Book of the Law of the Lord

It is alleged to be a translation by the Strangite prophet James Strang of the brass Plates of Laban, which were originally acquired by Nephi, a leading figure in the early portion of the Book of Mormon.

[2] James J. Strang was a lawyer and newspaper editor from New York who converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1844.

Strang was one of three individuals who claimed the leadership role after Smith's death, but as a recent convert he did not possess the name recognition among rank-and-file Mormons held by his rivals Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon.

This was presented as the final testament of Rajah Manchou of Vorito, an ancient inhabitant of the area, engraved on three brass plates that Strang dug up near Voree, Wisconsin.

However, "when the Septuagint translation was made, the Book of the Law was kept back, and ... lost to the Jewish nation in the time that they were subject to foreign powers."

Strang did not claim that his 1851 edition was the complete Book of the Law mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures, but rather that it contained only selections that were pertinent for running the church and kingdom in the modern era.

[5] While other Latter Day Saint sects generally view the "Stick of Judah" as the Canonical Bible, Strangites assert that it refers primarily to this lost book.

LDS Church apologist Daniel C. Peterson claims, without citing a source, that Samuel Graham admitted to helping Strang fabricate the plates.

[12] Hearsay testimonies were commonly asserted to discredit the leaders of rival churches, including both James Strang and Joseph Smith.

In addition, Chauncy Loomis, in an 1888 letter to Joseph Smith III, reported that Samuel Bacon discovered "fragments of those plates which Strang made the Book of the Law from" hidden in the ceiling of Strang's house, prompting Bacon to immediately relocate off Beaver Island and abandon the Strangite church.

[13] However, there are no journal entries, letters, or any other corroborating witnesses to support this claim, and Loomis did not tell anyone for over 30 years, casting further doubt on the story.

Additionally, when Strang died, the Mormons' enemies from nearby Mackinac forced the Saints to leave Beaver Island and moved into their houses, and no one ever reported finding plate fragments during subsequent renovations.

The first edition of 1851 contained only eighty pages and consisted of material translated directly from the Plates of Laban, with five exceptions: three revelations given to Strang, and two sections written "by inspiration of God.

[17] Both editions of the Book of the Law are dated according to the year of Strang's reign, he having been crowned "king" of his church on Beaver Island in 1850.

[35] Although Strang briefly enjoyed the services of apostle William Smith as "Chief Patriarch" of his church,[36] he makes no mention of this office anywhere in his book.

[37] Strang's rendering is different from any other Jewish, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Islamic or Protestant version, for it offers a commandment none of the others has: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

He insisted that there was but one eternal God, the Father, and that progression to godhood, a doctrine taught by Joseph Smith in the King Follett sermon, was impossible.

[49] Jesus Christ, said Strang, was the natural-born son of Mary and Joseph, who was chosen from before all time to be the Savior of mankind, but who had to be born as an ordinary mortal of two human parents (rather than being begotten by the Father or the Holy Spirit) to be able to truly fulfill his Messianic role.

[51] After proving himself to God by living a perfectly sinless life, he was enabled to provide an acceptable sacrifice for the sins of men, prior to his resurrection and ascension.

[53] Thus, he saw no essential conflict between science and religion, and while he never openly championed evolution, he did state that God was limited in his power by both the matter he was working with and by the eons of time required to "organize" and shape it.

"[64] "Maledictions" are also to be performed by Strangite leaders upon "hereticks, schismaticks, and those guilty of gross and abominable immoralities, and acts of great cruelty and wickedness."

[sic][65] The Strangite practice of "maledictions" is comparable to the "anathemas" pronounced in the New Testament and by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.

"[69] The Book of the Law sanctions marriage only between persons who are not impotent, deformed, of reduced stature ("a dwarf"),[70] or mentally handicapped.

Strangites did not approve of having more wives than a man could provide for, both monetarily and in time and affection, thus they disapproved of the practices of the LDS Church.