Mormon.ish

In recent years, many observers have noted a quiet shift within Mormon communities: a decline in strictly orthodox adherence and a rise in what some call “cultural Mormons.” While orthodox members continue to ground their identity in traditional doctrine and practice, growing numbers of people maintain a connection to Mormon heritage, values, and community without fully embracing institutional exp...

The new movie Truth & Treason (released October 17, 2025) brings to life the courageous story of Helmuth Hübener, a 16-year-old Latter-day Saint in Nazi Germany who used a secret shortwave radio and a typewriter to distribute anti-Hitler pamphlets. The movie doesn't deal with Hübener's excommunication from the LDS church for his activities and eventual posthumous reinstatement into the LDS chu...

On this special Halloween episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by Dr. John Lundwall to discuss the custom of taking of heads in ancient cultures and the correlation, if any to The Book of Mormon. Dr. Lundwall has clearly demonstrated in previous episodes the predominant cultures that existed before, during, and after the stories in The Book of Mormon took place. These cultur...

The Covenant Path narrative has become a major way to track the milestone that members of the LDS must reach or attain to fully participate in the LDS church. A new app lets multiple people from the ward and mission watch and track stats on new converts as they attend meetings, get temple recommends, pay tithing, etc. It also identifies friends in the ward who can step in to encourage the new memb...

Does the LDS church still make the claim that they are the "one true church?" Or has that rhetoric taken a backseat as they move to be more closely aligned with mainstream Christianity? What do faithful LDS think about this claim and how do they explain it when other people pray and get a confirmation that a religion other than Mormonism is true. Rebecca and Landon delve into the "one true church"...

The LDS church makes a big effort to find people who are on the membership roles that are not attending the congregation where their membership records are. Ward, clerks and other auxiliary leaders are tasked with finding the whereabouts of these wayward members and either moving their membership records to their new location or sending the records to sort of a dead letter file in Salt Lake. Just...

Have you noticed the overwhelming number of ads for the LDS church lately? Ads that don't indicate they are from the LDS church up front? There's a reason for this. In this episode, Mormonish Podcast is joined by Dr. Glen Randy Bell to explore the similarities between and MLM and the LDS church. The LDS Church uses advertising tactics similar to those seen in multi-level marketing (MLM) by promoti...

Religious trauma occurs when a person’s religious experiences cause deep emotional, psychological, or spiritual harm. It can stem from controlling or fear-based beliefs, strict religious environments, or experiences of shame and rejection tied to faith. This kind of trauma often affects how people see themselves, others, and even the world around them—leaving lasting wounds that take time, compass...

The Truth About Missionary Ad Campaigns This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Rebecca and Ganesh discuss the upcoming LDS General Conference in light of all the events of the past week. Will the tragedy in Michigan and the death of President Nelson change what happens at General Conference? Will President Oaks officially take the reigns? Will a new apostle be called? Will tributes to Michigan be given? Could the Family Proclamation be canonized on its thirtieth anniversary?...

The 1988 Christian "Family Manifesto" This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Is the Master Plan Jesus Land? This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Mormon and Transgender: Former Chief Temple Architect Speaks Out This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Joseph Smith was influenced by the free love and spiritual wifery he saw around him. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Does the LDS church collect data on members who have left the church? You might be surprised at the lengths they go to. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

From celebrating Holy Week and Palm Sunday, to wearing cross jewelry, using mainstream Christian terminology, listening to Christian rock music, old Christian hymns in the new LDS hymn book, a cross replacing the Moroni icon on Google Maps, talking about grace, and more, the LDS church seems to be moving in a direction that our grandparents and even parents wouldn't recognize. Mormonish sits down...

Most of us have heard about Brigham Young‘s 15 year-old wife Clarissa Decker. Until now she is thought to be the youngest wife of Brigham Young‘s 56 wives. The age gap between them was 27 years. More recently, confusion over the birthdate of Brigham’s wife Elizabeth Fairchild, or maybe outright manipulation of the dates, could indicate that Brigham Young actually had a wife who was only 13 years o...

Author Dane Campbell joins Mormonish to discuss his new book "Growing Up With Satan" and the larger framework of the LDS theology surrounding Satan that was very, very real to those who were raised in the LDS faith. Thank you so much for watching Mormonish Podcast! ***How to DONATE to Mormonish Podcast: If you would like to help financially support our podcast, you can DONATE to support Mormonish...

When you belong to a strong religious tradition the questions of life after death are often very clearly delineated for you. You know what's coming next. When you step away from your faith tradition, life after death, or what comes next, often becomes the biggest question you will wrestle with. The Good Book Club read the book, "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande an...

Mormonish is joined once again by Kendel Christensen for a part two of his exploration of Mormons, post Mormons, and the difficulty of recognizing, setting, and enforcing healthy boundaries. This is an important topic because healthy boundaries are at the root of relationships and can determine success, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, or failure of relationships. Being raised in the LDS church ofte...

Rebecca and Landon are joined by favorite returning guest Ganesh Cherian to discuss the theme of violence that ran through Joseph Smith's life and early Mormonism. Ganesh clearly lays down a pattern and the results of this reoccurring theme. Thank you so much for watching Mormonish Podcast! ***How to DONATE to Mormonish Podcast: If you would like to help financially support our podcast, you can DO...

Just in time for Pioneer Day 2025 we are rereleasing our episode on the tragedy of the Willie and Martin handcart companies. On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Landon gives an excellent presentation on the events surrounding the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies' tragic journey west. This presentation was originally a The Good Book Club episode and we're excited to share this important discu...

The LDS Church has changed its name several times in its history. It appears the most recent version will drop the "of Latter-day Saints." Rebecca and Landon are joined by Dr. Randy Bell to discuss the history of rebranding in the LDS church and what it means. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

The Book of Mormon has been translated into many languages and given to people across the globe. But does the Book of Mormon that is being read in other countries contain the same scripture the rest of us are reading? Is there a difference in what is included based on the audience it is intended for? Our special guest on this episode delves into the practice of only translating and providing certa...

Lori Vallow recently sat down with reporter Nate Eaton of the East Idaho News for a jailhouse interview. We couldn't think of a more perfect person to dissect the interview with than Lori's cousin and podcaster, Megan Conner. (@third_verse) Watch the full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7mgZNixig4 ***How to DONATE to Mormonish Podcast: If you would like to help financially support...