well as in modern times by historian D. Michael Quinn. The 1844 succession At the time of his death, Smith thus held several roles: "Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Translator," "President of the Church," "President of the First Presidency," and "Trustee-in-Trust" of the Church. It was unclear if all of these offices should be held together by any one successor and it was less than explicit who such a successor should be. However, a revelation of Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Christ, written in 1831 and published in 1835, designates that "three Presiding High Priests ... form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church" and "the Twelve Apostles...form a quorum, equal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned." Theoretical successors Following Smith's murder, it was not immediately clear to Latter Day Saints who would lead the Church of Christ. Hyrum Smith Contemporary statements of church leaders indicate that had Smith's brother, Hyrum, survived, he would have been the successor. Hyrum had been ordained Assistant President and Presiding Patriarch of the church, and the successor of Oliver Cowdery, who had been excommunicated. Hyrum, however, was killed in Carthage, Illinois, with Joseph. Regarding Hyrum, Brigham Young stated: "Did Joseph Smith ordain any man to take his place. He did. Who was it? It was Hyrum, but Hyrum fell a martyr before Joseph did. If Hyrum had lived he would have acted for Joseph". Samuel Smith Following the principle of lineal succession, Smith's younger brother, Samuel, was the next potential candidate in line. Sometime between June 23 and June 27, 1844, Smith reportedly stated that "if he and Hyrum were taken away, Samuel H. Smith would be his successor". However, Samuel died suddenly on July 30, 1844, just a month after Joseph and Hyrum were murdered. William Smith The last of the surviving Smith brothers, William, initially claimed the right to succeed his brothers only as Presiding Patriarch. Much later, after breaking with several Latter Day Saint factions, he exercised his own claim to the presidency of the Church of Christ, with little result. William alleged that Samuel was poisoned at the behest of Young. Young, however, denied any involvement, noting that he did not even know of Joseph Smith's death for three or four weeks afterwards, some time after Samuel's death. No physical evidence exists that suggests that Samuel was the victim of foul