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The founding of Mormonism, more or less summarized. The early years were INSANE. I'm convinced it's why Mormons are so into genealogy--to cover that shit up.
I hadn't known this, and find it hilarious.
Joseph Smith alone married a mother-daughter pair, among many other exploits, and that's just ol' Joe himself. One of the first major rifts came when (I believe) they were still in Illinois--a good bit before heading to Utah, when one of Joe's apostles learned of Joe's interest in the apostle's own teenage daughter.
Joe and his brother's ultimate imprisonment and death/murder came after Joey ordered the destruction of the printing press of the Nauvoo Expositor, which was unveiling his dirty secrets--the first and I'm pretty sure only issue of the paper is available online. Once others, including his wife, caught on, Joe had to come up with something, so he had a new revelation. And somehow that shit fucking worked.
I need this to be a mini-series on Showtime.
There are several good books about that stuff, in particular, including No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie, which so rocked the Mormons in the 1940s that it remains relevant and one of the pinnacle books on Joe's wives and exploits.
There's a new show called American Primeval that gets stomach-clenchingly close to some of the material I thought I might have a unique take/angle on. But I've not yet brought myself to watch it. The Mormon church's loud, angry backlash suggests it's probably pretty good/accurate, though.
"knowing better" on YouTube/Nebula has an entire series of feature length videos on the history of mormons/other american cults!
super interesting!