Just before Joseph Smith made a brief escape from Nauvoo over the Mississippi River into Iowa, he made a strange request. He asked his followers to take up their glue guns, their knitting needles, and their macrame rings to make a giant craft project—namely a sixteen-foot-long flag. He wanted to carry this “flag for the …
In this episode, Lindsay and Bryan discuss several expeditions, including the Stansbury Expedition and the Gunnison Expedition and Massacre. Each of these events had a profound effect on early Mormonism. SHOWNOTES: Howard Stansbury’s Expedition around the Great Salt Lake: An Examination of the Route and the Maps by Jesse G. Peterson John W.Gunnison’s Letters To …
The Sunstone Review reviewed what may be the earliest instance of gay Mormon theater, “Emmett: A One-Mormon Show,” written and performed by Emmett Foster, which was staged in 1983 at The Public House in New York City. Emmett’s mother has been married nine times. His sister tries to hide her smoking habit while she ogles missionaries. …
Carol Lynn Pearson is known for her long-standing advocacy for the LGBT community in the LDS Church. This episode presents her thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of the Church, and why she continues to engage with it.
Join Bryan and Lindsay for another episode of BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS, as they talk about an important (feminist) Mormon pioneer foremother, Emmeline B. Wells. SHOWNOTES: The Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells Emmeline B. Wells: An Intimate History by Carol Cornwall Madsen An Advocate for Women: The Public Life of Emmeline B. Wells, 1870-1920 by …
Imagine that your name is Lovina Gibson Andrus. You’re five years old, and you live in Salt Lake Valley. The year is 1849, so, naturally, you spend your summer days smashing crickets with a wooden mallet. Yes, this is the infamous year when the sky turned black as swarms of crickets flew in to eat …
“Every member a missionary.” You’ve probably heard this phrase more times than you can count. But what you probably don’t know is that it has its roots in the silent films Trapped by the Mormons and Married to a Mormon. Winifred Graham was one of the most ardent anti-Mormons in Britain. She had written two …
If you watched the recent Hulu hit, ABC’s Daughters of the Cult about the complicated LeBaron family legacy, check out today’s SMHP episode. In this special bonus episode, Bryan Buchanan and historian Cristina Rosetti dive into the early history of the family. If you’re curious how Ervil LeBaron’s murderous group got started, dive into this …
Despite being an LDS publication, the first issue of the Woman’s Exponent read mostly like a run-of-the-mill woman’s journal. Eight pages long, it was filled with news (both political and sensational), medical cures, and jokes. But the Woman’s Exponent didn’t consider itself a normal woman’s journal. As one of its articles read: A woman’s journal …
Using Eric Hoffer’s book “The True Believer,” Stephen Carter explores how Mormonism became a mass movement and the surprising way its cycle is playing out today.
