Manuel W. Padro

MANUEL W. PADRO, MPH, is an independent researcher who studies the relationship between culture, society, and health. He is currently finishing a book that addresses how nineteenth-century witchcraft belief, misunderstood LDS practices, and the 1832 Cholera epidemic fueled the persecution of Joseph Smith and his followers.

Cunning and Disorderly: Early Nineteenth-Century Witch Trials of Joseph Smith

Articles/Essays – Volume 54, No. 4

Dialogue 54.4 (Winter 2021): 35–70
When we assess Joseph Smith’s early trials as if the word “pretended” indicated deliberate deception on Joseph’s part, we miss the larger picture.