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Polygamy

Historian John Turner discusses Brigham Young's embrace of polygamy

September 24, 2026 at 10:03 AM MT · via YouTube / Mormon Stories Podcast · Summarized by Mormon News from original reporting

From Mormon Stories Podcast. Episode page, show notes and full transcript on mormonstories.org →

Historian John Turner discusses Brigham Young's adoption and promotion of plural marriage in Nauvoo in the third installment of a series on his book "Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet." The episode examines Young's "increasingly central role in the development of early Mormon polygamy," according to the description.

The discussion covers the chapter "The New and Everlasting Covenant," focusing on the period when Young moved from reluctant participant to active defender and organizer of the practice. Young would eventually take 55 wives and become polygamy's most visible practitioner.

The video drew 9,220 views and 35 comments in its first 22 hours on the Mormon Stories Podcast channel. Turner's biography is considered the definitive modern scholarly work on Young.

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