Posted on 01/17/2007 6:19:25 PM PST by Utah Binger
Vern G. Swanson, longtime director of the Springville Museum of Art, knows some readers will think he's crazy. Others will be intrigued, and still others may be offended. That's because Swanson has written a provocative new book theorizing that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene, that they bore children and that LDS Church founder Joseph Smith was their direct descendant. Swanson also suggests that this heavenly birthright gave Smith spiritual authority as a prophet and affirms the historical legitimacy of the LDS Church.
Titled Dynasty of the Holy Grail: Mormonism's Sacred Bloodline, the book was published in November by Cedar Fort, a Springville-based publisher. The scholarly 540-page tome hasn't yet attracted much attention beyond Utah, but Swanson believes his topic will eventually reach a large audience of Mormons, Holy Grail theorists, and fans of The Da Vinci Code book and movie. Of course, many books have speculated about a secret Jesus bloodline - especially since Dan Brown's best-selling novel was published in 2003. But few were written by active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And until now, none has proposed that Joseph Smith and other LDS Church leaders can trace their lineage back some 75 generations to Christ. "My book is the first that really examines the Mormon position thoroughly . . . and is willing to raise new questions," said Swanson, adding, "Not everyone is happy with the central premise." Swanson's theories on Christ's bloodline are not shared by the LDS Church.
"In the mid-1800s, the belief that Christ was married was held by those of many faiths, including some early LDS Church leaders," said church spokesman Dale Bills last week. "However, the belief has never been official church doctrine, nor is it taught as doctrine by the church today." Bills declined to comment on the book's assertion that Joseph Smith was Christ's direct descendant. Swanson has been researching his book since 1978, when he was a doctoral student in London, and claims to have read almost all the texts - more than 400 of them - written about the Holy Grail and Jesus Christ's bloodline. He says he wrote his book partly as a rebuttal to Brown's Da Vinci Code, which Swanson believes is filled with historical errors.
In Dynasty of the Holy Grail, Swanson postulates that Joseph Smith Sr. was descended directly from Jesus, of the Judah tribe of Israel, while his wife, Lucy Mack Smith, was a direct descendant of Mary Magdalene, who was from the tribe of Ephraim. Swanson theorizes that the Smiths' marriage reunited the two tribes and made Joseph Smith Jr. a direct descendant of Christ on both sides. To support this claim, Swanson cites public statements from 19th-century LDS Church leaders, including Brigham Young, who wrote in 1859, "Hidden in the blood of many LDS runs the blood of Israel from numerous directions, including that of the Savior. But it is specifically through the divine blood-right of Christ through Joseph Smith Jr. that all members of the Church are lawful heirs of the promise." In 1899, LDS Church apostle George Q. Cannon reportedly told a Salt Lake Temple assembly, "There are those in this audience who are descendants of the old Twelve Apostles - and shall I say it, yes, descendants of the Savior himself. His seed is represented in this body of men." Swanson suggests that Joseph Smith learned of his holy ancestry through divine revelation and shared his secret with a handful of Mormon leaders. Swanson also believes Smith's famous "no man knows my history" quote was a veiled reference to his sacred lineage.
Swanson admits he can't prove the LDS Church's first president was descended from Christ. He also concedes that if Jesus indeed fathered children, millions of his descendants could be alive today. Swanson says he came to his conclusion by weaving together circumstantial threads from history and hopes to correct errors in a future edition. "I'm inching towards the truth. I haven't found the truth. I have no hard evidence," says the art historian and scholar. "I wish I could say I had some secret evidence that no one else has." Reaction so far to Dynasty of the Holy Grail has been mixed. Harold Ethington, an amateur Mormon historian and genealogist, read the book and is impressed with Swanson's research and thesis. "It's scholarly. It's not sensationalistic. It's presented fairly," Ethington said by phone from his home in Sandy. "I've read very widely on this [topic]. And Vern Swanson's account of it is the most clear, concise and accurate of anything I've read." Ethington said he mailed a copy of Swanson's book last month to Dan Brown's agent but has not received a response. Australian theologian Philip Johnson, author of several books on Jesus Christ and an expert on new religious movements, was more dismissive of Swanson's premise. Claims that Christ was married have no historical credence, said Johnson, who has not read Dynasty of the Holy Grail. Johnson, who is visiting Utah to lecture at the Salt Lake Theological Seminary, was also skeptical of the suggestion that Joseph Smith was descended from Christ. "It's one thing to claim that. It's another to prove that this is indeed the case. I can claim I'm the living descendant of Julius Caesar," he said. "It's very difficult to take those sorts of allegations seriously." griggs@sltrib.com
I really do not recall saying that it did.
Thanks for your explanation, I can see how those verses could be interpreted that way.
Exactly. That's why I said "as far as we know". But the Bible doesn't tell us any of that; it clearly makes it out to be that Jesus is of David's house because Joseph is.
LoL. Romney must be saying "damn why does this nitwittery have to come out now."
This is what happens when you cross "The Davinci Code" with "Big Love". Tom Hanks should option the book for a series.
No, you didn't. Just making it clear, lest anyone think that anyone here in Mormonland is taking this seriously.
I have heard Mormon's speculate that Jesus was married. There is plenty that happened in Jesus' 33 years that the Bible never talks about. In fact, the New Testament only covers a few months of Jesus' life.
It would make sense to us that Jesus was married, since marriage for us is a required ordinance, just like baptism, and Jesus was baptized as an example, despite the fact that he is the Creator. But there is no doctrine on that point. I've never heard anyone speculate before there were children of such union, let alone that Joseph Smith was a descendant.
LOL
From a woman's standpoint I sincerely hope this is true. I know the perfect man when I see him and, for me at least, it would be inspiring to know that JESUS CHRIST, the Perfect Creation of the Most Brilliant God of All, was also the perfect guy. You know the guy, the one even guys get those odd man-crushes on, the one who has drive, ambition, and tenacity balanced with a sense of humor, honesty, duty and a TOTAL willingness to serve/love His God AND All of His Family. What a total package He would be. What an inspiration he would be to mankind.
Who among us would deny the Light of God's life, his Son, the joy of being a husband and a father?? For the ultimate sacrifice He made for God and for Mankind would Either deny him the simple and overwhelming joy that comes from being a vital part of a loving family unit? Not if they Truly Loved Him. If they Love Him with all their hearts they would want him to have known great happiness as well as great pain. It was this combination that made him Divine.
Anyway, That's my $.03. Two pennies that in this life mean almost nothing and the other one that may mean everything. If it should be proven true, then I, for one, will get on my knees and Thank God that in his Divine Wisdom he realized that the true salvation for Planet Earth is the Perfect Father. Something tells me He knows more than a little bit about such a thing.
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