How Mormonism Evolved After Joseph Smith's Death in 1844

When Joseph Smith died, Mormonism fractured into competing churches and faced a crisis of succession that shaped the faith for generations.

By Garret Merkley · Explainer · Jun 8, 2026

Branched from The Origins of Mormonism: A Brief History

Quick take

Smith's death in 1844 triggered a succession crisis; Brigham Young led the majority to Utah and built a theocratic empire.
The church split into at least three major branches, each claiming Smith's true legacy.
Polygamy became central to Mormon theology under Young but later abandoned under federal pressure.
The Utah church evolved from isolated theocracy to mainstream American denomination over 150+ years.

When Joseph Smith was killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, in June 1844, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faced an existential crisis: no clear successor, no written line of succession, and a fractured membership scattered across the Midwest. Within months, the church splintered into competing organizations, each claiming to represent Smith's true vision. The largest group followed Brigham Young westward to Utah, where they built a self-contained religious society. Smaller factions remained in the Midwest or broke away entirely. The next 150 years saw the Utah church navigate polygamy, federal persecution, cultural isolation, and eventual mainstream integration—a transformation that fundamentally reshaped what Mormonism became.

The Succession Crisis and the Great Schism

Smith had never formally named a successor, and several leaders immediately claimed authority. Brigham Young, the senior apostle, argued that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles should lead collectively. Sidney Rigdon, Smith's counselor, insisted he should be the guardian of the church. James Strang, a convert in Wisconsin, produced what he claimed was a letter from Smith naming him as successor. Emma Smith, Joseph's widow, remained in Nauvoo with her children and supported a different vision. By 1852, at least three major branches had crystallized: Young's Utah church (the largest), the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, which became the Community of Christ), and Strang's short-lived kingdom in Michigan. Dozens of smaller groups also emerged, each interpreting Smith's teachings differently.

Brigham Young's Utah Experiment: Theocracy and Polygamy

Brigham Young proved to be a masterful organizer and leader. In 1847, he led roughly 12,000 followers across the Great Plains to the Salt Lake Valley, a remote region then outside U.S. control. There, Young built a theocratic society where the church controlled land distribution, commerce, and politics. He served as territorial governor and spiritual leader simultaneously. Young also made a fateful theological decision: he publicly announced that Smith had secretly practiced polygamy and that it was a divine principle essential to salvation. By the 1850s, polygamy became a defining feature of Utah Mormonism, with Young himself taking 55 wives. This practice, though rooted in Smith's private teachings, became the flashpoint between the Utah church and American society.

Federal pressure against polygamy mounted after the Civil War. Congress passed the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act (1862) and subsequent laws that threatened church property and membership rights. Young resisted for decades, but by the 1880s, the church faced financial ruin and legal siege. In 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto, officially ending the practice of polygamy. This capitulation—though resisted by hardline members who continued polygamy secretly—opened the path to Utah statehood (1896) and gradual integration into mainstream America.

The RLDS Path: A Midwest Alternative

The Reorganized Church, centered in Missouri and Illinois, took a different trajectory. Emma Smith and her sons, particularly Joseph Smith III (who became president in 1860), rejected polygamy and many of Young's innovations. The RLDS maintained that Smith's original teachings, as recorded in early documents, did not include plural marriage. They also rejected the Utah church's claim that Smith had secretly ordained Young as his successor. The RLDS remained smaller but more decentralized, eventually developing into the Community of Christ (renamed in 2001), which today ordains women and embraces progressive theology. This branch preserved an alternative Mormon identity for those uncomfortable with Utah's trajectory.

Why This Succession and Split Matters

Smith's death without a clear successor forced Mormonism to choose between competing visions of what the faith should be. Young's choice to move west and embrace polygamy created a distinctive Mormon culture that persisted for 40+ years, shaping Utah's entire social fabric. The schism meant that no single church could claim to be the unbroken continuation of Smith's movement; instead, multiple churches could each claim authenticity. This fragmentation also meant that later Mormon history—the church's relationship with the U.S. government, its theology, its place in American religion—was shaped not by Smith's intentions but by the choices of his successors. Understanding why Young's church became dominant, why polygamy took root, and why federal pressure forced abandonment of core practices reveals how historical circumstance, not doctrine alone, determines a religion's evolution.

The Three Main Branches After 1844

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Utah church, led by Brigham Young): largest group, moved west, practiced polygamy until 1890, now mainstream evangelical-adjacent denomination with ~17 million members.
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, later Community of Christ): smaller Midwest-based group, rejected polygamy, eventually embraced progressive theology and women's ordination.
Strangite Church: James Strang's short-lived kingdom in Michigan, ended after Strang's assassination in 1856; tiny remnant survives today.

From Isolation to Mainstream: The Long Integration

The Utah church's abandonment of polygamy in 1890 marked the beginning of a slow process of integration into American society. The church gradually distanced itself from Young's theocratic model, accepting separation of church and state. In the 20th century, the church invested heavily in education, business, and public relations. By the 1950s-1980s, the church had shed much of its countercultural identity and repositioned itself as a respectable, family-oriented American religion. However, this integration came with costs: some members felt the church had betrayed core teachings; fundamentalist offshoots broke away to continue polygamy; and tensions emerged between the church's conservative social positions and broader American culture. Today's LDS church is simultaneously mainstream and distinctive—a paradox rooted in the choices made after Smith's death.

Why did Brigham Young win the succession struggle when others also claimed authority?

Young held the most institutional power as senior apostle and was an exceptional organizer and orator. He also acted decisively—he didn't wait for consensus but immediately began leading the largest group westward. Sidney Rigdon lacked Young's charisma and organizational skill. James Strang's claim was geographically isolated in Michigan. Emma Smith, though respected, faced resistance from male church leaders who didn't accept female leadership. Young's practical success in organizing the exodus to Utah cemented his authority.

Did Joseph Smith actually practice polygamy, or did Brigham Young invent it?

Historical evidence, including contemporary journals and legal documents, shows Smith did practice polygamy in secret during the 1830s-1840s, though he publicly denied it. Young inherited this practice but made it central to theology and public policy in Utah, which Smith had not done. So both are true: Smith initiated it, Young institutionalized it.

Why did the church abandon polygamy so suddenly in 1890?

It wasn't sudden—the pressure built for 30 years. But by 1890, the church faced financial collapse (federal seizure of property), loss of voting rights for members, and criminal prosecution of leaders. The Manifesto was a pragmatic surrender to overwhelming federal power, not a theological revelation. Many members resisted and continued practicing polygamy secretly for decades.

Is the Community of Christ the same as the LDS church?

No. They share common roots in Joseph Smith but diverged after his death. The Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) rejected polygamy, embraced progressive theology, ordains women and LGBTQ+ members, and is much smaller (~250,000 members). The LDS church is conservative, much larger (~17 million), and only recently began softening positions on LGBTQ+ issues. They are distinct denominations with different histories and beliefs.

Could the church have stayed unified if Smith had named a successor?

Possibly, but not certainly. A named successor would have reduced immediate jockeying, but deep theological disagreements existed even in Smith's lifetime. The question of whether to practice polygamy openly, whether to seek political power, and how to interpret Smith's teachings would have surfaced regardless. The lack of succession clarity accelerated the split but didn't create the underlying tensions.

Sources

Brigham Young served as president of the LDS church from 1847 to 1877 and led the westward migration of approximately 12,000 followers beginning in 1847.
The Manifesto of 1890, issued by church president Wilford Woodruff, officially discontinued the practice of polygamy in response to federal legal and financial pressure.
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), founded in 1860 under Joseph Smith III's leadership, rejected polygamy and developed separately from the Utah-based LDS church.
The LDS church claims approximately 17 million members today, while the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) has roughly 250,000 members.