The Aftermath of Joseph Smith's Murder - John Turner Pt. 41 | Ep. 2148
Mormon Stories Podcast
Dr. John Dehlin
4.5 • 5.7K Ratings
🗓️ 15 May 2026
⏱️ 105 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to our final episode in our Joseph Smith: The Podcast series, where we cover John Turner’s new book “Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet.” In this episode, we explore the immediate aftermath of Joseph Smith’s assassination and the profound consequences that followed his family, plural wives, and the early Latter-day Saint movement.
The chapter we are covering today is the Epilogue.
We look at the chaotic hours and days after his death in Nauvoo, including how his body and Hyrum’s were handled, the conditions of their temporary burial, and the secrecy surrounding their remains. The episode also examines Emma Smith’s role in the aftermath --her grief, her control over Joseph’s body, and the difficult position she found herself in as both widow and critic of polygamy.
We also discuss how Joseph’s plural wives responded to his death, the emotional and political complexities of their mourning, and the uneasy reality of their realtionships with Brigham Young and other church leaders. From there, we move into the succession crisis that followed --how leadership shifted, why Brigham Young ultimately prevailed over Sidney Rigdon, and how competing visions of the church began to emerge.
Finally, we step back to consider Joseph Smith’s broader legacy, the scale of opposition he faced, and how his influence continued to shape American religious history long after his death.
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.
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition, the final episode of this iteration of the Joseph |
| 0:08.3 | Smith podcast. It is May 12th, 2026. I am John DeLyn. I am here with Dr. John G. Turner, |
| 0:16.7 | and we are doing our final episode on the groundbreaking, earth-shattering, international bestseller, |
| 0:26.3 | Joseph Smith, the rise and fall of an American prophet. We have covered 31 chapters in 40 episodes |
| 0:34.8 | on this podcast series, and we have one final chapter to go. |
| 0:39.2 | It is the epilogue where we're going to be talking about the aftermath of Joseph Smith's assassination. |
| 0:45.7 | And we're going to be wrapping up some final thoughts where maybe John Turner will turn the tables and ask me some questions about my reflections on this book and the series. |
| 1:00.7 | And then we have some exciting news at the end about the Brigham Young podcast. |
| 1:07.7 | Thanks for joining us, everybody. |
| 1:09.1 | And I'll just remind you that Joseph Smith podcast |
| 1:11.1 | can be consumed in the Mormon Stories podcast feed on Spotify or YouTube or Apple Podcast. It also |
| 1:17.8 | has its own playlist on YouTube and its own podcast on Spotify and on Apple Podcast. If you just |
| 1:24.7 | want these 41 episodes, again, this podcast exists because of our amazing donors, |
| 1:31.2 | please like and subscribe, share, comment. And without any further ado, John Turner, is it with |
| 1:38.2 | chagrined or with joy that we come to our 41st and final episode. |
| 1:45.3 | Is it exaggeration to say this series has been epic? |
| 1:51.0 | It is not an exaggeration. |
| 1:52.9 | I'm trying to think who in the last year, |
| 1:56.3 | besides my wife and daughter, |
| 1:58.4 | has spent so much time talking to me. I don't know. My mom might be upset |
| 2:04.6 | if I told her that John DeLind spent more time talking to me than her. I hope that's not the case. |
| 2:11.3 | I think my mom might have edged you out as well. But yeah, now I have a welter of emotions. |
... |
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