Welcome to our final episode in our Joseph Smith: The Podcast series, where we cover John Turner’s new book “Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet.” In this episode, we explore the immediate aftermath of Joseph Smith’s assassination and the profound consequences that followed his family, plural wives, and the early Latter-day Saint movement. The chapter we are covering today is the Epilogue. We look at the chaotic hours and days after his death in Nauvoo, including how his body and Hyrum’s were handled, the conditions of their temporary burial, and the secrecy surrounding their remains. The episode also examines Emma Smith’s role in the aftermath --her grief, her control over Joseph’s body, and the difficult position she found herself in as both widow and critic of polygamy. We also discuss how Joseph’s plural wives responded to his death, the emotional and political complexities of their mourning, and the uneasy reality of their realtionships with Brigham Young and other church leaders. From there, we move into the succession crisis that followed --how leadership shifted, why Brigham Young ultimately prevailed over Sidney Rigdon, and how competing visions of the church began to emerge. Finally, we step back to consider Joseph Smith’s broader legacy, the scale of opposition he faced, and how his influence continued to shape American religious history long after his death. If you’d like to help keep this project going, please consider donating to support this series. Your support makes long-form, in-depth historical discussion like this possible! https://donorbox.org/josephsmith. Purchase John Turner’s book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300255164/joseph-smith/ Stay tuned for our upcoming series on John Turner’s book “Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet” Show notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here: https://www.mormonstories.org/the-aftermath-of-joseph-smiths-murder/ Timecodes: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:05:45 - Plural wives grieved 00:12:02 - Prophet’s body “on tour” 00:28:55 - None were convicted 00:37:42 - The succession crisis 00:47:43 - Emma and Brigham 01:02:24 - Questions for John Dehlin 01:09:03 - Donald Trump and Joseph Smith 01:21:16 - Was Joseph Smith likeable? 01:33:51 - Final remarks 01:36:34 - Please donate for a Brigham Young series ___________________ At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals. Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology 2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis 3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions 🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/mormonstories Paypal: https://paypal.me/mormonstories Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6OgmoqJbOVRq-Lv1P7SzA/join Our Platforms: 🌐Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes 🎙️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories ✳️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404&nd=1 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 🖼️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories 📱TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast 🎮Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF Contact us: 📧 MormonStories@gmail.com 📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117