James Brighouse was a late-nineteenth century American leader of a splinter sect in the Latter Day Saint movement

Latter Day Saint movement

The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...

 called the Order of Enoch. Brighouse was one of the first persons to claim to be the "One Mighty and Strong

One Mighty and Strong

One Mighty and Strong is a person of unknown identity who was the subject of an 1832 prophecy by Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, echoing the words and prophecy of Isaiah 28:2. The One Mighty and Strong was said by Smith to be one who would "set in order the house of...

" that Joseph Smith, Jr. had prophesied of in 1832.

Order of Enoch

On December 7, 1884, a few members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints met in Independence, Missouri

Independence, Missouri

Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...

 to organize what they called the Order of Enoch or the Church or Kingdom of Christ. The leaders of group were Brighouse and Lars Peterson. Brighouse was given the title "Emmanuel" and was later declared to be the 18th reincarnation

Reincarnation

Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...

 of Jesus Christ. Later, Brighouse also claimed to be the reincarnation of Adam

Adam

Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...

, Enoch

Enoch (ancestor of Noah)

Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam's greatx4 grandson , the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah...

, Moses

Moses

Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

, David

David

David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...

, Ezekiel

Ezekiel

Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...

, George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

, and Joseph Smith.

Teachings

Brighouse taught that Brigham Young

Brigham Young

Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...

 had led the majority of Latter Day Saints astray by teaching plural marriage

Plural marriage

Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...

. Brighouse said that God had chosen Joseph Morris to set the Latter Day Saints in order, but that the wickedness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had resulted in the Morrisite War

Morrisite War

The Morrisite War was a skirmish between a Latter Day Saint sect known as the "Morrisites" and the Utah territorial government.-Morrisites:In 1857 Joseph Morris, an English convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah, reported receiving revelations naming him the Seventh...

 and the scattering of the true Latter Day Saints. Brighouse claimed that he was the "One Mighty and Strong

One Mighty and Strong

One Mighty and Strong is a person of unknown identity who was the subject of an 1832 prophecy by Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, echoing the words and prophecy of Isaiah 28:2. The One Mighty and Strong was said by Smith to be one who would "set in order the house of...

" that Joseph Smith had prophesied would come to "set in order the house of God".

In 1891, Brighouse travelled to Salt Lake City, Utah Territory

Utah Territory

The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....

. It was believed by some Latter Day Saints that Joseph Smith had prophesied that Jesus Christ would return to earth in 1891; Brighouse went to the incomplete Salt Lake Temple

Salt Lake Temple

The Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known of more than 130 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo,...

and declared that he was Jesus, whose coming had been prophesied. Brighouse preached in Salt Lake City for a few days and converted a handful of followers.

In Utah Territory in 1892, Brighouse published a book of teachings called The Voice of the Seventh Angel, Proclaiming the End of Time! The Resurrection of the Dead! The Day of Final Judgment! and the Rule of Righteousness and Peace!. In it, Brighouse set out his seven fundamental teachings:

1. Brigham Young was chosen to lead them to Utah, but he has taught false doctrines and led the Saints astray. He sinned in appointing himself the Prophet in 1847, without a Revelation from the Lord.
2. Negroes are not cursed nor the children of Cain as Brigham Young has taught them. They should be allowed inside the Temples and the priesthood.
3. The Lost Tribes are not living at the North Pole.
4. The Baby Resurrection [reincarnation] is not a doctrine of the devil, but a true doctrine.
5. Joseph Smith sinned in regards to polygamy, and this is why the Lord allowed men to kill him in 1844.
6. Joseph Morris was a true Prophet of God, and died a martyr.
7. He was Jesus reincarnated, and He would come again in the year 1912; born in Jerusalem.

Little is known of Brighouse's life after 1892, but his following remained small and it is believed Brighouse died in Utah.