Ebook: The Council of Fifty

Three months before his death, Joseph Smith established the Council of Fifty, a confidential group that he believed would protect the Latter-day Saints in their political rights and one day serve as the government of the kingdom of God. The Council of Fifty operated under the leadership of Joseph Smith and then Brigham Young, playing a key role in Joseph Smith's presidential campaign and in preparing for the Mormon exodus to the West. The council's minutes had never been available until they were published by the Joseph Smith Papers in September 2016, meaning that the council has been the subject of intense speculation for 160 years.

In this book of short essays, fifteen leading Mormon scholars explore how the newly available minutes alter and enhance our understanding of Mormon history. The scholars narrate an analyze the contributions of the records of the council to key questions, such as Joseph Smith's views of earthly and heavenly governments; the presidential campaign;...