Purpose

Sudden Day is an educational and documentary project. Its purpose is to preserve and make accessible the contents of a specific 1844 primary source — the Nauvoo Expositor — together with original creative and analytical work that traces each claim on this site to that source.

Public-domain source

The Nauvoo Expositor was published on June 7, 1844. Under United States copyright law, works published before 1928 are in the public domain. All quotations from the Expositor (including the affidavits, the “Citizens of Hancock County” letter, and the Preamble and Resolutions) are taken from public-domain materials.

Fair use

Original commentary, analysis, and creative works on this site constitute fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107. This includes:

  • Commentary on and criticism of historical religious practices and teachings.
  • Educational analysis with full source citations.
  • Transformative creative works (lyrics and recordings) that comment on the underlying source material.

Every track on this site includes source documentation showing how lyrics trace to the Nauvoo Expositor.

No affiliation

This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young University, FAIR Latter-day Saints, any ex-Mormon organization, or any related body. It is an independent historical-documentation project.

Links to FAIR Latter-day Saints and to Church of Jesus Christ materials are provided for source verification only and do not imply endorsement by or of those organizations.

Accuracy commitment

  • Primary source first. Every claim traces to the 1844 Expositor or to directly cited contemporaneous documents.
  • Full context. We do not quote out of context in ways that change meaning.
  • Charitable reading. We acknowledge reasonable interpretations before presenting our analysis — see the source document page.
  • Complete citations. Every lyric is mapped to its source on the track page.
  • Corrections welcome. If we have made an error, we want to know. File an issue on the project’s GitHub repository.

Content advisory

This project documents sworn testimony and contemporaneous reporting about coercion, deception, and the abuse of religious authority. The material includes specific accounts of adult women and teenage girls being pressured into plural marriage, of public denials that contradict now-acknowledged practice, and of extra-judicial violence. Readers are advised accordingly.

We present this material for historical documentation, not endorsement of any party.

Disclaimer

The information on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, religious, or professional advice.

Historical quotations reflect the views of their original authors, not the creators of this project. Our analysis represents our interpretation of the historical record.

Contact

For corrections, questions, or concerns, please open an issue on the project’s GitHub repository.

Last updated: April 2026.