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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