James Emmett: podcast appearances and interviews

James Emmett was an early American Latter Day Saint born in Boone County, Kentucky, in 1803. He was baptized into the Church of Christ in 1831 and moved to Jackson County, Missouri, in 1832 to join the gathering of Latter Day Saints. Emmett served as a missionary across several states including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri. In 1843, he was living in Nauvoo, Illinois, where he was a bodyguard and close associate of Joseph Smith, the founder of the movement. Smith selected Emmett in February 1844 to explore the western United States and identify a future settlement site for the church. In March 1844, Emmett was added to Smith's Council of Fifty. Following Smith's death later that year, Emmett claimed to have been authorized by Smith to lead the Latter Day Saints away from Nauvoo to a new settlement. Despite attempts by Brigham Young and other church leaders to assert authority, Emmett gathered around 100 followers and journeyed to present-day Vermillion, South Dakota. His claim to leadership was rejected by the church, and in 1845 Emmett was removed from the Council of Fifty. By 1846, he returned to follow Brigham Young's leadership. In 1849, Emmett traveled to Utah Territory but soon left the Latter Day Saint church. He eventually moved to Tuolumne County, California, where he died in 1852.