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Political Compass Test

I had a big conversation about this recently about Joseph Smith. Wasn't he pretty liberal by today's standards?

Gave priesthood to AA.
Ran for President where his platform was to free slaves
Had multiple sexual partners
Made his followers engage in communism for a time (law of consecration)
Tried to control the banks/money of Mormons
Rumors that he allowed women to give blessings (priesthood)

How different would the Church be today if Joseph Smith hadn't been shot in Illinois, but instead led the saints to Utah? Very interesting stuff.

Maybe he goes all-in with the Colorado City model of living.

Made his followers engage in communism for a time (law of consecration)

Which he admitted would only work if Jesus Christ himself were running it. Good lesson for the world....

But yeah, I definitely was only commenting on both of their adventurous/fighting spirits, not anything else. That's why I like both of them. It's hard to get context for anything else. He was trying to govern a flock outside of government. My simple opinion is that Joseph Smith liked the idea of government if he were the one leading it. If he's an average...well....Joe....I think his views go completely contrary from that. I don't think people were very invested in that type of thing outside of their groups/themselves back then though.

Just take one of his presidential platforms for example:

The most important plank in Joseph’s platform concerned the powers of the president. Joseph wanted to give the chief magistrate “full power to send an army to suppress mobs … [without requiring] the governor of a state to make the demand.

Obviously he had reasons for feeling like that was necessary....but that would make no sense without him being the one using that power. He would be leading the "mob" that got smashed down if anybody else had that power.
 
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