structure and “Centralization”#
Another change was organizational: Brigham Young’s succession set a precedent that church presidents would thereafter be chosen by apostolic seniority, not family dynasty or charismatic selection. This meant the Smith family’s direct influence waned in the LDS Church. (Indeed, Joseph’s widow Emma and son Joseph III stayed in Illinois and later led the RLDS, meaning the main Utah church moved on without the prophet’s family.) The concept of a “lineal successor” – once anticipated by many – was lost to LDS history. Young’s success established that priesthood office was more authoritative than lineal right. The First Presidency itself was dissolved for three years (1844 – 47) and then reconstituted with Young at the head. Dissenting voices argued the Twelve had violated church law in reorganizing the Presidency without a full quorum present. Despite criticisms, Young’s administrative model endured – and with it came a more centralized hierarchy than in Joseph’s day. In Nauvoo, Joseph had balanced multiple councils (First Presidency, Nauvoo High Council, the Seventy, the secret Council of Fifty, etc.) and often worked through charismatic authority. Under Brigham in Utah, the Quorum of Twelve and First Presidency firmly held the reins, and the Council of Fifty slipped into the background (used briefly in Utah’s statehood attempts, then becoming dormant). Stake high councils no longer challenged apostolic leadership. In short, Mormonism became more institutionally orthodox under Young, prioritizing unity and obedience over the freewheeling prophetic charisma of the early 1830s.
Dampening of Folk Magic and Spiritual Enthusiasms#
With Joseph Smith’s death, some of the overt folk-magical practices associated with him gradually disappeared from the LDS mainstream. For instance, Joseph’s use of seer stones (to translate scripture or receive revelations) was not emulated by Brigham Young or subsequent church presidents – it was quietly set aside. Brigham did value spiritual gifts and the Pentecostal style of worship in some cases (the gift of tongues was still practiced among early Utah saints, especially by women, and faith healings and visions continued). But overall, as the LDS Church matured in Utah, it tamped down the most flamboyant charismatic behaviors. There were periodic revivals – e.g. the Reformation of 1856 when Brigham and others urged rebaptism, public confessions of sin, and even taught the grim idea of “blood atonement” for serious sinners – but these were controlled, top-down movements, not the kind of grassroots ecstatic outbreaks seen in Kirtland’s early days. Meanwhile, the “magical world view” that D. Michael Quinn describes (astrology, folk healing charms, divining for treasure, etc.) faded as a publicly acknowledged part of LDS religion. The leadership in Utah publicly emphasized more respectable miracle narratives (angelic visitations, healings through priesthood blessings) rather than folk superstition. Over time – especially by the late 19th and early 20th century – LDS leaders wanted to shed the image of Mormonism as occult or bizarre. For example, Church President Wilford Woodruff openly warned against members dabbling in spiritualism or the occult, which were then in vogue. In effect, Brigham’s successorship began a long “mainstreaming” process, curbing some early folk practices. (Notably, the rival RLDS Church also eschewed folk magic and positioned itself as a more normative Christian church – that* aspect of Joseph’s early folk religion was broadly abandoned by all major branches.)
Changing Relationships with Women’s Roles and “The Divine Feminine”#
Under Joseph Smith, the Relief Society was established (1842) and women were given authority to heal and to administer in their sphere. There is evidence Joseph spoke of the Relief Society in priesthood terms – possibly envisioning expanded spiritual privileges for women. This trajectory changed under Brigham Young. Brigham, mistrusting Emma Smith’s opposition to polygamy, suspended the Relief Society in 1845, and it was not reconstituted in Utah until 1867. Young and other Utah leaders did encourage women to receive temple endowments and even to serve missions or get medical training, and Utah women enjoyed unusually early political rights (voting and office-holding by 1870) – paradoxically, in part to defend polygamy. Yet, ecclesiastically, Brigham narrowed women’s formal authority. He concurred with a more limited role for women in church than what Joseph may have been hinting at. Over time, women’s earlier authority to anoint and bless the sick (common in Nauvoo and early Utah) was also gradually curtailed (it was officially ended in the 20th century). Thus, one could argue that an incipient element of Joseph’s Mormonism – the quasi-priesthood role of women and a greater female ritual presence – was dampened under Brigham. Rival sects likewise did not empower women beyond traditional roles (the all-male priesthood was retained by RLDS until late 20th century). So, this was less a point of schismatic contention and more a general narrowing of a possibly radical aspect of early Nauvoo culture.
Interactions with Native Americans in Utah#
The idealistic mission to the Lamanites took a harsher turn in Brigham’s West. Initially, Young identified the Western tribes as the Lamanites foreseen in the Book of Mormon and sent missionaries to live among the Ute, Shoshone, and Paiute peoples. He even hoped to build alliances, sometimes referring to Natives as “our brethren” and adopting a few Native children into LDS homes. However, as Mormon settlements expanded, competition for land led to violent conflicts (the Walker War 1853 – 54, the Black Hawk War in the 1860s). Brigham’s policy oscillated between conciliation and “standing against” hostile tribes. In the end, the grand vision of converting and uniting with the Lamanites largely faltered. The Utah church did continue to teach that Native Americans were a covenant people (and in the twentieth century would launch the Indian Student Placement Program, etc.), but the folk belief in imminent Israelite reunion with Native tribes quieted down. Meanwhile, the RLDS Church (midwest-based) deemphasized the entire concept of gathering tribes or identifying modern Natives as Lamanites. In short, one romantic esoteric thread – the Zion vision of a literal Lamanite restoration – was not outright lost under Brigham (it persisted in rhetoric) but was pragmatically side-lined as the Utah Saints built a homogenous society largely apart from their Indigenous neighbors.
Conclusion: What Was Lost, What Was Preserved#
By the time the dust settled – Nauvoo emptied, rival claimants fallen away or in exile, and Brigham Young’s pioneers established in Utah – Mormonism had been both preserved and transformed. Brigham Young succeeded in carrying forward the core of Joseph Smith’s Nauvoo doctrinal innovations: temples, priesthood authority, eternal marriage, plurality of Gods (exaltation), and (for a time) plural marriage, all became hallmarks of LDS identity. The LDS Church today still proclaims many Nauvoo-born doctrines – for example, a concept of God and human destiny very different from traditional Christianity – as a result of those roots. In that sense, the “esoteric core” survived, albeit in refined form. Modern Latter-day Saints still practice baptism for the dead and eternal marriage, still speak of continuing revelation and a “prophet-President”, and still uphold the possibility of divine human potential – ideas hatched in the fertile milieu of Joseph’s era.
Yet other elements were indeed “dampened” or left behind in the transition:
The free-wheeling prophetic charisma that allowed multiple contenders (like Strang, Rigdon, etc.) to claim visionary leadership was replaced by a more orderly succession system. The LDS Church “settled” into a single prophetic hierarchy under Young, implicitly foreclosing the option of other prophetic voices. (Those who disagreed simply left – creating a tradition that dissenters go start a new church rather than expect a role within the main church.)
The lineal/dynastic idea of succession was lost to LDS history. Joseph Smith’s own son and family did not lead the Utah church – a different church (RLDS) preserved that concept. In Utah, the notion of priesthood lineage gave way to a more pragmatic, arguably more meritocratic leadership by seasoned Apostles. The consequence is that Mormonism split into two main traditions: one led by apostles (Brigham’s LDS) and one led by Joseph’s descendants (the RLDS “Josephites”). Each accused the other of having lost a piece of the true legacy. LDS leaders saw RLDS as lacking the keys and temple ordinances; RLDS leaders saw LDS as lacking the authentic lineal prophet and original purity of doctrine (especially regarding polygamy).
Communitarian economic experiments and certain radical social ideas did not carry through in the long run. While Brigham Young’s people attempted a United Order communal system in the 1870s and practiced extensive economic cooperation, eventually private property and a tithing-based system prevailed. The Rigdon/Bickerton faction had tried “all things common” in the 1840s and it quickly collapsed. In effect, no branch of Mormonism truly realized the full communal Law of Consecration as a permanent order – that early ideal was largely postponed or spiritualized in LDS doctrine.
Some “folk” elements and extracanonical projects of Joseph Smith were abandoned. For instance, Joseph’s ventures into treasure seeking and magical parchments, his plans to create an elaborate theocracy spanning the American continent, even his translation projects (like the unfinished translation of the Bible, or the promised records like the Book of Joseph) – much of this was left aside by Brigham’s pragmatic leadership. The Utah church focused on survival, settlement, and creating a cohesive religious community under often hostile conditions (Utah War with the U.S. Army in 1857, etc.). In doing so, Young had to temper some of the more fantastical or dangerous pursuits that Joseph might have entertained. For example, the Council of Fifty (Joseph’s would-be shadow government) met for a while in Utah but never achieved the grand political kingdom Joseph had imagined; it eventually fell into obscurity. The alchemical metaphor of a literal “refiner’s fire” transmuting society into Zion became, under Brigham, a more practical molding of a hardworking, if insular, society in the mountains.
Finally, the voices and claims of the “other Mormons” in 1844 – 47 tell us what Brigham’s LDS Church chose to let go. Sidney Rigdon’s brief church hearkened back to primitive Christian simplicity – effectively rejecting the newest revelations and polygamy. James J. Strang’s movement craved ongoing prophetic spectacle – implying Young’s leadership was spiritually stiff by comparison if it lacked new scripture. The fact that most Latter-day Saints still followed Brigham Young indicates that the majority were willing to sacrifice some of the highly esoteric or idiosyncratic elements in exchange for stability and authoritative continuity. Those who felt something precious was lost (be it communalism, Joseph’s dynastic line, or a true prophetic voice) left to preserve those in separate sects. Each of those sects (Rigdonite, Strangite, Cutlerite, Whitmerite, later RLDS, etc.) carried fragments of early Mormonism’s ethos – but generally on a smaller scale that dwindled over time.
Meanwhile, Brigham Young’s church forged ahead with the “refined” Nauvoo doctrines that did survive. As one LDS historian observed, the new dogmas introduced in Nauvoo – temple ordinances, eternal marriage and family, a broadened concept of God and exaltation, and claims of ongoing revelation and priesthood authority – “though refined over time, remained” central in the Utah LDS Church. Thus, Mormonism under Brigham Young became less of a folk-magic cult and more of a distinctive organized religion. The **occult threads were trimmed, the institutional structure solidified, and the church presented itself as the heir of Joseph’s prophetic mantle – even as it quietly set aside some of Joseph’s more unorthodox personal practices.
FAQ #
Q 1. How did Brigham Young justify his claim to lead without producing new scripture?
A. He taught that Joseph Smith had already bestowed all priesthood keys on the Twelve, so authority—not fresh revelation—was paramount; later dissenters like Strang branded this a spiritual “shutdown” but most Saints accepted the trade‑off for stability.
Q 2. Which core Nauvoo doctrines survive in modern LDS practice?
A. Temple endowment and sealing rites, baptism for the dead, belief in exaltation (humans becoming gods), and the idea of an open canon via living prophets—all hallmarks rooted in Joseph Smith’s late teachings that Brigham Young protected.
Footnotes#
Sources#
- Quinn, D. Michael. Early Mormonism and the Magic World View. Signature Books, 1998. https://signaturebooks.com/product/early-mormonism-and-the-magic-world-view/
- Brooke, John L. The Refiner’s Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844. Cambridge University Press, 1994. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/refiners-fire/3F96E26ED421178AAA4364E0CC6C7140
- Homer, Michael W. Joseph’s Temples: The Dynamic Relationship Between Freemasonry and Mormonism. University of Utah Press, 2014. https://uofupress.lib.utah.edu/josephs-temples/
- Launius, Roger D. “The Succession Crisis of 1844.” BYU Studies 32, no. 1 (1992): 27-44. https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/the-succession-crisis-of-1844/
- Hamer, John. Interview on Mormon Schisms. Gospel Tangents Podcast, 2022. https://gospeltangents.com/2022/05/mormon-schisms/
- Van Wagoner, Richard S. Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess. Signature Books, 1994. https://signaturebooks.com/product/sidney-rigdon/
- Compton, Todd. In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith. Signature Books, 1997. https://signaturebooks.com/product/in-sacred-loneliness/