Joseph Smith
Video claims Joseph Smith secretly married six teenage girls as young as 14
A new YouTube video from Holy Land History claims Joseph Smith secretly married at least six teenage girls between 1833 and 1843, two of them just 14 years old, citing names, ages and dates the creator says come from the Church's own published records and scholarship.
September 11, 2026 at 5:03 PM MT · via YouTube / Holy Land History · 2 sources
Brigham Young's childhood abuse examined in Mormon Stories series
Brigham Young, the second president of the LDS Church, was physically and verbally abused by his father during his childhood, according to a discussion between John Dehlin and historian Dr. John Turner on Mormon Stories Podcast.
September 9, 2026 at 3:13 AM MT · via YouTube / Mormon Stories Podcast
DNA researcher explores Native American connections to Book of Mormon claims
Wheat and Tares features Thomas Murphy, whose DNA research challenged traditional Book of Mormon claims about Native American origins and nearly cost him his Church membership two decades ago. The piece asks whether rigorous genetic science and religious scripture can coexist.
September 7, 2026 at 3:02 PM MT · via Wheat and Tares · 2 sources
Scholars examine Deseret Alphabet's spiritual and social goals
The 19th-century Deseret Alphabet was more than a quirky linguistic experiment—it represented Brigham Young's vision for literacy, social control, and spiritual transformation, according to scholars Ryan K. Shosted and N.E. Davis in a new interview at the Latter-day Saint history blog From the Desk.
September 6, 2026 at 2:02 AM MT · via Times and Seasons
Latter-day Saints turn to AI to create Book of Mormon films
Church members are using artificial intelligence tools to produce films depicting Book of Mormon stories, marking what the Salt Lake Tribune calls a new era in LDS cinema. The technology allows creators to generate visual content without traditional film production costs and resources.
September 6, 2026 at 2:02 AM MT · via The Salt Lake Tribune
Protestant scholar defends Joseph Smith against fraud claims
A Protestant scholar argued that Joseph Smith should not be dismissed as a con man, in a video conversation with Luke Hanson and Dr. Kyle Beshears posted 29 August. Beshears, who is not Latter-day Saint, said Smith's religious sincerity deserves serious consideration even for those who reject his theological claims.
September 5, 2026 at 4:03 PM MT · via YouTube
New Joseph Smith Papers volume to document prophet's plural marriages
The Joseph Smith Papers project will soon publish additional documentary evidence of the Latter-day Saint founder's plural marriages, according to AOL. The forthcoming volume will include primary-source materials documenting Smith's practice of polygamy during the Nauvoo period.
September 3, 2026 at 1:03 AM MT · via AOL.com · 4 sources
Podcast traces Fort Douglas history as federal check on Mormon theocracy
A new Sunstone podcast episode examines why the U.S. Army built Fort Douglas above Salt Lake City with cannons aimed at the Mormon capital. Hosts Lindsay Hansen Park and Bryan Buchanan trace the installation's role from the Utah War through Patrick Connor's campaign to contain Brigham Young's theocratic power and encourage non-Mormon settlement through mining.
September 2, 2026 at 5:02 AM MT · via Sunstone
New evidence of Joseph Smith's polygamy to be published
New documentary evidence of Joseph Smith's plural marriages will soon be published, according to knoxradio.com. The forthcoming release promises additional historical documentation of the LDS Church founder's practice of polygamy in the 1840s.
August 30, 2026 at 12:03 PM MT · via knoxradio.com · 5 sources
Before they were famous: Orson Hyde's contradictory life
Lindsay Hansen Park and Bryan Buchanan trace the astonishing and contradictory life of Apostle Orson Hyde for Sunstone. Hyde dedicated Jerusalem for the return of the Jews, renamed Nevada's oldest town, nearly became church president, and may have helped create one of Mormonism's most enduring succession myths. The episode examines Hyde's orphaned childhood, his rise to apostolic authority, his temporary excommunication and return, and his complex legacy. The hosts explore how Hyde's life illuminates early Mormon leadership dynamics and the fluid nature of apostolic succession in the 19th century.
August 21, 2026 at 10:05 PM MT · via Sunstone
Mormon Discussion examines Joseph Smith's Zelph story from Zion's Camp
Mormon Discussion Inc. posted a video examining the Zelph incident from Joseph Smith's 1834 Zion's Camp march, drawing 5,001 views in 35 hours. The video explores Smith's claimed revelation about a skeleton found in an Illinois burial mound, which he identified as a "white Lamanite" warrior named Zelph.
August 21, 2026 at 7:07 AM MT · via YouTube / Mormon Discussion Inc.
The Mormon sect that had their own plates: examining the Strangites
The "All Those In Favor" YouTube channel examines the Strangite branch of Mormonism, a splinter group that claimed to possess their own set of ancient metal plates translated by James Strang after Joseph Smith's death. The video, which has drawn over 5,600 views in 38 hours, explores how the Strangites' claim to gold plates affects belief in Joseph Smith's translated plates. The channel acknowledges the work of another creator who produced a "fantastic and charitable" account of Strangite history.
August 19, 2026 at 2:07 AM MT · via YouTube / All Those In Favor