E78: I’ve Got a Strang Feeling About This…

**Bryan Buchanan** (0:28)
I can go both ways on this one. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of covers. Instead of Nirvana, you get Miley Cyrus doing Smells Like Teen Spirit, or Aerosmith doing Come Together.
Yuck. However, sometimes it means you get Aretha Franklin taking Otis Redding's already excellent respect and kicking it up multiple notches, or Hendrix getting it done on All Along the Watchtower. The moral is covers are a touchy subject. So what happens when somebody tries to do Joseph Smith? That's a whole other kettle of fish.
One guy, however, did exactly that. In the very chaotic world that was the post-Joseph Smith era, James Jesse Strang came out of the gate hot with a very unique pitch to Mormons, wondering where to go next.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:09)
First, though, a word from our sponsor Signature Books.

**Bryan Buchanan** (1:17)
Brigham Young had a, shall we say, large personality. It's no surprise then that some of his children did as well. However, none stood out more than Susa.
From her marriage to Alma Dunford at age 16, her life was full of adventure, both the triumphant kind as well as the sorrowful. Occasionally referred to as the 13th apostle, Susa Young Gates was at the epicenter of Utah Mormon happenings.
An active voice in the suffragist movement, Susa was constantly writing in defense of her sisters and her religion. Author Romney Burke has mined Susa's massive collections of personal papers to finally give her fascinating and complicated life the detailed and probing treatment it deserves. Susa Young Gates, daughter of Mormonism by Romney Burke, knew from signature books, available at Benchmark Books or wherever you get your books.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:32)
Hi, this is Lindsay Hansen Park.

**Bryan Buchanan** (2:34)
And this is Bryan Buchanan.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:35)
Bringing you the story of Mormonism from the shadow of the Everlasting Hills, straight out of Zion, this isn't your grandpa's Mormon history.

**Bryan Buchanan** (3:03)
This is the tale of Mormon saints and sinners from our roots until present day.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (3:08)
Gird your loins, lock your hearts, and pay your tithing, because we're bringing you the story of Mormonism in all its paradisiacal glory.

**Bryan Buchanan** (3:16)
It's the Sunstone History Podcast.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (3:40)
Put yourself in the freshly cobbled shoes of a July 1844 Mormon. What kind of leader do you want? Do you want more of a Diet Coke Joseph Smith without all those polygamy calories?
Maybe William Marx is your guy. But are you feeling more like a Coke plus coffee approach? Well, there's Brigham Young over there yelling intensely about goodness knows what, and a Federer and his tea.
Or something like New Coke. It's pitched to be a good thing, but fades quickly. That sounds like Samuel Smith. Sorry, Sam. What if you think I'd like something with a Coke name, but it's gotta be wild and unpredictable? Then you're looking for Pepsi. Something so new, no one really knows anything about it.
Congrats, you're the proud drinker of Coke Starlight. Better known as James Strang.

**Bryan Buchanan** (4:35)
The scene is St. James Harbor on Beaver Island between Wisconsin and Michigan. It's June 16th, 1856 All of a sudden, James Strang is lying mortally wounded on the ground with about 40 people standing around. The general reaction in the area is, great, now maybe the Mormons will leave here. No more allegations of illegal conduct, no more polygamy, no more new scripture, all of this is just gonna disappear.
You, listener, are probably thinking a few things here. St. James Harbor? Wait, is that named after Strang?
It's between Wisconsin and Michigan? The hell are they doing up there? Why is Strang dying? Polygamy again? More new scripture?
These are all great questions, friends. Let's take a trip.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (5:24)
Mr. Jesse James Strang was born in 1813 in Scipio, New York. And yes, if you're one of the proud 308 residents of Scipio, Utah, it's named after the one in New York. Scipio is only about 50 miles away from Palmyra, so apparently there was something to well water around there.
Bryan would like to point out that if you remember nothing else about Strang, remember that his parents were tiny. His dad was only about 5'3, which is as tall as I am, it's very, very short. James would top out at about 5'7, so he's playing point guard for the Lords team.
Strang had just two siblings, an older brother named David and a younger sister named Myriat.

**Bryan Buchanan** (6:04)
I'm guessing Myriat, but I don't know that.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (6:08)
Myriat, what do short people name their kids?
Myriat. We don't know a ton about little Jesse, but he was apparently quite the reader and a pretty smart kid. Or alternatively, he was pretty meh at school and lived mostly in his own fantasy world right here, right now. Get out of here, Jesus Jones.