The time has come for a new apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Clark G. Gilbert; time for your podcast hosts to rise to the occasion with another Apostolic Profile episode. He escaped the religious persecution Mormons often suffer growing up in Scottsdale, AZ, to go to BYU. Then off to Harvard for business, to acquire more useful skills for his forthcoming career in the Church Education System (CES). Before CES, however, Gilbert was responsible for trimming all the fat at Deseret News, which amounted to firing 40% of the workforce and shifting it to an unabashedly apologetic mission statement defending the church. Once appointed to CES, Gilbert instituted a series of Orwellian surveillance systems at BYU to punish thought crime; Ernest Wilkinson would be proud and Jeffrey Holland finally has a man to fire some muskets. Now Gilbert joins as the youngest apostle, securing his future position as prophet circa 2050s-70s. This "disruptive innovator" has a lot of new ideas to keep the church as extremist-conservative as is legally permissible heading into the 22nd century. This call to the Apostleship by Dallin Oaks ensures Oaks' legacy remains long after he's become a shepherd of worms. Patrons get a bonus segment comparing Gilbert's interviews at Deseret News and SL Tribune immediately after his ordination, which tangentially serves as a case study for the deterioration of journalism at Deseret Media, due to Gilbert himself. After that, it's our next installment of Oaks' book, Pure in Heart, where he discusses the importance of mindset and intentionality when rendering service, especially for the church. We end with happy news about a potential future cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

Show Notes:

Clark Gilbert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_G._Gilbert

Gilbert's likely tenure as future prophet https://www.reddit.com/r/mormon/comments/1r8c74x/on_his_first_day_in_the_q15_clark_g_gilbert/

Official press release https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/clark-gilbert-called-quorum-of-the-twelve-apostles

Gilbert Op-ed for ChurchNewsroom

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/how-education-family-and-testimony-are-fundamental-in-the-life-of-elder-clark-g-gilbert

The Parable of the Slope https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/16gilbert?lang=eng

Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave

https://hbr.org/1995/01/disruptive-technologies-catching-the-wave

The Disruption Machine by Jill Lepore

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/23/the-disruption-machine

Gilbert's profile on BYU Law and Wheatley Institute with law-focused talks

https://www.religiousfreedomlibrary.org/authors/clark-g-gilbert

Gilbert: Stewardship of Our First Freedom

https://www.religiousfreedomlibrary.org/documents/the-stewardship-of-our-first-freedom#note-30

Gilbert: The Courage of Our Convictions

https://www.religiousfreedomlibrary.org/documents/the-courage-of-our-convictions-how-religious-expression-goes-beyond-religious-liberty

Gilbert: Dare to be Different

https://www.deseret.com/2022/9/14/23319209/elder-clark-gilbert-religious-universities-should-dare-to-be-different/

American Disestablishment: The Conclusion by Miles Smith

https://davenantinstitute.org/american-disestablishment-the-conclusion/

Disestablishmentarianism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disestablishmentarianism

Governance and the Religion Question: Voluntaryism, Disestablishment, and America's Church-State Proposition by Carl H. Esbeck

https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1156&context=facpubs

Becket Foundation "Religious Liberty" SCOTUS victories

https://becketfund.org/cases/?fwp_case_court=us-supreme-court&fwp_case_status=past

Hosanna-Tabor

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/565/171/

Trinity Lutheran

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/582/15-577/

Our Lady of Guadalupe

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/591/19-267/

Carson v. Makin

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/596/20-1088/

How SCOTUS is Dismantling the Separation of Church and State

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-the-supreme-court-is-dismantling-the-separation-of-church-and-state/

American Council of Education

https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/american-council-on-education/

Becoming BYU

https://aims.byu.edu/becoming-byu

LDS Education Boss Touts BYU's Commitment to Religious Freedom by Peggy Fletcher Stack

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/01/24/byu-will-never-back-away-its/

Spiritual Crackdown at BYU? By RadioWest

https://radiowest.kuer.org/podcast/radiowest/2025-01-16/a-spiritual-crackdown-at-brigham-young-university

BYU New Employment Policy

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2022/03/10/new-employment-policy/

BYU employment questionnaire

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/ecclesiastical-leader-questions-new-ces-hires

Fine Print: The Deseret News Spins its Circulation Numbers by Rachel Piper

https://www.cityweekly.net/news/fine-print-the-deseret-news-spins-its-circulation-numbers-2207487

Dallin Oaks and Clark Gilbert: Stand Fast with Love in Proclaiming Truth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6IXLufuAAQ

Gilbert Deseret News interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORUY06HPmfM

Gilbert SL Trib interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FPwhJhBJ-A

Ben Park video on Gilbert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTXXNeydptg

Gordon Monson: Clark Gilbert has been called as an LDS apostle. Now, we'll see if he's chosen.

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2026/02/13/maybe-clark-gilbert-will-be/

Gordon Monson: LDS Church education boss should put down the hammer at BYU and pick up an olive branch: https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/01/06/byu-there-is-too-much-fear-too/

Dark days: New rules have BYU professors running scared https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/01/05/byu-blue-why-these-are-dark-days/

Sword of Laman: Pure In Heart, by Dallin H. Oaks

The Mansion, by Henry Van Dyke: https://americanliterature.com/author/henry-van-dyke/short-story/the-mansion

Happy News:

A bold new plan could finally cure Type 1 diabetes: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260302030648.htm

Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen

Other appearances: Chris Shelton interviewed us in the beginning of a series on Mormonism on his Speaking of Cults series. Our most recent discussion was on The Unpaid Army of God: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de543-d9tME

He has had MANY different fascinating people on so go take a look! Here is the whole playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpGuS7GcsgA&list=PLGrPM1Pg2h72ADIuv8eYmzrJ-ppLOlw_g

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