James Strang

1856 daguerreotype of James Strang, taken on Beaver Island, Lake Michigan, by J. Atkyn, one of his assassins.

LDS Standard Works

James Jesse Strang (March 21, 1813 – July 9, 1856) was baptised as a member of the Church of Christ on February 24, 1844 in Nauvoo, Illinois. A few months after the murder of Joseph Smith, Jr. he was excommunicated and established a religous sect of his own where he taught that the new gathering place for the Latter Day Saints would be in Wisconsin and that he was to be their king.

After Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was murdered, there were several claimants to his role as leader and prophet of the church. Eventually, Brigham Young as the head of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles led the majority of Latter-day saints to Utah. Although Strang was a recent convert to the fourteen year-old church, several prominent Mormons, including some of Smith's family, accepted Strang's claims for a period.

Strang's group was formally called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (notice, no hyphen and the different capitalization) but Strang's church and his followers were commonly called the "Strangites". The church has its headquarters in Voree, Wisconsin, where Strang is buried.

Strang and his associates settled for several years on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, where he was pronounced king. Strang was also a lawyer, land developer, news correspondent for the New York Tribune, and a scientist for the Smithsonian Institution.

Childhood and education

James Jesse Strang was born March 21, 1813, the middle of three children, in Cayuga County, New York. He was raised as a Baptist by parents who had a good reputation. James' mother was very tender with him as a consequence of delicate health. She required him to render an account of all his actions and words while absent from her. Born Jesse James Strang, he later changed the order of his first and middle name, as he aspired to the greatness of a King and King James sounded better than King Jesse to him.

At 12 years old, Strang was baptised as a Baptist. He was known as an exceptionally intelligent child, "a dreamer of grandiose dreams—dreams of power, of royalty, and of fame" according to one biographer. He studied civil law, and was admitted to the bar in New York and other places where he resided. He became County Postmaster.

He became a Baptist minister, but joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1844. Strang quickly came into favor with Joseph Smith, though they'd known each other only a few months.

Succession as prophet

Following Smith's murder, Brigham Young, Strang, and several others claimed to be Smith's successor. A power struggle ensued, and Young eventually led the bulk of Smith's followers to Utah.

Strang's evidence for his leadership claim included a "Letter of Appointment" from Smith, postmarked a week before his death: "Nauvoo, June 19, 1844." Strang also testified that an angel appointed him as Smith's successor at about the same time Smith died; Smith and Strang were some 200 miles (320 km) apart at the time, and some witnesss reported that Strang made his announcement before news of Smith's murder was publicly available.

The letter from Smith to Strang is held at Yale University. Although the postmark and first page are legitimate, forensic analysis shows the second page—the one with text appointing Strang as Smith's successor—is of a different paper stock than the first page, suggesting it may have been forged.

The letter convinced most of Smith's family and several other prominent Mormons that Strang's claims were genuine. John Whitmer, David Whitmer, Martin Harris, Hiram Page, John E. Page, William E. McLellin, William Smith, Smith's first wife and widow, Emma Hale Smith, the sisters of Joseph Smith, William Marks, George Miller, and others, including Joseph Smith's mother, Lucy Mack Smith. Lucy wrote to Reuben Hedlock: "I am satisfied that Joseph appointed J.J. Strang. It is verily so."(ibid) According to William Smith, all of Joseph Smith's family (excepting Hyrum Smith's widow), endorsed Strang; (Palmer, 211)

In all, about 12,000 Latter-day saints accepted Strang's claims. A smaller group followed him to Beaver Island in Lake Michigan.

Most of his initial followers, including those listed above, would leave Strang's church before his death. Some eventually followed Brigham Young, but Smith's immediate family never did, and many of them formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints a few years later.

Strang led his church for 12 years.

Visions, translating from plates, and revelations

Like Joseph Smith, Strang reported numerous visions, said he translated ancient metal plates using Urim and Thummim, and again like Smith's case, several witnesses asserted they had inspected said plates and thought them genuine.

Unlike Smith, however, Strang offered his plates to the curious public for examination. C. Lantham Sholes of the "Southport Telegraph" examined the plates and the area they were said to have been uncovered. Sholes offered no opinion of the metal plates, but described Strang as "honest and earnest" and opined that Strang's followers ranked "among the most honest and intelligent men in the neighborhood."(Palmer, 209).

Strang's translation of the metal plates was transcribed by Samuel Graham, and published as Book of the Law of the Lord, said to be the original law as it was given to Moses.

Strang also translated other items, including a small plate unearthed according to directions given in a vision, and the Plates of Laban described in the Book of Mormon. He said he received a number of revelations, including his own appointment as king and continuing the plural marriage established by Smith.

Coronation as king

Strang was to fulfill the office of king as described in the Book of the Law of the Lord. He was crowned in 1850 by his counselor George J. Adams. About 300 people witnessed his inauguration to which he wore a red flannel robe with a white collar with black speckles. He also wore a tin crown, a breast plate and carried a shield and a wood scepter. He ruled for several years. He had five wives.

As a result of his coronation, Strang was accused of treason, and was brought to trial in Detroit, Michigan. His trial defense brought him considerable favorable press, which he leveraged to run for, and win, a seat on the Michigan state legislature in 1853. He was reelected to that office in 1855.

Assassination

On June 20, 1856, Strang was gunned down in front of the general store by two men. After he was shot others joined in and beat him. Many that had been members of his church had become disgruntled on account of his demand that tithing be paid to him; if a full tithe was not believed to have been paid then missionaries were sent out to the members' homes for it. The men who shot him escaped on board the USS Michigan. Several witnesses on board the ship did nothing to help Strang, who was wounded twice in the head, and once in the ribs. He lived until July 9.

Few additional facts are well-documented, but some speculate that the U.S. government played a role in his murder, as the killers were able to escape by boarding the U.S.S. Michigan.

After Strang's death

Most of the members later joined the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ, which was established four years after Strang's death.

Sources

• Palmer, Grant H, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, 2002, Signature Books, ISBN 1560851570
• Speek, Vickie Cleverley, God Has Made Us a Kingdom: James Strang and the Midwest Mormons, 2006, Signature Books, ISBN 1560851929

See also

• Kimball-Snow-Woolley Family

External links

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
• Book of the Law of the Lord, online
• Assassination of a Michigan King
• History of James Strang
• The True Faith
• The King of Beaver Island
• Michigan political biography
• Ancient and modern Michilimackinac, including an account of the controversy between Mackinac and the Mormons, book written by Strang, published in 1854

Preceded by: Joseph Smith, Jr.

President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) James J. Strang 1844–1856

No successor to date