James Jesse Strang
| James J. Strang | |
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James Strang in 1856 daguerreotype photograph
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| Founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) | |
| ca. June 1844 – July 9, 1856 | |
| Predecessor | Joseph Smith |
| Successor | No successor to date |
| Member of the Michigan House of Representatives | |
| In office | |
| 1853 – July 9, 1856 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Jesse Strang March 21, 1813 Scipio, New York, United States |
| Died | July 9, 1856 (aged 43) Voree, Wisconsin, United States |
| Cause of death | gunshot wound |
| Resting place | Burlington Cemetery 42°40′59.16″N 88°15′30.96″W / 42.6831000°N 88.2586000°W |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Perce, Elvira Field, Betsy McNutt, Sarah Wright, and Phoebe Wright |
| Children | Myraette, Mary Strang II, William, Hattie, Charles, Eva, Clement, James Jesse Strang II, Evangeline, David, Gabriel, James Strang, Eugenia |
| Parents | Clement Strang Abigaile James |
James Jesse Strang (March 21, 1813 – July 9, 1856) was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch.
In 1844 he founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), a faction of the Latter Day Saint movement that he claimed to be the sole legitimate continuation of the Church of Christ founded by Joseph Smith fourteen years before.
A major contender for leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints during the 1844 succession crisis following Smith's murder, Strang made overtures to other prominent LDS leaders like Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon and all of the other church leaders to remain in their offices and support Strang's alleged appointment by Joseph Smith. However, most rejected the appointment, leading Strang to establish his own church.
During his 12 years serving as Prophet, Seer and Revelator of his church, Strang reigned for six years as the crowned "king" of an ecclesiastical monarchy that he established on Beaver Island in the US state of Michigan. Building an organization that eventually rivaled Young's in Utah, Strang gained nearly 12,000 adherents. After Strang was killed in 1856 most of his followers rallied under Joseph Smith III and formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A few hundred Strangites remain in Wisconsin.
Similar to Joseph Smith, who was allegedly crowned King in Nauvoo prior to his death, Strang taught that the chief prophetic office embodied an overtly royal attribute. This its occupant was to be not only the spiritual leader of his people, but their temporal king as well. He offered a sophisticated set of teachings that differed in many significant aspects from any other version of Mormonism. Like Smith, Strang published translations of two purportedly ancient lost works: the Voree Record, deciphered from three metal plates reportedly unearthed in response to a vision; and the Book of the Law of the Lord, supposedly transcribed from the Plates of Laban mentioned in the Book of Mormon. These are accepted as scripture by his followers, but not by any other Latter Day Saint church. Although his long-term doctrinal influence on the Latter Day Saint movement was minimal, several early members of Strang's organization helped to establish the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which became (and remains) the second-largest Mormon sect. While most of Strang's followers eventually disavowed him due to the scandal surrounding polygamy, a small but devout remnant continues to carry on his teachings and organization today.
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