Who succeeded Joseph smith to the Mormon church?

Answer 1

The vast majority of the followers of Joseph Smith believed that Brigham Young was his successor. Today about 15 million people believe that Brigham Young was appointed by God to be Joseph Smith's successor. They are the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) and a handful of offshoot branches.

Another group thought that Joseph Smith's young son, Joseph Smith III, should be the successor. There are about 500,000 people today who believe Joseph Smith III was Joseph Smith's successor. They are members of the Community of Christ and a handful of offshoot branches.

A third group believed that James Strang was appointed by God to be Joseph Smith's successor. There are about 300 people today who adhere to this belief; they are often called "Strangites".

Answer 2

Most of Joseph Smith's followers believed that Brigham Young was his successor. However, there were some that did not follow Brigham Young. Some believed that Joseph Smith's young son Joseph Smith III should be the successor, this group called themselves the "Reorganized Church" and is now known as the "Community of Christ". A smaller group believed that James Strang should be Joseph's successor. These groups refer to each other as the "Brighamites" the "Josephites", and the "Strangites" and despite their common early history, sometimes do not get along very well today.

Today, there are about 15 million Mormons who believe that Joseph's successor was Brigham Young. This includes the 14.5 million members of the mainstream Mormon church as well as the estimated 0.5 million that belong to breakaway polygamist sects. There are about 300,000 who believe that Joseph Smith III was the rightful successor, and about 300 who believe that James Strang was the rightful successor.

Answer 3

It depends on which church you belong to or believe in. After Joseph Smith died, his followers disagreed about who should replace him. The vast majority believed that it should be Brigham Young, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Those who followed Brigham Young moved to Utah and today are the 14 million member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Others believed that it should be Joseph Smith's son, Joseph Smith III. They eventually settled in Missouri and are now called the Community of Christ. Others believed that it should be Sidney Rigdon, a prominent Mormon preacher, and still others believed it should be James Jesse Strang, a recent convert from Michigan. These men also formed their own groups and still claim several hundred followers today.

Answer 4

After Joseph Smith was murdered, there was a lot of confusion as to who, if anyone, would be the next leader of the church. This time is often called the "Succession Crisis" in Mormon history. On top of the fact that it was unclear who should lead the church, the Mormons were facing being kicked out of their homes yet again, and were rushing to finish the temple in Nauvoo before they would have to leave the state.

Most Mormons ended up following Brigham Young, who was a very prominent leader and the President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. This is the group that traveled west to Utah, and is now the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. "Mormons") with a membership of over 15 million.

Other Mormons, including most of Joseph Smith's family, did not follow Brigham Young. Some were too feeble for the trek west. Others wished to stay near where Joseph was buried, and others simply didn't like Brigham Young. Many of these thought that the rightful heir of the church should be Joseph Smith's son, Joseph Smith III. This group eventually formed what is now the Community of Christ(formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) based in Missouri with a membership of 250,000.

Some Mormons believed the claim of a fairly new convert, James Strang, who said that Joseph had declared him the rightful successor. Many of his followers moved to Wisconsin, and there are a few hundred "Strangites" today. (websites for various Strangite groups are here, here, and here)

Others who took leadership during the succession crisis include Granville Hendrick (Church of Christ, Temple Lot in Missouri- 7,500 members), Sidney Rigdon and William Bickerton (Church of Jesus Christ in Pennsylvania - 20,000 members), and Alpheus Cutler (Church of Christ, Cutlerite in Missouri - 10-20 members)

Answer 5

There was a little bit of a succession crisis, but the majority of members followed Brigham Young, who was the senior Apostle.

Answer 6

the next prophet called by God. Brigham Young