Minutes of that secret counsel we had been meeting and over the last few months. He knew the contents of those records were very controversial and when seen in a certain light or context they could be understood as treason and he was anxious to keep them out of the wrong hands. William clayton to the great benefit of the rest of us. Chose to disobey his profit instead of and set up burning the documents he buried them. Once the crisis was to subdue and he dug up those documents again they might has well have been buried because they remain restricted from scholars and historians believers and skeptics alike for over 175 years. It wasnt until 2014 that the lds church and announced they were going to beat making them available for the first time in published form and they were finally published in 2016. I dont have to tell all of you that whenever there is a document or a series of documents that are keep kept hidden. A lot of legends and myths crop up around them. Over the centuries and had to there had been lots of myths about the council 50 and what was recorded. This grew to legendary proportions. Until finally when they were released the council of 50 records. They were disappointed by the context. Where was joseph smith being crowned as a king and where were they ordering the assassination of the u. S. President. These are all things they were bound about. Some people were disappointed in these records when they were finally released. They were like catnip pieces. I was amazed. I read through these documents and they have salacious step dont get me wrong with some of the deep anxieties about religion and politics. The council of 50 i dont want to be mistaken here it was radical and in many ways i would argument that it was the most radical proposal in the 1970s. I also want to emphasize tonight that there were cultural sentiments behind those documents that were shared a lot of joseph smith contemporaries. What i want to do tonight is highlight some of the different cultural feelings in trajectories that led to that eventful june 1844. Why the council was established. Why it was so radical why it was comprised of the people that it was. Why did the saints grow to such a point that they felt their only recourse was to establish a clandestine kind Theocratic Society that included its own constitution. All existing world governments. The second thing i want to emphasize is how do a group of otherwise lawfully minded peaceful citizens who resided around them come to the conclusion that the only way that they could maintain their rights is to kill joseph smith as a mob in carthage jail. Let me do some background to both of these trajectories. Lets talk about the political context first. When Joseph Smiths followers arrived on illinois soil in the winter of 1838 and 39. There were religious refugees. They have just suffered from their perspective and the great outrageous the extermination or forced removal of all of the things. Missourians have their own reason for why they did that. They thought they were refugees in need of help. And illinois seems to be in the right position to help them. I want to talk about some of that background. Why they seem anxious. First, they positive self as the rival to missouri. Illinois and missouri these two estates back then they were on the frontier of america they were representing the two different trajectories that western settlement could take. Missouri the slave ownings date. They found the labor of African Americans into drying on the jacksonian policy of self rule and a personal liberty. Illinois by contrast was a free state. They rejected not only slavery but they also rejected the idea that only a Certain Group of people could be in charge. They welcomed a lot of diverse groups. The energetic sense of a democracy. Aspiring politicians both of which are observing in the state legislature. Unlike those hooligans and missouri we know how to take care of that outcast in the down trodden. Second point about illinois. This was a state that was nearly evenly divided between the two Political Parties at this time. On one side the democrats. With the state laws. And then you also had the more enlightened sense of politics. Maybe we need to find a way to strengthen the government to protect those in this society. Both of these parties are rather new. Americas political system as a party system had only been around for about a decade by this point. The First National car Party Convention had only taken place in the 1830s they were anxious to take advantage of illinois and incomes the mormons with their thousands of believers and thousands of converts streaming in. Illinois was growing rapidly. Three new congressional seats. When you relegate the congressional seats. Now they have these new congressional seats that are gonna need representatives. There you want to want to draw from different voters. They are going to want to be a very wanted people. Illinois legislature in order to take advantage of the debt population passed a series of legislation that grand suffrage to any white men who had been in the state. Youve been in illinois for six months. That means all of these recent mormon arrivals are going to be eligible to vote in these new and significant upcoming elections. The mormons were anxious to take advantage of this anxiety from their perspective they believed over the last decade you have majoritarian cultures unwilling to listen to their interest. They are going to be forced to listen to what they have to say. And they decided that the best way to court that vote. With the Political Activities was to do what we now call block voting. They are going to vote for the same candidate. With the editor for the newspaper. They declared pretty explicitly what good would it do nauvoo if half of our citizens disenfranchise the other half. We need to pool our sources together. They write the letter to the non mormon father saint i have never been much of a politician but i have learned that politicking is necessary. And politicians listen to this. They become famous the next decade. With the full democratic assault. All politicians visit nauvoo. They tripped over each other with excitement. This is a move they later come to regret. The mormons were very good at following through on their threat or promise however you want to interpret that. The voting took place very differently back in 1840 americans. They go up and walk into the voting precinct. Its an individual booth. Back in early america it wasnt secret ballots. Voting was dictated by state law. You walk into your precincts. They will tell you who they are voting for. Voting and one of the nauvoo precincts took place with hiram smith. The second command in the church. In case that message did not reach anyone. They said the same thing in the church newspaper. Zoom into august 6, 1842. If you live in this. They were just hanging out. The clerk will mark your name down. They march into hyper smiths office that day only 11 do not vote in the same prescribed pattern. This is the way to make sure that politicians listen to them. This is a betrayal of the democratic system. Because democracy is still a new contact in early america. Theyre still trying to figure out what it means. The majority of americans believed it was a christian nation. Where they drew their line was ecclesiastical intervention. They cherished what they called the personal conscience the ability of an individual to choose who they want to vote for unfettered by whatever their leaders say. Here you have a nauvoo up priestly leader who is dictating who they should call. This seems to be the very example of the type of church and state issue that they have seem to abolish. They start noticing that the politicians in their vote are starting to overlook some mormon actions that seem what we would call innovated. Give me an example dash mike let me give you an example. They were present in and missouri before they make it to illinois. A number of things and there is the mormon missouri charge of treason. Eventually he escapes many historians including myself assume he has allowed us escape. Once they settle in nauvoo and they search do pretty well. Do you ever break up with someone and you see your ex doing rather well and you get upset. I think that is kind of how missouri starts feeling. There is time to bring joseph smith back to justice. We have an arrest warrant on two different charges at different times. He needs to be returned to missouri for trial. They decide my hands are bound im going to do it. They believe that as soon as joseph smith sets foot in missouri he is going to be killed. We have to take whatever measure we can to save them. The first attempt they just so happen to defend even stephen a douglas. By that time he was a Circuit Court judge. For those of you who are not familiar with fancy legal terms that draw on latin words. It is a trial that adjudicates whether the arresting author follows proper protocol in the arrest. Stephen a douglas through proper channels has the proper channels. Illinois have a lot that if you are granted a writ of habeas corpus there would be another arrest warrant out for you as you can be properly arrested and tried again. The state ignores that. Just as smith goes on his merry way. The next year the missouri former governor who had signed extermination orders. Someone tries to kill him in his own home. Initially word gets out that he has died from this assassination attempt. He writes in his diary. That ungodly rack has finally faced his distribution. They were pretty happy about it. Eventually it comes out of of the coma. He points his finger at joseph smith and said i had evidence that he was behind the assassination. The missouri governor signed the order. They cite in order to move joseph smith out to missouri. The nauvoo freak out once again. This thing works pretty well. The problem is the city charter like any city charter followed proper protocol. They can only issue habeas corpus to those that originate during their jurisdiction. They had charges against truths of laws. They arrested justice smith. The city court meets and they passed a new resolution that does two things. He grants the Municipal Court authority to try to rid of habeas corpus of those that go outside of nauvoo. Second, the city Council Grants the city court the ability to have the merits of those cases. Be on just your resting process. So these arresting officers arrive and joseph smith just handed the writ of habeas corpus and these are befuddled how the heck do they respond to that. They leave and they go talk to the governor. Joseph smith spends the next few months in hiding because even he realizes that this City Council Resolutions and Municipal Courts or not to hold while. Eventually once again commenting here elected officials trying to court the support decided we are going to ignore the city Council Things that happened and were going to try to free joseph smith through official means. Hes taken before the city court. In that the the daniel pope finds a loophole and he grants joseph smith his freedom. The story is not even over after that. That summer the misery that missouri governor and how frazzled they must be by that point. We are going to try this again. The missouri governor signs another requisition order. Another order to remove him. He goes into hiding once again. They pose as mormon missionaries knock on the door of the inlaws and family where they are trying to have a quiet vacation and arrested joseph smith and they are marching to missouri with joseph smith in their custody. It seems to be out of luck finally but an aspiring politician and lawyer nearby goes im running for the new congressional seat this fall. Im awake. They had been supporting their democrats. Maybe it was my chance to finally earn the mormon vote. He gathers together some friends in these illinois officials arrest the arresting officers for false imprisonment. And these as you imagined was what the heck is going on. There try to figure what to do. The nauvoo legion intercepts this whole group and marches them back. Where they receive a military export. They are celebrating Joseph Smiths arrival. They grant joseph smith another writ of habeas corpus. Last year they just kind of ignore that. This time the state authorities including the governor we need to win the mormon supports back. If you support the democrats in this election this fall we will allow them to stand. And then not mormons were left in a dilemma. They have personally promised the support. They are looking for either further powers. They try to find a way to satisfy them. They end up alienating them both. About a couple weeks before the election. They moved that have the im sorry to break it to you but i am no longer a profit. My brother hiram has the birthright to prophesy. He just said that ironically. Thats what i say when something turns out to be unpopular. The day before the election that august. In which hybrid smith gets up in front of thousands of things and says i should have a revelation that the saints should vote for the democrats. He sits down. Joseph smith stands up and says im going to vote for cyrus walker because i have a good personal friendship with him. He has never have a revelation that turned out to be wrong. Through that they have the personal conflict. They maintain the prophetic connection. After that point however. They are no longer willing to stand up for them. Even though they made out ahead from the escapade they realized that that could change at a moments notice. So they are no longer willing to support the mormons. We are moving into the fall and winter where the saints are worried about the state Political Parties. They start doing radical provisions. Including perhaps my favorite episode where joseph smith sends petition to the National Government. They put joseph smith in charge. When the five leading candidates. I can talk more about the platform during the q a if you would like it. With the state and National Government no longer going to protect their interests. They are left to where they are before. They come up with a contingency plan. They gather together in early march. We might go to texas or oregon. It will return gods voice to earth. And they see only chaos and disaster. What can bring stability to this world again. That is where the council of 50 originates. I could talk about the constitution that they come up with. I do want to circle back to what i said at the beginning. There were cultural sentiments that were found there were also common throughout america. Increasingly there was a very divided setting we have a Divisive Political culture today. We dont have senators hitting each other upside the heads with keynes. But when america seem to be falling apart during that. The point where america falls apart is because they are no longer listening to divine laws. Or how they dictate the human technology. Radical abolitionists who lead the raid. Before he leads that he writes a provisional constitution to replace the american constitution. The american constitution which he declared as a path with the devil. They specifically said it was based on the laws of god laws of god. The Confederate States of america when they succeed and create their own country. Do you want to guess with the first line of their constitution says. Its based on divine providence. The american nation is falling apart. They take that sentiment and exercise it on steroids to the ninth degree. It captures a lot of these broader sentiments that tell a much larger story about the messiness of democratic rule. I do dont have much time to deliver into to go into this. If these legal issues are driving the external opposition. With the new arrangements. It causes internal division. Perhaps most notable is the proposal of polygamy. The chance for men to be sealed to multiple women. While it is impossible to identify the origins i try to tried to argue in the book. With the early spring 1841. It was connected to these ideas. I am also interested in the theology that defends and justifies and expands the doctrine of this domestic experimentation. What struck me was that the same language that he uses to propose radical new systems is the same language he and his followers used to justify their experiment. Let me use one example. Eliza who becomes very famous in the lds tradition. She is sealed to joseph smith in the summer of 1842. A very controversial time where you would think they would be quieting down. A lot of that. Is not talked about with polygamy. On the day she secretly is sealed to joseph smith she gives a roundabout defense of polygamy. She compares the chaos of the world around them and the failed democratic experiment the ones that failed to protect. To that stability offered by this priesthood covenant. Twenty eliza r snow polygamy seem to be the way to offer redemption. There is a lot of domestic experimentation going on in america at this time. All throughout america you are finding people who think that the domestic situation common in Anglo America has run its course and we need something new. You also see at the very same time. Groups that are terrified of this experimentation. The only way to bring stability is a more feature article order. For those of you that arent familiar with robert mathias. He was named mathias reed kingdom a mathias it will blow your mind. They tap into both of those anxieties. Both experimentation as well as the patriarchal retrenchment to make sure that things dont spin out of control. I dont want to give the perspective that everybody thought of polygamy that way. A lot of these women who enter plural marriage had Different Reasons to do so. I also dont want to emphasize that everyone exposed to the dr. And accepted it. As a corruption of morals. None were more adamant on that position then their own brother hybrid smith. When the rumors start seeping out in 1841. They lead a moral crusade. And to do so he marshals of the most powerful ecclesiastical city in the is operating in the same time that they are doing at the polygamist activity. You have these two brothers joseph smith and his polygamist experiment and hiram trying to shore up traditional morals. When he finally converts to polygamy in may of 1943 1843. When he converts he has to already create a machine to have rather kates he takes the doctrine to the high council. The vehicle he had been using and said sorry to break it to you guys but this is a new doctrine of the