Godbeites

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The Godbeites were followers of the Godbeite Church, also called the Church of Zion, started in 1870 by William S. Godbe. They split from the LDS Church and wanted to include many different beliefs. They were known for spiritualism and mysticism, and the church faded away by the 1880s.

In 1868 Godbe and other Mormon merchants criticized Brigham Young’s policies in a magazine that would become The Salt Lake Tribune. On October 25, 1869, Godbe and several others were excommunicated from the LDS Church. Godbe believed that political reform in Utah—breaking Young’s control over secular matters—could help bring religious reform.

The Godbeites held seances to talk with the dead and claimed to speak with the spirits of Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ. They were the original core of Utah Territory’s Liberal Party, but as the party grew more anti-Mormon and anti-polygamy, the Godbeite influence faded.