We do a quick dive into moral agency and free agency in Mormon culture. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have recently changed the definition of agency to suit their totalitarian needs. We explore the evolution of the phrase ‘free agency’ into ‘moral agency’ and springboard into a discussion about Ernest L. Wilkinson, the most influential BYU president in the institution’s history. After that we chat about The Last Temptation of Christ, a Scorsese film about a VERY huma...
Jul 24, 2024•2 hr 15 min
Since this is another Huge Niblet episode, we decided to talk a little bit about philosophy. More importantly, we discuss Diogenes the Cynic and what the philosophical meaning of the word “cynic” is. Then we cover 3 chapters in Approaching Zion, all while keeping the question, “Was Hugh Nibley a modern day cynic?” in mind. Show notes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynicism_(philosophy)#cite_ref-dudley5_8-0 https://www.worldhistory.org/article/740/the-life-of-diogenes-of-sinope-in-diogenes-laerti...
Jul 10, 2024•2 hr 51 min
Happy Pride Month! To celebrate, we interviewed the amazing Shelly Johnson from Latter Day Lesbian podcast. She talked about the balance between navigating tough situations between the church’s control over family and resisting its influence in these family situations. In Media of Great Price, we discuss the book Closeted: My Life As a Gay BYU Student, by Jonathan Alder. After which we tell you about the new campaign headed up by David Tennant and Dannii Minogue to help Trans youth. Show notes: ...
Jun 29, 2024•1 hr 58 min
Let's talk about the Law of Consecration. First we will start with the background leading into it, as well as what it means and how it’s applied in early magic and occult before Mormonism. Next, we cover two chapters in Approaching Zion by Hugh Nibley that are on, you guessed it, the Law of Consecration. We end with some happy environmental news that should make everyone feel good. Enjoy! Show notes: Frederick G. Williams https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/f-g-williams-co-account-bo...
Jun 12, 2024•2 hr 19 min
In 1977, a book was published that shocked much of the world. It was an almost instant bestseller and ended up being translated in 20 languages and has sold more than 21 million copies today. The book has been described as one of the most influential novels of the modern feminist movement. The book? The Women’s Room by Marilyn French. We will talk about the author, the book, and the impact it had. Show Notes: The Women’s Room by Marilyn French: can be found anywhere books are sold. List of Femin...
May 29, 2024•2 hr 7 min
Part 2 of Episode 150! Yay!! And now for something completely different. This episode is a bit of a departure from our regular show. We invite Alex Criddle and Cody Noconi, researchers into the psychedelic origins of Mormonism, to respond to the recent debate on the Mormon Book Reviews channel between ourselves and Mormon apologist, Brian Hales. Brian attempts to provide the apologetic response to the theory that Joseph Smith utilized psychedelics (entheogens) in the early history of the Church ...
May 15, 2024•2 hr 10 min
Part 1 of Episode 150! Yay!! And now for something completely different. This episode is a bit of a departure from our regular show. We invite Alex Criddle and Cody Noconi, researchers into the psychedelic origins of Mormonism, to respond to the recent debate on the Mormon Book Reviews channel between ourselves and Mormon apologist, Brian Hales. Brian attempts to provide the apologetic response to the theory that Joseph Smith utilized psychedelics (entheogens) in the early history of the Church ...
May 15, 2024•2 hr 21 min
Every General Conference the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announces new temples. We walk through the history surrounding a few of the worldwide temples, along with some of the subtle international political maneuvers necessary to open the door to a new temple project. Wherever the church wants a temple, leaders must curry the favor of local and national politicians and regulators, doing so with no legal oversight. This two-way-street of backscratching opens the way for national se...
May 01, 2024•2 hr 18 min
It’s that time of year again. We go through all the talks from #GeneralConference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from top to bottom. Show Notes: EntheoMagus Documentary Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uHmmToTec Documentary screenings: April 27-28, 2024 in Salt Lake City, UT At the Natural Law Apothecary. April 29, 2024 At Brewvies May 11, 2024 Portland, OR at the Fifth Ave Cinema, https://seerstonedproductions.com/ to get a ticket Find Brandon Crockett here: https:...
Apr 17, 2024•3 hr 48 min
We’re very excited to invite a panel onto the show to discuss the forthcoming documentary about psychedelics in early Mormonism, EntheoMagus! We’re joined by the creators, Brandon Crockett, Cody Noconi, and Alex Criddle, to discuss the documentary, its genesis, and the overall future of the Smith-entheogen theory. Two sets of screenings are coming in late April and early May so if you’re in the SL, UT or Portland, OR areas, mark your calendar and grab your tickets before they’re all gone. Admiss...
Apr 03, 2024•1 hr 52 min
Scripture study!!! Well, sort of. We’re talking about the codenames contained in the Doctrine & Covenants sections 78, 82, 92, 96, 103, 104, and 105. Names like Gazelam, Ahashdah, Pelagoram, Mahalaleel, Mahemson, Shederlaomach, and (most importantly) Talents, all appear concerning the Secret Combination of the United Firm, or United Order. We discuss the history of the names, who’s involved, and why they appear in the first place. Huge thanks to Gene Judson of Latter-daily Digest for invitin...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 51 min
It’s time for our next installment of Huge Niblet’s Approaching Zion! He spends basically the entire section lamenting higher education and any information from sources other than the “p”rophet’s counsel. Does he want us to be zealous, or learned? Nobody knows! But before that we have a quick debrief and error correction from the last episode of Mormonism Live with Dan Vogel and Bryce discussing the Spalding theory of Book of Mormon authorship. Don’t miss the discussion linked below. Then we rou...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 56 min
We did it! We FINALLY did it! After years and years and years of requests from many listeners we have finally taken a look at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s very first Sherlock Holmes book — A Study In Scarlet. We look at the time period Doyle was writing it and why he would take on Mormonism in his first book. We also take a look at the impact the story had on how Mormons were treated in film. And since that book is an outsider looking into Mormonism, we decided that for the Media of Great Price segm...
Feb 28, 2024•2 hr 45 min
It’s time to take a look at the early Utah economy as created by Brigham Young, a ruthless capitalist in his own right. We take a brief look at the beginnings of the California Gold Rush and how much the Mormons were involved, as well as the battle for control between Bloody Brigham and Samuel Brannan. Which also leads us into Part 1 of our deep dive into Approaching Zion by Hugh Nibley. We discuss the first two essays and show the contortions Hugh Nibley has to make in order to present Bloody B...
Feb 14, 2024•2 hr 21 min
The Community of Christ, formerly the RLDS church, has named its new president! We bring on guest Evan Sharley to help us navigate the history of the RLDS/CoC, the climate into which Stassi Cramm is ascending to the office of prophet/president, and the current issues within the Community of Christ which converge to give a bleak impression of its future. Then we review the movie Whale Rider, a heartfelt legend-exploration story about progress overcoming conservatism. Then we wrap with some happy ...
Jan 31, 2024•3 hr 14 min
Today we take a look at the man who is inarguably THE best apologist of the mormon church. Yes, we are talking about Hugh Nibley. Show Notes: Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life by Boyd Peterson Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith by Martha Beck Hugh Nibley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Nibley Hugh Nibley Biography: https://interpreterfoundation.org/bibliographies/hugh-w-nibley/biography/ Charles Nibley (Grandfather): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_W._Nibley Li...
Jan 17, 2024•3 hr 13 min
Newest Apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Patrick Kearon, joins replaces M. Russel Ballard in the highest leadership body of the Mormon hierarchy. Who is he, from where does he come (professionally and otherwise), and what does his calling mean for the future of the wealthiest religion in the world? We do an apostolic profile with what publicly-available information can be found about Patrick Kearon, and his wife Jennifer Hulme-Kearon. After that we’re joined by J...
Jan 03, 2024•3 hr
WAHOO! It’s that time of year again. Time for our last episode of the year because we’ve finished off everything for the year and we want to have some fun. And that fun is BOOKS, of course! Well, this time books, movies, TV shows, and video games. We each brought three for you. Shannon brought three books to movie adaptations and Bryce brought three games to movie/TV series adaptations. We had some fun and hope you do too! And Happy Holidays to all of you! Show Notes: First Blood: Book by David ...
Dec 20, 2023•2 hr 53 min
That’s right! We’re done!! But we have to get through the final 3 chapters before rounding it out and providing our conclusions. The new authoritative history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is mostly what we expected; New Mormon History is dead and Saints: The Standard of Truth telegraphs an era of academic retrenchment. These chapters cover the assassination of Hyrum and Joseph Smith in Carthage and the immediate aftermath and succession crisis to get the church into the han...
Dec 06, 2023•4 hr 9 min
We’re in tunnel-vision mode until we finish this propagandistic pile of rubbish. Today is the penultimate episode of our long-form review of Saints. It begins in the spring of 1842 with John C. Bennett’s violent departure from Nauvoo and ends with the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor. Lots of things happen in this 2-year period and the book ignores most of them so let’s dive in. We do finish the episode with a tiny bit of happy news to keep us all positive as well as an update about the ongoi...
Nov 22, 2023•4 hr 27 min
AT LONG LAST! We’re joined by Jen from ExMo Candle Co. to talk all about her experience and what led her to processing and healing from the Mormon cult through blasphemous candles! She tells of her story with the church, attending a Mormon university, depression and self-destruction caused by shame through bishop’s interviews and “repentance”, and how she navigated her way out of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Of course, she also announces the debut of a new candle… well TWO ca...
Nov 08, 2023•2 hr 7 min
It’s that time of year! SpooOOOoooOOOookey stories! First we talk about a hotbed of paranormal interdimensional activity in the heart of Mormon country; Skinwalker Ranch! After that we deep dive into the sci-fi classic Frankenstein. We wrap with a quick reminder to get out and vote along with catching up on listener mail! Show Notes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Burns https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_S._Taylor https://www.linkedin.com/in/ecbard https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/...
Oct 25, 2023•2 hr 22 min
Our review of General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for October 2023 Sunday sessions. Yes, our review of GenCon was longer than the actual GenCon. Thank you to all the wonderful folks who made this project happen! The last nearly 2 hours is patreon extras for you all you fantastic financial supporters of the show. Show Notes: Links: Brad: https://twitter.com/ComfytheGhost V (Friend from Serbia): @NoChillAuntie Aurora: aurorarosea.com Alexis: https://www.youtube.co...
Oct 11, 2023•7 hr 26 min
Our review of General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for October 2023 Saturday sessions. Yes, our review of GenCon was longer than the actual GenCon. Show Notes: Links: Brad: https://twitter.com/ComfytheGhost V (Friend from Serbia): @NoChillAuntie Aurora: aurorarosea.com Alexis: https://www.youtube.com/@UtahSustainGardening Julie’s Twitter - @juliebr83 Tanner’s blog - https://diligenceovertime.blogspot.com/ Come see us on Aron Ra’s YouTube channel! He’s doing a ser...
Oct 11, 2023•4 hr 20 min
It’s the listener show! Today we bring on a group of cohosts to attempt the impossible task of filling Shannon’s shoes while she continues to recover. Tanner presents a segment on the Kinderhook plates, drawing larger implications for how it disproves other Mormon scripture “translation” claims. Then Will takes us on a journey through reconciling his relationship with his mom through LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) and making his own “translation” of the Kinderhook plates. Then Julie gives us...
Sep 27, 2023•4 hr 46 min
Runnin solo today! While Shannon continues to recover we’re going to take the opportunity to do a segment that sent Shan to hospital in the first place! That’s right, we’re back in Saints: The Standard of Truth, the new, authorized history of Joseph Smith and his early religious movement. That’s it. That’s all we’re doing this episode! We talk missionaries in Europe, political machinations, President Martin Van Buren, polygamy, the endowment ceremony, Freemasonry, The Book of Abraham, so many ot...
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 58 min
We have a bit of an unconventional episode this time around. We invite Aron Ra onto the show to discuss a recent debate between Bryce and Kyle Adams, an apologist for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We play a few clips, have a few laughs, and chat about the sport of debate in general. This episode is a rare exception because we know it isn’t everybody’s favorite thing; we’ll be getting back to regular programming soon! :-) Show Notes: Come see us on Aron Ra’s YouTube channel! He...
Aug 30, 2023•2 hr 5 min
Continuing our media episodes, this time we’re taking aim at Mormon movies! Specific Mormon movies though! Movies made by Mormons for the purpose of gaining converts. These are just a small handful of the movies that missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints show in the homes of investigators in order to teach certain aspects of doctrine or articles of Mormon faith. After that we wrap with some good news that's HUGE in the realm of climate and green energy! Show Notes: Har...
Aug 16, 2023•2 hr 31 min
Just as the title states! After two motherlode history episodes, we’re doing an all media episode! Shannon walks us through the history of feminist literature from the earliest surviving scraps of parchment to a recent 2022 best-seller about women turning into dragons! Join us to learn about everything in between! After that we discuss a dam removal project that’s showing great promise as an environmental remediation project. Show notes: https://phys.org/news/2023-06-shattering-myth-men-hunters-...
Aug 02, 2023•1 hr 51 min
The conclusion of the Missouri-Mormon war of 1838! Two events which are incredibly infamous in Mormon history, the Haun’s Mill Massacre, and the Liberty Jail stint, feature throughout this episode. But we discuss the context that led to the circumstances and the criminal proceedings that resulted from the war once Joseph Smith and the Mormons had surrendered. While certain figures are vilified for turning against the prophet, we spend a bit more time with those individuals to see what they had t...
Jul 19, 2023•3 hr 35 min
