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Podcast: Skeptics in the Pub Online Podcast
Episode: RETRO: Mormonism and Eugenics: An Experiment in Racial and Religious Purity – Bryce Blankenagel
Description: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) was founded in 1830 by New Englander Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon, the foundational scripture authored by Smith, claims to be a history of Christian Israelites who settled the American continents from 2500 BCE – 420 CE. Within a decade of creation, Mormonism established extensive missionary efforts in Europe, eventually forming the Perpetual Immigration Fund, a program for funnelling European converts to the faith to America en masse. After Smith’s assassination, one successor named Brigham Young organized a mass exodus to Mexico where the Mormons settled, running from United States law enforcement. This...