Episode Overview

Podcast: Standard of Truth
Host: Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat
Episode: S5B13 Kristy’s KorneЯ - D&C 135 Part 1
Release Date: November 27, 2025

Theme:
This episode deeply explores the political, social, and theological context leading up to the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, focusing on church-state relations in Nauvoo, the fallout of saints’ experiences in Missouri, internal church controversies, and the explosive events surrounding the Nauvoo Expositor. Dr. Dirkmaat offers historical analysis peppered with humor and modern analogies, helping Latter-day Saints better understand how external factors and internal divisions converged in tragedy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Saints’ Arrival in Illinois and Political Dynamics (00:00–09:20)

• Refugees in Illinois: After being driven out of Missouri amid state-sponsored violence, the Latter-day Saints settle in Illinois, specifically in Quincy and then Commerce (later Nauvoo).
• Nauvoo Charter:
  • The saints gain an unusually broad charter, including their own courts, university, and crucially, a city militia (the Nauvoo Legion).
  • This is partly due to Illinois Democrats seeking reliable votes from the saints, who had historically bloc-voted Democratic.
• Political Humor:

  “The Whig Party, probably the worst named party in American history, right? The Hair Club for Men party, the Whig Party.” (A, 01:02)

Memorable Quote

“Imagine, back in the day when we weren’t so civilized and politicians would do whatever they thought it would take to win.” – Dr. Dirkmaat (A, 03:29)

2. Economic and Political Motives for Hospitality (05:30–10:12)

• Economic Downturn: Illinois welcomes the saints for their economic potential, aiding a state suffering after the Panic of 1837.
• Bloc Voting:
  The saints’ solid Democratic support is strategically valuable in closely contested Illinois politics.

3. Federal Government and Saints’ Grievances (09:20–17:06)

• Petitioning for Justice: Joseph Smith seeks redress from state and federal government for losses in Missouri. President Martin Van Buren’s inaction (“If I help you, I’ll lose the state of Missouri”) deeply sours the saints on the Democratic party nationally.
• Federal Power Argument: Dr. Dirkmaat asserts the federal government could have intervened, referencing Andrew Jackson’s responses to state insurrections and the Indian Removal Act.

Notable Exchange

“If Martin Van Buren had wanted to, he could have sent a federal army to Missouri... The state cannot just willy-nilly take property from American citizens.” (A, 12:53)

4. Political Frustration and Shifting Alliances (17:06–27:24)

• Letters to Candidates: Joseph writes to prospective 1844 presidential candidates — from both parties — seeking their intentions regarding the saints.
• Disappointing Replies:
  Henry Clay’s non-committal response is especially crushing. All major candidates, including Van Buren, refuse aid; Joseph grows more disillusioned.
• Running for President: With no viable national allies, Joseph opts to run for president himself, aiming to highlight grievances rather than win.

Quip

“The point isn’t to win. The point is to bring attention to... issues that matter. I apologize to the people listening from the Constitutional Law Party or the Green Party...” (A, 30:22)

5. Growing Tensions: Internal Dissent and External Hostility (27:24–37:56)

• Anti-Mormon Sentiment:
  Reasons include religious differences (scriptures outside the Bible), block voting, economic clout, and negative propaganda.
• Apostasy and Radical Teachings:
  • Ex-members like John C. Bennett and William Law become key critics; their bitterness compounds both local and public distrust.
  • Joseph’s most controversial teachings (plural marriage, baptism for the dead, exaltation theology) further alienate many, even church leaders.

Conference Anecdote

“He kept asking follow up questions... and then as soon as I said ‘plural marriage’ — oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes sense. That’s why...” (A, 39:22)

6. The Plural Marriage Controversy (37:56–50:19)

• John C. Bennett’s Betrayal:
  • Instrumental in Nauvoo, Bennett is excommunicated for teaching “spiritual wifery” (not Joseph’s doctrine), then pens a sensational exposé.
  • Despite juicy content, most Americans don’t believe the saints are polygamists — until much later.
• Scope of Practice:
  • By 1844, only several dozen are privately taught/practicing plural marriage.
  • Joseph’s purposes: legal caution, gradual introduction, awaiting relocation for fuller implementation.

7. Doctrinal and Social Innovations (50:19–53:32)

• Radical Theologies:
  • Baptism for the dead, eternal marriage, the King Follett Sermon (God was once a man), are all blasphemous to mainstream Protestants and highly controversial within.
• Public Reaction:
  Many, including William Law, lose faith not only over plural marriage but the entire wave of radical teachings.

Core Quote

“Joseph is explaining... that God wasn’t always God. It is an idea that, frankly, when your friend... tells you that you worship a different Jesus, that’s one of the things on their mind when they tell you that.” (A, 50:20)

8. The Nauvoo Expositor Crisis (53:32–59:59)

• Expositor’s Role:
  William Law’s paper attacks Joseph for plural marriage, new doctrines, mixing religion with politics, and more. The Expositor calls Nauvoo’s plural marriage “spiritual wifery,” implying widespread licentiousness.
• City Council’s Logic:
  • Facing inflamed passions and violence, Nauvoo’s council, citing legal precedents and their city charter, orders destruction of the Expositor press as a legal “nuisance.”
  • Dr. Dirkmaat notes destruction of presses (e.g., abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy’s) was, while shocking today, not rare or always prosecuted on the 19th-century frontier.
• The Die is Cast:
  Despite perceived legal cover, the action is a public relations disaster and becomes the pretext for Joseph’s arrest and subsequent murder.

Key Analysis

“However legally justified they thought it was... None of that actually matters, because with the destruction of that press, the shouts of Mormon usurpation of power... becomes this clarion call that is going to lead to Joseph Smith’s arrest and eventually to his murder.” (A, 59:12)

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• White-hot history humor:

  “Now, I know you're all thinking, actually, I can think of at least one more [hated president]. I'm telling you, John Tyler is the most hated.” (A, 22:30)

• Real-world application:

  “People who have, who have been wronged, who have been hurt, who have been harmed, and that there doesn't seem to be any way to get legal recourse to that. And that is certainly how the Latter Day Saints feel.” (A, 31:25)

• Plural marriage clarity:

  “While it wasn’t a factor nationally... it certainly is a big factor internally.” (A, 43:29)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Start | |----------------------------------------------------|----------| | Nauvoo, political context, saints arrive in IL | 00:00 | | Charter, city powers, political motives | 03:00 | | Block voting/economic factors | 05:30 | | Joseph’s petitions/Van Buren’s refusal | 09:20 | | Federal power argument—Jackson, Van Buren | 11:10 | | Parties/local politics—Whigs vs. Democrats | 17:06 | | Joseph writes to candidates, is rejected | 21:00 | | Joseph’s presidential campaign | 27:30 | | Saints as hated minority (external/internal factors)| 27:24 | | John C. Bennett—rise and fall | 39:29 | | Plural marriage’s limited practice | 44:54 | | Joseph’s radical doctrines (baptism for dead, etc.) | 50:19 | | William Law, internal schism, Expositor background | 53:32 | | Expositor suppression/legal context | 56:25 | | Press destruction/impact—Lovejoy comparison | 57:30 | | Destruction leads to martyrdom context | 59:10 |

Conclusion

This episode delivers a rich, wry, and well-sourced narrative on the interlocking political, societal, and doctrinal events that set the stage for the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. Dr. Dirkmaat’s explanations connect personal motives, social moods, legal logics, and tragic escalation, demystifying the context of D&C 135 and helping listeners better understand—and, perhaps, sympathize with—all actors in this famous chapter of Latter-day Saint history.

To be continued: Next episode will cover the specific events leading up to and including the martyrdom itself.