Episode #81: The Life Of Helen Mar Kimball W/Hannah Stoddard

Joseph Smith gets judged harshly by historians and ex-Mormons alike. They will often employ tactics such a presentism to make their arguments. This is where we try to take historical figures out of the time in which they lived and judge them based on our own times. The result is a slanted view of history without considering historical context. Also, when it comes to Joseph Smith’s plural marriage historians and ex-Mormons paint Joseph Smith as a predator preying on the women that would become his wives. The shocking truth is when you read the words of his wives you soon conclude that they were not victims of a predator but strong, faithful, articulate women. This inconvenient fact then leads to the conclusion that Joseph Smith was not the sexual predator that some have supposed. On this episode I have Hannah Stoddard back on the podcast to talk about her new book which is a biography of perhaps his most controversial wife Helen Mar Kimball. As always Hannah breaks down her life in a scholarly way taking into account historical context and using primary sources to tell the tale of her life. Stick around for fascinating conversation that will be sure to change some minds on this wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith.