"This compilation of groundbreaking articles about succession in the presidency after Joseph Smith’s death is selected from over fifty years of LDS scholarship published by BYU Studies. This volume features articles on succession in Church leadership, the passing of the mantle from Joseph to Brigham, two years of hostility and distrust after the Martyrdom, a declaration of the Twelve regarding Apostolic succession, and a review of a book on the subject. Contents “The Mormon Succession Crisis of 1844” by D. Michael Quinn “Joseph, Brigham and the Twelve: A Succession of Continuity” by Ronald K. Esplin “‘I Roll the Burthen and Responsibility of Leading This Church Off from My Shoulders on to Yours’: The 1844/1845 Declaration of the Quorum of the Twelve Regarding Apostolic Succession” by Alexander L. Baugh and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel “The Mantle of the Prophet Joseph Passes to Brother Brigham: A Collective Spiritual Witness” by Lynne W. Jorgensen “From Assassination to Expulsion: Two Years of Distrust, Hostility, and Violence” by Marshall Hamilton Review of Succession in the Church by Reed C. Durham Jr. and Steven H. Heath, reviewed by Duane E. Jeffrey "