Letter of appointment (Mormonism)

The "letter of appointment" is a controversial three-page document used by James J. Strang and his adherents to prove that he was the designated successor to Joseph Smith as the prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Following Strang's murder in 1856, the letter passed through various hands until acquired by Yale University, where it currently forms a part of its Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

He was a latecomer to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, converting and being baptized and ordained by Joseph and Hyrum Smith in early 1844, both of whom were murdered by an anti-Mormon mob on June 27 of that year.

Hence, Strang, as an unknown new convert, faced an uphill battle in his quest to be recognized as the heir to Smith's prophetic mantle.

In his tract "The Diamond," Strang relates this version of events: This letter was received at Burlington by regular course of mail, coming through the distributing office at Chicago, and bears the Nauvoo postmark of June 19, the day following its date.

Next, Strang accused the members of the Quorum of the Twelve of conspiring together to suppress evidence of his appointment to the prophetic office–and even the possibility of murder: Immediately after the martyrdom of Joseph, John Taylor, Willard Richards and William W. Phelps took a kind of temporary direction of the affairs of the church, instructing the saints to wait patiently the hand of the Lord; assuring them that he had not left them without a shepherd, and that all things would be made known in due season.

On the 8th day of August, 1844, when Sidney Rigdon endeavored to obtain authority to lead the church, John P. Green, [sic] marshal of the city of Nauvoo, told them, "They need not trouble themselves about it, for Joseph had appointed one James J. Strang, who lived up north, to stand in his stead."

However, the records remained intact in the Chicago and Burlington post offices, showing that the letter was indeed mailed from Smith to Strang.

[5] Although Brigham Young quickly denounced the letter as a "wicked forgery,"[6] this did not stop two of the apostles in the Quorum of Twelve from supporting Strang,[c] together with William Marks (Nauvoo Stake president), members of Smith's family (including his sisters, mother and widow) and many others.

[8] Other critics assert that the outer sheet containing the postmark and address is of different stock[citation needed] than the first two pages, however this is disputed.

Further, the document is dated less than two months after Exhibit A and it is unlikely that the quality of the hand writing would be better so materially in that short period of time.

Despite the lack of agreement in the hand writings of exhibit A, B, and C, and possibly D, these documents were not necessarily authored by persons other than Joseph Smith.

It must also be remembered that the use of scriveners or letter writers was quite common in those early days and undoubtedly Joseph Smith, being in a position of leadership, would have access to the services of such persons.

Further authentication would require examples of printed hand writing samples from Hyrum Smith, John P. Green and Willard Richards.