“I remember the JFK campaign, when people were saying the Pope would be running the country if JFKL was elected...”
What I wrote was historical fact. There is a reason why the kept being thrown out of places, and it was NOT prejudice against their religion. They voted as a solid block.
“In 1844, Smith created the Council of Fiftythat became “the Municipal department of the
Kingdom of God set up on the Earth, and from which all Law emanates.” The members
of the Council of Fifty and the leaders of the Mormon Church were identical. Thus, the
Nauvoo government took the form of a theocracy, a unified church and state.
The rapid development of Nauvoo’s economic and political power, along with rumors
about strange Mormon religious rituals, greatly unsettled other Illinois residents. They
particularly resented the Mormon practice of voting in elections as a bloc at the direction
of Joseph Smith. Then in 1844, Smith decided to run for president of the United States.
This combining of religion and politics further inflamed public opinion in Illinois. Nor
did all Mormons in Nauvoo approve of Joseph Smith’s political activities.”
...the presidential campaign of Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith in 1844: “Challenging Democrat James Polk and Whig Henry Clay, Smith prophesied that if the U.S. Congress did not accede to his demands that ‘they shall be broken up as a government and God shall damn them.’
Smith viewed capturing the presidency as part of the mission of the church.
I’ve been to Nauvoo several times. Interesting place. A Mormon tour guide there told me the reason they embraced polygamy was to increase their numbers. There just wasn’t enough men in the community to grow their population in monogamous marriages back then. The town (it wasn’t named Nauvoo at the time of Smith) became one of the most populace cities in IL. People felt threatened by their growing power and influence. After the murder of Smith the city gradually shrank into a small farm town with a modest tourist trade. Going to Nauvoo is a kind of pilgrimage for Mormons.