Polk’s Journal: Preventing Mormon Alliances

We begin the episode with apologies to Sarah, who emailed us while in labor… again. Gerrit then sets the stage for a multi-part deep dive: Brigham Young, James K. Polk, and the Mormon Battalion with a question about the oft-repeated story that in General Conference Brigham Young announced a U.S. president “died and went to hell.” 

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Rex's Elders Quorum President's Show Notes:
00:02:47 – General Banter
00:14:10 – Baby naming digression
00:18:46 – Listener email reading
00:23:59 – President Hinckley, and improvised remarks during a church meeting.
00:29:29 – Brigham Young and the U.S. president, question raised about which president Brigham Young referenced, opening into deeper historical analysis.
00:33:51 – Secretary of Defense texts and politics, Discussion of a Secretary of Defense text message reference, bridging to political tensions in LDS history.
00:37:55 – Brigham Young’s perception of government problems, exploration of Brigham Young’s uneasy feelings about U.S. government actions and underlying suspicions.
00:43:30 – James Polk and the Mormon Battalion, quoting Polk’s journal about calling Mormons into military service, with historical and political implications.
00:48:49 – Party politics and Mormon voters, Analysis of Democrats vs. Whigs, Mormons as consistent Democrat voters, and shifting political dynamics.
00:52:46 – Close elections and minority status, Reflection on razor-thin election margins, using comparisons to modern U.S. states like Texas.
00:55:09 – Email reading recap, Lighthearted commentary on how emails were read, with jokes about voice impressions.
00:57:46 – Figuring things out in real time, Hosts note that they essentially just “lived through” the lesson while talking—meta humor about their own podcasting style.
01:01:04 – Postmaster positions and patronage, Historical detail about the importance of postmaster appointments and thousands of federal jobs.
01:06:09 – Closing thoughts and unfinished material, Discussion of Alexander McCrae’s anger, acknowledgment that time ran out, and teasing future continuation.