The immediate aftermath of the tragic murders of Joseph and Hiram Smith in 1844 was marked by shock and grief within the church.

And in the weeks that followed, an ecclesiastical crisis arose

concerning who should be Joseph Smith's successor

as president of the church.

As it turns out, Joseph Smith had never publicly and unambiguously designated a clear

successor to the presidency of the church.

And confusion arose not because Joseph had never addressed the of the

church and confusion arose not because Joseph had never addressed the issue directly

but because of the fact that he had made several statements at various times

which seemed to open up multiple succession options, eight to be exact.

In today's episode of Church History Matters, we'll walk through the eight possible

succession paths that were either explicitly laid out by Joseph Smith or were viewed as entirely plausible based on certain interpretations of statements Joseph made or actions he took.

In addition to being historically interesting, these eight plausible paths help us understand

why succession in the presidency wasn't immediately cut and dry in the minds of many church

members in 1844, and helps us understand the basis on which

several other branches of the restoration exist today outside of the one initially led by

Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

I'm Scott Woodward, a managing by Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

I'm Scott Woodward, a managing director at Scripture Central,

and my co-host is Casey Griffiths,

also a managing director at Scripture Central.

And today Casey and I dive into our first episode in this series on

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