Declaration of Independence of the Priesthood

"If Joseph had a right to dictate me in relation to salvation, in relation to a hereafter, he had a right to dictate me in relation to all my earthly affairs, in relation to the treasures of the earth, and in relation to the earth itself. He had a right to dictate in relation to the cities of the earth, to the natives of the earth, and in relation to everything on land and on sea. That is what he had a right to do, if he had any right at all. If he did not have that right, he did not have the Priesthood of God, he did not have the endless Priesthood that emanates from an eternal being. A Priesthood that is clipped, and lacks length, is not the Priesthood of God; if it lacks depth, it is not the Priesthood of God; for the Priesthood in ancient times extended over the wide world, and coped with the universe, and had a right to govern and control the inhabitants thereof, to regulate them, give them laws, and execute those laws. That power looked like the Priesthood of God. This same Priesthood has been given to Joseph Smith, and has been handed down to his successors." (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols., 2:, p.14)

"The constitution of the kingdom of God is not a document. The authority by which the Church Kingdom operates is not to be found on scrolls of parchment or plates of metal. If it be a "true and living church kingdom" then of necessity it must have a "true and living constitution," and so it does. God is our constitution and his word our law. As to earthly matters God chooses a prophet to stand in his stead and for all practical purposes the prophet so chosen becomes our constitution. He alone exercises the keys of the kingdom, and he alone has the right to receive revelation for the whole Church Kingdom. Such is the order of the kingdom of God in our dispensation and in all past dispensations."(H. Donl Peterson and Charles D. Tate, Jr., eds., The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations from God, p.73)

Note: The strikethroughs above are my edits because of the fundamental problem Mormons have today in confusing the Kingdom of God with the Church, and two officers are confused as well by the modern cultural Mormon. To wit: the Lord's anointed mentioned in D&C 132:7 is not the President of the Church, saith the Lord, (or the revelation would have said "President of my Church") though a man may hold both offices at once, wearing two hats, as it were.  The Lord chooses prophets, and the people choose their President. Brigham Young was one such man that held both offices, and Joseph Smith was one such man, as well as John Taylor.  After him the two offices were occupied by separate individuals, since the church subsequently after John Taylor adopted a attitude which violated the covenants (Davidic and Abrahamic) which are not revoked by God (see 1886 Revelation to John Taylor).  Therefore the strikethroughs make the above paragraph correct in doctrine.

"On April 7, 1842, Joseph Smith received a revelation giving the formal name of the "Living Constitution"-or, as it came to be known by the number of its members, the Council of Fifty (a body presided over by the Lord through his anointed, but not a body of or in the Church)-and indicating that the nucleus of a government of God would be organized. Two years later, in the spring of 1844, after a small group of faithful Church leaders and members had received their temple Endowment, the Prophet formally established the Council of Fifty." (except for parenthetical elements, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992),, p.326)

"Though the details are not clear, there was apparently provision made in the government of God to apply truth and justice-not merely law-to all cases under its administration, and for this reason the General Council "was called the 'Living Constitution.'" After the death of Brigham Young, a revelation given to that body through John Taylor said: "Verily, thus saith the Lord, I have instituted my Kingdom and laws, with the keys and the power thereof, and I have appointed you as my spokesman and my Constitution, with John Taylor at your head, whom I have appointed to my Church and my Kingdom as Prophet, Seer and Revelator." Again: "I have taught and instructed you and organized you according to my eternal laws. Ye are my Constitution, and I am your God." The minutes of the Council for April 21, 1880, contain a similar statement, quoting either a revelation given that day or at an earlier date." (Hyrum L. Andrus, Doctrines of the Kingdom, p.377)

"Council members Peter Haws, Erastus Snow, and George Q. Cannon explained why the Council of Fifty had the title "Living Constitution." Joseph Smith asked the Council to write a constitution for the Kingdom of God. After a week of unsuccessful effort, Joseph Smith delivered a revelation to the Council of Fifty that stated: "Ye are my constitution." In this view, the latter-day Kingdom of God transcended the confines of a single, written document, and the Kingdom conducted itself according to the words and acts of inspired men. A revelation to the Council of Fifty on 27 June 1882 reaffirmed that "Ye are my Constitution, and I am your God." The designation of the Council as "Living Constitution" has special significance in a later discussion of the subordination of the Council of Fifty to the Church's First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles." (The Council of Fifty and Its Members, 1844 To 1945 by D. Michael Quinn , BYU Studies, vol. 20 (1979-1980), Number 2 - Winter 1980, p.169)