For more than twenty years, John Milton Bernhisel negotiated with the federal government on behalf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bruce W. Worthen illuminates the life and work of the man whose diplomacy steered the Church´s relationship with Washington, D.C.

from its early period of dangerous conflict to a peaceful and pragmatic coexistence. Having risen from a Pennsylvania backcountry upbringing to become a respected member of the upper class, Bernhisel possessed a personal history that allowed him to reach common ground with politicians and other outsiders.

He negotiated for Joseph Smith´s life and, after the Church´s relocation to the Utah Territory, took on the task of rehabilitating the public image of the Latter-day Saints. Brigham Young´s defiance of the government undermined Bernhisel´s work, but their close if sometimes turbulent relationship ultimately allowed Bernhisel to make peace with Washington, secure a presidential pardon for Young, and put Utah and the Latter-day Saints on the road to formally joining the United States.


Format Inbunden Omfång 304 sidor Språk Engelska Förlag University of Illinois Press Utgivningsdatum 2023-01-24 ISBN 9780252044809