I am Ryan McKnight.

I'm Kara Santa Maria.

I am Christopher Smith.

Hi, I'm Andrew Torres.

This is Naked Mormonism.

The Serial Mormon History Podcast.

I want to tell all of you a story. I want to tell all of you a story.

This is a story that's been told millions of times by millions of people.

It's a story we've spent nearly six years learning together, a story with heroes and villains, love and hate, saviors and

murderers, devotion and betrayal, giving and taking away, peace and war, altruism, and greed,

achievements and slothfulness, starvation and gluttony, generosity and envy, detestation, and lust,

kindness and wrath, shame, and pride.

And at the end of it all, this is a story about life and death itself.

This is a story of humanity in all of its glory and depravity.

Certain figures throughout human history are worth studying.

These figures are often influential and frequently their legacy isn't realized until long

after their deaths. Why, though? Why do we take note of these figures? I think it's because

they teach us something about ourselves that transcends the time in which they lived. They carry with them aspects of what

makes humans human. There are, however, other reasons to focus on these individuals. In our case,

this man started a religion that grew and flourished in frontier America and now

boasts membership of more than 16 million people. It is the most politically powerful and

wealthiest religion in America. American history, broadly, would be different had this person

...