E91: A Diamond in the Bluff

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (0:20)
Oh boy, are we in trouble now.
Mormons had a few starts to some big exodus out of Egypt because as it turns out, in Iowa, the Sinai Desert is more of a boggy swamp. And the promised land in our story is more like, I don't know, you guys, somewhere way out west, beyond the Rocky Mountains, or in the Rocky Mountains, or maybe Hawaii, what? No, sorry, I mean Mexico. Yes, definitely mountains, Mexico, west.

**Bryan Buchanan** (0:50)
Far away in the west. But being lost in the literal woods isn't their only problem. As the Mormons camp out of Council Bluffs trying to take a gold darn Rodan moment for a minute, the US government shows up like Taylor Swift in the Mirror of Antihero. It's me, hi, you're the problem. It's you, Mormons.
Oh, and by the way, we're here to ask you for a favor before we kick you out.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:19)
Hi, this is Lindsay Hansen Park.

**Bryan Buchanan** (1:21)
And this is Bryan Buchanan.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:23)
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.
Well, I have sinned so gravely, Brother Brigham, Brother Young. I have sinned so gravely, Brother Young. This is the tale of Mormon saints and sinners from our roots until present day.

**Bryan Buchanan** (2:03)
Gird your loins, lock your hearts, and pay your tithing, because we're bringing you the story of Mormonism in all its paradisiacal glory. It's the Sunstone History Podcast.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:23)
If you haven't tuned in for the last episode, definitely check that out. It sets up for the crazy game of shoots and ladders we are about to discuss. Here's the gist. Mormons had to hurry out of Nauvoo because they had spent every last bit of goodwill to their neighbors, and they had tested the new American experience of democracy to its last thread, so it was time to leave.
And leave they did. They left so quickly, in fact, that it didn't go so well, took longer than they had hoped, and going away forever wasn't as easy as they hoped either. So they were just chilling just outside of Illinois and into Iowa territory in a place whose jurisdiction was a little dubious, Council Bluffs. The plan was to stay and hang out, come up with a more organized Exodus, and then finally do something sometime.

**Bryan Buchanan** (3:10)
Lindsay says dubious. The historical record would just call it straight up colonization and imperialism. We'll get into that soon. But for now, just picture the moments taking a breather when US recruiters from Fort Leavenworth show up asking for the Mormons to do them a solid. In this specific case, the solid was to see if of the thousands of destitute folks strung all along Iowa territory, could they maybe spare five to 600 strapping men to go?
Perhaps stripling warriors, if you will? You know, go help patrol and enforce what the United States thought might be the cession of the American Southwest.
Basically, America wanted the real estate of California. And since Mormons were headed to the the Upper California, oh, that's the land for me. The US government was like, cool, while you're out there, please patrol the area, make sure it stays in American hands. Put up a couple Uncle Sam signs, maybe a few Walmarts so it's clear.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (4:03)
Historian Ben Park once spoke a few episodes back on the awkwardness of Illinois Governor Thomas Ford asking the Saints to leave the area and basically the country. Fun fact, at a private event once, Boyd K. Packer told about hearing Joseph Fielding Smith called Ford a son of a bitch. Is this true?

**Bryan Buchanan** (4:21)
Yep, it's out of Quinn's journals. It made me laugh.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (4:24)
Packer called Governor Ford a son of a bitch.

**Bryan Buchanan** (4:27)
It's funny, because Mike later remembers that as Boggs. I was like, no, it wasn't.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (4:33)
Okay, so if you are a Mormon and you're judging our occasional curse word, you should judge your elder Packer too, because he is a filthy mouth, just like the prophet Bergamot.
What a wild turn of events.
It's about to get awkward again. Governor Ford made it awkward first, and the Mormon's acquiesce to Ford left and suffered for it, specifically hoping to head into Mexican territory because the US government isn't protecting them, and then they come crawling back asking for Mormons to help make the place they're going to America for them. Karma is a cat.

**Bryan Buchanan** (5:09)
It's kind of like the bully in Junior High who just shoved you in your locker that morning, asking if you'd save him a seat for the afternoon assembly.