Just when we thought we’d talked enough about disappointing Mormon men, George A. Smith pulls us back in. In this unflinching episode, we unpack how the so-called “Father of Southern Utah” helped lay the groundwork for one of the darkest moments in LDS history, the Mountain Meadows Massacre. With a wig in one hand and …
Tag: Nauvoo Legion
Episode 145: Runaway Officials
In this episode, Lindsay and Bryan dive into one of the most violent and outrageous chapters of early Mormon history: the “Runaway Officials” scandal. When federal appointees tried to enforce U.S. law in Utah Territory, they faced threats, beatings, and sabotage from a theocratic regime that ran more like a mafia than a government. From …
Episode 142: Wild Bill Hickman
In this episode, we delve into the life of one of the most controversial and complex figures of the American West: William Adams “Wild Bill” Hickman, known as “Brigham’s Destroying Angel.” Hickman’s life was a paradox: he was a devoted father to 35 children, a trusted enforcer for Mormon leaders, and a self-proclaimed murderer of …
Episode 141: The Utah War, part two
Join Lindsay and Bryan as they dive into the explosive history of the Utah War for part two of our Utah War series. We explore the complex interplay of guerrilla tactics, federal overreach, and theocratic resistance that defined this strange conflict. From Brigham Young’s bold proclamations to Porter Rockwell’s psychological warfare, the duo unpacks how …
Episode 111: Before They Were Famous: Daniel H. Wells
It’s time for another episode of Before They Were Famous. This time we focus on the leader of the Nauvoo Legion, Daniel H. Wells and his role in many massacres against indigenous tribes. Shownotes: Donate to Sunstone and the History Podcast (leave us a note in the comment section to say hi!) Daniel Hanmer Wells …
The Culture of Violence in Joseph Smith’s Mormonism–Part III
Continued from Part II In May 1842, Joseph Smith reassembled a cadre of bodyguards, selecting primarily those with experience as Danites in Missouri. Former Danites such as Dimick B. Huntington, Daniel Carn, and Albert P. Rockwood began serving as Nauvoo’s “Night Watch.”[i]Previously a Danite captain, Rockwood had already been serving as “commander of my [Smith’s] …
The Culture of Violence in Joseph Smith’s Mormonism–Part II
Continued from Part I One 24 September 1835, notwithstanding the absence of an external threat, Joseph Smith organized militarily in Kirtland. He proposed “by the voice of the Spirit of the Lord” to raise another Mormon army “to live or die on our own lands, which we have purchased in Jackson County, Missouri.” His manuscript …
The Culture of Violence in Joseph Smith’s Mormonism–Part I
By D. Michael Quinn D. Michael Quinn is an independent scholar in Rancho Cucamonga, Southern California. His first ancestral Mormon mother, Lydia Bilyeu Workman, died in Nauvoo on 30 September 1845, just days after she was burned out of her farmhouse by mobs. Her five youngest children were aged six to eighteen. It is extremely …