Church History
Clear, sourced answers to the questions people actually ask about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
6 articles
Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones: The Hat, the Plates & the Truth
What are Joseph Smith’s seer stones? The stone, the hat, the treasure years, and the 2015 photographs — how the Book of Mormon was translated, per the eyewitnesses.
The Golden Plates: What They Were & Where They Went
What are the Mormon golden plates? The size, the weight, the eleven witnesses, the hiding places, and where the plates went — the whole record, dated and sourced.
Did Joseph Smith Lie About Polygamy? The Denials, Explained
Did Joseph Smith lie about polygamy? He publicly denied it while practicing it — the Church's own essay calls the denials 'carefully worded.' What they targeted (Bennett's spiritual wifery), the lethal stakes, and the honest residue.
Emma Smith: Polygamy, the Church, and What She Knew
Was Emma Smith ever excommunicated? No — never. What Emma knew about polygamy and when, the four sealings she facilitated, the revelation she burned, why she stayed, and how to read her 1879 denial. The whole record.
John C. Bennett: The Critics' Most Lurid Source
Who was John C. Bennett? The Nauvoo insider turned exposer whose 1842 book seeded 180 years of lurid polygamy claims — and whom the very historians critics cite treat as the least reliable source in the field. A consider-the-source study.
Seven Common Criticisms of Joseph Smith — A Comprehensive Mormonism Explained Response
A comprehensive, research-grounded response to thirteen of the most common criticisms of Joseph Smith, drawing exclusively on official Church publications and Latter-day Saint scholarship.