50 Facts About James Strang

James Jesse Strang was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch.

James Strang served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 1853 until his assassination.

James Strang testified that he had possession of a letter from Smith naming him as his successor, and furthermore reported that he had been ordained to the prophetic office by an angel.

James Strang's followers believe his organization to be the sole legitimate continuation of the Church of Christ founded by Smith fourteen years before.

Similar to Joseph Smith, who was alleged by church opponent William Marks to have been crowned King in Nauvoo prior to his death, James Strang taught that the chief prophetic office embodied an overtly royal attribute.

James Strang offered a sophisticated set of teachings that differed in many significant aspects from any other version of Mormonism, including that preached by Smith.

James Strang was at various times an attorney, educator, temperance lecturer, newspaper editor, Baptist minister, correspondent for the New York Tribune, and amateur scientist.

James Jesse Strang was born March 21,1813, in Scipio, Cayuga County, New York.

James Strang was the second of three children, and his parents had a good reputation in their community.

James Strang's mother was very tender with him as a consequence of delicate health, yet she required him to render an account of all his actions and words while absent from her.

However, James Strang's diary reveals a heartfelt desire to be of service to his fellow man, together with agonized frustration at not knowing how he might do so as a penniless, unknown youth from upstate New York.

James Strang did not wish to follow his father's calling as a farmer, so he took up the study of law.

James Strang was admitted to the bar in New York at age 23 and later at other places where he resided.

James Strang became county Postmaster and edited a local newspaper, the Randolph Herald.

James Strang quickly found favor with Joseph Smith, though they had known each other only a short time, and was baptized personally by him on February 25,1844.

James Strang equally asserted that the Twelve had no right to sit in judgment on him, as he was the lawful church president.

James Strang began to attract several Mormon luminaries to his side, including Smith's brother William Smith, Smith's mother Lucy Mack Smith, and William Marks, president of the Nauvoo Stake.

James Strang rested his claim to leadership on an ordination by an angel at the very moment Joseph Smith died, requirements that he claimed were set forth in the Doctrine and Covenants that the President had to be appointed by revelation and ordained by angels, and a "Letter of Appointment" from Smith, carrying a legitimate Nauvoo postmark.

James Strang's letter convinced several eminent Mormons of his claims, including Book of Mormon witnesses John and David Whitmer, Martin Harris, and Hiram Page.

James Strang's "order" fell by the wayside and has no role in Strangism today, though it did lead to conflict between Strang and some of his associates.

James Strang's church had a high turnover rate, with many of his initial adherents, including all of those listed above, leaving the church before his demise.

Vehemently opposed to the practice at first, James Strang reversed course in 1849 and became one of its strongest advocates, marrying five wives and fathering fourteen children.

James Strang defended his new tenet by claiming that, far from enslaving or demeaning women, polygamy would liberate and "elevate" them by allowing them to choose the best possible mate based upon any factors which were deemed important by them.

Unlike Smith James Strang offered his plates to the public for examination.

James Strang claimed to have translated a portion of the "Plates of Laban" described in the Book of Mormon.

James Strang received several other revelations, which while never formally added to his church's Doctrine and Covenants, are nevertheless accepted as scripture by his followers.

James Strang authored The Diamond, an attack on the claims of Sidney Rigdon and Brigham Young, and The Prophetic Controversy, ostensibly for Mrs Martha Coray, co-author with Lucy Mack Smith of The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother.

Coray, a partisan of Brigham Young's, had challenged "the vain usurper" to provide convincing evidence of his claims, and James Strang obliged in this open letter addressed to her.

Some of James Strang's teachings differed substantially from those of other Latter Day Saint leaders, including Joseph Smith.

In essence, James Strang claimed that the earthly Christ was "adopted" as God's son at birth, and he was fully revealed to be such during the Transfiguration.

Furthermore, James Strang denied the belief that God could do all things, and he insisted that some things were as impossible for Him as for us.

Musing at length on the nature of sin and evil, James Strang wrote that of all of the things that God could give to man, He could never give him experience.

James Strang advocated baptism for the dead, and practiced it to a limited extent in Voree as well as on Beaver Island.

James Strang attempted to construct a temple in Voree, but he was prevented from completing its construction due to the poverty and lack of cooperation which existed among his followers.

Eternal marriage formed a part of James Strang's teaching, but he did not require it to be performed in a temple.

James Strang allowed women to hold the Priesthood offices of Priest and Teacher, unique among all Latter Day Saint factions during his lifetime.

James Strang welcomed African Americans into his church, and he ordained at least two of them to its eldership.

James Strang mandated the conservation of land and resources, requiring the building of parks and the retention of large forests in his kingdom.

James Strang wrote an eloquent refutation of the "Solomon Spalding theory" of the Book of Mormon's authorship, and defended the ministry and teachings of Joseph Smith.

James Strang claimed that he was required to occupy the office of king as it is described in the Book of the Law of the Lord.

James Strang insisted that this authority was incumbent upon all holders of the prophetic office from the beginning of time, in similar fashion to Smith, who was secretly crowned as "king" of the Kingdom of God before his murder.

James Strang never claimed to be the king of Beaver Island itself, nor did he claim to be the king of any other geographical entity.

On July 4,1850, a drunken mob of fishermen vowed to kill the "Mormons" or drive them out, only to be awed into submission when James Strang fired a cannon at them.

James Strang was brought to trial in Detroit, Michigan, after President Millard Fillmore ordered US District Attorney George Bates to investigate the rumors about Strang and his colony.

James Strang ardently fought the illegal practice of trading liquor to local Native American tribes due to the common practice of selling them diluted liquor mixed with various contaminants at a high price.

James Strang refused to employ a bodyguard or carry a firearm or any other type of weapon.

On Monday, June 16,1856, Strang was waylaid around 7:00 PM on the dock at the harbor of St James, the chief city on Beaver Island, by Wentworth and Bedford, who shot him in the back.

James Strang was hit three times: one bullet grazed his head, another bullet lodged in his cheek and a third bullet lodged in his spine, paralyzing him from the waist down.

James Strang refused to appoint a successor, telling his apostles to take care of their families as best they could, and await divine instruction.

Consequently, James Strang's church has continued to dwindle until the present day.