Download American Crucifixion: The Murder of Joseph Smith and the Fate of the Mormon Church AudioBook Free
On June 27, 1844, a mob stormed the jail in the dusty frontier town of Carthage, Illinois. Clamorous and furious, these were hunting down a guy they saw as a grave risk to their otherwise peaceful lives: The founding prophet of Mormonism, Joseph Smith. They wanted blood. At thirty-nine years old, Smith had already lived an outsized life. Furthermore to starting the Church of Latter-Day Saints and creating his own "Golden Bible" - the Reserve of Mormon - he had worked as a water-dowser and treasure hunter. He'd led his visitors to Ohio, then Missouri, then Illinois, where he founded a city larger than fledgling Chicago. He was running for Leader. And, secretly, he had married more than thirty women. In American Crucifixion, Alex Beam instructs how Smith proceeded to go from charismatic head to public foe: How his most seismic revelation-the doctrine of polygamy-created a rift among his people; how that schism turned to violence; and exactly how, ultimately, Smith could not escape the results of his ambition and delight. Mormonism is America's largest and most long lasting native religion, and the "martyrdom" of Joseph Smith is one of its transformational happenings. Smith's brutal assassination propelled the Mormons to colonize the American West and state their put in place the mainstream of American background. American Crucifixion is a gripping storyline of scandal and assault, with deep root base in our countrywide identity.
