Joseph Smith's Kingdom of God: The Council of Fifty and the Mormon Challenge to American Democratic Politics

摘要: This article contextualizes the origins and development of Joseph Smith's secretive Council Fifty, a clandestine assembly whose minutes were sequestered from public access since their creation in 1844 only made available September 2016. Organized by Smith, founding prophet Church Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, months before his death at hands mob June 1844, council was destined to introduce new form world governance. Colloquially named “Council Fifty,” it blended democratic principles with theocratic rule. More than significant moment America's largest home-grown religion, however, controversial organization ideals represented hint broader anxieties over nation's cultural disunity excesses wake disestablishment. While many embraced democratization religious authority, Mormons some contemporaries countered that introduced political chaos. Examining how groups such as grappled these implications—through orchestrated electoral participation, appeals higher laws, revisions democratized authoritative structures—sheds light on this dynamic challenge self-rule during antebellum period.