The Wall Street Journal recently reviewed "The King of Confidence: A Tale of Utopian Dreamers, Frontier Schemers, True Believers, False Prophets, and the Murder of an American Monarch.” As most of you know, Strang was a slippery character who competed against Brigham Young for "succession rights" following JS's death. Young prevailed, and Strang took his lesser remnant into northern Michigan, where he proclaimed himself "king of heaven and earth" (with a paper crown!) and hunkered down with his ever-decreasing flock.

"(Biographer Miles) Harvey examines this bedeviled society through the life of James Jesse Strang, a strange man of many parts—most of them bad." He sees Strang as a product and exploiter of the convulsive religious, political, and social ferment leading up to the Civil War. He comes off as a 2nd-rate Joseph Smith, capable of attracting certain gullible and ambitious types as followers, but not capable of organizing them into a cohesive following. Brigham Young lacked the JS's (and Strang's) charisma, but could extract loyalty and demand obedience, which served him just as well, if not better.

So there's an interesting read for those of you interested in the post-JS diaspora.

Strang was a more interesting figure than Young. In many ways, I think he continued a purer legacy of JS' teachings than the Utah bunch did.

Here is a link to an NPR interview with the author which aired this morning:

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/18/892579307/author-miles-harvey-tells-the-story-of-schemer-and-false-prophet-james-strang

According to Mr. Harvey, James Strang started out as an atheist and converted to Mormonism in Navoo. He also says that he was able to trace the criminal activity that allowed Mr. Strang's group to stay in business while he was still alive.

One of the author's comments that hit home for me was when he said that the timeperiod when Strang lived was a timeperiod of constant change where many people were looking for simple solutions to complicated problems. That sounds a lot like what we are seeing today, especially among groups on the right and alt-right.

I think you've hit on something fundamental here, Blind Guy. Constant change and insufficient or over-narrow education lead to what we euphemistically call "populism" today.

Interesting. I'll have to read that one. I remember reading about that branch of the cult years ago. Strang was big a fraud as JS and BY, but it was an interesting side story.

Did Strang run for POTUS?

O that's right, he anointed hisself as King & Ruler ... or something like that.

I think I'll go to Michigan & file a claim on the property they owned, anyone want to join me?

' don't pay attention to those little flecks of history'

I'm reading the book. Well researched with interesting information on Strang. Much that I didn't know before. The authors perspective on those other 'confidence men', Joseph Smith & Brigham Young, is also fascinating.