Under the Prophet in Utah

In Short

First published in 1911, Under the Prophet in Utah is an insider exposé of the Mormon hierarchy’s political, financial, and religious consolidation of power following Utah’s admission to statehood. Co-written by former U.S. Senator Frank J. Cannon, the book details how Church leaders promised to abandon polygamy and political domination to secure state sovereignty, only to covertly resume plural marriage and ally with Eastern corporate interests. Combining personal memoir with investigative journalism, it endures as a vivid study of how religious devotion can be exploited to build an autocratic empire within a constitutional republic.

The Story

The narrative begins during the federal "raid" of the 1880s, when the United States government actively prosecutes Mormon leaders for practicing polygamy. Frank J. Cannon, acting as an intermediary between the Church hierarchy and national statesmen in Washington, works tirelessly to secure leniency. He argues that harsh proscription only deepens the community's resolve, whereas merciful diplomacy can induce voluntary compliance with federal law. These efforts bear fruit when Chief Justice Elliot F. Sandford adopts a policy of Judicial leniency, leading Church President Wilford Woodruff to issue the Manifesto of 1890, which officially halts new plural marriages.

This concession paves the way for political reconciliation and Utah’s long-sought statehood. In 1896, President Grover Cleveland signs the proclamation making Utah a state, and Cannon steps out of the White House as a newly minted citizen and soon-to-be United States Senator. The compact seems clear: in exchange for statehood, amnesty, and self-governance, the Church will cease plural marriage living, abandon its temporal control over public affairs, and permit genuine political pluralism.

However, the tragedy of the narrative unfolds as this solemn treaty is systematically broken. Following the deaths of older leaders who had sought statehood for the genuine protection of their people, a new regime takes power, culminated by the rise of Church President Joseph F. Smith. Smith and his allies transform the institution into a financial and political despotism. Plural marriages are clandestinely solemnized under cover of darkness, utilizing elaborate "underground" networks that shuttle participants to Canada, Mexico, or hidden domestic locations. Simultaneously, the hierarchy uses its absolute spiritual authority to command the votes of its members, electing favored representatives—such as Apostle Reed Smoot—to Congress and selling out the community's economic independence to Eastern commercial monopolies and trusts.

When Cannon and other reform-minded citizens organize the non-partisan American Party to fight this ecclesiastical tyranny, the hierarchy responds by wrapping itself in the cloak of religious persecution, claiming that any critique of its leaders is an assault on the faith itself. Cannon is subjected to Church trials, accused of apostasy, and excommunicated after publicly charging Smith with hypocrisy and despotism. Despite his personal exile, Cannon concludes with a fervent appeal to the American public and national leadership, insisting that federal firmness can break the hierarchy’s hold, emancipate the loyal Mormon populace, and restore true republican liberty to Utah.

How It Unfolds

The crusade for amnesty Cannon travels between Utah and Washington to negotiate an end to federal prosecution, convincing Eastern politicians that diplomatic leniency will lead to voluntary church reform.

The surrender of polygamy Confronted with the legal sovereignty of the United States, Church leaders accept the Manifesto of 1890, reassuring devastated followers that relinquishing plural marriage is the divine will for their protection.

The triumph of statehood President Cleveland signs the 1896 proclamation admitting Utah to the Union, fulfilling Cannon’s lifelong ambition and opening a promised era of civil liberty and national integration.

The clandestine recrudescence Following the shift in Church leadership, new plural marriages are secretly authorized and solemnized behind screens and across borders, violating the statehood compact made with the federal government.

The corporate alliance President Joseph F. Smith unites the Church's vast tithing revenues and temporal power with Eastern financial interests, converting spiritual obedience into political leverage and commercial monopoly.

The Congressional showdown The election of Apostle Reed Smoot to the U.S. Senate triggers a federal investigation, exposing how the Church hierarchy connives at lawbreaking while claiming immunity from civil oversight.

The trial for apostasy After writing public editorials condemning the hierarchy's political and civil offenses, Cannon is summoned before a local bishop's court, refuses to retract his statements, and is expelled from the Church.

The call to the nation Cannon appeals to the American electorate and the federal government to withdraw political patronization from the hierarchy, predicting that national pressure will force the autocracy to yield.

The People

• Frank J. Cannon: The author and narrator, a former U.S. Senator driven by a desire to secure civil rights for his home state. He fights to reconcile his people with the nation, only to turn against the Church hierarchy when it breaks its democratic promises, ultimately accepting excommunication rather than silence.
• George Q. Cannon: The author's father and a high-ranking Church leader, who balances devotion to his religious community with a pragmatic political diplomacy. He carries the grief of submitting to federal law while persuading his brethren that sacrificing plural marriage is necessary to save the people.
• Joseph F. Smith: The President and "Prophet" of the Mormon Church, depicted as a bitter, autocratic leader who consolidates absolute spiritual, financial, and political power. He secretly encourages ongoing polygamy, allies with corporate monopolies, and punishes internal dissenters with ruthless social and ecclesiastical ostracism.
• Elliot F. Sandford: A Chief Justice appointed to Utah whose policy of judicial mercy and leniency allows Mormon leaders to accept the rule of federal law without facing total destruction.
• Reed Smoot: An Apostle whose election to the United States Senate becomes the focal point of national controversy, representing the direct intrusion of Church authority into federal politics.

In Its Own Voice

"Plural marriage must be abandoned or our friends in Washington will not defend us."

Speaking to his father during the peak of federal prosecutions, Cannon outlines the inescapable political reality facing the community.

"I walked out of the White House dispossessed of office, but now, at last, a citizen of the Republic."

Cannon describes his exhilaration on January 4, 1896, when President Cleveland signs Utah's statehood proclamation.

"He stands even more in defiance of the authority of the nation than he did in 1888, and he hates that authority as much as ever."

Reflecting on Joseph F. Smith's reign, Cannon highlights the dramatic shift from hunted outcast to entrenched political sovereign.

What It's Really About

At its core, Under the Prophet in Utah is an investigation into the fragility of democratic institutions when confronted by absolute ecclesiastical authority. It explores the tension between genuine religious faith and the abuse of temporal power, arguing that a populace taught unconditional obedience can be easily manipulated into surrendering its political and economic freedom. The text examines how solemn compacts made between a subculture and a nation can be subverted from within, and how financial cartels easily exploit religious autocracies to hijack democratic processes. Ultimately, it asks whether a constitutional republic can tolerate a hidden despotism operating within its borders without losing its own moral and political integrity.

Why Read It Today

This work will captivate readers of American political history, investigative journalism, and studies of religious movements. Written with the dramatic flair of a political thriller and the earnestness of a personal crusade, it offers a fascinating, eyewitness view of Gilded Age politics, backroom Senate dealings, and Western state-building.

The book demands some historical context from the reader. It is written in the formal, rhetorical style of early 20th-century political exposés, complete with grand polemical passages and intense personal grievances. Because it concentrates heavily on legal debates, Senate committee hearings, and complex Church administrative finances, the pace can occasionally slow under the weight of historical detail. Furthermore, Cannon's personal involvement means the narrative carries a sharp, sharp-edged tone toward his political opponents. Yet, despite these period characteristics, the core story remains remarkably vivid. The portrait of a community caught between its deep spiritual loyalties and the demands of modern civil democracy provides a timeless, sobering look at the mechanics of power, betrayal, and reform in American life.