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If a direct blood descendent of Joseph Smith were a faithful member of the LDS church would he have any greater claim to leadership positions in the church then the rest of the male members?
Do we still believe D&C 86:8-10

8.Therefore, thus saith the Lord unto you, with whom the priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers—

9.For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God—

10.Therefore your life and the priesthood have remained, and must needs remain through you and your lineage until the restoration of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began.

Aren't all of his blood descendents part of the Community of Christ/RLDS?

Any hereditary positions or titles are merely a way of extending privileges on a generational basis. Trying to tie this into religious matters is the work of Man and not of God. Besides religious positions, Man has worked this concept into the secular arena as well, till you end up with someone like this:

moksha wrote:Any hereditary positions or titles are merely a way of extending privileges on a generational basis. Trying to tie this into religious matters is the work of Man and not of God. Besides religious positions, Man has worked this concept into the secular arena as well, till you end up with someone like this:

What then does the phrase "For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh". Seems like this is talking about Joseph Smith specifically.

Fence Sitter wrote:

moksha wrote:Any hereditary positions or titles are merely a way of extending privileges on a generational basis. Trying to tie this into religious matters is the work of Man and not of God. Besides religious positions, Man has worked this concept into the secular arena as well, till you end up with someone like this:

What then does the phrase "For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh". Seems like this is talking about Joseph Smith specifically.

It helps to remember who wrote that. And his definition of "lawful".

harmony wrote: It helps to remember who wrote that. And his definition of "lawful".

I believe Joseph Smith wrote it or dictated it. Would you explain more on your 'lawful' comment?

Thanks Harmony.

Fence Sitter wrote:

moksha wrote:Any hereditary positions or titles are merely a way of extending privileges on a generational basis. Trying to tie this into religious matters is the work of Man and not of God. Besides religious positions, Man has worked this concept into the secular arena as well, till you end up with someone like this:

What then does the phrase "For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh". Seems like this is talking about Joseph Smith specifically.

Lawful heirs, meaning that they are heirs of the priesthood through the lineage of Israel.

Okay but is a lawful heir specific to Joseph Smith lineage in this verse?

Brigham Young said “Joseph Smith was entitled to the Keys of the Priesthood according to Blood”. I think that Brigham Young tried to convince Joseph Smith III to come to Salt Lake to assume a leadership role and I think that William Smith made similar claims to a right to run the church after his brother died.

I think we should demand the pure blood of the Smiths on the throne of Mormon Church, which means we might be lucky enough to have a ruler like this one:



Check out all of the benefits:

Charles II was plagued with it so severely, eating was difficult and his tongue was said to be too big for his mouth, resulting in a drooling and incoherent monarch. Add to this the hallucinations, convulsive episodes, and edemas and you have a melting pot of problems stemming from marriages that, over 200 years, were often between first cousins or uncles and nieces.

Wait a second...

Fence Sitter wrote:Okay but is a lawful heir specific to Joseph Smith lineage in this verse?

No, it was said Joseph was of Ephraim and Jesse (i.e. right to establish a kingdom).

Brigham Young said “Joseph Smith was entitled to the Keys of the Priesthood according to Blood”. I think that Brigham Young tried to convince Joseph Smith III to come to Salt Lake to assume a leadership role and I think that William Smith made similar claims to a right to run the church after his brother died.

He was.