Joseph Smith's World on Fire in Nauvoo - John Turner pt 31 | Ep. 2112
Mormon Stories Podcast
Dr. John Dehlin
4.5 • 5.7K Ratings
🗓️ 13 February 2026
⏱️ 146 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to Part 31 in our ongoing series with Dr. John Turner, based on his new book Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet.
Today we are diving into Chapter 31, “World on Fire,” and the explosive years 1842-1843 in Nauvoo –a period marked by scandal, secrecy, political pressure, and deep internal crisis.
In this episode we cover the rise and fall of John C. Bennett and the “Spiritual Wifery” scandal. We also discuss the attempted assassination of Lilburn Boggs and the role of Porter Rockwell. We also cover aspects of polygamy, namely the Nancy Rigdon controversy and Joseph Smith’s failed proposal, the stories of Sarah Pratt and Sarah Ann Whitney (including the letter sent to the Whitneys in Joseph Smith’s own handwriting with specific instructions to burn the letter), and Emma Smith and the growing concerns in the Relief Society as well as Nauvoo at large.
We also examine how Nauvoo struggled to manage these crises, how accusations and denials shaped public perception, and why John Turner calls this moment a true “world on fire.”
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!
Please purchase the book here.
To support this series please donate here. One half of all donations will go to Dr. Turner for as long as he is participating in the series.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Joseph Smith podcast, brought to you by Mormon Stories. |
| 0:05.5 | I'm your host, John DeLind. It's February 11th, 2026, and we are here today in part 31 of our series on Dr. John Turner's book, Joseph Smith, The Rise and Fall of Inter-American Prophet. |
| 0:20.2 | Last week, we covered the formation of the Relief Society and outbreaks of polygamy and |
| 0:25.5 | Navu in the spring of 1842. |
| 0:28.4 | We recommend you consume this series in sequence. |
| 0:32.2 | Obviously, this is part 31. |
| 0:33.9 | There are 30 episodes prior that you can watch. |
| 0:36.7 | You can consume it on YouTube under the playlist of the Joseph Smith podcast. |
| 0:41.9 | You can also consume it on Spotify and wherever else you get your podcasts. |
| 0:46.1 | But today's episode, we are going to be continuing. |
| 0:49.3 | And we're going to talk about the chapter, chapter 31 of John Turner's book, is called World on Fire. And we're going to be |
| 0:59.0 | talking about the excommunication and expulsion of John C. Bennett, who was at one point mayor of |
| 1:06.6 | Nabu and co-president of the church. We're going to be talking about the Lilburn Boggs assassination attempt, and we're |
| 1:15.0 | going to get John Turner's take on whether or not he believes Porter Rockwell and or Joseph |
| 1:20.0 | Smith were involved in the assassination. |
| 1:22.6 | We're also going to be talking about more polygamy in the fall and spring of Navu 1842 and 1843. |
| 1:32.7 | We're going to be talking about more concern on the part of Emma, Joseph's wife, and the Relief Society. |
| 1:38.4 | And then finally, we're going to be talking about what I guess the Bill Clinton administration would call bimbo eruptions. |
| 1:44.9 | That's not a very kind term to use about women. |
| 1:48.2 | But certainly, Navu started having problems managing its scandals, |
| 1:54.3 | including with Sarah Pratt, Sarah Ann Whitney, and in this case, Nancy Rigden, |
| 2:00.4 | all of them being daughters of close trusted |
... |
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