I am Ryan McKnight. I'm Kara Santa Maria. I am Christopher Smith. Hi, I'm Andrew Torres. This is

Naked Mormonism. The Serial Mormon History podcast. We are finally back to our historical timeline.

Last week was the next Mormon's interview with Janice and Benjamin Null,

but the week before that, we discussed a prominent feature of 1844 history,

Joseph Smith's bid for President of the United States.

I have previously made the case on this show that Joe represents the worst presidential candidate this country has ever seen.

I even made that case to Tom and Cecil from Cognitive Dissanets podcast in the wake of Trump's election, right?

Well, today we're going to discuss the underlying organizational tools that Joe put into place in order

to run his expected theocracy. The Council of 50. The Council of 50 was to be Joe's

personal counsel upon his presidential election. Alternate historical timelines that don't

include Joe's death. And Carthage, of course,

place this Council of 50 as the central focal point of executing Joe's leadership. Had Joe, by some

stretch of imagination, been elected, the Theocratic Council of 50 is the system by which our

government might operate today. Upon Joe's death, the Council of 50 is the system by which our government might operate today.

Upon Joe's death, the Council of 50 didn't dissolve.

Far from it.

The Council perpetuated in Utah and operated as the Theocratic territorial government

that superseded the powers of secular territorial government.

Even though nearly every elected government officer in the Utah

territory was one of bloody Brigham's cronies, you know, they were also a member of the

Council of 50. But of course, that's the Utah timeline. In Utah, the lines delineating government

and religion simply didn't exist. Government and religious leadership were one in the same

...