The Nauvoo Expositor

Send us Fan MailIan, Jim, and historian Greg Prince explore the controversial history of the Nauvoo Expositor and its lasting implications for honesty, institutional transparency, and the modern LDS Church. The discussion begins with a review of the Church’s official explanation for the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor printing press in 1844 and whether Joseph Smith’s actions as mayor of Nauvoo were legally or morally justified. Greg Prince argues that the expositor’s accusations—including plural marriage, theocratic leadership, secrecy, and theological innovation—were largely true, which made the publication uniquely threatening to Joseph Smith and the Church. The hosts discuss how the destruction of the press directly contributed to the events leading to Joseph Smith’s death at Carthage Jail.