The history of Mormons (AFTER Joseph Smith)

Summary

This video explores the evolution of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after its founder, Joseph Smith, through the leadership of 16 prophets. It delves into significant historical moments, such as Brigham Young's polygamy advocacy, racial policies, and the eventual lifting of restrictions on black members by Spencer W. Kimball in 1978. The narrative highlights the church's transformation from a persecuted sect to a modern, international organization, addressing controversies and adapting to societal changes while maintaining a hierarchical structure with the prophet at its apex.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video discusses the cultural fascination with Mormons and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• 🔍 It critiques the common narrative that oversimplifies Mormonism's origins to Joseph Smith's story and the Golden Plates.
• 👤 The focus shifts to the 16 men who served as prophets after Joseph Smith's death in 1844, highlighting their impact on the church and its doctrines.
• 🏛 Brigham Young, the second prophet, is noted for leading the Mormons to Utah, establishing Salt Lake City, and introducing polygamy as a public practice.
• 🚫 The church's polygamy practice led to significant conflict with the U.S. government, culminating in the 'Utah War' and legal challenges.
• 📜 Wilford Woodruff, the fourth prophet, ended the church's polygamy practice with a revelation, helping to normalize relations with the U.S. government.
• 💼 Lorenzo Snow introduced the practice of tithing, requiring Mormons to give 10% of their income to the church, significantly increasing its financial resources.
• 🌍 Heber J. Grant modernized the church, increasing its membership, and expanding its charitable and humanitarian efforts.
• 🏢 The church's international growth is attributed to the construction of temples worldwide, allowing for a more global Mormon community.
• 🖋 Spencer W. Kimball addressed the church's racial policies, granting full membership rights to black members, a significant change in the late 20th century.

Q & A

Why is there a cultural fixation on Mormons?

The cultural fixation on Mormons is due to the unique and distinctly American nature of their religion, which often feels elusive to non-Mormons. This intrigue is further fueled by the numerous media representations such as Broadway musicals, TV shows, podcasts, and YouTube videos that explore various aspects of Mormonism.

What is the traditional summary of the origins of Mormonism?

The traditional summary of Mormonism's origins involves Joseph Smith, who claimed to have received golden plates from an angel. These plates led to the creation of a new form of Christianity known as Mormonism. Smith's story and the golden plates are central to the faith, as they form the basis for the Book of Mormon.

How is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized after Joseph Smith?

Following Joseph Smith's death, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized hierarchically with a living Prophet serving as the president of the church, supported by a structure of underlings. The prophet is considered to have direct communication with God, similar to Joseph Smith's role with the golden plates.

Why is the title of 'President' significant in the Mormon Church?

The title of 'President' is significant because it reflects the church's structure, with the living prophet also serving as the president of the church. This title emphasizes the prophet's role as the leader and the one who communicates God's will to the church, much like Joseph Smith did.

What was Brigham Young's role in the early history of the Mormon Church?

Brigham Young, a carpenter from New York, became the second prophet of the Mormon Church after Joseph Smith's death. He is known for leading the Mormons on a trek from the Midwest to the Utah desert, where he established Salt Lake City and served as the effective architect of a thriving American colony.

Why did the practice of polygamy become controversial within the Mormon Church?

Polygamy became controversial because it was seen as a perversion of sexual norms and was considered repulsive by the wider American society. The practice led to the church being unpopular and faced opposition, including legal challenges and social ostracization.

How did the Utah War impact the Mormon Church?

The Utah War, or the Morman War, was a period of tension between the Mormon settlers in Utah and the U.S. government, which was concerned about the church's practices, particularly polygamy. The conflict led to Brigham Young stepping down as governor and the establishment of a non-Mormon governor, as well as the presence of the U.S. Army near Salt Lake City.

What was the significance of Wilford Woodruff's leadership in the Mormon Church?

Wilford Woodruff's leadership was significant as he announced the end of polygamy within the church, a move that helped alleviate tensions with the U.S. government and allowed Utah to become a state. He also rejected the idea of a Mormon theocracy and focused on church growth and stability.

Why was the introduction of tithing by Lorenzo Snow important for the LDS Church?

Lorenzo Snow's introduction of tithing was crucial as it provided a significant financial boost to the church, allowing it to pay off debts and expand its operations. This financial stability enabled the church to enter the 20th century with a stronger foundation and the ability to support its growing membership.

How did the church's stance on race relations change under Spencer W. Kimball?

Under Spencer W. Kimball's leadership, the church addressed its racial policies by ending the ban on full rights for black members in 1978. This change was prompted by societal pressures, internal church discussions, and a desire to expand the church's global appeal, and it marked a significant shift in the church's approach to race relations.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 The Curious Fascination with Mormonism

The video script begins by addressing the cultural curiosity surrounding Mormonism, highlighting the various forms of media that have been dedicated to exploring the religion. The speaker, JJ, criticizes the common oversimplified narrative of Mormonism's origins through Joseph Smith and the Golden Plates. Instead, JJ proposes to discuss the evolution of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after Smith's death, focusing on the subsequent prophets and their impact on the church and its followers. The narrative emphasizes the hierarchical structure of the church, with the living prophet holding a central role in communicating divine guidance to the members. The fixation on the title 'President' among Mormon leaders is also noted, possibly a legacy of Joseph Smith's political ambitions.

05:00

🚌 The Trek Westward and Brigham Young's Legacy

Paragraph 2 delves into the life and influence of Brigham Young, the second prophet of the Mormon church, who is renowned for leading the Mormons on a significant westward migration from the Midwest to Utah. Brigham Young's role in establishing Salt Lake City and the state of Deseret is discussed, along with his controversial advocacy for polygamy, which became a public and defining aspect of the Mormon identity during his leadership. The paragraph also touches on the racial views of Brigham Young, who implemented policies that discriminated against individuals of black ancestry within the church, barring them from full membership privileges.

10:00

🏰 The Struggle for Legitimacy and the End of Polygamy

Paragraph 3 continues the historical account with the third prophet, John Taylor, and the challenges faced by the church in the post-Civil War era. The focus is on the federal government's crackdown on polygamy, leading to legal battles and the eventual dissolution of the church as a legal entity. The narrative describes how Wilford Woodruff, the fourth prophet, responded to these pressures by issuing a revelation to phase out polygamy within the church, a decision that helped in Utah's eventual statehood. The paragraph also covers Woodruff's contributions to the church's infrastructure, including the completion of the Salt Lake Temple and the emphasis on genealogy.

15:02

💼 The Transformation of Mormonism into a Modern Institution

Paragraph 4 discusses the transformation of the Mormon church under the leadership of Lorenzo Snow, who introduced the practice of tithing, significantly bolstering the church's financial stability. It also covers Joseph F. Smith's efforts to decentralize the church by encouraging converts to stay in their home regions and the subsequent global expansion of Mormon temples. The paragraph highlights the shift in church leadership towards individuals born into the faith and raised in Utah, reflecting a modern, professionalized approach to church administration.

20:03

🌐 The Global Expansion and Conservative Stance of the LDS Church

Paragraph 5 outlines the church's continued growth and its increasing engagement with global issues under the leadership of several prophets, including George Albert Smith, David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, and Harold B. Lee. It discusses the church's efforts to establish a presence in various parts of the world and its conservative stance on various social issues. The narrative also touches on the church's response to the civil rights movement, particularly regarding the full membership rights for black members, which was resolved under Spencer W. Kimball's leadership with a revelation that extended these rights.

25:05

🌟 The Contemporary Mormon Church and its Challenges

Paragraph 6 reflects on the changes in the Mormon church under the leadership of more recent prophets, who have overseen its rapid expansion and internationalization. It discusses the challenges posed by the rise of the internet and the proliferation of anti-Mormon content, leading to a generational shift in church participation. The paragraph concludes with a call for perspectives from both Mormon and non-Mormon viewers, inviting a dialogue on the church's history and the impact of its leaders.

Keywords

💡Mormons

Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a religious movement that originated in the United States in the early 19th century. The term is derived from the Book of Mormon, which is considered by Mormons to be another volume of scripture alongside the Bible. In the video, the speaker discusses the cultural fascination with Mormons and the various ways in which their beliefs and practices have been portrayed in media, such as Broadway musicals, TV shows, and YouTube videos.

💡Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith is the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement and is considered a prophet by its members. He claimed to have been led to golden plates from which he translated the Book of Mormon. The video mentions him as a central figure in the origin story of Mormonism, with his claims of angelic visitations and the discovery of golden plates being a significant part of the narrative that defines the religion.

💡Polygamy

Polygamy refers to the practice of having multiple spouses. In the context of the video, it is discussed as a controversial doctrine within the early Mormon church, where leaders like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young practiced and promoted it. The video highlights how this practice led to significant conflict with the U.S. government and contributed to the church's negative public image.

💡Brigham Young

Brigham Young was the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is known for leading the Mormons to Utah. The video discusses his role in the establishment of Salt Lake City and the state of Deseret, as well as his controversial stance on polygamy and race, which had lasting impacts on the church's doctrines and practices.

💡Prophet

In Mormon theology, a prophet is considered a spokesperson for God, capable of receiving revelation and leading the church. The video explains that after Joseph Smith's death, a succession of prophets led the church, with each having a significant impact on its development. The concept is central to the church's hierarchical structure and the way it interprets and communicates divine guidance.

💡Tithe

Tithe refers to a religious tax or contribution, traditionally one-tenth of one's income, given to the church. The video discusses how the practice of tithing was institutionalized by Lorenzo Snow, which significantly increased the financial resources of the church and allowed for its expansion and various programs.

💡Apostles

Apostles in the Mormon church are high-ranking leaders who, along with the prophet, form the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The video mentions that the longest-serving apostle becomes the new prophet upon the death of the current one, indicating a structured succession plan within the church's leadership.

💡Black people and the priesthood

The video addresses the historical exclusion of black people from full membership rights within the church, including the priesthood. It discusses how this policy was changed in 1978 under President Spencer W. Kimball, who claimed to have received a revelation to extend full rights to all races, reflecting a significant shift in the church's stance on race.

💡Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of family lineage and ancestry. The video explains that Wilford Woodruff, a past prophet, instigated a strong emphasis on genealogy within the church, encouraging Mormons to document and posthumously baptize individuals into the church, reflecting a belief in the importance of connecting with one's ancestors.

💡Missionary work

Missionary work in the context of the video refers to the efforts of the church to spread its beliefs and recruit new members. The video notes a shift in strategy under Joseph F. Smith, who encouraged converts to stay in their home countries rather than move to Utah, leading to a more global spread of the church and the establishment of temples worldwide.

💡Cultural fixation

Cultural fixation refers to the persistent and widespread interest in a particular subject or group. The video discusses the enduring fascination with Mormons and their practices, suggesting that this curiosity is due in part to the secretive and unique aspects of their beliefs and history, which can seem mysterious or inaccessible to outsiders.

Highlights

Cultural fascination with Mormons and their secretive practices is highlighted by various media forms.

Mormonism's story is often incompletely told, focusing mainly on Joseph Smith and the Golden Plates.

The Mormon Church is hierarchical, with a living prophet leading and imparting new rules from God.

Mormon families venerate their prophet, often displaying pictures of him in their homes.

The Mormon prophet's old age is due to the tradition of the longest-serving Apostle becoming the new prophet.

The Mormon Church's conservatism is attributed to its elderly leadership being out of touch with contemporary times.

Brigham Young is known for leading Mormons to Utah and establishing Salt Lake City, as well as promoting polygamy.

Polygamy made the LDS Church unpopular, with many Americans considering it as perverse as slavery.

Brigham Young's racism was extreme, even for his time, leading to policies excluding black people from full church membership.

The Utah War was a conflict between the U.S. government and Mormon settlers over polygamy and theocracy.

John Taylor, the third prophet, faced increased federal pressure against polygamy.

Wilford Woodruff ended polygamy within the church to alleviate federal pressure and prevent the church's dissolution.

Lorenzo Snow introduced tithing, requiring Mormons to give 10% of their income to the church, significantly increasing its wealth.

Joseph F. Smith shifted the church's focus to creating Mormon communities worldwide, not just in Utah.

Heber J. Grant modernized the church, using radio to communicate with members and engaging in charitable work.

David O. McKay expanded the church's international presence with the construction of overseas temples.

Spencer W. Kimball ended the ban on black members' full rights within the church, reflecting a significant policy change.

The Mormon Church has continued to grow under recent prophets, becoming more international with over 17 million members.

The rise of the internet has led to increased scrutiny and criticism of the Mormon Church, impacting its younger members.

Transcripts

Hello friends my name is JJ and why are

we so obsessed with Mormons The Secret

Lives of Mormon wives is but the latest

manifestation of a cultural fixation

that has already included a Broadway

musical multiple other TV shows a vast

array of Mormon related podcasts and

endless Mormon themed videos here on

YouTube clearly there is something about

them that provokes this endless

curiosity something about this small

distinctly American religion that feels

like it is always just Out Of Reach of

being understood by non-mormons and I

think that is partially because the

story of what Mormonism even is tends to

be told in such a frustratingly

incomplete way in my experience the

traditional summary goes something like

this 200 years ago there was some guy

named Joseph Smith and he invented a new

flavor of Christianity called Mormonism

based on some Golden Plates he claimed

to have received from an angel of the

Lord he was an odd guy but a lot of

people believed him and yada yada yada

there are now millions of Mormons

following the teachings of a book based

on Joseph Smith's Golden Plates my

problem with this way of telling Mormon

history is as Jerry Seinfeld once put it

y yed over the best part I mean I get

why people are so fascinated by the tale

of Joseph Smith and and the Golden

Plates it's a wild story and as the

Mormon Church itself often explicitly

says the entire justification for the

Mormon religion rests on the premise

that Joseph Smith was telling the truth

I recently read this famous book The CES

letter which is considered the most

comprehensive debunking of Mormonism

ever written and even it is mostly about

Joseph Smith any references to the

modern church mostly come in the form of

noting how it has just doubled down on

Joseph Smith's original claims in this

video however I want to do something

different I don't want to talk about

Joseph Smith but rather what happened to

the Mormon Church the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints after he

died in 1844 specifically I want to talk

about the 16 men who served as prophets

of the Mormon church after Joseph Smith

this is something that a lot of

non-mormons are often surprised to learn

the fact that Joseph Smith was not the

only Mormon prophet but was just the

first in a string of living prophets and

there is even a living Mormon prophet

today so the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints is organized in a very

hierarchical way with the current living

Prophet serving as president of the

church and then a vast assortment of

underlings below Mormons are taught to

venerate their Prophet even more

explicitly than Catholics venerate the

pope because the Mormon prophet as his

title suggests has the ability to

communicate directly with God and impart

new rules from God to the public just as

Joseph Smith did with his Golden Plates

200 years ago if you visit the homes of

Mormon families they will often have a

picture of the Prophet on display

somewhere and when I was in Salt Lake

City recently I went to a Mormon book

store and you can see they were selling

all sorts of photos of the prophet and

his various Pals Mormons tend to always

refer to their Prophet as president so

and so in representing Jesus Christ as

his modern day Prophet president Russell

M Nelson our beloved Prophet president

Russell M Nelson we give thanks for

president Nelson how righteous president

Nelson is you will strengthen our

glorious president Nelson with this

fixation on the title of President

almost certainly a remnant of Joseph

Smith's desire to become president of

the United States someday though these

days Mormons are very fixated on the

title of president in general and a

surprising number of people in the

Lesser hierarchy are called president to

the Mormon prophet has 12 Apostles just

like Jesus Christ although unlike Jesus

they carry over from one Prophet to

another often serving for many decades

the longest serving Apostle of all

serves as the chairman of what they call

the Quorum of the twel and when the

prophet dies he becomes the new Prophet

what this means in practice is that the

Mormon prophets tend to be extremely old

the current Prophet president Russell M

Nelson recently turned 100 and the guy

who is next in line is 92 this in turn

helps explain why the Mormon church is

so famously conservative its leaders are

by definition always several Generations

behind in the times at the present rate

it will be a while before the Mormons

even have a prophet born after World War

II for instance so when I was in Salt

Lake I bought this charming little set

of posters of all of the different

Mormon prophets I think they're supposed

to be like for a Mormon classroom or

something and you can see that each one

is Illustrated with a little Montage aru

The Prophet's face showing the various

things that he was known for so let us

now go through them and I will tell you

what you're supposed to know about each

guy in studying these profits I have

relied on both Mormon and non-mormon

sources the LDS church produces a lot of

authorized history about the prophets

that is very detailed but obviously

biased while a lot of ex- Mormon or

non-mormon sources are less detailed but

more objective or critical I put some of

my sources in the description if you are

craving more than just a superficial

overview but my goal for this video is

to just try to explain the gist of these

men their relevance to the LDS church

the Mormon religion and in some cases

America itself so Joseph Smith was

killed in 1844 by an angry mob who had

invaded the jail cell where he was being

held in Carthage Illinois you can learn

about how he got there from somebody

else's video but in any case after his

murder the Mormons needed to pick

someone else to lead their Church which

by then had about 20,000 followers in

the American Midwest and the person they

settled on was Brigham Young a carpenter

from rural New York who had risen to

become Joseph Smith's right-hand man

apparently things were settled when

during a debate over who should be the

next Church leader Brigham Young gave a

passionate speech where he literally

transformed into Joseph Smith himself

Brigham Young Who was the president of

the Quorum of the TW Apostles arose to

speak when the mantle of Joseph fell

upon him and he was like one transformed

his countenance voice and form were like

those of the late Prophet many in the

congregation even children saw this

miracle it satisfied the people and

decided the question who was to be the

leader after Joseph Smith Brigham Young

is probably the Mormon prophet that the

greatest number of non-mormons have

heard of as you can see from the covered

wagons in this picture here he is best

known for leading the early Mormons on a

long Trek out of the Midwest which had

become very anti-mormon and into the

Utah desert which in those days was

still part of Mexico settling his

followers in this unpopulated area

Brigham Young proclaimed himself

governor of the state of Deseret and he

served for the next 30 years as a

competent and effective architect of a

thriving new American colony base ruined

a new city known as Salt Lake in 1848

America annexed Utah from Mexico and

Brigham Young applied to get his Colony

whose borders he defined a little

generously admitted to the United States

the Congress whittel it way down and

said it could only be a territory the

territory of Utah though in a

significant concession the federal

government agreed to recognize young as

the legal Governor now in his later

years Joseph Smith had told his inner

circle that God wanted them to become

polygamists and knowing it would be

controversial this doctrine of plural

marriage was initially a closely guarded

secret of the Mormon Elite who

nevertheless embraced it with gusto

Joseph Smith would take 34 wives while

beram young would take by some estimates

57 in 1852 however Brigham Young went

public and announced to the world that

God wanted Mormons to be polygamists no

longer an awkward secret polygamy

quickly became an open and even proud

part of Mormon identity which in turn

quickly made the LDS church hugely

unpopular with the rest of the country

these days most Americans think of

polygamy as kind of ridiculous and maybe

a little creepy but in the 1850s when

sexual Norms were extremely uptight

polygamy was considered almost

impossibly perverted and repulsive the

idea of a man openly having so many

sexual partners was sickening as was the

age gap between some of the Mormon men

and their young wives many moral

Crusaders of the time actually

considered polygamy as offensive to the

Natural order as slavery and often spoke

of it in the same breath and because of

this the notion of a bizarre Mormon

theocracy emerging in Utah became

increasingly frightening to many

Americans since the Mormon religion was

seen as so grotesque the idea of this

church running a sizable chunk of the

United States was seen as deeply

offensive to the proper American

constitutional system of secular

government President James Buchanan was

particularly offended and he spent a

considerable portion of his first state

of the union denouncing Brigham Young as

a Despicable Tyrant who had established

absolute power over both church and

state in his corner of the continent and

this led to what is sometimes called the

Utah war or the Morman War though no

shots were actually fired Buchanan

simply dispatched thousands of troops to

the Utah border and threatened to invade

and in early 1858 Brigham Young agreed

to step down his governor a non-mormon

governor was installed and the US Army

set up a giant Fort just outside of Salt

Lake City which lasted into the Civil

warriors on that note the other big

thing about Bigham young that has to be

mentioned because next to the polygamy

it would prove to be the single biggest

issue for the church was his incredible

racism even by the standards of his time

young had very hateful and violent

opinions about black people believing

them to be unfit to be anything on

slaves or servants as Governor he

legalized slavery in Utah and as Mormon

president he introduced a policy

declaring that black people or indeed

anyone with black ancestry was unfit to

hold office in the LDS church hierarchy

serve as a missionary or enter a Mormon

temple African-Americans could join the

church but could not enjoy the full

benefits of membership such as having

their marriages receive a temp blessing

which is a very important thing in

Mormon theology bringham young died in

1877 having served as Mormon prophet for

almost three decades he is very much the

founding father of Mormon Utah and in

that sense is one of the most unique and

consequential figures in the history of

the United States arguably even more so

than Joseph Smith himself the third

Prophet was a guy named John Taylor the

only foreign born prophet he was from

England and immigrated to Canada in his

20s where he was converted by an early

Mormon missionary he moved to the US and

became an apostle of Joseph Smith and

later Bram young eventually becoming

chairman of the Quorum of the 12 and

since this was the position that Brigham

Y young had held when Joseph Smith had

died it was agreed that so too should

Taylor become the new Prophet now that

Brigham Young was dead and thus has been

Mormon tradition ever since so with

slavery having been abolished by the

civil War America's progressive

reformers now turned their attention to

polygamy and this once again made Utah

Public Enemy Number One in the eyes of

Washington DC Congress began passing

harsher and harsher anti-polygamy laws

many of which targeted Utah specifically

it culminated in an 1887 bill that

outright dissolved the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints as a legal

entity and allowed the federal

government to seize its assets senior

Morman leaders became wanted men and

were either jailed or went into hiding

including President Taylor who spent

much of his six-year leadership of the

church in an undisclosed location

communicating only through letters when

Taylor died in 1887 he was replaced by

Wilford Woodruff an 82-year-old man who

knew that things could not continue on

like this the Mormon religion could not

survive with its leaders being enemies

of the state its Church being being

forcibly disassembled and the community

of Utah under Perpetual occupation by

Federal Marshals was polygamy really

worth all of this so in 1890 president

Woodruff announced that the Lord had

revealed unto him that polygamy was to

be phased out among members of the

church this became known as official

declaration 1 and it was added to the

book of doctrines and Covenants one of

the three books of sacred Mormon

scriptures you will notice though that I

said phased out rather than banned most

of the Mormon men who had multiple wives

by this point including many Church

Elites only started splitting up with

them very gradually and well into the

20th century the church would face

criticism for not cracking Dune on the

practice of polygamy harshly enough

fundamentalist Mormons on the other hand

felt that Woodruff had committed

blasphemy and accordingly over the next

few decades rival profits would spring

up claiming you could still do polygamy

if you followed them if you ever hear a

Buddha Mormon having multiple wives in

the modern era they are almost certainly

following some Fringe dissident Prophet

beyond that President Woodruff was also

the first prophet to go on the record

explicitly rejecting a Mormon theocracy

either in Utah as Brigham Young had done

or over the entire United States as

Joseph Smith had wanted to do back in

his day there has not been or is there

the remotest desire on our part on the

part of our co-religionists to do

anything looking to a union of church

and state was how he put it these two

reforms went a long way to help

alleviate anxieties in Washington about

Mormon run Utah and in 1896 Utah

officially became the 45th state of the

US symbolized here by the Utah State

Seal beyond that President Woodruff was

also the prophet who presided over the

completion of the enor Mormon temple in

the center of Salt Lake City which to

this day functions as the sacred meeting

place of the Mormon prophets and their

Apostles and he was the prophet who

instigated the church's preoccupation

with genealogy most of the major

genealogy firms in America are run by

Mormons because of a decree that

President Woodruff made that Mormons

should seek to document everyone who had

ever lived and baptized them into the

Mormon Church posthumously Woodruff died

in 1898 and was replaced by Lorenzo Snow

who only served 3 years but in my

opinion was one of the top three most

important prophets of all time because

he was the guy who introduced the

concept of tithing tithing is a

traditional Old Testament Practice where

you're supposed to give some portion of

your personal wealth to the Lord and by

the 1890s the LDS church had racked up a

lot of debt from spending so much on

temples and missionaries and legal

battles with the federal government so

President Snow had a vision from God

that he wanted Mormons to start giving

10% of their yearly income to the church

to help sustain it financially and

because the Mormons were very loyal to

their profit the vast majority

obediently did this and still do this to

this day this flooded the church with an

enormous amount of cash which in turn

allowed it to enter the 20th century as

a much more serious and sophisticated

religious operation than it had been in

the 19th century snow died in 1901 and

was replaced by Joseph F Smith the first

prophet who was born into the church

rather than being an adult convert and

this was because he was the original

Joseph Smith's nephew the Smith family

was highly venerated in Mormon circles

but Joseph Smith's Widow and Brigham

Young didn't get along so she didn't go

to Utah and her son Joseph Smith III

wound up becoming profet of a different

flavor of Mormonism based out of the

Midwest what is now known as The

Community of Christ Joseph F Smith was

the son of Joseph Smith's older brother

who had been murdered in prison

alongside him and his widowed mother

brought him to Utah where he was part of

the first generation of American

children to be raised Mormon he was

appointed one of Brigham Young's

Apostles when he was in his 20s as

president he is probably best known for

his 1906 decree that from henceforth not

all Mormon converts should come to Utah

the Mormons had had an active missionary

program from the very beginning but the

way it generally worked was that after

somebody converted to Mormonism they

would move to Utah and live there for

the rest of their lives this was

partially to be surrounded by a

community of Believers but also for

practical reasons Mormonism places a lot

of emphasis on doing certain rituals in

a Mormon temple and for a long time Utah

was the only place in the world where

Mormon temples existed Joseph F Smith

however declared it would be better for

the long-term spread of Mormonism if

converts stayed put and created Mormon

communities outside of just a single

American state this heralded a shift in

the church's focus and it began to

prioritize the creation of Mormon

temples not just all across the us but

all over the world as well Smith died in

198 and was replaced by Heber J Grant

the second prophet to be born in to the

faith and the first prophet born in Utah

which has also been the case for almost

every Prophet after him Grant's

Ascension thus represented a significant

shift in the leadership of the church

away from Pioneer era converts who had

known Joseph Smith or Brigham Young

personally and towards men who grew up

in a Utah that was now a more or less

fully developed place with cities and

jobs and industries not that different

from other states Grant had been a

successful Utah business business man

who like many Utah businessmen in the

late 19th century was also very active

in church Affairs not because he was

trying to build some exciting new

religion from scratch but just because

that was the religion of the community

he was born into and being a diligent

Mormon was just part of that culture as

prophet he embodied a similarly modern

sensibility making use of the new

fangled technology of radio as we see

here in order to communicate directly

with his people and project an image of

a church that was aware of public

concerns and engaged with the happenings

of The Wider World during his long

presidency which lasted for 26 years the

second longest after Brigham Young the

Els Church closed in on a million

members and became more modern

professionalized and bureaucratic while

still remaining loyal to an increasingly

stable set of Mormon beliefs he notably

got the church a lot more involved in

char and humanitarian work provoked by

the suffering inflicted by the two world

wars and the Great Depression a weird

anacronismo the last prophet to have

been a polygamist since he was a young

man right before the decree against it

came in Grant died just a few days after

V Day on May 14th 1945 he was replaced

by another member of the Smith family

George Smith who was a more distant

relative of Joseph but still grew up in

a very well-connected Mormon family

George Smith presided over the post-war

growth of the LDS church into something

increasingly designed to accommodate and

some might say dominate the lives of

middle class Mormon families in Utah

with all sorts of church sponsored

businesses and magazines and sports

teams and Social Clubs that allowed

Mormons to enjoy all of the benefits of

modern American culture while

nevertheless feeling secure that they

were always being surrounded by other

members of the Faith George died and was

replaced in 1951 by David O McKay who

basically continued this same agenda

growing post-war incomes and birth rates

were making the LDS church steadily

wealthier through the tithe system which

allowed the post-war Church to get

increasingly ambitious the church could

soon afford to set up missionary

campaigns and even the most remote

corners of the world and they were

finally able to fully fund the

construction of overseas temples to

serve as the center of non-american

Mormon communities president McKay in

fact dedicated the church's first three

overseas temples during his reign in

Switzerland New Zealand and London he

was in turn replaced in 1970 by yet

another member of the Smith family

Joseph Fielding Smith the earlier

Prophet Joseph F Smith was his father

and was actually named Joseph Fielding

Smith as well but to keep things less

confusing Mormons only called the second

Joseph F Smith by his full name Joseph

Fielding Smith is a major figure in

Mormon history because he was a highly

venerated and prolific Church authorized

writer on the topic of Mormon theology

he was thus largely responsible for

helping clarify what exactly late 20th

century Mormons believed the greatest

doctrinal teacher of his generation says

his poster what he argued in his many

best-selling Mormon books which we see

here was that Mormons should be very

conservative Christians they should read

the Bible in a very literal way and be

very skeptical of the secular ideas of

the modern world this included

everything from rejecting the theory of

evolution to opposing the corrupting

influences of Hollywood to encouraging

women to be mothers and homemakers

before anything else as a prophet in his

'90s in the early 1970s Joseph Fielding

Smith issued declarations that placed

the LDS church on the conservative side

of the many contentious culture War

battles of the time denouncing birth

control abortion homosexuality rock

music and the rest Smith died in 1973

and was replaced by Harold B Lee a

longtime Church bureaucrat who was

nevertheless a pretty irrelevant Prophet

because he died after just 17 months on

the job in 1973 Lee was replaced by

Spencer W Kim ball the last prophet

we're going to talk about today and this

is because he was the last prophet who

made any substantial changes to the core

beliefs of the Mormon church he was the

20th century Prophet who had to address

the greatest remaining controversy of

the church's 19th century history I

refer of course to the whole black

people thing the Mormon Church's ban on

full rights for its black members had

become increasingly controversial during

the Civil Rights era when all of the

major institutions of American Life were

desegregating Mormon Scholars likewise

were beginning to conclude that the band

was just a product of Brigham Young's

personal bigotry and the racism of

subsequent church leaders and never had

been justified by any claims of divine

revelation to a man like Kimble who

really wanted to step up the church's

missionary work the ban was similarly an

obvious obstacle to broadening

mormonism's appeal in the non-white

world and lastly there was fear that

hisory would repeat itself and that the

federal government would move to strip

legal protections from the church just

as it had done during the polygamy era

so by the late 1970s there was a broad

consensus that the ban had to go and in

June of 1978 President Kimball declared

that he had received a vision from the

Lord that blacks should now enjoy a full

rights and membership in the Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you

can see a black guy receiving a full

blessing right here much like the

polygamy ban this vision was considered

so important that it was added to the

Mormon scriptures as official

declaration to the last addition to the

Mormon Cannon to date people are often

very cynical about this Revelation

because it was so obviously done for

political reasons but that also makes it

an important case study in how the

church was being run by this point as

this excellent book second class Saints

by Matthew Harris discusses at Great

length Kimball didn't changed the policy

on black members unilaterally it was

rather something that he discussed and

negotiated with other Church Elites

forging a gradual consensus with the

eventual announcement of the policy as a

divine revelation being a bit of a

ceremonial formality as opposed to a

literal description of how the decision

was made in other words the Mormon

church was now operating as a

sophisticated bureaucracy where the big

decisions were being made by the

prophets and apostles working together

as Executives reaching consensus

decisions that were in the best

interests of their organization things

had come a long way from the

authoritarian onean rule of Joseph Smith

or bringham young Mormons were now a

Thoroughly Modern 20th century Church

perhaps not that much different from

other Protestant denominations Kimble

served as president for seven more years

after his Doctrine changing Revelation

but didn't do anything else nearly as

noteworthy he died in 1985 a time when

according to his poster the church had

risen to almost 6 million members

worldwide there have been five prophets

after Kimble all of whom served as

Apostles under him and have been mostly

similar to one another Benson Hunter

hinley Monson and now Nelson have all

been University educated church

technocrats with charming and avuncular

personalities but serious and

conservative beliefs abot traditional

Church Church doctrines they've presided

over a rapidly expanding church that has

become steadily more International in

its identity including a membership of

over 17 million that is now majority

non-american but the rise of the

internet has also seen a growing

proliferation of anti-mormon content

online which has driven many young

people from the church like never before

prophets are still leaders but now serve

as increasingly defensive spokesmen for

a church that the world is more curious

about than ever and not always in a good

way at least this is how I see it as an

outsider looking in for anyone who grew

up Mormon I'd be curious to hear what

you think defines the last few prophets

as well as what you were taught to boot

the various historic prophets and for my

non- Mormon viewers I would be curious

to know if any of you guys have heard of

any of these people at all anyway thank

you so much for watching if you enjoyed

this video please give it a like

subscribe for more and I will see you

next week

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