Over the past several years faithful Mormon Tim Ballard has brought much attention to the topic of human trafficking via his work with Operation Underground Railroad and the new movie "Sound of Freedom." During Ballard's fundraisers he often invokes his LDS faith as the foundation for his anti-trafficking. One possible problem with Ballard's Mormon-based anti-trafficking advocacy is that the founder of his religion - Joseph Smith - would very possibly qualify by today's standards as a human trafficker. In today's episode we use The Nauvoo Expositor - published by LDS Church 1st Presidency Member William Law - as the jumping off point to explore the question: was Joseph Smith involved in human trafficking? Joining us will be Julia Sanders, Nemo, and Samantha Shelley. Episode Show Notes: https://www.mormonstories.org/podcast/joseph-smith-human-trafficking/ Chapters 00:00:00 Panel intro 00:09:00 Defining human trafficking 00:20:10 Was Joseph a polygamist? 00:22:50 Does Polygamy involve Sexual Intimacy? 00:26:50 Polyandry 00:28:30 Spiritual Wifery & Celestial Marriage 00:30:40 Trafficking through the lens of polygamy 00:32:00 The Nauvoo Expositor 00:52:15 Only Female Converts? 00:54:45 Missionaries Converting Wives 00:58:20 Picking out Convert Wives 01:01:30 Contemporary Newspapers Warn Against Mormonism 01:22:45 What did William Law mean? 01:24:45 "Wretched condition" of Polygamous Wives 01:38:20 Joseph Smith Sex Trafficker? 01:40:40 Polygamy Transactions 01:41:40 The price 01:43:10 Fanny Alger 01:48:45 Presendia Huntington 01:52:20 Louisa Beaman 01:55:35 Helen Mar Kimball 02:07:50 Almera Johnson 02:18:55 Emily Partridge 02:23:45 Sarah Ann Whitney 02:34:30 Joseph in Charge of Polygamy 02:37:45 Sarah Peak Noon 02:47:45 Modern cases of sex trafficking 02:52:00 Summation ___________________ At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals. Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology 2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis 3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions 🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/mormonstories Paypal: https://paypal.me/mormonstories Our Platforms: 🌐Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes 🎙️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories ✳️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404&nd=1 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 🖼️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories 📱TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast 🎮Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF Contact us: 📧 MormonStories@gmail.com 📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117 #MormonStories #Mormon #lds