Is Dallin Oaks a Legal Apologist? (Nathan Oman 1 of 5)

Some call new LDS Prophet Dallin Oaks a prophet, seer, and litigator. We’ll see what Nathan Oman thinks of Dallin Oaks. Nathan is a legal historian at William and Mary University. He discusses how law has affected Latter-day Saints over the past 2 centuries. We’ll discuss Dallin Oaks perspectives on Joseph Smith’s martyrdom and polygamy up to modern polygamy cases, politics, and LGBT issues. Oman is the author of 2 volumes of Law and the Restoration Volume 1 and Volume 2, from Greg Kofford Books. Check out our conversation…

Don’t miss our other conversations Nathan: https://gospeltangents.com/people/nathan-oman

Gospel Tangents

CHAPTERS
0:00 Meet Nathan Oman – Law Prof William & Mary
4:11 Destroying the Expositor Press Was Legal?
9:55 Is Oaks an Apologist?
13:46 Oaks & LGBT Legal Fights

Was the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor actually a violation of the First Amendment? And who are the top three most influential lawyers in Latter-day Saint history?

In this episode of Gospel Tangents, host Rick Bennett sits down with Nathan Oman, law professor at William & Mary and author of Law and the Restoration, to dive deep into the fascinating world of Mormon legal history.

Dallin Oaks Shapes Legal History

We tackle one of the most controversial moments in Church history: the suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor. Oman breaks down how a young Dallin H. Oaks famously defended the legality of Joseph Smith’s actions, revealing why our modern understanding of free speech and the First Amendment simply didn’t apply to state governments in 1844.

The conversation also explores the evolution of Latter-day Saint legal scholarship. Oman explains his “three generations” of legal history, showing how scholars transitioned from simply using legal records to tell historical stories, to defensive apologetics, and finally to using the Mormon legal experience as a lens to understand broader American law.

Finally, we look at President Dallin H. Oaks’s enduring legacy. Discover how his early work on the Carthage Conspiracy paved the way for modern scholarship, how his current role in the First Presidency drives the Church’s aggressive push for religious freedom globally, and find out why the forgotten Franklin S. Richards makes Oman’s list of the top three most influential lawyers in Mormon history.

In this video, we cover:

Why suppressing the Nauvoo Expositor wouldn’t have violated American law in the 1840s.
The anachronism of applying the First Amendment to Joseph Smith’s actions.
The “three generations” of Mormon legal history and apologetics.
How Dallin H. Oaks uses legal history today as a tool to advocate for religious freedom.
The top three most influential lawyers in Latter-day Saint history (including the unsung hero of the anti-polygamy battles!).

📚 Guest: Nathan Oman, law professor at William & Mary and author of Law and the Restoration.

🔓 Want the full, uncut conversation? Sign up at patreon.com/gospeltangents to hear this entire interview without interruptions and to support the Gospel Tangents podcast network!

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