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Do you realize that most Lds political leaders from the 19th century into the early 20th century were Democrats?

No they weren't. The enabling act for Utah's admission to the union was signed by a Democrat in anticipation of a new Democratic State. That didn't happen. Despite being a western mining state admitted during the height of the free silver and Populist/Democratic movement Utah dallied with the Democrats for a brief moment and went straight Republican. It is one of the most conservative and Republican of states. They will, on occasion, vote a popular personality with a Democratic tag but since admission the LDS has always been Republican. Always.

I was just a kid up on the Kansas-Nebraska border when I stumbled across the Pro-life movement back in the early ’70s. They were collecting money for the fight down in Louisiana. It was a Catholic fight but the money was coming from little towns and churches all across the country and the money came from all denominations, including mine. I don't know as I had ever seen one at that time but the Mormons out west were rallying and contributing like no one else. I wondered who they were and why they were taking up this fight half a continent away. Later I got to meet them face to face as I bounced across the West. I was always welcomed and soon learned to seek them out when I was in a new town. Their religion was different from mine but there never was any doubt but that we bowed to the same Lord and Savior.

We had a lot in common. The same Bible-thumping freaks that had run the Mormons out of Missouri had turned on my people next. The murdering bastards crossed the border into Kansas vowing to “Mormonize” us. They killed enough to earn Kansas the title of “Bleeding Kansas”. My people were Anabaptists, pacifists, but they were first in line to go and fight this dark and glowering evil. At the risk of their very souls by a God that commanded “Thou shalt not kill” they went into the heart of this beast to stamp out this people and their God of slavery and murder. A hundred years later we were back doing what we could to stop the slaughter of innocents by a people who claimed a divine sanction of their actions. Baptists.

In the run-up to the 1980 election the Reagan campaign in the West was Mormon. They had the most efficient and effective organization that I have ever seen. Someone would say something in San Diego and the next morning there were campaign workers on the street in Boise, in Phoenix, in Albuquerque, in Denver, in Butte and a hundred other cities. We won the West, all of it, in no small part due to the Mormons. Utah voted Reagan with 73%.

If you want to see the future of the conservatism and the Republican Party just take a tour of Utah. We are actively seeking bright young talent for the Republican Party. It’s not really easy to find young people well grounded in God and in Country with the educational background and talent necessary to be leaders. When I go to Utah, I can chuck a rock in any direction and hit two or three. Utah is Reagan country and essential to the future of the Republican Party. If you don’t like that, I suggest that you find another Party.

Their religion was different from mine but there never was any doubt but that we bowed to the same Lord and Savior.

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ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT??? The LDS “Lord and Savior”...

...Jesus had to earn his Godhood by coming to earth, getting a body and becoming Perfect. His Godhood is his reward for living a good life.
...Jesus is a created being (a “spirit child of God and one of his wives called Heavenly Mother)
...Jesus is our “older brother”, Satan was the second “spirit child”, Jesus was first and the rest of us followed.
...Jesus is the LITERAL son of God, and that God (who has a body of flesh and bone, had sexual relations with Mary to concieve Jesus making Mary one of his wives).
...the Atonement of Christ only “kicks in” AFTER we do everything we can to make up our “mis-steps”. This includes membership in the Mormon Church (the ONLY true Church), mandatory tithe, temple attendance, church attendance and callings (some equivelant to full time jobs), 2 yr mission (if at all possible) to convert others not humanitarian, and so on (the list can go on forever).
...the Atonement took place in the Garden of Gethsemane
...Christ’s death was only necessary because he had to die so he could be resurrected, thus guaranteeing resurrection for everyone. His death becomes a footnote in their theology.
...thru temple work for the dead, we act as “saviors” for our dead ancestors who were not married, as well as other and that we will need the permission of Joseph Smith to get into Heaven.
...Christ was married, and probably a polygamist.

I can provide quotes if you would like.

Do you realize that most Lds political leaders from the 19th century into the early 20th century were Democrats? [colo]

No they weren’t. [MM]

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Yes they were. Considering the Republican party was founded upon the principles of eliminating the “twin relics of barbarism - slavery and polygamy”, the LDS fought against the Rep party until the 19 - teens. There were many more LDS democrats until the 1960’s, when the LDS moved more to Republicanism.

From: http://www.allaboutmormons.com/misconceptions_mormons_politics.php

“During most of the 19th century, Utah was polarized along local rather than national party lines. Two local parties dominated the political scene: the “Mormon People’s Party” and the “Gentile Liberal Party.” When Mormons did think in terms of national politics, they were almost universally Democrat, as the Republicans opposed Utah statehood. Brigham Young was a life-long Democrat.

In order to gain the senate’s approval for statehood, Utah was required to “normalize its political allegiances.” The Church disbanded the Mormon People’s Party but feared that a mass Mormon migration to the Democratic Party would displease Republican senators. Church leaders sent Apostle John Henry Smith to visit LDS congregations. It was possible to be a faithful Mormon and a Republican, he explained to the amazement of many LDS faithful. In 1893, the Church even asked some specific families to become Republicans, a move that would be unimaginable today.

Largely because of this Church effort, Republicans and Democrats were both well-represented around the turn of the century. The Democrats had some impressive victories; in the first presidential election after Utah statehood in 1896, Democrats earned eighty percent of the presidential vote for William Jennings Bryan and elected many of their own to state, local, and national offices. Democrats also had great successes in the 1910s, in the 1930s with the rise of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and in 1964 with the Lyndon B. Johnson landslide. The Democratic stance on social issues such as caring for the poor was seamlessly compatible with LDS teachings. It was a great time to be a Mormon Democrat.

Me: Do you realize that most Lds political leaders from the 19th century into the early 20th century were Democrats?

Reaganaut to Martial Monk: wanted a source for your assertion that Utah was mostly Republican in the 1800’s.

19th century

Reaganaut to svcw: The GOP was founded in 1854, and Utah did not become a state until 1896 (after the “revelation”). That leaves most of the second half of the 1800’s that Utah was NOT republican. The main party prior to that was the People’s party (Mormon).

(And the other major party from 1870-1893 in Utah was The Liberal Party, founded by an ex-communicated Mormon & it was considered the "anti-Mormon" party...this party had some polygamists in its midst so it really wasn't outspoken vs. polygamy until 1880s at some point...The Liberal party had 1/3rd of the Utah State Legislature in 1891)

But you're right, Reaganaut. I'm not sure if MM is defending the claim that Lds wasn't mostly Democratic in the early 1900s or the 1800s or both. I'm still further checking on the early 1900s...but MM claimed that Utah "dallied with the Democrats for a brief moment and went straight Republican." It looks to me that the only "brief dallying" was when the Utah Legislature went temporarily Republican in 1896 in its Utah State Legislature (31-14 R in the House of Reps & 11-7 R in the State Senate)...by the following year --1897 -- it had astoundly flip-flopped -- 39 Dems, 3 Republicans & 3 Populists in the UT House of Reps and 17 Dems, 0 Rep, & 1 Populist in the UT Senate.

1856-1887:

We know the fledgling Republicans called "polygamy" one of the "twin relics of barbarism" in 1856 -- so we know the Mormon legislators weren't hustling over to the Republicans. And the anti-polygamy Congressional sentiment from the 1860s through the 1880s fostered the same thing. Nationally 'twas the Southern Democrats who opposed the Edmunds Act in 1882 -- so the Lds reps were split between the People's Party & the Dems -- and to a much lesser degree, Republicans & the Liberal party at that time.

1888-1892:

Anthony Ivins, the man behind many of the continued Lds "plural unions" solemnized in Juarez, Mexico 1895-1907 (that's right, hundreds of such unions were solemnized after the famous 1890 manifesto), was appointed to a church position in St. George, UT in 1888 and according to onlineutah.com, Ivins "organized the Sagebrush Democrat" movement that year to draw more away from the People's Party & Liberal party.

According to another source, a 1909 book in the BYU library, the movement was sweeping. Josiah F. Gibbs wrote a 1909 book published by the Salt Lake Tribune called "Lights and Shadows of Mormonism." On p. 314, Gibbs says: "...the fact that ALL the Utah delegates, from Dr. Bernhisel down to John T. Caine in 1888, affiliated with the Democrats in Congress clearly proves that the Mormon leaders believed that the interests of the church were safer in the hands of the Democratic party, which, as a national organization, had not manifested any hostility to the Utah Saints."

You gotta understand, MM, that the feds in the late 1880s were placing heavy pressure upon the Lds church. So no wonder they were seeking security in the Democratic party. As Reaganaut's quote revealed: When Mormons did think in terms of national politics, they were almost universally Democrat, as the Republicans opposed Utah statehood.

Post-manifesto years -- 1890s:

Excerpt cited by Reaganaut from allaboutmormons.com: In order to gain the senate’s approval for statehood, Utah was required to “normalize its political allegiances.” The Church disbanded the Mormon People’s Party but feared that a mass Mormon migration to the Democratic Party would displease Republican senators. Church leaders sent Apostle John Henry Smith to visit LDS congregations. It was possible to be a faithful Mormon and a Republican, he explained to the amazement of many LDS faithful. In 1893, the Church even asked some specific families to become Republicans, a move that would be unimaginable today.

Hence, it wasn't til about 1893 that the church had many of its members flip-flop to the Republicans...a move that continued heavily through most of 1896 until election day of that year -- when as Reaganaut's excerpt shows: The Democrats had some impressive victories; in the first presidential election after Utah statehood in 1896, Democrats earned eighty percent of the presidential vote for William Jennings Bryan and elected many of their own to state, local, and national offices.

(Hence the big turnaround in 1897 I cited above)

Allaboutmormons.com says it rebalanced fairly evenly right about the turn of the century.

Me: Do you realize that most Lds political leaders from the 19th century into the early 20th century were Democrats? [post #55]

Martial Monk: No they weren't. The enabling act for Utah's admission to the union was signed by a Democrat in anticipation of a new Democratic State. That didn't happen. Despite being a western mining state admitted during the height of the free silver and Populist/Democratic movement Utah dallied with the Democrats for a brief moment and went straight Republican. It is one of the most conservative and Republican of states. They will, on occasion, vote a popular personality with a Democratic tag but since admission the LDS has always been Republican. Always.

Well, now that we’ve set MM straight on the latter 1880s and some of the 1890s – and he helped alert me to the brief dallying that Mormons had with Republicans in 1896, let’s deal with Mormon Utah 1900-1940, shall we? After all, Martial Monk makes the absolutely wild unhistorical claim that ”since admission the LDS has always been Republican. Always.”

Now, class, how many of your posters & lurkers think that “always” means “always?” (Well, Martial Monk…you’re statistically wrong; you’re historically wrong; you’re factually wrong; you’re just wrong)

State politics was reorganized after the 1890 Manifesto discontinuing polygamy was announced, and both the Republican and Democratic party emerged in the state. Many assumed that the traditional ties of many LDS Church leaders to the Democratic party philosophy would make Utah a strong Democratic state. In 1894, however, Republican Frank J. Cannon was elected Utah's delegate in Congress and the Republicans elected 60 members to the Constitutional Convention, a 13-vote majority over the Democratic. [Source for this & below quotes: http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/d/DEMOCRATIC.html ]

Now keep in mind, this Republican surge was initiated pre-statehood admission. When we look at the actual first post-statehood election in 1896, what do we find?

In the first presidential contest held after achieving statehood in 1896, however, Utah Democrats did well, drawing more than eighty percent of the presidential vote for William Jennings Bryan and electing a variety of Democrats to state and local office as well. That same year, William H. King was elected to Congress and the Democratic legislature selected Joseph L. Rawlins to serve as U. S. Senator. Two years later, the Democrats elected B. H. Roberts to Congress although he was denied his seat because of his practice of plural marriage. Roberts was eventually replaced by William H. King in a special election held in April 1900.

We know that in the Utah state Legislature assuming office that 39 in the Utah House of Reps in 1897 were Democrats, only 3 were Republicans & 3 were Populists. In the state Senate, it was a 17-0 shutout for the Democrats (plus one populist).

Sorry, MM, the 1896 election & 1897 stats in Utah proves your “always” statement dead wrong. ‘Fess up.

By 1900, the parties became balanced, and then the Democrats dropped off for a while in Utah as Republican’s Teddy Roosevelt’s ways carried the national day:

Utah Democrats were far less successful after 1900,…

But the Democrats rebounded with the help of the Progressive Party in 1914: In 1914, Utah Democrats allied with the Progressive party to take control of both houses of the Utah legislature as well as many county offices. Two years later, the Democrats scored a major victory garnering the state's electoral votes for Wilson, and electing Simon Bamberger as Governor, William H. King to the U.S. Senate and both representatives in Congress. The state legislature was overwhelmingly Democratic as well.

So I’d say my statement Do you realize that most Lds political leaders from the 19th century into the early 20th century were Democrats? was accurate, wouldn’t you MM – especially also considering that Democrats dominated in Utah throughout the 1930s?

In the early 1930s, Utah Democrats, like their counterparts across the nation, emerged greatly strengthened by the candidacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Utah Governor Dern was selected by FDR to serve as Secretary of War in the first Roosevelt cabinet. In 1932, Elbert D. Thomas, a professor at the University of Utah, defeated Reed Smoot in a bitter contest and served in the Senate until he was defeated in a similarly bitter race in 1950. Moreover, a resurgent Democratic party paved the way for the emergence of the leading Utah Democrat of his generation -- Herbert B. Maw. Elected first to the state senate in 1928, Maw, an attorney and University of Utah professor, became the leader of the liberal, pro-FDR, wing of the party. In 1937, he was President of the Utah State Senate during one of the most liberal sessions in its history. This legislature passed bills dealing with relief and assistance and unemployment and enacted an open primary law that would strongly affect Democratic candidates. For the next decade, liberal forces dominated Utah's Democratic party, most notable Senator King, continued to hold office. In 1940, Maw was elected governor and was reelected four years later. In 1948, he ran for an unprecedented third term. As the result of scandals within his administration, and a weakened campaign organization, Maw was defeated by Utah political maverick J. Bracken Lee.

Even in the 1920s, Utah had a three-term Democratic senator (mentioned above) – Sen. King – who was re-elected in 1922 & 1928 due to internal divisions within the Utah GOP.