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On June 27, 1844, a mob stormed the jail in the dusty frontier town of Carthage, Illinois, hunting down a man they saw as a grave threat to their quiet lives: the founding prophet of Mormonism, Joseph Smith. In addition to starting his own religion and creating the Book of Mormon, Smith had worked as a water-dowser and treasure hunter. He'd led his people to Ohio, then Missouri, then Illinois, where he founded a city larger than fledgling Chicago... and secretly, he had married more than thirty women. Beam tells how Smith went from charismatic leader to public enemy, and could not escape the consequences of his ambition and pride.