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.

Why is it that somebody chooses to start a religion?

You know, our world is often measured by the religion of any

collective population. Somebody who comes from America, probably a Christian, from Saudi Arabia,

a Muslim, from India, a Hindu, from Utah, a Mormon. Nearly infinite historical factors play into why this is the case, but the root of those factors

is so often one guy, yes, guy who says, I'm going to start a religion. Most world religions

are so disconnected from their founders by time and lack of documentation, so Mormonism presents a fascinating case study in this regard.

Not only is the founder of Mormonism well studied, but we have thousands of documents, which

shed light on his decision-making processes. We have newspapers and books from the time and place

where this religious leader grew up,

and we can watch how societal elements factored into Joe's burgeoning religion.

We have affidavits and interviews with his neighbors, both friends and enemies.

We have membership records of certain people joining the church at certain times

who influenced the direction of Joe's religion

in one way or another. We have birth, marriage, and death certificates of thousands of Joe's early

followers. We have a reminiscence from Joe's own mother written soon after his death,

providing a unique and unvarnished account of the Smith family dynamics. We have thousands of letters

...