The Mormon Church on Trial: Transcript of the Reed Smoot Hearings

Senator George Hoar of Massachusetts fired a question at LDS President Joseph F. Smith. Hoar wondered if church members could question the prophet's revelations and still remain in good standing. Smith responded with the example of plural marriage, saying those who doubted the doctrine were not "cut off." But the Senate would soon hear more nuanced accounts--also that some of the church hierarchy continued to secretly promote polygamy after having publicly promised not to. At issue was whether Senator-elect Reed Smoot of Utah was suited for national office given his position as an LDS apostle. Smoot's election resulted in an intense, four-year scrutiny of Mormons beginning in 1904. Paulos has gathered unexpurgated transcripts of the most important verbal exchanges in the hearings and annotated them with behind-the-scenes material, including previously unpublished letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles.