A Hisorical Frontier Thriller
Soon to be a major motion picture
Similar to AMERICAN PRIMEVAL—Netflix’s #1 Viewed Series of 2025
After Joseph Smith’s death, a ruthless enforcer emerges. Hosea Stout will stop at nothing to protect power. But in the shadows, a Native warrior rises. Their collision will shape a frontier — and a legacy.
Executive Producer Scott Debenham
Inspired by Historical Records
About
Hosea Stout
Lawman. Legislator. Mormon Defender.
Hosea Stout joined the Mormons in Missouri in 1838 and followed them to Nauvoo, where he rose quickly to become a top leader in the Nauvoo Legion and chief of police, a position he also held at Winter Quarters. He became the first attorney general for the Territory of Utah, was elected to the Utah Territorial Legislature, and served as regent for the University of Deseret (which later became the University of Utah) and as judge advocate of the Nauvoo Legion in Utah. In 1862, Stout was appointed US attorney for the Territory of Utah by President Abraham Lincoln. In 1867, he became city attorney of Salt Lake City, and he was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 1881.
After Joseph Smith’s death, Stout became entangled in the dangerous struggle for control, loyalty, and survival that followed. His journals and historical records offer a rare window into a world shaped by secrecy, violence, ambition, and faith on the American frontier.
About
Hosea Stout
Lawman. Legislator. Mormon Defender.
Hosea Stout joined the Mormons in Missouri in 1838 and followed them to Nauvoo, where he rose quickly to become a top leader in the Nauvoo Legion and chief of police, a position he also held at Winter Quarters. He became the first attorney general for the Territory of Utah, was elected to the Utah Territorial Legislature, and served as regent for the University of Deseret (which later became the University of Utah) and as judge advocate of the Nauvoo Legion in Utah. In 1862, Stout was appointed US attorney for the Territory of Utah by President Abraham Lincoln. In 1867, he became city attorney of Salt Lake City, and he was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 1881.
After Joseph Smith’s death, Stout became entangled in the dangerous struggle for control, loyalty, and survival that followed. His journals and historical records offer a rare window into a world shaped by secrecy, violence, ambition, and faith on the American frontier.
At the heart of the story
ANTONGA BLACKHAWk
From Captive to Warrior.
At the heart of Sins of the Saints is the story of Antonga Blackhawk, a young Ute whose life is forever changed by the violent collision between Native America and the expanding Mormon kingdom in Utah Territory. After witnessing the destruction of his people and suffering devastating personal loss, Blackhawk embarks on a journey from frightened captive to determined warrior. As he unites scattered Ute bands and rallies leaders such as Sanpitch, his struggle becomes more than a quest for revenge—it becomes a fight for the survival, dignity, and future of his people.
Standing against him is Hosea Stout, Brigham Young’s feared enforcer and Judge Advocate. Acting under Young’s authority, Stout wages a relentless campaign to secure Mormon control of the territory through intimidation, covert operations, and frontier violence. Their conflict begins when Blackhawk is captured during a brutal assault on a Ute camp and grows into a deeply personal war after the deaths of Blackhawk’s family members at Mormon hands. As the years pass, Blackhawk becomes the one adversary Stout cannot break, a symbol of Native resistance who continually challenges the power of the Mormon hierarchy.
Overseeing the struggle is Brigham Young, whose political and religious authority shapes the destiny of both communities. While Young seeks to preserve and strengthen Zion (Mormon Kingdom) amid threats from Washington and the U.S. Army, his policies toward Native tribes help fuel a cycle of violence that neither side can escape. The result is an epic frontier drama told through a Native perspective rarely seen in Western films—a story of loss, resistance, vengeance, and survival set against one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the American West. By the film’s conclusion, Blackhawk’s remarkable transformation from persecuted boy to respected warrior stands as one of the screenplay’s most powerful and unforgettable journeys.
Antogna Blackhawk
At the heart of the story
ANTONGA BLACKHAWk
From Captive to Warrior.
At the heart of Sins of the Saints is the story of Antonga Blackhawk, a young Ute whose life is forever changed by the violent collision between Native America and the expanding Mormon kingdom in Utah Territory. After witnessing the destruction of his people and suffering devastating personal loss, Blackhawk embarks on a journey from frightened captive to determined warrior. As he unites scattered Ute bands and rallies leaders such as Sanpitch, his struggle becomes more than a quest for revenge—it becomes a fight for the survival, dignity, and future of his people.
Standing against him is Hosea Stout, Brigham Young’s feared enforcer and Judge Advocate. Acting under Young’s authority, Stout wages a relentless campaign to secure Mormon control of the territory through intimidation, covert operations, and frontier violence. Their conflict begins when Blackhawk is captured during a brutal assault on a Ute camp and grows into a deeply personal war after the deaths of Blackhawk’s family members at Mormon hands. As the years pass, Blackhawk becomes the one adversary Stout cannot break, a symbol of Native resistance who continually challenges the power of the Mormon hierarchy.
Overseeing the struggle is Brigham Young, whose political and religious authority shapes the destiny of both communities. While Young seeks to preserve and strengthen Zion (Mormon Kingdom) amid threats from Washington and the U.S. Army, his policies toward Native tribes help fuel a cycle of violence that neither side can escape. The result is an epic frontier drama told through a Native perspective rarely seen in Western films—a story of loss, resistance, vengeance, and survival set against one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the American West. By the film’s conclusion, Blackhawk’s remarkable transformation from persecuted boy to respected warrior stands as one of the screenplay’s most powerful and unforgettable journeys.
The Premise
The Enforcer
Hosea Stout is loyal to Brigham Young and will do whatever it takes to eliminate threats, real or imagined. His mission: control, by any means.
The Authority
Brigham Young guards his vision of a pure and united Zion, where order is power and dissenters are enemies of God who must be cut out.
The Resistance
Among the outcasts, a new fight is born. Native people and renegades rise together in defiance of tyranny and in defense of freedom.
The Story
A Frontier Written in Blood
A brutal frontier conflict told through power, survival, loyalty, and resistance. From burned homelands to rising warriors, Sins of the Saints follows the collision of faith, fear, and blood on the edge of a nation being formed.
From Hosea Stouts diaries,
This evening several persons disguised as Indians entered Henry Jones’ house and dragged him out of bed with a whore and castrated him by a square & close amputation.
SINS OF THE SAINTS is a prestige historical mystery thriller that explores the violent birth of power in early Mormon Utah. At its core is a question that refuses to die: what really happened in the shadow war for succession after Joseph Smith’s death — and how far did Brigham Young go to secure the throne?
The Architect of Zion
Brigham Young rules Zion with faith, order, and control. Hosea Stout turns his power into action.
The Enforcer
Hosea Stout rises as enforcer, using faith, fear, and force to protect Brigham’s command in Zion.
A Warrior Rises
Antonga Blackhawk turns grief into resistance, uniting his people against Mormon control in Utah.
Based On Historical Records
The Books Behind The Mystery
Four separate books present a similar conclusion: that Chief of Police Hosea Stout poisoned Samuel Smith, allegedly at the direction of Brigham Young. With Samuel Smith (brother of Joseph Smith) removed from the succession, Brigham Young was able to assume leadership of the Mormon Church.
This analysis explores those claims, focusing on the alleged poisoning of Samuel Smith by Hosea Stout and examining the question of Brigham Young’s involvement.
Here are brief excerpts from four sources that support this theory—that Brigham Young directed Hosea Stout to carry out the killing of Samuel Smith.
Sometime after the death of Samuel Smith (brother of Joseph Smith) the lone surviving brother William learned from Samuels widow that Stout had acted as nurse for his brother and was said to have administered to him a “white powder” daily until his death… [Read More]
Compelling circumstantial evidence suggests that he (Samual Smith – Brother of Joseph Smith) succumbed from poison administered by Hosea Stout, the chief of the Nauvoo police, who was loyal to Brigham Young and the other polygamists. Pages 195-196
Samuel Smith, one of Joseph brothers also seemed a reasonable choice to many Saints. In fact, he nearly took control of the church before the Twelve had returned, much to the irritation of Willard Richards… [Read more]
William learned from Samuel’s widow that Hosea Stout a Missouri Danite and senior officer of Nauvoo’s police, had acted as his brother’s nurse. Stout had given him “white powder” medicine daily until his death. Pages. 152–153
Sins of the Saints Merchandizing
HOSEA’s STOUT
THE BEER FOR ASSASSINS
Bottled By The Mormaniacs In Brigham City, Utah.
A limited-edition satirical beer series inspired by the stories, controversies, and legends behind Sins of the Saints.
Designed as collectible merchandise with an Old West tavern aesthetic, each bottle tells a different chapter of the story — bold, provocative, and impossible to ignore.
The Succession Stout
Brigham Young and the succession crisis
When the Prophet’s gone, the fun begins
The Reformation Red Ale
the Mormon Reformation period
Repent now. Refill later
The Poison Porter
the Samuel H. Smith mystery
A surprisingly smooth finish
The Danite Draft
secret policing and loyalty
Membership has its privileges
The Avenging Angel Ale
frontier justice and Mormon enforcers
Justice Served chilled
The Blood Atonement Bock
referencing the controversial doctrine
The beer worth spilling for
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