In Part Three of our series on the Mormon Reformation, we dive into the most harrowing chapter yet. This episode uncovers the brutal measures Mormons took against apostates and outsiders during this period of fiery zeal, exploring the violent and gory tactics used to enforce loyalty and obedience. We also delve into the dark side of polygamy, exposing some of the most abusive and coercive marriages that emerged during the Reformation’s fervor. It’s an unflinching look at the extremes of faith, fear, and control in a community on fire with religious devotion.

SHOWNOTES:

• “‘You Nasty Apostates, Clear Out’: Reasons for Disaffection in the Late 1850s,” Journal of Mormon History 30, no. 2 (Fall 2004): 132–33. Aird’s own ancestor, Peter McAuslan, joined others during this period that left Mormonism, chronicled in her book Mormon Convert, Mormon Defector.
• Shakers, Mormons, and Religious Worlds: Conflicting Visions, Contested Boundaries (Indiana University Press, 2010), 171.
• Brigham Young, sermon of March 2, 1856, Journal of Discourses, 3:226.
• A brief history of Springville, Utah : from its first settlement September 18, 1850 to the 18th day of September, 1900 : fifty years by Johnson, Don Carlos
• A Tangled Skein edited by Leslie Klinger
• Rocky Mountain Saints by T.B.H. Stenhouse