Start here
41 episodes is a lot. This is the short version of where to begin.
If you only listen to one episode
Start with 1Joseph Smith: The Prophet. John Turner explains how he approaches Joseph Smith as a historian, why almost everything about Smith’s life is contested, and what the series will cover. Everything after it builds on that conversation.
Listen in order
The series follows Joseph Smith’s life chronologically, one chapter of Turner’s biography at a time. The full list on the episodes page runs from 1Joseph Smith: The Prophet to 41The Aftermath of Joseph Smith’s Murder, with the Mormon Stories catalogue number on every episode in case you already know one from the main feed.
Entry points by theme
Origins and the Book of Mormon. 2Treasure Digging and the First Vision on treasure digging and the First Vision, 4Did Joseph Smith Use the Golden Plates to Translate The Book of Mormon? on how the plates were and were not used in translation, 5Did the Book of Mormon Witnesses Really See Golden Plates? on what the witnesses actually saw, and 6Book of Mormon: Historical or 19th Century Text? on whether the Book of Mormon reads as an ancient or a nineteenth-century text.
Kirtland. 9Miracles, Demons & the United Order in Joseph Smith’s Kirtland on miracles, demons and the United Order, 19The Kirtland Temple Dedication Pentecost on the temple dedication, and 21The Kirtland Bank Scandal & Joseph Smith on the bank collapse that drove the church out of Ohio.
Missouri. 22The Danites: Joseph Smith’s Paramilitary Group on the Danites, 23Extermination Orders in Mormon Missouri on the extermination order, and 24Escaping Liberty Jail w/ Joseph Smith on Liberty Jail.
Polygamy. 20Polygamy or Adultery? Fanny Alger and Joseph Smith on Fanny Alger, 27Joseph Smith’s First Year of Polygamy in Nauvoo on the first year of plural marriage in Nauvoo, 34Joseph Smith Pursues Teenage Girls in Nauvoo on the teenage wives, and 36Emma Goes to War with Joseph Smith over Polygamy on Emma Smith’s fight over the revelation.
The end. 38Traitor in the First Presidency on William Law, 39Joseph Smith Ordained King of the World? on the Council of Fifty, 40Joseph Smith’s Final Days on the final days, and 41The Aftermath of Joseph Smith’s Murder on the aftermath and the succession crisis.