From Prophecy to Practice: Mutual Selection Cycles in the Routinization of Charismatic Authority

We examine how culture and structure intersect in mediating competing claims to authority during the routinization of charisma. Using archival data, we trace the mechanisms of routinization in the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints during the succession crisis that followed the death of the prophet Joseph Smith in 1844, which resulted in the ascension of a new leader and shaped the institutional development of the religion. Combining in-depth historical analysis and social network analysis, we identify key processes that led to the ultimate resolution of the crisis. These processes show that the way church members interpreted and enacted prophecies and theological teachings directly affected social networks within the community. In turn, this increased the importance of these particular teachings within the community and in the religious organization in a cycle that shaped the social mechanisms of the crisis resolution. Generalizing our findings, we introduce the concept of mutual selection cycles as a framework for explaining how prophecy and practice interact in institutionalizing charismatic authority.