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 saw something interesting happen in last week's episode.

When Hiram Sidekick Abiff Smith got up and announced that he had received a revelation

that the Mormons should vote for Democrat Hodge, William Law stood up in an act of defiance

and insubordination and told the Mormons that they should vote with Joe's pick, the wig, Cyrus

Walker, because the prophet knows the mind of God better than the patriarch of the

church. After this act of insubordination, Joe stood up and cleared the air, and the Mormons

voted as he requested. When William Law got up and spoke his mind, I commented that this would

foreshadow events on the distant horizon of our historical timeline.

I thought this might be a good opportunity to take some time to get to know William Law, as he will figure heavily into the 1844 timeline moving forward.

William Law could be classified as one of the most controversial leaders in the Navu Church, when the entirety of his career in Mormonism is taken into consideration. William and his wife, Jane Silverthorne Law, joined the church

most likely in about 1837. Now, unfortunately, little is known of Jane's history, but the law

family immigrated from Ireland when William was about nine years old. The law family

initially lived near Pittsburgh, but later moved to Ontario, Canada, where William met Jane,

and they were married in 1833, both of them in their mid-20s. 1837, when they actually were baptized

into the church, was a tough time for Mormonism. It was amidst an upheaval from within the highest ranks of the trusted elites.

You know, the whole Fanny Alger affair with Joe had gone viral.

...