Benjamin E. Park received his doctorate in history from Cambridge University and teaches American religious history at Sam Houston State University. His scholarly work has been published by over a dozen academic journals, and his public writing has appeared in Washington Post, Newsweek, Salt Lake Tribune, and other venues. He is the co-editor of Mormon Studies Review, and is completing A Companion to American Religious History with Blackwell-Wiley. His new book, Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier, was published by W.W. Norton/Liveright, and has been reviewed in, among other places, Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker.
00:00- Intro- Ben shares 11 interesting facts from his book, Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier
02:17- #1 – Illinois’s political climate in 1840 made them (members of the Church) especially susceptible to political opportunism—as well as political manipulation.
07:57- #2- Joseph Smith’s first plural sealing likely took place on the eve of the Nauvoo Temple cornerstone dedication.
13:49- #3- The final few chapters of the Book of Abraham were produced in Nauvoo, and they sparked a big change in Smith’s societal vision.
18:08- #4- When it came to reasons for opposing Nauvoo and the Mormons, the legal mechanism of “habeas corpus” was the most common complaint.
22:34- #5- Hyrum Smith was one of polygamy’s greatest foes—until he instantaneously converted to the practice in May 1843.
27:09- #6- Joseph and Hyrum’s orchestration of the 1843 election proved the turning point in Mormon-Illinois relations.
34:42- #7- Emma Smith threatened her husband with divorce and publicly challenged in his authority on a number of occasions over polygamy.
43:31- #8- Joseph Smith was the first American to be killed while running for president.
38:13- #9- Joseph Smith told William Clayton to burn the Council of Fifty’s minutes, because he knew that their contents could be scandalous.
46:44- #10- Both Mormons and non-Mormons proposed that the federal government create a Mormon-only “reservation” on the frontier.
49:33- #11- Brigham Young was forced to speed up the exodus out of Nauvoo when they learned the federal government might stand in their way
54:57- Ending questions
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