Church History Matters

070 The Fate of the Persecutors of the Prophet Joseph Smith

Jul 2, 2024

The podcast explores the fates of those involved in the persecution of Joseph Smith, questioning the accuracy of morbid stories of divine retribution. It delves into the lack of justice for the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, highlighting discrepancies between popular tales and historical facts. Stories of tragic ends for some persecutors are contrasted with the normal lives led by others, sparking reflection on the impact of these events.

01:12:23

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Quick takeaways

The podcast questions the historical accuracy of divine retribution tales on Joseph Smith's persecutors.

The lack of justice in holding the murderers of Joseph and Hiram Smith accountable is discussed.

Witness credibility in the trial of Joseph Smith raises doubts about the pursuit of justice.

Deep dives

Doubtful Historicity of Vengeful Narratives

The episode delves into the publication 'The Fate of the Persecutors of the Prophet Joseph Smith' and questions the historical accuracy of the morbid tales of divine retribution on persecutors of Joseph Smith. These stories, although captivating, are mostly unsupported by credible evidence, relying on hearsay rather than factual records. The episode raises concerns about the reliability of such narratives and challenges their status as legendary folklore rather than documented accounts, prompting a critical examination of the actual fate of those involved in Joseph's persecution.

The Controversy Surrounding the Burial of Joseph and Hiram Smith

01:44

Intro

2min

Fate of the Persecutors of Joseph Smith

10min

The Unresolved Convictions for the Murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith

27min

Examining Brackenberry's Testimony and Credibility

2min

The Enigmatic Case of Prosecutor Lamborn

21min

Fates of Persecutors of Joseph Smith

7min

Reflections on the Fate of Joseph and Hiram's Persecutors

2min

Exploring the Martyrdom at Carthage Jail from a Forensic Perspective

2min

In 1952 book entitled, The Fate of the Persecutors of the Prophet Joseph Smith, was published by N. B. Lundwall. Within its pages, among other things, Lundwall presented various stories describing how many of those who played significant roles in the persecution of Joseph Smith met with unfortunate ends in unnatural and sometimes gruesome ways, underscoring the idea of divine justice and retribution. Unfortunately, the historical credibility of most of these stories is seriously lacking since they are based on unverifiable hearsay rather than well-documented and corroborated records. These morbid tales are thus the stuff of legend and folklore rather than a robust documentary record. But they do stimulate the question: What do we know about what actually happened to those involved in the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith? Were they ever brought to justice? Did they live long lives? Did any of them meet a tragic mortal end?

In this episode of Church History Matters, we investigate the answers to these questions based primarily in the solid historical research of Marvin S. Hill and Dallin H. Oaks.

For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/