Episode 136: Mormon Reformation, part two

**Bryan Buchanan** (0:13)
Today, we're turning up the heat, because when it comes to the Mormon Reformation, we're talking about cooking up the last day's special. We call it Apocalypse Chow.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (0:23)
Stop it.

**Bryan Buchanan** (0:24)
What, I can't make an end of days food storage joke?

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (0:27)
Not a terrible one like that, not to lead us in.

**Bryan Buchanan** (0:30)
Oh, you think you could do better?

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (0:32)
We're talking about millennialism today. You know the one, the belief that the end is nigh and the world is about to flip like a pancake.

**Bryan Buchanan** (0:40)
That was an attempt at a food storage joke. You failed.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (0:43)
Failed a lot of things. Wasn't it Harold Bloom who said that the end of day stuff was just humans grappling with their own mortality?

**Bryan Buchanan** (0:50)
Yeah, he noted that Mormonism, like other American religions, has a distinct eschatology, but it wasn't necessarily unique. For example, the ancient Jews clung to these big, bold prophecies, dreaming of a time when all their woes would be wiped clean and a divine kingdom would drop like a heavenly mic.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:07)
Back in the ancient times, when Rome swooped in and annexed Palestine, it turned up the apocalyptic anxiety to 11 The world is always ending for someone. Early Christians picked up the millennial ball and ran with it, too, with visions of the end times painting their everyday lives.

**Bryan Buchanan** (1:25)
Then came St. Augustine, the ultimate buzzkill. He tried to shelve these deathly fantasies, suggesting that the millennium was more metaphor than literal.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:34)
You know what, it would have been nice if we would have all just let Augustine and Harold Bloom lead the show on these things? That the end of times rhetoric was just a memento mori, so everyone could get a casual reminder to remember that, you know what, we all die sometimes. But like Jesus or a zombie apocalypse, millennial fever just wouldn't stay buried. It resurrected within the American religious reformations where folks were practically tripping over each other to predict the big finale.

**Bryan Buchanan** (2:04)
Fast forward to the early 19th century and America was cooking up millennial mania like it was a TikTok reel. Mormons were growing viral with their new religion and like everything else, they chose from the Christian cafeteria, really kind of put an extra crazy sauce on it for the end of days doctrine.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:22)
Hi this is Lindsay Hansen Park.

**Bryan Buchanan** (2:24)
And this is Bryan Buchanan.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:26)
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** (2:54)
This is the tale of Mormon saints and sinners from our roots until present day. Saddle up.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:59)
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** (3:07)
It's the Sunstone History Podcast.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (3:31)
Enter Joseph Smith, a visionary with a fresh, some might say borrowed, take on the millennial craze. He wasn't just talking about waiting for Christ to drop by. No, Smith and his Mormon crew were all about getting the place prepped and ready. When Jesus returns, does he want to just land in some boring Protestant fireworks show in the Middle East? Absolutely not. He was coming to hang around the Mississippi River, and they were gonna have the city ready for him.

**Bryan Buchanan** (4:00)
As the century chugged along and Jesus wasn't there yet, the Mormons, under the always compassionate leadership of Brigham Young, cranked their end of the world prep to maximum. Packing up and heading to the Great Basin, they set out to build their kingdom, where faith and politics would mix like charcoal and sulfur. Sure, they faced their fair share of haters and hard times, but they kept their eyes on the prize, believing that their efforts would fast track the second coming and put them in the driver's seat when the divine dust finally settled.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (4:27)
And this, friends, is the Mormon Reformation that we've been discussing. This is part two, or maybe the third part, if you count Jedediah's episode a few back. If you're just tuning in, we're gonna get to some of the major players. As far as timelines go, here's what you need to know. The Mormon Reformation gained momentum as many saints began to believe it was the precursor to some pretty significant millennial events.

**Bryan Buchanan** (4:51)
Initially, the belief wasn't super widespread, but as the reform efforts intensified and religious fervor grew, the idea that the Reformation was preparing them for monumental, possibly apocalyptic events became more common. Leaders like Wilfred Woodruff, Daniel Don't-Hurt-Em-Hanmer-Wells, and Heber C. Kimball shared visions of immense struggles that only the most faithful would survive. And some even suggested that the return of Joseph and Hiram Smith was imminent.