To most Latter-day Saints, J. Golden Kimball is a folklore figure—the “swearing apostle” (who was actually a Seventy) whose colorful language and irreverent pulpit humor provide comic relief in a culture that often takes itself very seriously. But who was the man behind the myths? In a revealing new interview over at the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk, biographer Andrew Kimball peels back the caricature to reveal a man of profound contradictions: a leader who battled severe depression (“the depths of hell”), financial ruin at the hands of a fellow General Authority, and a stalling career in the Church hierarchy, yet who managed to “live in the hearts of the people” precisely because he refused to hide his flaws.
The “Hell” of a Nervous Temperament
One of the most striking aspects of the interview is the reframing of Golden’s famous “cussing.” It wasn’t just a bad habit; it was the steam valve for a volatile, high-strung personality.
“Went up town feeling blue, cross, and full of cussedness,” he wrote in 1895… “I seemed not to have a spark of the Holy Ghost within me.”
Decades later, J. Golden would describe these mood swings to his son Max as feeling “always up, or down and do not run on a level plain.”
This “nervous temperament” was exacerbated by genuine tragedy. The interview details how Golden and his brother Elias were financially destroyed—not by the world, but by Apostle John W. Taylor, who convinced them to leverage their assets for a speculative land scheme that collapsed, leading to Golden’s bankruptcy in 1899.
Stalled Ambition and Church Politics
We often assume Golden was universally beloved, but the interview reveals he was a polarizing figure among Church leaders. Despite his father (Heber C. Kimball) being a giant of the Restoration, Golden’s career “stalled” in the First Council of Seventy.
By 1898, he had been passed over three times as places in the Quorum of the Twelve became available…
His outspoken brother Elias… wondered if “one or two Kimballs being pushed ahead has fully convinced the brethren that they want no more such outspoken men.” Golden thought that observation “has about hit it.”
This tension came to a head in 1933, when President Heber J. Grant summoned Golden to his office after a particularly colorful conference talk and delivered an ultimatum: reform his language or be released.
“Don’t Try to Make Me Good; Shoot Me”
Despite the pressure to conform, Golden’s authentic spirituality shone through. He famously ordained a man to the Seventy who had a cigar in his pocket, saying, “By all the power invested in me… I ordain you… cigar and all.”
Perhaps the quintessential Golden moment shared in the interview involves his involvement with the controversial “Dream Mine.” When ordered by President Grant to disassociate from it or lose his calling, Golden complied, but confided to a congregation that he felt like a little girl who, tired of her mother’s constant correction, finally cried out:
“Mother, don’t try to make me good; shoot me.”
For more on J. Golden Kimball’s mother’s secret polygamous life, his friendship with B. H. Roberts, and the tragic car accident that ended his life, head on over to the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk, to read the full interview with Andrew Kimball.
While you’re there, check out the new Gérald Caussé quotes page!
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