Mary Ann Clements

"I don't know if this actually happened or not..." 21st century discourse: facts are irrelevant.

The bad press is a short-term loss, and it's a drop in a bucket of crazy news stories. They basically won the "Bad Mormon" trademark thing. If anything, it seems like them taking on "Mormon Stories" after 20 years shows they are emboldened. They have unlimited time and money. Dehlin doesn't.

Right, but that's where the 21st century "fake news" element really shines. In the 19th century, RLDS folks *did* accuse LDS leaders of forging the 1843 revelation and getting people to lie in the 1869 affidavits. The current effort to claim that Clayton forged his personal diaries, though, is new.

We have sealing and divorce records proving Sarah Lawrence's plural marriage to Heber C. Kimball, so why in the world do people say that this is a straight-forward denial? She's clearly coping with some serious trauma and wants to erase ALL memory of polygamy, not just her marriage with Joseph.

Honestly, the way we've thought about this history needs to change. Everyone makes a big deal that Sarah Lawrence denied being married to JS. What's the evidence? It's Helen M. Kimball's statement that Sarah denied in 1872 ever being "connected" to Joseph Smith OR Heber C. Kimball.

The unique aspect of the current skeptic movement is that it's built on a 21st century mix of anti-intellectualism, anti-institutionalism, and unprecedented democratization of access to digitized historical records. It's all about determining which evidence to dismiss and why.

Oaks argued that it was okay within the legal context of that time for the city government to halt the printing. He clarified that it was NOT okay for them to destroy personal property (hence, they were still liable in that quote).

And I haven't even touched all the juicy stuff that happened in Utah with the Lawrence family!

The story told to descendants was that the widow (Clarinda) found out that the Butterfields were leaving for CA, and she applied to go with them as cook. Josiah balked at allowing an unescorted woman in the all-male wagon train, so he offered marriage as the condition for her to join. She said yes.

Josiah was listed as head of household for the family in a December 1852 ward census. That means Josiah Butterfield was present when Margaret died on 1 January 1853 in Salt Lake City. Josiah and several of his boys moved to CA in spring. He married a widowed lady in Salt Lake shortly before he left.

Oh, and Margaret (Sarah's mom) never separated from Josiah Butterfield. They were still acting as a married couple when they sold their Nauvoo property a few months before Margaret & the kids migrated west with the 1850 Edward Hunter company. Josiah arrived in Salt Lake by the end of 1852.

Sarah turning 21 meant that A. W. Babbit couldn't serve as Sarah's guardian in wrapping up the Illinois portion of the Edward Lawrence estate. She had to be present to sign the papers with her older sister, Maria. The Illinois portion of the estate stuff didn't get wrapped up till 1848.

Oh, and Sarah Lawrence? She was originally scheduled to go west in the 1847 Edward Hunter company with the Joseph & Isabella Horne family (fellow Canadian converts). The reason she opted to go back to Nauvoo instead was because she turned 21 in May 1847.

Of course, this discovery made possible by the digitization efforts of the fantastic people at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City: catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/1297c...

Sarah M. (Granger) Kimball wrote on 30 March 1850: "Sister Heywood I should have before mentioned the departure of our Friend Maria Laurence[.] I think she gradually failed from the time you left until last nov[ember] when she sweetly fell asleep[.]"

I don't understand how historians keep cool discoveries under wraps. A couple days ago I found out that the real death date for Maria Lawrence (an important figure in Mormon history) was November 1849 instead of the long-believed 1847! It was mentioned in an 1850 letter.

Screenshot of text with the name John Turner underlined. It should be John Taylor.

In case someone hasn't pointed it out yet, you've turned John Turner into a prophet. Been loving the videos on the origins and impact of D&C 132.

Earthquake map showing 4.7 magnitude earthquake occurred in Evanston, WY, on 22 Jan 2026.

I'm 80 miles away from Evanston, WY, and I felt this. 😳

Maybe the thinking is if girls go on missions straight out of high school, they'll be less inclined to pursue higher education?

I first heard Karin Wulf speak about genealogy at MHA several years ago. As a family history hobbyist for almost two decades and now a Certified Genealogist, it's always jarring to hear professional historians admit they didn't really respect genealogy as a discipline until forced by some event.

Episode 1: Genealogy and Power with Karin Wulf In a Virginia courtroom in the mid-seventeenth century, a woman named Mary Aggie stood before a judge not to defend herself with a lawyer, but with lineage. She traced her ancestry back to a free woma...

Three excellent historians discuss the value of understanding the role of genealogy in the past. @jstuart.bsky.social and @ccjones.bsky.social interview @kawulf.bsky.social in this first episode of the Reunion podcast. reunion-a-podcast-about-family-histories.ghost.io/episode-1-ge...

Not exactly the first person to take the path from "I will be the one to single-handedly guide the Church and nation through the apocalypse and into the Millennium" to "Satan's minions have infiltrated church leadership and actively seek my destruction."

Joseph Smith Memorial Building now has a mini-temple of sorts so top LDS leaders can meet while iconic temple is closed Top leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been meeting in a mini-temple of sorts in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building while the nearby Salt Lake Temple undergoes extensive r...

Source: www.sltrib.com/religion/202...

Text: On Jan. 7, 2020, the city issued a “certificate of occupancy,” which was apparently the day it was move-in ready. That substitute space was then “prepared” and “dedicated,” church spokesperson Doug Andersen said Wednesday. “During the time that the Salt Lake Temple is undergoing renovation,” he said, “senior church leaders will meet in a dedicated space that has been prepared in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.”

The FP & Q12 dedicated a place in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in 2020 for them to use while the SL Temple is under construction.

Maybe you could use someone's backyard? I've attended both weddings and ring ceremonies in nice backyards. Congratulations, btw!

Also, an interesting tidbit: Rasband confirmed that, even though the Q12 had been working on the Family Proc since fall of 1994, the general RS presidency was unaware of its existence until shortly before Hinckley presented it at the 23 Sep 1995 RS meeting. It had zero official female input. 5/end

-Evanson's talk on the impact of young service missionaries (central focus, not just an aside). My autistic son is finishing up his service mission, so that was a big deal to me. 4/

-Still a lot of Nelson-worship, but much more emphasis on following Christ over following the prophet.
-Lots of peacemaking & patience with ourselves & others. (Not as much guns blazing spiritual warfare.) 3/

Peter Johnson covered his shock & anger on hearing about the priesthood & temple ban on his mission. (Let's normalize talking about being shocked by church history you didn't know about!) John Amos cited Jesus as the secret ingredient (like Tony's creole seasoning!) in the "Good News recipe." 2/

Pleasant surprises from LDS #generalconference :
-Oaks stating which parts were planned prior to Nelson's passing vs which were changed (takes out guess work).
-Three African-*American* speakers. Traci Browning is always good, but she talked about something I love (primary songs). 1/