Jack Mormon

It was just missionary work.

I didn't realize at the time is that so much of that was the church's PR team to get the word out about how wonderful Mormons are and that we are just remarkable people.

So I really took that seriously and I really, really worked to make my life look important, to make my life look beautiful, to look like, look, we pay our tithing and look at our beautiful home.

And there was just so much to that.

I had a wellness community that was largely built on the word of wisdom, a group of 60,000 people.

I had a standard works in a year scripture schedule.

And it's so funny when people come into my comments and they're like, why are you so obsessed with Mormonism? Usually other ex-Mormons, but they were like Jack Mormons.

So I'm like, we're just like maybe different because I built my whole life inside the church formula.

That's the confusing part of it, isn't it? And then you've got Muslims.

I compare them more to like a Jack Mormon, okay? You know, they're Mormon, but...

They are, how should I say, a toned-down version, I guess.

I don't know.

Right.

She grew up in Ogden, Utah, with her family as Jack Mormons, meaning that they were Mormon in name but not active in the church.

Okay.

I've never heard of that, but that's what—

I was raised religious.

Mormon faith, Christian.

I was the first to rebel.

Wanted nothing to do with it.

And here I am.

I really resonate with your journey so much as I am seeing a lot of parallels and mirrors of how we were trained in the healing arts as well as in our abilities.

I also was in a Mormon family.

I'm a straight descendant of Brigham Young and

And in the summer, a whole rash of retirements came.

And I had a Mormon buddy who, he was a Jack Mormon.

He was a drinking, smoking Mormon, but he was still Mormon.

His wife was a good Mormon and his kids were

One sheriff off the board, they had to hold a special election in August of 1845, and that's when Jacob Backenstow is elected.

And I should mention, the sources refer to him as a Jack Mormon candidate.

which when I was growing up, a Jack Mormon was a member of the church who didn't live the standards, basically.

In this time period, a Jack Mormon was a non-Latter-day Saint who sympathized with the Latter-day Saints.

And so that's the term that always gets affixed to Backenstos and Deming is that they're Jack Mormons.

When Baconstos takes over as Hancock County Sheriff in August 1844, a target is immediately painted on his back, and he and his family began receiving death threats.

And the threats came primarily because anti-Mormon forces began burning homes and farms at Latter-day Saint settlements such as Yelrum.

And this Mormon religion, I don't even know what these girls are anymore.

Jack Mormon, whatever they are.

I don't know what kind of faith they have anymore.

But whatever she grew up in is not going to be the thing that pulls her out of this.

Yeah, that makes sense.

So my mom and dad were what we refer to as Jack Mormons.

So they believe in the LDS church, but they don't go to church.

They don't follow all this stuff, but they believe in it, you know? So that's how I was raised.

Did you say Jack? Jack Mormon? Yeah, Jack Mormons.

Okay.

I've never heard of that.