Next time someone calls me with some drama, I’m going to say “let’s look at what could be happening in a situation like this.”

As an ex Mormon there whole faith is based on one boys account of seeing god I mean I lived in a mental hospital for 4 years I saw a shit ton of Joseph smiths there.

When my grandchildren come to me with a problem, I will say “Well, now, let’s see what could be going on in a situation like this”.........😂

I told my husband that an angel showed me plates that said he should buy me an Hermes bag, a lipizzaner dressage horse, do all the housework forever, etc. My husband should just take my word for it because that angel also said I couldn't show my husband the plates.

It just dawned on me that Dr. Grande has an NPR voice. He tells us all the awful things going on in the world, but with a soothing, reassuring voice that makes you want to take a warm nap while you listen.

I was born into mormonism and it was a large part of my identity. it was everything i had planned on in life and influenced my ever decision. It is so incredibly difficult to sever yourself from the LDS church in ways many people wouldn't understand without living the experience. as someone who recently escaped that abuse that i was born into, hearing you explain it with rational thoughts about the beginnings i am reminded how fully i was indoctrinated to truly believe this and "know" it was true for so so long. As someone who is currently being ostracized and demonized by my still very believing family, i have feelings of releif and so much pain. For those who are still in the church, i wish peace on you and hope that you see through clear eyes one day. and for those who know the pain of having such a profound part of your identity shatter when you realize the reality of the mormon church, i'm sorry and i get it now.

There’s a few little in accuracies here, but the biggest is that Joseph died on-site, not months later. After falling from the window at Carthage, he was shot multiple times.

I remember when I was younger. 2 Mormon missionaries one was American the other Canadian and they called on my friends dad, the Mormon religion is a big supporter of war in times of war and teach they have to kill when called upon. So my friends dad asked one of them if both countries went to war with each other would you kill your friend here. He replied yes, and the look on his young friends face was of absolute shock. My friends dad simply said because you are ok with killing your neighbor is the reason why I know your a false religion. Tremendously good reasoning I must say.

"Sounds like the relationship with that Angel was growing a bit tense" the humor never fails

Dr Grande’s dry sarcasm about JS is just 👌👌 for an ex member

I was a member of this church for 25 years. I spent the last 3 years researching Joseph Smith, following my hunch there was something rotten there. What I concluded after 3 years of research on only facts, no propaganda either way, was he was a psychopath. He enjoyed power. He loved to test his followers, see how loyal to him they would be .. would they be so loyal as to donate their wives, their daughters, their lives to him. He wanted it all. Wanted full loyalty from the members .. restrict what you eat, you wear, you drink, no smoking .. consecrate everything you own including your lives if necessary. Power and loyalty to the death was what Smith sought. I saw this video .. it scratches the very surface of what went on, but the conclusion is accurate. Smith was a lying, teen molesting, adulterous, thieving psychopathic con-artist narcissist.

Here's the biggest thing that I learned while digging into Mormonism: there's a language barrier. They largely use the same terminology as Christians, but they affix very different meanings to those words.

An Angel threatened him to marry more wives? Sounds like he couldn’t control his lust.

THEN: "No one would be a Mormon, that's crazy." NOW: "No one would be a Scientologist, that's crazy."

He didn't die a couple of months later, he died upon impact

I love the variety of your subjects. So interesting. Thanks for sharing your professional and scientific insights.

“How am I gonna make up all that stuff again?” 😂🤣

The connections btwn mental health disorders and “religion “ has always fascinated me.

Dr. Grande, I'm so glad i found you! You're insight and humor is truly appreciated

I always enjoy your thoughts and opinions. I do learn from each case you present

Who here has seen that South Park episode?

First you get the Money, then you get the Power, then you get the Women.

"An angel made me do it defense" not to be confused with the "blame the chihuahua" defense you mentioned in another video....LOLOL

That "seerstone" really would've come in handy to find that missing manuscript!

I went to a Mormon church as an 8 year old, even at that age I suspected that I was being conned.

A brief pronunciation note: The second M in Mormon is actually silent.

You’re sooo good at what you do on this site. Thank you, Dr. Grande. I’m sure you help a lot of people.

I love the fact the Angel that appeared before Joseph Smith had the name "Moron, I"

I grew up in an LDS family/community in Utah. Never once have I bought into this bullshit. Very nice people, though. I love them

It utterly baffles me that so many will follow people like Joseph Smith, L. Ron Hubbard, Marshall Applewhite, Jim Jones, etc. Some people are just so desperate to believe and cling on to anything to give them meaning and a purpose. We see that today with a certain political figure as well.

I would love to see a video on Joseph 'Judge' Rutherford who established the organisation Jehovah's Witnesses upon the death of C.T.Russell. He managed to convince people that Moses was coming back from the dead and would need a house in Florida where it was warm. He was a drunk and a bully but managed to get a large following and establish a sect/cult/high control religion.

Joseph Smith had a severe case of Typhoid Fever as a child, which caused a doctor to want to amputate his leg. In rare cases Typhoid can cause brain damage.

"Religion was invented when the first con man met the first fool" - Mark Twain.

South Park actually did an amazing version of the founding of the Mormon church on their show...Meanwhile, my own husband just shakes his head in disbelief and says "Why would anyone want more than one wife?!!" Lol

Always remember: Smith was 15yrs old when he made these stories up. When was the last time you believed a 15yr old? lol it’s far more likely he was lying.

Fascinating. I know a couple of people from that church. They are actually sincere in their belief and certainly did not try to win me over. And I still like the early Osmond Brothers songs....

I am always a bit wary when only one person can translate the Golden Plates I’ve found.

Ah, so this is what happened to Rogan's old studio

The Man in Plaid There once was a sleuth, so keen, In crime scenes, he'd always be seen, With data he'd pore, And evidence adore, His analysis, truly pristine. From fingerprints to trails he'd chase, With logic, he'd quicken the pace, In the dimmest of light, He'd solve crime through the night, With a flair and an impeccable grace. In his wardrobe, a secret he'd hide, A penchant for plaid, he'd confide, In suits of all shades, In clandestine escapades, For plaid, he'd proudly decide!

I had an art history teacher that had your dry wit...but x10. He would drone on in a monotone voice in a dark room showing us slides from world Art and tho half the class would fall asleep-I’d be over there cracking up...

(Ex-Mo here) I LOVE when non-mormons (non-LDS, whatever) explain mormonism. It's fantastic. Mormons make the story sound SO spiritual, special, omit the "unnecessary" details, and are so serious about these stories it feels powerful. Then you read the CES letter/watch videos like this, and you remember that you were raised in lies.

Why do I get the feeling Dr. G doesn’t believe Joe Smith’s shenanigans? 🤔 😂🤣😆

As an ex-Mormon of 31 years standing, I can agree with 90% of your assessment of Joseph Smith, except for the inaccuracies here and there.

I always find it strange that though it is extremely common for individuals to have multiple comorbid diagnoses (in my experience as a masters level clinical psychology trained person), these cases are always discussed in terms of one overriding diagnostic cause of behavior. For instance, isn't it possible that people like Joseph Smith and Charles Manson are both psychopathic and carry an Axis I thought or mood disorder, accounting for hallucinations/delusions? And if that's the case, wouldn't it be difficult to determine which is more causally related to antisocial behaviors?

Former Mormon, forever Dr Grande fan -- it's always weird to see different spheres of my life collide! Great and notably fair treatment of the material, as usual.

I grew up Mormon I always wondered of this mans mental state Thank you for this

Being interested in criminal psychology, I cannot help but notice that there have been what seems an inordinate number of high-profile murder cases/suspects involving followers of this sect. Daybell/Vallow being the more recent.

This subject remains fascinating to me! I grew up in upstate NY, and until this day - Yep! - right up until 2022! - Joseph Smith is still spoken about as an incredible conman by many people. It is interesting to me that this criticism of Joseph Smith is not confined to those of any particular faith, or non-faith. Many of us in that part of the country trace our ancestry to the Mayflower passengers. It seems that some sort of "ancestral memory" is still ticked off at old Joseph for conning many people out of money or property while in the process of developing his religion, as well as for spiritual "sheep stealing", meaning luring people away from their former religion. Personally, I give the guy props! That whole requirement of having multiple wives thing is one heck of a draw! I imagine that many of my ancestors thought more than once about signing up!

When I see plaques for decor that say "Believe" in harmless, scrolling fonts, I want to write "Don't" in sharpie above it.

"Religion was invented when the first con man met the first fool" - Mark Twain

This wasn't one of your better summaries. I left that organization many years ago, but I was in it for over 20 years. I therefore think I'm someone more familiar with the topic. Joseph Smith was obviously charismatic, because of the legacy which can be observed today. Visiting Nauvoo, Illinois gives you some historical context of who these people were in the early 19th century. There's a lot to unpack about this man and this church, if you want to get better insight from an outsiders perspective, read anything by this man, Karl C Sandberg, and you will have someone scholarly, I personally knew when he was alive. Karl Sandberg was notably an author of languages and religious texts. A great gift for story telling, he had traveled a lot, and was a constant student, even though he was a professor. When I heard your explanation of some of the things you talked about, I winced and thought, this isn't helping your credibility, if you knew the subject and the man. Smith rode to Carthage, Illinois, to stand trial, knowing that he wasn't going to be protected as the Governor of Illinois (Ford) had promised. They (Hyrum a brother, John Taylor, Willard Richards) first checked into a hotel in Carthage but were soon arrested and brought over to the jail. As jails go, it wasn't exactly a secure holding place. The window had no bars, and it wasn't a tall second story. The door wasn't locked, some reports say it wouldn't even latch. Once the local mob had gathered and essentially overran the place, Hyrum Smith and Willard Richards defense posture against the dozens of men now storming the jail, were to lean their bodies into the door. That didn't last because those that wanted in, were shooting through the door. It became chaotic all at once. People were trying to enter with muskets, while Taylor attempted to use his cane to knock down their barrels while they were shooting around the door opening. More chaos from without, as there were armed men shooting into the 2nd floor window from below. It must've been scary for those 4, but it didn't last long. Hyrum was shot at least twice, one of the shots entered his skull by his nose. Evidently a 6 shot pistol had been smuggled in and given to Joseph and after his brother was killed, he waited until a volley had been shot, then returned fire around the edge of the door. Only 3 of 6 shots were discharged. Keep in mind, all pistols and rifles of the day were crude. His 6 shot pistol would've been the only repeating type of firearm. The rifles required reloading with powder, wadding and lead ball, the flash given off by a single strike of a flint. A lot of smoke, noise and confusion. The stairwell was narrow, so the militia couldn't mount anything more than a single file attack with a small collection of men at the top of the stairs. Once there wasn't any hope of a workable defense, Joseph made a rush to the far window to draw the mob's attention toward himself. He got as far as the window ledge, then was struck at least twice, perhaps more. This pitched his body from the balance of the ledge outward, and he fell to the ground. This is the most obvious place to point out your error in reflection of events. One of the balls pierced his chest near his heart. The size of the lead balls being what they were, would've meant he would bleed out in seconds, not live for several days. Additional reports say that he either gathered himself from the fall sitting upright, with his back against the wall or was placed there by men on the ground. There were many with loaded muskets who were standing a few feet away by the fence. The account from the outside, he received several shots from these men. They wanted him dead, and they got their wish. I always liked the remarks of Mark Twain about Mormons and polygamy. He said he would take his hat off as a sign of respect for any man that could live in harmony with more than one woman at a time. Perhaps with all our serious criticism today, that might not be considered humorous. Undoubtedly, polygamy was an easy way to "apply the law", against the Mormon church. This is where you have to look past individuals and bias, and recognize the true differences. A Navuoo should begin to open your eyes to who these people were. They worked hard together. They were certainly different. They mostly voted in bloc. That's not easy for outsiders to appreciate. They had a militia of their own. Both Hyrum and Joseph were generals in that militia. In 1838 a violent attack by upwards of 240 armed militia attacked a Mormon encampment at what's named Hawns Mill. This was one of notable events, the assassination of Joseph & Hyrum Smith in 1844. The Mormons moved west after that and settled mostly in the Salt Lake basin. Trouble followed them there as well, and through the leadership of Brigham Young, they became more organized, perhaps as noted by other confrontations. The private practice of polygamy was instituted in the 1830s by Joseph Smith. In 1852, it became official and between 20 - 30% of church members participated or practiced it. The Supreme Court ruled against the practice, but it didn't go away until Utah wanted to become a state instead of a territory. Future practice was officially ended in 1890 by then President of the church, Wilford Woodruff. Neither he or any other men that had existing plural marriages, were required to cease polygamy. Some tiny splinter groups continued with it, and we've heard about them in the news. That's probably more than expected, but there's a deep history to Joseph Smith and the LDS Church. I left for my own reasons. I'm no longer a religious affiliated person.

This is so humourous. And I love the straight face! How do you do it?!

The "First Vision" account actually had several versions and developed over time until a canonized version was set out. It has the red flags of being fabricated, as do the Mormon "scriptures," which seem to be not much more than Christian fan fiction. I'm also an ex-Mormon.

"An angel made me do it" testimony straight from Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell

I read a book about his life in high school - 50 years ago. At the time, I couldn’t understand how anyone would have ever followed him. He sounded like a shyster to me. In college, I attended a social event where I was warned ahead of time there would be Mormans, and to beware of their tactics. Sure enough, two nice looking young people managed to get me alone, and started asking questions about my beliefs. It started out friendly, but then they got pushy. Luckily, one of the adults from my group came looking for me and said it was time to go. Some of my friends were also having the same experience elsewhere in the same building. It generated good discussions afterward.

Whenever I have a. personal problem to solve, I always ask, "What would Joseph Smith Jr. do?" Then I go ahead and do whatever I wanted to do in the first place. This works about half the time, but I figure it's as good as any other system. It's the magic underwear that gets me.

I'm surprised that you didn't mention Smith's foray into banking fraud. It's one of the more telling parts of his colorful history.

'If anyone believed they needed to hire Smith to find anything, their brain is the first thing that needed to be found.' LOL!

I was baptized into the Church, not active anymore, it just wasn't for me. All the members I knew personally were really cool and down to earth, and non judgmental, they didn't harass me when I stopped coming to church, I don't know why they get so much hate, do they really bother people that bad?

I always enjoy your insightful and objective presentations on a wide variety of topics.

South Park taught me all I needed to know about Joseph Smith

He sounds like an 19th century L. Ron Hubbard...

Dr. Grande, may I submit suggestions for analysis videos? Rasputin, Allistair Crowley, Sadaam Hussein, Genghis Kahn, Emperor Nero, the Manson Girls.

My mission is to get people to read, “No Man Knows My History “ by Fawn Brodie 1949. Also, “RoughStone Rolling “ by Richard Bushman 2004. Both are well documented. I’ve read them both recently and found them both FASCINATING. Read on!

When Dr. Grande said: "I wasn't there in the mid-1800's although I sometimes feel that old." I laughed so hard that my diet Pepsi came out my nose and all over my computer screen!

A tenth grade psychology assignment was to pick a famous person from history and do a psychological breakdown of that person. I chose Joseph Smith and came up with similar results as this video. It was a half year class consisting of two quarters. After I turned in that assignment during the first quarter I got an F for that quarter. As you may have figured out my teacher was Mormon however I got an A the following quarter so at least I didn't fail the class at a loss of credit.

The hilarious bit is that someone really did pass thru their town with Egyptian text. I mean that’s a great find on their part. But we know this book now. It’s the book of the dead. Proving he had no idea what he was doing.

Yes, it was very convenient that the "angel" told him not to show the plates to anyone. I bet he never thought the Book of Mormon would become a musical.

Please cover gaslighting in general and gaslighting vs gaslighting. Can two be doing that to each other. And if it’s an indication of Narcissism, histrionics, etc

"I wasn't around in the mid-1840's but sometimes I do feel that old" Dr. Grande pivots into self deprecating humour and continues to deliver comedy gold!!

Having done extensive study in the history of the LDS Church and of Joseph Smith, Jr., I tend to agree with the last analysis, that Smith was a manipulator. Though shrewd, he wasn’t always careful enough to conceal his exploits. The Book of Mormon contains plagiarisms from works available to Smith and some of his “scribes.” Furthermore the book is highly anachronistic, being indicative of someone who is not well taught in world history. The use of the “Reformed Egyptian” as an alleged medium on the hidden record kept curious intellectuals away from Smith and his church. Egyptology was in its infancy at the time, a fact which seriously cripples Joseph Smith’s and Martin Harris’s version of the latter’s meeting with Charles Anthon. The weirdness didn’t stop with Smith’s assassination. In the time between that and Utah’s statehood, LDS leaders were frightening settlers and others with talk of beheading “gentiles” (i.e. non-Mormons). The insanity and egregiousness didn’t end with the LDS founder/prophet, and a steady stream of incredulous followers helped him pull it off.

Under the banner of heaven" by Jon Krakauer is a great read for anyone interested in religious belief in general and the history of the Mormon Church. J. Smith must have been a very enticing character indeed and the mormon fundamentalism is as bizarre as one could imagine and it still going strong today

I've studied a great deal about the Mormons. I didn't think that you could do this one in 15 minutes, but you did an amazing job. You are supremely humorous. Fun story, a metallurgist estimated that the weight of the plates (gold) based on the dimensions given was a bit over 200 lbs. Smith claimed he ran several miles to his home with the plates tucked under one arm like a loaf of bread. LOL

There are many “cult” leaders masquerading as religious. I would add Scientology to your list. I had an experience when my family had moved and we decided to try out a new church. It appeared to be a small Christian church. It was small, the pastor was nice. Everyone welcomed us. On the second visit the pastor approached us as we were leaving and asked us if we would like to come to the Tuesday service. We asked, what is a Tuesday Service? The pastor said that he invited only the people he believed were actually saved to come for communion. He went on to try and convince us that he was responsible to God to make sure that no fakers were present. So only special people got invited. 😳 it was creepy, but immediately I felt like I was being recruited into a cult. But you can see how some people would have bought into this! If you had shown up for the Tuesday Service.....he had you!

Wow Its mindblowing that the Latter Day Saints are still going strong today! It just goes to show you just how easily people can be duped 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Very interesting breakdown of what I often contemplated while in the LDS Church for twenty years. Have you read “Rough Stone Rolling” ? …And it’s Moroni (pronounced morone-eye). A charismatic grandiose man no doubt about that. Interesting to read about his childhood and contemplate the spiritual awakening time he was raised in. His father was into magic, seers, witching, I think this all played a part in how he wove together many different spiritual and religious threads we find within the LDS beliefs.

“Their own brain should be on the list of things that needs to be found.” 😂😂😂

Joseph Smith: "Only I can see these plates and only I can read them! Believe me" Rational people: "Ok I'm going to head out..."

I’ve read many comments from former Mormons. I think the members of each church make a huge difference on people’s experiences. My sister has been a member for almost 50 years. Her church still embraces those family members that have quit going. Her church has always been very kind, loving and accepting of family who are non members like me and our parents.

LOVE U DR GRANDE!! U have really grown ur channel also ur name makes me want nachos.....😆👍

The LDS church is the 19th century version of and template for Scientology. Both require a level of credulity and gullibility on the part of believers that makes belief in older traditional religions appear positively reasonable. The absurdity of the ancient religions benefits from their antiquity and their connections to even more ancient beliefs and traditions, while the modern "religions" which have emerged in modern times clash more obviously with modern understanding of science, psychology, and history. The fact that the LDS Church and Scientology have managed to recruit thousands of believers in the modern age is an indictment of the deeply imbedded credulity of human beings.

Another intriguing person is Ellen G. White. Around the time of Joseph Smith, the Seventh Day Adventist church was established

Didn't expect for Dr. Grande to dish it out so unapologetically .

My sister is LDS and I don't think she knows anything about the church except that she finds them very friendly. She is 70 and I don't think I'll pop her balloon. I'm younger at 65 and have studied religion most of my life. I just want her happy

Day two of asking Dr. Grande to use the acronym OCEAN again when talking about personality traits.

I have two wings of the family that are Mormon. They are, for the most part, extremely wonderful people: honest, hard working, sober, and generous. I don't think much of Joseph Smith or his theology, or why people buy into it, but he must have been extremely charismatic.

Could you do a similar video on Charles Taze Russell and Joseph Rutherford?

I grew up in this religion. I've questioned narcissism & psychopathy in JS Jr for a while. Comparing him with Brigham Young though gets rather terrifying. The religion has been whitewashing its history for years.

Thanks for sharing this! As a former member of the LDS church, I was taught a very positive view of Joseph Smith. We were told that researching anything other than our scriptures was “anti Mormon propaganda”. Once I found out the truth about Joseph smith and the religion, I felt like I had been conned and I left.

You killed me with, "The relationship with the angel must have become tense . . . "

Your setup looks so much better now 😃

South Park Joseph Smith story episode is perhaps the best way to explain Joseph Smith. Now gather around and sing with me: 🎶🎶 Joseph Smith was called a prophet (Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb) 🎶He found the stones and golden plates (Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb) Even though nobody else ever saw them (Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb)

if anyone has any interest in smith there's a fantastic biography of him called, "No Man Knows My History." it was published in the late 40's by a woman who went to New England and found criminal records about smith still in existence in the basements of courthouses there. It's a riveting read.

After watching Dr. Todd Grande's videos, I concluded that everybody is a narcissist.

Leaving the church... Was best thing ever.. Brigham is my great great grandfather they tried using this at me... No I lefted I'm glad... To leave the occult.. praise God I did

Actually, he helped people find their lost items for free. His reputation grew until the treasure seeking crowd wanted to hire him. This was different, because Joseph Smith would have to go with them for weeks at a time. He did charge them. They offered him money to leave the farm.

If an angel tells you to keep a secret, call your dad, you’re in a cult!

I am always amazed when mormons come to my door here in Australia. I mean, I sort of get wanting to believe America is a real Holy Land if you live there, but to a foreigner, Mormonism is doubly bizarre. It’s just so uniquely American.

My daughter in law wrote to the Prophet insisting on a refund from her tithing. She and my son have great jobs and paid a lot of tithing. This Billion dollar company of course refused her request.I’m so glad I’m out.

Dr. Micael Coe was the greatest Maya civilization archeologist that ever lived. His "Outsider's View of the Book of Mormon" should be enough evidence to convince the greatest Mormon diehard that the Book of Mormon is just another fairytale written by the Brother's Grimm.