Welcome to Part 40 of our Joseph Smith Podcast series with Dr. John Turner!

Today we are covering the final chapter of Dr. John Turner’s new book, Joseph Smith; The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet. The chapter is titled “Bleeding Hearts.”

In this episode we unpack the turbulent final months of Joseph Smith’s life in 1844. We explore escalating legal pressures, political tensions in Nauvoo, and the controversial events surrounding the Nauvoo Expositor, press freedom, and Smith’s increasingly complex role as prophet, mayor, and military leader.

We also examine the accusations of polygamy and misconduct circulating at the time, the internal fractures within the Latter-day Saint movement, and how Joseph Smith responded through sermons, leadership decision, and public defense.

As tensions rise, we follow the path from legal entanglements and political conflict in Illinois to Smith’s final days, his decision to flee, and the events leading to his death at Carthage Jail. The episode closes with reflections on the aftermath of his killing and its lasting impact on the movement he founded.

This is a deep historical discussion drawing on Dr. Turner’s scholarship and primary source material to better understand one of the most consequential and contested moments in early American religious history.

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/

Let us know your thoughts on a Brigham Young series (comprising ten episodes) covering John Turner’s book Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet.

Thumbnail Credits: Main image of Joseph Smith by Unknown painter, from Community of Christ Archives (public domain); Background image of the Carthage Jail window taken by Julia Sanders.