Face in Hat

Our church’s framing of the apostasy and restoration is changing, and Miranda Wilcox wrote about it!  How we narrate our religious history affects our general understanding of Christian history, and can help us better appreciate the centuries of progress between the ancient apostles and 1820. Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh Narrating Religious Heritage: Aposta...

So, was Jesus married? Our holiday edition of our series on open questions follows Christopher James Blythe’s article on the same question. Conspiracy, Assassin’s Creed, Dan Brown, this one’s got it all. Lots of great links in the show notes! See you next year! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ W...

Agency is critical to the plan of salvation, and the adversary wanted it gone. But how? Philip L. Barlow wrote a banger of an article in Dialogue looking at prevailing theories, and argues the theology yields critical implications for how Mormons interact with government, politics, and church organization.  It’s a great read!!! Philip L. Barlow has a doctorate of theology (Th. D.) from the Harvard...

We welcome William Morris aka Wm, founder of A Motley Vision, onto our show to talk about the BYU studies article, The King Follett Discourse: Pinnacle or Peripheral?, by James E. Faulconer and Susannah Morrison.  We talk about the nature of individuality, intelligence, and our own eternal destiny, as revealed by Joseph Smith and studied by prophets and scholars ever since.  We even may have come...

It’s a two for one today as we look at two BYU studies articles on whether God ever has or is currently progressing, and on progression in the afterlife.  Go deep with us!  It’s so much fun!  Plus Hadestown makes an appearance! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh Thanks to our sponsor!  Check out Beyond the Witch's Woods: Book One of the Kingdom of Adair, by Natha...

Welcome to season 5! In this season we are studying the recent BYU Studies Quarterly issue 60:3: “Yet to be revealed, open questions in Latter-Day Saint theology.” In each of the articles, an unsettled, open question is presented along with viewpoints from LDS authorities, theologians, and scholars. The goal is not to resolve or debate but to present and discuss, a take we appreciate.  Join us!  O...

Mormons love the Old Testament and everything about the Jewish faith and culture.  Join us as we go into the history of Judaic influences on the LDS faith, and the sometimes complex relationship between our faiths. Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh Colonialism - The Board Game Struggle, by No Pun Included https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQuFSxs9VXA Wiki: Judaism...

A fun primary lesson led to a deeper discussion of historicity and truth in the book of Joshua. Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh What Do We Mean When We Say that the Scriptures Are True?  By Michael Austin https://bycommonconsent.com/2021/05/23/what-do-we-mean-when-we-say-that-the-scriptures-are-true/ Wiki: the conquest of Caanan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B...

Reading scientific papers requires a critical mindset, but often ‘critical’ has a negative connotation. How can we apply critical reading to scriptures and conference addresses? This is especially relevant in the context of recent conference addresses and discourse in the Mormon community on Heavenly Mother (see especially Dialogue’s spring issue, “Heavenly Mother in Critical Context”). Link to ou...

Dr. Eugene England and Elder Bruce R. McConkie really didn’t agree on many points regarding the nature of God and the destiny of souls. For today’s show, we highly recommend Rebecca England’s essay linked in the show notes!  We cover it briefly but it’s worth your time! D&C 1:30 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/1?lang=eng&id=30#p30 The vision: D&C 76 https://www...

Happy new year!  We revisit older shows, adding updates on finance (billions of dollars worth), the Provo temple, the Devil in church meetings and certain prophecies about the color of horses.  Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh More about the deseret alphabet and Unicode by Kenneth R. Beesley: https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02169-deseret.pdf https://uofupress....

Starting off with the history of the People’s Park in Berkley, we segway into discussing Emily Kaplan’s article in the Washington Post, “The Rise of the Liberal Latter-day Saints.” It’s a great article and has generated lots of discussion, especially around LBGTQ issues. Join us!  Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh People's Park (Berkeley) https://en.wikipedia.or...

Brigham Young loved the Deseret alphabet, and so do we. It’s so cool looking and old and kinda weird. It’s perfect Mormon history and it’s forever enshrined in Unicode.  Let’s take a look! Link to new Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh Start here! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deseret_alphabet English Phonotypic Alphabet, developed by Sir Isaac Pitman and Alexander John Elli...

Did you know they had smallpox vaccines in the 1700s?  Join us as we kick off season 4 of Face in Hat with some history and then an in-depth look at one of the most important modern miracles, the mRNA vaccine against Covid 19. Link to new Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh The Plague Year: The mistakes and the struggles behind America’s coronavirus tragedy, by Lawrence Wrigh...

We missed posting this one during Pride month, but it’s relevant! Join us for a conversation with local beloved Berkeleyite Paul.  We hear how his relative worked on the Oakland Temple in the 50s, and about Paul’s life being gay in San Francisco in the 80s. He loves the temple, and hearing his testimony was delightful.  Thanks Paul!   David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A P...

We had too many great stories to fit into our Church building program episode so here’s some more from Aaron’s uncles!

Aaron’s Grandpa was a building missionary who built churches all over the pacific northwest.  We welcome Aaron’s uncles onto the show (yay!) who helped build these churches as the family moved from location to location. We were very happy to hear what it was like on the ground during one of the most rapid expansions in the church’s history. Thanks for joining us! David O. McKay and the Rise of Mod...

Temple renovations in Manti were scheduled to remove murals by LDS painter Minerva Teichert, but that decision was reversed. Join us as we look into her story and work, art in the church in general, and how remembrance and ritual soaks in our very beings. Minerva Teichert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva_Teichert The Deseret Alphabet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deseret_alphabet John Hafen's...

This was a fun one and we went all over the place. From a really great 1700s poem on truth, to BYU spy rings, to the nature of character in education, join us as we look at what church education looked like in the 60s and speculate on how it might have been different today. David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and WM Robert Wright https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-...

How did the church become international?  How much more do we have to go?  Let’s look at David O. McKay’s contribution and see how we can apply it to our present church. David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and WM Robert Wright https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-Rise-Modern-Mormonism/dp/0874808227 Liken the scriptures unto yourselves: https://www.churchofjesuschrist...

For Black History Month, we study Chapter 4 of David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism: “Blacks, Civil Rights, and the Priesthood.” The ban on black people holding the Priesthood was lifted in 1978.  The people, politics, and circumstances leading up to it, particularly in McKay’s time in the 50s and 60s, makes for a difficult, but fascinating conversation.  Struggle along with us as we gr...

Following our theme of change in the church, we look at how our approach to media has changed over the last half century, from the early days of broadcasting to recent attitude shifts regarding social media and embracing new forms of communication David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and WM Robert Wright https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-Rise-Modern-Mormonism/dp/08...

What do we do when we disagree with family, neighbors, and friends over things so important to us that it seems impossible to reconcile?  David O’McKay’s fundamental belief in free agency and love of those around him meant he respected other’s beliefs and lived a life of tolerance, while still taking action when he thought it was needed.  In this episode we look at specific examples of tolerance f...

Today we discussed McKay Coppin’s article “The Most American Religion”, published in The Atlantic. It’s a great read or listen (find the audio link in the article!). We were particularly interested in his discussion of how our desire for acceptance affects how we interact with others as people of faith, and we applied that to our own experiences being LDS on the internet. The Most American Religio...

David O’McKay helped strengthen interfaith relationships during his tenure as President of the Church, yet Mormonism and the Catholic Church had a rocky relationship in the late 50s.  Thanks to several key events and the loving patience and ministry of Catholic Bishop Duane Hunt, the rift was healed and David O’McKay’s own attitude was changed.  Can this be a model for healing divides in modern co...