The church shifts its focus from cultural anecdata from the past to hard truths for the future. Cracks in the church foundation begin to appear.

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Cecil B Ettinger

The Conference of Restored Elders

Duane Couey

Arthur Oakman

Russell Ralston

William Timms

Pres. W. Wallace Smith flexes his prophetic muscles by doing a ton of staffing changes. On the surface, nothing is changing. In reality, he's setting up the church to do things like include non-white members in their leadership. 

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Maurice Draper

Roy Cheville

Charles Neff

Outreach International

The splinter group that broke off circa 2005

Comments on Clifford Cole

It's the end of an era as President Israel "Dutch" Smith passes away in a car crash. President W. Wallace Smith is named successor, which makes sense since he's essentially been acting president for a solid six years. 

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Historical Amnesia: Corporate Identity and Collective Memory

Nauvoo in the 1960s

Prophet-President Israel "Dutch" Smith starts making tours of the Pacific and Europe to meet the members of his church. Or, from another perspective, he uses the church as an excuse to travel, get fancy gadgets installed on his car, and watch baseball. It's all a matter of perspective.

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John Garver

Gentle Monarch, by Norma Derry Hiles

Israel "Dutch" Smith spends his first years of his presidency at his wife's bedside, with breaks to write correspondence and delegate decisions to F. Henry Edwards, his nephew-in-law. 

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Roscoe Davey

Maurice L Draper

Reed Holmes

A Gentle Monarch

The post-WWII era ushers in an era of economic growth for the church, and a grumpy Fred M., a prophet who failed to write down his succession plan. Israel "Dutch" Smith becomes prophet-president, soon thereafter giving his first revelation. 

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John Garver

Frank Henry Edwards

Fred M.'s funeral bulletin

The revelation is just another staffing change from Fred M. The reality is that nobody likes him and his closest confidantes are quitting. Somehow, despite a lifetime of being treated as Lesser, little brother Israel A. Smith steps in to start the process in becoming the next prophet-president.

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L.F.P. Curry

Gentle Monarch: The Presidency of Israel A. Smith

Bonus Episode - Russell M. Nelson tells us the November policy was motivated by love. He's wrong.

Fred. M's vision of a literal, physical Zion slips even further from his grasp. Church membership is falling, money is tighter than tight, and WWII is just around the corner. 

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1933 Saints Herald

1937 Saints Herald

C. George Mesley

Arthur Oakman

Charles Hield

Mr. Hield looks pretty fly

Fred M. has gained complete control of the Church, for both good and bad. Great strides are made in the quest for a physical Zion on earth! And he completely misses how overspent the coffers are, and then a Great Depression wipes out what little resources were left. 

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Supreme Directional Control

F. Henry Edwards

The Graceland College Book of Knowledge, by David Goehner

Brother McGuire stages a coup, sort of, with the help of immense amounts of bureaucracy. Fred M. is temporarily ousted from The Saints Herald, only to regain power at the expense of his younger brother, Israel. 

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Historical Amnesia: Corporate Identity and Collective Memory

General Conference Resolutions