Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints)

The succession crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement occurred after the killing of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, on June 27, 1844.

For roughly six months after Smith's death, several people competed to take over his role, the leading contenders being Sidney Rigdon, Brigham Young, and James Strang.^[1] The majority of the Latter Day Saint movement elected to follow Young's leadership, which eventually resulted in the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), but several smaller Latter Day Saint churches emerged from the succession crisis. This significant event in early Latter Day Saint history precipitated several permanent schisms.