On 7 April 1842, Joseph Smith received a revelation titled "The Kingdom of God and His Laws, With the Keys and Power Thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ," which called the for the organization of a special council separate from, but parallel to, the Church. Since its inception, this organization has been generally been referred to as "the Council of Fifty" because of its approximate number of members.
Latter-day Saints believe that one reason the gospel was restored was to prepare the earth for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as the Church was to bring about religious changes in the world, the Council of Fifty was intended to bring a political transformation. It was therefore designed to serve as something of a preparatory legislature in the Kingdom of God. Joseph Smith ordained the council to be the governing body of the world, with himself as chairman, Prophet, Priest, and King over the Council and the world (subject to Jesus Christ, who is "King of kings").
So much for separation of "church and state."
The article concludes that:
The Council never rose to the stature Joseph intended. Members (which included individuals that were not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) were sent on expeditions west to explore emigration routes for the Saints, lobbied the American government, and were involved in Joseph Smith's presidential campaign. But only three months after it was established, Joseph was killed, and his death was the beginning of the Council's end. Brigham Young used it as the Saints moved west and settled in the Great Basin, and it met annually during John Taylor's administration, but since that time the Council has not played an active role among the Latter-day Saints.
To an LDS apologist's perspective, of course, this enigmatic "Council Of Fifty" was just one of those discarded forms of theocratic government the - sniff - apolitical LDS Church has no longer any guidance from.
To quote the legendary and illustrious researcher Colonel Potter: "Horse hockey."
LDS political ambition to rule the planet is still very much alive. So is ignorance about it.
The corporate entity of the Fifty may not exist. But within the elite circle of the LDS leadership, the delusion that it has the exclusive right to be kingmakers is still very much is in place. Janis Hutchinson's excellent article details this rather concisely here.
And Lordy, Lordy, where are the journalists sniffing this out when you want them around?
