Mormons and most Christians observe Sunday, the first day of the week, as a day of worship.  James Strang taught his followers, on the other hand, that they should observe a 7th day Sabbath.  It turns out that  Strang had a revelation saying the proper day of worship was the 7th day, rather than the first.  What other differences are there in Strangite belief?

Bill:  Strang would teach that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh to the first day of the week by the mission of the Catholic Church. They did it through their power and they felt they had a right to make that change.  Strang is going to teach that the Sabbath is really important to us. We should keep the Sabbath in spirit and in unity and in studying and relaxation.  It’s not a crazy interpretation meaning you’ve got to pray all day or like this. You can feed your sheep if you have to, and things like that. But the idea was, it’s a day of rest and recharging.
GT:  But it’s the seventh day as opposed to the first day.
Bill:  That’s right.
GT:  What I found really interesting from your book was the explanations why Joseph Smith didn’t keep the seventh day as opposed to the first day. Can you talk about that?
Bill:  I believe the interpretation is that Joseph Smith, in general, understood a number of things such as the sonship of Christ, Strang is going to say that he understood this or that he understood about the Sabbath.   I believe it’s in 1843, in the History of the Church, Joseph is going to say, “Some folks say I am a fallen prophet, but I say unto you, that you are not able to understand the things that you have brought forth….”  It was designated that Strang would bring forth this information a little bit in the restoration of the Book of the Law.
Historian Bill Shepard will tell us more, but the rest is available for free to our newsletter subscribers.  To subscribe, sign up at https://gospeltangents.com/newsletter and I will send you a secret link to hear the conclusion to our conversation with Bill Shepard!
Don’t miss out other conversations with Bill!
401: Strangite Teachings about Jesus
400: Martyrdom of James Strang
399: Strang’s Prophetic Role as Translator
398: Strang’s Mormon Missions
397: “The Other Mormons”-Intro to James Strang