Naked Mormonism Podcast

Most of today was driving, however the morning was spent in Palmyra and Fayette at the Smith farm, Sacred Grove, and Whitmer farm. The church has put out some really slick videos trying to explain the history, but somehow they still obfuscate the reality. Now on to a fun evening with friend of the show Jonathan Tindell of Secular Stories podcast!

Most of today was spent looking through microfilms of Luman Walter's probate file. He must have been somewhat wealthy because the surrogates who handled his possessions afterwards did a fantastic job of cataloging all of his personal inventory. The rest of the day was spent at the Hill Cumorah visitor center talking with a delightful elder missionary.

Isaac Hale didn't like Jo when him and Emma began courting. Luckily for Jo, Hale's heart softened and allowed Jo to move in to the farm once "persecution" in New York became too much to bear. We cover two days in this travel log because the majority of them were spent driving. The rest of the log includes my musing on an interview I conducted with a professor at Boston University about Joseph Smith's possible entheogen use.

Kirtland Day 3 landed me at the Sidney Rigdon church in Mentor, Ohio; finishing the day with a conversation with Seth Bryant and Tom Kimball of the Church of Christ. Not quite as eventful as the last few days, but still very productive.

Kirtland Day 2 involved touring the CoC owned Kirtland Temple as well as the Isaac Morley farm. The day ended with my recounting of a deep Mormon history discussion with Karl Anderson, known locally as Mr. Kirtland. He didn't like the entheogen theory, but the exchange was incredibly respectful and I'm happy to call him a friend.

It's a good thing this tour is spending 3 full days in Kirtland! I began with a tour of historic Kirtland at the Whitney store and home, ending at the sawmill and ashery. After that it was on to the temple to make an appointment for the basement to belfry tour. Then on to Hiram, OH wherein lies the John and Elsa Johnson farm. The rainy day made it so nobody else was on these tours so I took full opportunity to engage with all the missionaries and hear a number of touching personal stories.

Missouri is jam-packed full of really cool Mormon historic sites. It's also home to a number of break-off factions which differ in some small ways from the Brighamite sect in SLC. There are some profound differences between the visitor centers of the Community of Christ, the Temple Lot (Hedrickites), and the Brighamite LDS centers; some discuss Mormon history a little more openly than others.

Mostly a driving day, but I had to stop at Carthage Jail on the way to Missouri. Nothing in the world fires me up like revisionist history and Carthage Jail reeks of it. Luckily, if you know the right questions to ask, the missionaries there have to answer truthfully, despite the believing Mormons sighing in the background at the pursuit for truth.

Nauvoo is jam-packed with really cool Mormon history. It was simply a mistake to think I could see everything pertinent in one day.

No Mormon history hotspots in South Dakota or Minnesota, but I did see the surprisingly underwhelming Mt. Rushmore and my inner Gearhead took complete control before passing a car museum.

Martin's Cove was something that cropped up on my radar mere days before passing it by. The Martin handcart company was forced to camp for 5 days in a small horseshoe cove that offered a brief respite from the brutal southern Wyoming blizzards which would forced them to wait out the storm. The missionaries called it hallowed ground, I call it a gigantic fuck up that cost a lot of people everything they had, including their lives.

St. George Utah is home to many Mormon history sites including the first temple completed and dedicated under Brigham Young's rule, BY's winter home, and the home of Jacob Hamblin.

On this episode, we finally reach the November court of inquiry following the Mormon-Missouri war of 1838. Typically, court hearings are held to pass fair judgement, but the Mormons find no justice or peace. The episode begins with an exciting announcement about a cross-country Mormon history pilgrimage. Updates found on this episode and you can follow along on the show’s Patreon feed. Links: Missouri State Archives Mormon war papers 1838-1841 https://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/findingaids/rg005-01 Reed Peck Manuscript http://www.mormoninformation.com/reedpeck.htm Show links: Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com Twitter @NakedMormonism Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism/370003839816311 Patreon http://patreon.com/nakedmormonism Music by Jason Comeau http://aloststateofmind.com/ Show Artwork http://weirdmormonshit.com/ Legal Counsel http://patorrez.com/ Voicemail Line (864)Nake-dMo (625-3366)

On this episode, we attempt to get to the bottom of all these Mormon document leaks as of late. We have a discussion with Ryan McKnight, /u/FearlessFixxer and founder of MormonLeaks, covering some of the recent leaks released by the leak project. We conclude our discussion with whether or not we can trust sources leaked anonymously from a source that claims to “have a vetting process”. Ryan stands by every document released; it may be best to skepticize them for the time being. Links: Mormon Leaks https://mormonleaks.io/ https://www.facebook.com/MormonWikileaks/?ref=br_rs Twitter @Mormon_Leaks GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/mormonwikileaks Reddit /u/FearlessFixxer Show links: Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com Twitter @NakedMormonism Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism/370003839816311 Patreon http://patreon.com/nakedmormonism Music by Jason Comeau http://aloststateofmind.com/ Show Artwork http://weirdmormonshit.com/ Legal Counsel http://patorrez.com/ Voicemail Line (864)Nake

On this episode, shock and awe is an effective strategy. In the wake of the Haun’s Mill massacre, the Jo and the Mormon leadership are given a final ultimatum, surrender or the twin cities (Far West & Adam-ondi-Ahman) fall and the Mormons fall with them. General Lucas of the Missouri militia dictates four stipulations of surrender as the Mormons are outnumbered 5 to 1 and surrounded. Mormon Colonel George Hinkle negotiates an extension for the night but Jo and the leaders are taken as hostage to force compliance to surrender. The twin sanctuary cities are violated and the national media explodes with rumors and fake news.   Links: Parley P. Pratt (P-cubed) autobiography https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofp00prat Reed Peck Manuscript http://www.mormoninformation.com/reedpeck.htm Local Missouri newspapers http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/MO/Miss1838.htm#110338 General Sampson Avard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampson_Avard Thomas B. Marsh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_B._Marsh#cite_note

On this episode, we finally dive into something highly anticipated for years, the Haun’s Mill Massacre. The title says it all; we discuss very adult concepts with graphic detail (listener discretion advised). We read 5 first-hand accounts of the massacre and bring it all together with Stephen LeSueur’s reconstruction of events. We finish out with a list of factors that lead to this fateful day in American history.   Links: Amanda Barnes Smith https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/1781809 Lyman Omer Littlefield Autobiography http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/LLittlefield.html James McBride 1876 microform http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16003coll15/id/11608 Ellis Eames https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/12594448 Mrs. Lucy Walker (Smith) Kimball: http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/LLittlefield.html Show links: Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com Twitter @NakedMormonism Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism/370003839816311 Patreon http://patreon.com/nakedmor

On this episode, we invite Christopher Smith on for a follow-up of our last conversation. In order to be historically accurate, it’s important to take every possible opportunity to learn from historians and scholars. We discuss the proper terminology to use when analyzing Mormon colonization of Utah by getting into the nitty gritty of what constitutes battle and conquest as opposed to genocide. In retrospect, genocide does seem like an overly- sensationalized description of these fairly standard settler vs. Native conflicts throughout frontier America.   Links: Captain Fearnought’s white wool mountain-man coat http://www.ballindalloch-press.com/baraboo2.jpg Chris Smith South Park video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkmUz1y12Dk Chris Smith with Dan Vogel on ThoughtsOnThingsAndStuff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LKy1ySuitk Worlds Without End blog http://www.withoutend.org/   Show Links: Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com Twitter @NakedMormonism Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism

On this episode, we cover a lot of ground but only advance our timeline a total of 4 days. Mormon depredations throughout Daviess County are answered by vigilante militia depredations against Mormons. The anti-Mormons are routing the Mormons to concentrate their population in the twin sanctuary cities, Diahman and Far West in preparation of a mass siege to put down the Mormon fanatics once and for all. Captain Samuel Bogart’s troops take two Mormon spies prisoner and Captain Fearnought assaults their camp on Crooked River with the Danites. Once Governor Lilburn Boggs catches word of the Danite aggression, he answers with a 4,000-man militia armed with an Executive Order to exterminate the Mormons. We bring on Andrew Torrez of Opening Arguments podcast to shed some expert light on the situation.   Where to find Andrew Torrez: http://openargs.com/ or Opening Arguments on Facebook and @OpenArgs on Twitter   Links: Colonel Cornelius Neil Gilliam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelius_Gilliam Captain Samuel Bogar

On this episode, we take an opportunity to talk with budding Mormon historian, Christopher Smith, who just landed his professorship at U of U! We talk about the current timeline and some of the broader social tensions plaguing Jo and the church in 1838. After that we move on to talk about Dr. Smith’s dissertation concerning the Mormon colonization of Utah and just how bloody it really was. Apparently Bloody Brigham was a bit apprehensive to slaughter thousands of Natives but somehow was convinced otherwise. Chris Smith South Park video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkmUz1y12Dk Chris Smith with Dan Vogel on ThoughtsOnThingsAndStuff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LKy1ySuitk Worlds Without End blog http://www.withoutend.org/ Richard Bushman “…problems with dominant narrative” video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKuBw9mpV9w Thinker of Thoughts YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVTCFh3uDMH0GZlwl1JOoHQ Show Links: Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com Twitter @NakedMormonism Facebook https:

On this episode, we begin with a wrap up of the live God Awful Movies in Chicago and talking about everything the atheist/skeptical community has to offer. After that we jump into a discussion about the Mormon refugee crisis going on in mid-October 1838 in Missouri. Jo had to feed the flock and the only way to do so was through raiding and pillaging the Daviess County locals. We read a warm letter exchange between people on opposing sides of the conflict along with a large excerpt from Benjamin Johnson, the first-hand recounting from a Mormon raiding party participant. After that we move on to part 2 of a discussion with Brian and Sean of Mythicist Milwaukee; be sure to check their podcast feed for part 1!   Links: Mythicist Milwaukee interview pt1 http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/mythicist-milwaukee-show General Parks’ letter to James Sloan http://mormonhistoricsites.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/MHS2.1Baugh-HiramParks.pdf Benjamin F. Johnson My Life’s Review http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/BFJohnson.h