Mormon Envoy: The Diplomatic Legacy of Dr. John Milton Bernhisel

by Bruce W. Worthen

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780252086892
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
Publication date:	01/24/2023
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Bruce W. Worthen is an independent scholar.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Diplomacy of John Milton Bernhisel

1. “My Journey to the Westward”
2. “Stand Still and See the Salvation of God”
3. Four Miles from Carthage
4. The Angry Apostle
5. An Adopted Son and a Travelling Bishop
6. Far from the Land of Our Enemies
7. Correcting Public Opinion
8. Old Rough and Ready
9. Great Basin Confrontation
10. “We Have Only Asked for Simple Justice”
11. “Throwing Down the Glove”
12. Dueling Discourses
13. “A Most Turbulent, Disloyal, and Rebellious People”
14. Wild Fire
15. “When a Thousand Years Have Slept Away”
16. “Let Uncle Sam Choose”
17. Wrongs Real and Imaginary
18. The Train of Hell
19. The Great Wheel of Time

Conclusion: Out of the West

Appendix: Bernhisel’s Marriages

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

"What Worthen has given readers is a candidate for 'bookshelf essential,' especially for those looking for fresh perspectives on the often-told and widely-documented early events of Restoration history. Academically impeccable, Mormon Envoy is a good yarn, and Bernhisel's unique perspective makes for a narratively fascinating vantage amidst these dueling saints and senators." —John Whitmer Historical Association Journal

"Worthen does an excellent job of emphasizing Bernhisel's accomplishments in Mormon Envoy." —Journal of Mormon History

"Worthen's biography of Bernhisel is also an elegantly written history lesson." —Library Journal

From the Publisher