Joseph Smith's martyrdom is a subject of much discussion lately. Many have wanted to cling onto a theory that Willard Richards and John Taylor (under the supposed direction of Brigham Young) actually assassinated Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage Jail, rather than the mob who stormed the jail being responsible for the deed. This theory was first proposed in a lecture by an RLDS man named Joseph M. Smith (no relation to the Prophet), and was subsequently touched up and re-presented by Justin Griffin in a docudrama released in January 2022 called "Who Killed Joseph Smith?"In this 3 hour presentation, our panel of experts debunk the inside job theory of the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum in the movie, "Who Killed Joseph Smith?"
0:00 Intro
1:33 Historical Panel
1:22:35 Jim Tracy's Forensic Panel
2:03:50 Sam Weston's Ballistic Panel
2:38:32 Taylor Smith's Case Study on Who Killed Joseph Smith
3:24:12 Concluding Thoughts
To anyone who has seriously researched the Martyrdom and the history around it, this theory falls flat on its face many times over. There are many eyewitness accounts of the Martyrdom—both friendly and unfriendly to the Church—who all definitely describe the deed being committed by the mob. There are many serious issues and leaps in logic which are required for one to imagine that Richards and Taylor were somehow in collusion with the mob, which in fact would have been directly against their own interests even if they were to have been alleged "conspirators" against the Prophet and his brother.
Why has this theory gained traction? Because since the modern LDS church promoted the vaccine, many formerly faithful members have come to question or abandon their testimony of the inspiration of the "brethren" in Salt Lake City. Those who have much deeper problems with the Restoration as a whole have seen this modern moment as a convenient backdrop to promote a pseudo-historical narrative which traces all the "problems" (i.e., doctrines they dislike) in the church today back to Brigham Young—whether or not he can justifiably be credited with such things.
While I fully agree and sympathize with those who question the inspiration of the modern brethren in promoting the poisonous Covid clotshot (I have had family members injured and killed by this death-concoction), I fully disagree with and reject the movement which attempts to lay the responsibility of the modern brethren's lack of inspiration at the feet of Brigham Young. The main reason that people seem to love to hate Brigham Young is because they hate the practice of polygamy, or Celestial Plural Marriage, as restored by Joseph Smith. Since the practice was revealed confidentially in Joseph Smith's lifetime, there are not many public statements from him on the matter. Those who want to discredit the practice due to their own personal antipathy for it, have latched onto many of Joseph's public statements which seem to deny the practice. He did this in order to protect his own life and those of the Saints, similar to Christ forbidding His Apostles to speak to anyone about His Transfiguration until after His Death and Resurrection (see Matthew 17:9, Mark 9:9, Luke 9:36; see also Joseph Smith—History 1:74).
However, these false ideas have been quite meticulously refuted in the following detailed presentations:
Through my own personal revelations, historical research, and sacred witnesses from God, I have found this fictional narrative to be utterly untrue. I hope that all those with open minds and open hearts will prayerfully study these matters and not rely on the words of modern Korihor's and Nehor's for their understanding of the truth.