{"podcast":{"title":"Mormon Stories Podcast","slug":"mormon-stories-podcast-975797","podcast_index_feed_id":975797,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/f7ccb224/podcast/rss","website_url":"http://www.mormonstories.org","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/41473873/41473873-1774439842873-4051333073691.jpg","author":"Dr. John Dehlin","episode_count":2202,"summary":"Mormon Stories Podcast is the longest-running and most successful podcast in Mormonism. 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. Mormon Stories is a product of the Open Stories Foundation - a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to supporting Mormons in religious transition. Mormon Stories is not affiliated with or sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-08T08:17:24.229711+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/mormon-stories-podcast-975797"},"episode":{"title":"Sham Marriages in Joseph Smith’s Nauvoo - John Turner Pt. 35 | Ep. 2129","slug":"sham-marriages-in-joseph-smith-s-nauvoo-john-turner-pt-35-ep-2129","published_at":"2026-03-26T06:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/mormon-stories-podcast-975797/sham-marriages-in-joseph-smith-s-nauvoo-john-turner-pt-35-ep-2129","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/mormon-stories-podcast-975797","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mormonstories/episodes/Sham-Marriages-in-Joseph-Smiths-Nauvoo---John-Turner-Pt--35--Ep--2129-e3h0hbb","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO1174545545.mp3","summary":"Welcome back to Part 35 of our series with Dr. John Turner discussing his new book “Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet.” In 1843, Joseph Smith began introducing some of his closest family members – including his wife Emma Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith –to the controversial and secretive practice of plural marriage. This episode dives into one of the most complex and debated periods of early Latter-day Saint history. We explore the story of the Kinderhook Plates –a set of six brass plates that briefly captured Joseph Smith’s attention before being exposed as a fraud –and what that moment reveals about claims of translation and discernment. We also examine the marriages to the Partridge sisters, the dynamics between Joseph and Emma, and the growing theological framework surrounding celestial marriage, “calling and election made sure,” and eternal hierarchy. As new doctrines emerged, secrecy, trust, and power became deeply intertwined. This episode raises difficult questions such as: What happened to the Kinderhook Plates –and why didn’t the translation continue? How did plural marriage unfold behind the scenes? What did Joseph teach privately vs publicly? How did those closest to him respond about polygamy? This is a careful, long-form discussion intended to slow down and examine the historical record in detail. If you’d like to help keep this project going, please consider donating to support this series here . Your support makes long-form, in-depth historical discussion like this possible! Purchase John Turner’s book here . Let us know your thoughts on a Brigham Young series (comprising ten episodes) covering John Turner’s book Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet. ___________________ Show Notes YouTube At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and cha…","meta_description":"Welcome back to Part 35 of our series with Dr. John Turner discussing his new book “Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet.” In 1843, Jose…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":7584,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/mormon-stories-podcast-975797/episodes/sham-marriages-in-joseph-smith-s-nauvoo-john-turner-pt-35-ep-2129/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/mormon-stories-podcast-975797/sham-marriages-in-joseph-smith-s-nauvoo-john-turner-pt-35-ep-2129.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}