William Clayton was the scribe of Joseph Smith and had arguably the best access to the dirty deets of church history, which is probably why his journals have become politically fraught in the Mormon historical community. Bryan and Lindsay explain how access to his diaries became so contested it ended in a long, drawn-out court case against Jerald and Sander Tanner.

E36: The Curious Case of William Clayton’s Diaries

There’s the Mormon history you do know … and the Mormon history you don’t. Join Lindsay Hansen Park (Year of Polygamy) and historian Bryan Buchanan as they dig into all aspects of Mormonism’s astonishing 200-year past—uncovering the little-known stories that chronicle how a six-person church grew into a multi-billion-dollar religion.

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

History

Society & Culture

Religion & Spirituality

Other

Spirituality

Christianity

Buddhism

Hinduism

Judaism

Islam

 



Join Lindsay and Bryan as they discuss the 19th century economies of indigenous trafficking in the American west, human enslavement and abuse and how Mormons contributed and impacted it.



SHOWNOTES:

 	"Redeeming" the Indian: The Enslavement of Indian Children in New Mexico and Utah by Sondra Jones
 	Bancroft’s History of Utah
 	Utah Indians and the Indian Slave Trade: The Mormon Adoption. Program and its Effect on the Indian Slaves by Robert M. Muhlestein.
 	The Whites Want Every Thing: Indian-Mormon Relations, 1847–1877 (Volume 16) (Kingdom in the West: The Mormons and the American Frontier Series) by Will Bagley

Episode 124: The Indian Slave Trade

Did you know that Brigham Young called people on official church missions to pan for filthy lucre? Come learn about the Gold Mission with Lindsay and Bryan.



SHOWNOTES:

 	The Mormon Gold-Mining Mission of 1849 by Eugene Campbell
 	Bancroft’s history of Utah
 	Kenneth Owens, Gold Rush Saints: California Mormons and the Great Rush for Riches 
 	Kenneth Davies and Lorin Hansen, Mormon Gold - Mormons in the California Gold Rush Contributing to the Development of California and the Monetary Solvency of Early Utah 
 	Erwin Gudde, Bigler's Chronicle of the West 
 	M. Guy Bishop, Henry William Bigler: Soldier, Gold Miner, Missionary, Chronicler

Episode 123: The Gold Mission

The sale of the Kirtland Temple from the Community of Christ to the LDS church has made headlines lately. Join Bryan and Lindsay as they discuss the long and storied history of the Kirtland Temple ownership.



SHOWNOTES:

 	Become a recurring donor at Sunstone.org
 	Davis Bitton, “The Waning of Mormon Kirtland”
 	Roger Launius, The Kirtland Temple: A Historical Narrative 
 	Christian Larsen, The Ancient Order of Things: Essays on the Mormon Temple 
 	Kim Loving, “Ownership of the Kirtland Temple: Legends, Lies, and Misunderstandings”
 	David Howlett, Kirtland Temple: The Biography of a Shared Mormon Sacred Space 
 	Jeff Walker, “The Kirtland Safety Society and the Fraud of Grandison Newell A Legal Examination”

Episode 122: Ownership of the Kirtland Temple, a History

Join Lindsay and Bryan as they talk about the state of Mormon historical source material. Does the LDS church hide its history? What sources are available? How do you check our work? We also discuss our new move to Youtube as well.



SHOWNOTES:

 	Youtube version of this episode
 	Subscribe to Sunstone's youtube channel
 	Become a recurring donor to Sunstone

Episode 121: Youtube and Historical Sources Discussion

Who were the real Mormons? We mean, the top-shelf kind? According to Brigham Young, any of the California Mormons couldn't pass muster. Join Lindsay and Bryan as they talk about the history of how California Mormons came to be.



SHOWNOTES:

 	Become a monthly donor here!
 	Pictures of Fort San Bernardino
 	Mormons Created and Then Abandoned San Bernardino
 	The Rise and Decline of Mormon San Bernardino by Edward Leo Lyman
 	The Mormon settlement in San Bernardino, 1851-1857

 

E36: The Curious Case of William Clayton’s Diaries

Download our free app to listen on your phone