Transcript of Succession in the Presidency of the Church
To learn more about the project or give feedback on the quality of a recording, please visit aka.ms slash audiobook. Succession. In the. Presidency of the Church. Of. Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. By Elder B. H. Roberts. Author of The Life of John Taylor. Outlines of Ecclesiastical History. The Gospel. The keys of this kingdom shall never be taken from you while thou art in the world, neither in the world to come. Nevertheless, through you shall the oracles be given to another, even to the Church, the Lord to Joseph Smith, Doc. And C. O. V. Section X. C. Salt Lake City, Utah. The Deseret News Publishing Company. 1894. Copyright applied for February 1894. Preface. The fact that many honest people in the United States and other countries are being led astray by the pretensions of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Josephite Church, as it is more commonly called, must justify the publication of this work. My desire to preserve from error those not acquainted with the order of the priesthood of and the facts of Church history in the great dispensation of the last days, has been the incentive which prompted me to write it. Moreover, though the facts of Church history which of themselves disprove the claims of the Josephite Church, are abundant, yet are they scattered through the Church works in such a manner as to make it exceedingly difficult for the elders of the Church to consult them. And therefore, the writer believes he is doing a service to those elders who are and shall be engaged in the ministry, especially to those who travel in the localities where they will come in contact with Josephite. Pretensions. By publishing this treatise on the succession in the presidency of the Church. I have endeavored to treat the theme on as broad a basis as possible, and have avoided technical disputes with our opponents, which only serve to burden the subject with matter that is not only profitable in itself, but wearying to the patience of the reader. Nor does the successful issue of our argument demand that we stop to contend over every error, either in history or argument, made by. Josephites. Did we attempt it? Our task would be endless. An attorney being called upon to explain why his absent client should not be punished for contempt of court, told the judge he could assign several good reasons for the absence of his client, reasons which he hoped and believed would clear him, even in the opinion of the judge, of any intention to treat the court with disrespect. You may name them, gruffly said the judge. Well, then, your honor, in the first place my client is dead, and in the second place, never mind you're in the second place, said the judge. If the man is dead that is sufficient, the court dismisses the case. So with this controversy, there being a few leading facts of Church