SECTION
144
On
May 28, 1952, President Israel A. Smith prepared and signed the
following statement and placed it in the hands of his counselor,
Elder F. Henry Edwards. After the death of President Smith on June
14, 1958, this document was brought to the attention of the Council
of Twelve and other general church officers, and at the World
Conference of 1958 it was unanimously approved by the quorums and
orders of the priesthood and by the Conference assembly. The
Conference ordered its insertion in the Doctrine and Covenants.
Elder
William Wallace Smith was ordained as President of the High
Priesthood and prophet, see, and revelator to the church at the
Auditorium at Independence, Missouri, on October 6, 1958.
To
the church and to the Council of Twelve Apostles:
1. As
I am about to go overseas and realize the usual hazards of travel,
and being ever conscious of the uncertainties of life and the
certainty of death, and in order that my demise, whether soon or
longer postponed, may not cause confusion, I hereby declare that in
the event of my death, whenever it shall occur, my brother, William
Wallace Smith, should be selected to succeed me as president of the
high priesthood of the church, this having been manifested to me by
the Lord at the time he was chosen and set apart as an apostle and
again when he was called to be a counselor and member of the Quorum
of the First Presidency, at the General Conference of 1950.
2. I
feel at liberty to make this appointment at this time because he has
become better acquainted with the members since he was called in 1947
and has proved himself to the body.
3.
This action is taken by me pursuant to the authority vested in me by
the terms of Section 43 of the book of Doctrine and Covenants, in
connection with other references in the law, notably paragraph 8 of
Section 127, all as interpreted by my father, the late President
Joseph Smith, in the Saints’ Herald of March 12, 1912, and all of
which I believe is in complete harmony with precedents established by
the church in General Conferences of 1860, 1915, and 1946.
(Signed)
Israel A. Smith
Witnessed
this 28th day of May, 1952
F.
Henry Edwards
G.
Leslie Delapp
