Bennett (excommunicated by Joseph Smith). Strang's newspaper printed a statement allegedly signed by William Smith; Joseph Smith's mother, Lucy Mack Smith; and three of Joseph's sisters, certifying that "the Smith family do believe in the appointment of J. J. Strang." However, Smith's mother addressed the saints at the October 1844 General Conference and stated that she hoped all her children would accompany the saints to the West, and if they did she would go. Young then said: "We have extended the helping hand to Mother Smith. She has the best carriage in the city, and, while she lives, shall ride in it when and where she pleases". Whether she shifted her support from Young to Strang in the year following that October Conference is a matter of debate; what is certain is that she never made it to Utah, staying instead with her daughter-in-law, Emma, in Nauvoo until her death in the summer of 1856. Strang established his separate church organization in Voree, Wisconsin, and called upon the Latter Day Saints to gather there. He and his hierarchy were excommunicated by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in Nauvoo and vice versa. By 1850, Strang and most of his followers had relocated to Beaver Island, Michigan, where Strang was shot by dissenters on June 16, 1856, and died shortly thereafter. Most of his followers then joined with Joseph Smith III and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church; now called the Community of Christ). Sidney Rigdon and The Church of Jesus Christ Prior to the death of Joseph Smith, the First Presidency had made nearly all the major decisions and led the Church of Christ both naturally and spiritually. On June 1, 1841, Sidney Rigdon had been ordained by Joseph Smith as a "Prophet, Seer and Revelator"—which was one of the same ecclesiastical titles held by Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ maintains that as First Counselor to Smith, Rigdon should naturally have been the leader of the church after Smith's death. With this understanding, The Church of Jesus Christ actively opposes the opinion that the Quorum of Twelve had the right to lead the church. The position of The Church of Jesus Christ is that Rigdon should have been allowed to be what he claimed to be—a "guardian" over the church until proper proceedings could decide the next church president. The Church of Jesus