1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,080 Speaker 1: All right, most of us go through a period in 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: our lives where we ask ourselves the big questions about life, 3 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: right like what am I here for? What's next? Is 4 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: this all there is? Etc. But there was a time 5 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: in America when all sorts of new religions began popping 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,079 Speaker 1: up to answer those questions, because hey, it was a 7 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: new land partly founded on religious freedom. Looking back, there 8 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: was a lot of mysticism involved in these new movements, 9 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: although honestly, that's true in pretty much every religion even today. 10 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 1: But the founding of the Mormon Church in America sounds 11 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: almost like a science fiction novel and a little bit 12 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 1: of a murder mystery. I'm Patty Steele Joseph Smith's Life 13 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: of Spirituality with a dose of murder, mayhem, and sex. 14 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back when 15 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: Europeans first arrived in America, they were mainly looking for 16 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: religious freedom, which obviously wasn't really a thing in most 17 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: European countries at the time, and that worked for a 18 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,680 Speaker 1: couple of centuries, but even those folks eventually had very 19 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:16,040 Speaker 1: little religious tolerance for new ways of finding spiritual fulfillment. 20 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: Problem is, as the world rapidly changed with new inventions, 21 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: new ways to travel outside of your own community. New 22 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: questions arose about life, who we are, and what we're 23 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: doing here now. The thing is, the old beliefs weren't 24 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: answering all those new questions. That's where Joseph Smith found himself, 25 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: as a poor, hardworking teenager, asking a whole lot of questions. 26 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 1: It's the eighteen twenties in upstate New York. New religious 27 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: movements were constantly popping up. Finding salvation seemed really urgent, 28 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: but also really confusing. Joseph said at that point he 29 00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 1: felt spiritually tangled. So in eighteen twenty, at the age 30 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: of fifteen, he went into the forest and he prayed, 31 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 1: asking which church he should join. That's when he says 32 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: he experienced a vision of God and Jesus Christ that 33 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: became the origin story for yet another brand new religion. Okay, 34 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: three years past. It's eighteen twenty three, and Joseph says 35 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: he had a nighttime visit from an angel called Morony. 36 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: The angel tells him about some buried golden plates. He 37 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: says they outlined the history of ancient people in North 38 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: America and their dealings with God. Joseph says, the angel 39 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: tells him to translate the plates and write down the words. 40 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 1: He gets busy, and while Joseph dictates what he sees 41 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: on the plates, friends write it all down. Finally, in 42 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: early eighteen thirty, the Book of Mormon goes on sale 43 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: in Palmyra, New York. Did you see that play? Really funny? Anyway? 44 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: That's bring A small group of believers organizes a church, 45 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: which will eventually be called the Church of Jesus Christ 46 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: of Latter day Saints. Okay, so this small spiritual movement 47 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: sounds reasonable given the times, right, But that's just the 48 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: beginning of what turns into a harrowing and at times 49 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: violent blossoming of Mormonism. Joseph doesn't just want this to 50 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: be a Sunday religion. He wants it to be a 51 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: gathering of people who live in a community of like 52 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: minded folks. It's eighteen thirty one and converts follow Joseph 53 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 1: Smith to Kirtland, Ohio, where they build their first temple, 54 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: a large white structure that also serves as a school 55 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: and community center. A thousand people come to its dedication 56 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty six. Not long after Joseph and several 57 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: congregants say they had a vision of Jesus standing at 58 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: the pulpit. Multiple visions of figures from the Bible follow 59 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: But within a couple of years there's a huge division 60 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: in the church and Joseph is forced to leave. He 61 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: heads west with hundreds of followers to independence Missouri. Now 62 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: the problem is Missouri is a slave state and a 63 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: lot of the incoming Mormons are abolitionists. What's called the 64 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: Mormon Wars breakout. The governor of Missouri signs an extermination 65 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 1: order that sounds scary. It aims to chase Mormons out 66 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: of the state. Joseph Smith is arrested and he spends 67 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:33,919 Speaker 1: a rough winter in jail under horrible conditions. Then, in 68 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:38,160 Speaker 1: the spring of eighteen thirty nine, during a transfer, he escapes, 69 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: helped by guards who are willing to look the other way. 70 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,480 Speaker 1: Joseph and his followers head for Illinois, where they receive 71 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: a land grant. They build a city called Nauvoux, and 72 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: in just a few years it's one of the biggest 73 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: cities in Illinois, second in size only to Chicago, and 74 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,840 Speaker 1: Joseph Smith runs the place. He's the mayor, head of 75 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: the the militia and the charismatic center of a growing social, political, 76 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: and economic order. Okay, let's reset here. At this point, 77 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 1: he's thirty five years old and has moved his church 78 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,840 Speaker 1: and many of his followers from upstate New York to Ohio, 79 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 1: then to two separate towns in Missouri, and finally to Illinois. 80 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 1: By now he has tens of thousands of congregants. Problem is, 81 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: Joseph and church elders start adding new beliefs, most notably 82 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: the idea of plural marriage or polygamy, where men can 83 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: have more than one wife, and that starts a firestorm 84 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: among his followers. Some of them start a newspaper to 85 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,039 Speaker 1: attack him, but Joseph orders his militia to destroy the 86 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 1: printing press. As this battle heats up, Joseph announces that 87 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: he and a church colleague are running for the US 88 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: presidency in the eighteen forty four election. His opponents have 89 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,479 Speaker 1: had it. Charges are brought again Joseph in as many 90 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: cases as they can drum up, going back years to Ohio, Missouri, 91 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: and finally Illinois. Now it's June twenty seventh, eighteen forty four, 92 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: a hot Thursday. Joseph, his brother, Hiram Smith, and two 93 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: other close associates from the church are being held in 94 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: the county jail in Carthage, Illinois. The bad news for 95 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: them the guards assigned to watch them are hostile to 96 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: the church, and the governor is out of town. It's 97 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,279 Speaker 1: a really bad recipe. Late in the afternoon, about one 98 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: hundred men in disguise rush the jail. Shots are fired 99 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: up a stairwell and Hiram Smith is hit first. He collapses. 100 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: Joseph and the other two push against the door, but 101 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: they fall back as bullets splinter through the wood. The 102 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: mob keeps coming and the room is swarming with lead. Joseph, 103 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: for some reason, goes to the window. He begins to fall, 104 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: may be trying to jump, maybe after being shot and falling, 105 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: but he cries out, oh Lord, my God, and plunges 106 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: to the ground outside. The crowd moves in and he 107 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: shot again. Hiram dies upstairs. The other two Mormons survive, 108 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: but Joseph Smith is dead at the age of thirty eight. 109 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: A prophet to his people and a lightning rod to 110 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: his critics is finally gone. You'd think that would be 111 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: the end, right, I mean, who takes over well in 112 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: nauvou the twelve apostles led by Brigham Young, claim they're 113 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: in charge. In the winter of eighteen forty six, the 114 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: majority of Mormons begin a brutal exodus across Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, 115 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: and eventually to the Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah, 116 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: with Brigham Young as their leader, and the Church of 117 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: Latter day Saints has flourished to this day. Now seventeen 118 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: and a half million followers read his words, build temples 119 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: he imagined, and live their lives based on the concept 120 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: of eternity he preached. It's actually one of only a 121 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: handful of religions whose membership is considered to be growing rapidly. 122 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 1: So while Joseph Smith's legacy may not be tidy, it 123 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: is human, full of improvisation, miscalculation, revelation, grit, love, secrets, ego, 124 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 1: and stubborn faith. But think about it, isn't that exactly 125 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: what you would expect from a story that begins with 126 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 1: a fifteen year old kid walking into the woods to 127 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:45,040 Speaker 1: ask an existential question. I hope you like the backstory 128 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: with Patty Steele. Please lave a review and follow or 129 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 1: subscribe for free to get new episodes delivered automatically. Also 130 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: feel free to dm me if you have a story 131 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:57,440 Speaker 1: you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele 132 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The 133 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, 134 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 1: and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our 135 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. 136 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 1: Feel free to reach out to me with comments and 137 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 1: even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and 138 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the 139 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't 140 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 1: know you needed to know.