Early Membership
Jason W. Briggs was born on June 25, 1821 in Pompey, New York. In 1841 at Potosi, Wisconsin he was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by William O. Clark. By 1842, Briggs had been ordained an elder of the church and he organized and became the head of a branch in Beloit, Wisconsin. By 1843, Briggs had organized a second branch in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
In 1844, the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., was assassinated and a succession crisis ensued. Brigham Young, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles assumed control of the church's headquarters in Nauvoo, Illinois. Briggs became convinced that Young's organization had fallen into apostasy and by 1846 he and his branches affiliated with James J. Strang who had organized a new church headquarters in nearby Voree, Wisconsin.
Briggs was a fervent opponent of polygamy, and when Strang began to practice plural marriage openly, Briggs broke with his organization. He affiliated briefly with William Smith's organization of the church before learning that William, too, had been practicing plural marriage.
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