Mormon Discussion Podcast

In this week’s episode we discuss the recent news of the Temple Changes and just how far the original Endowment has been altered. And the Second half of the show will involve the recent legal settlement with the LDS Church and it’s Ensign Peak Advisors and culminating with RFM’s lightbulb moment sensing that the Landscape of Mormonism has changed and his novel idea around such. T...

On June 27th 1844, Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, was martyred at Carthage Jail by a mob. Or at least that is how the generally accepted story goes. In the last 8 months, Justin Griffin (Director & Producer) and Steve Sorensen (Film Maker), have shared their research that maybe things are not what we have been told. They present their experts, their research, and their conclusions that it w...

On this week’s episode we sit down with Brent Bokovoy, Writer and Director of the upcoming film “Ronald’s Little Factory”, and we discuss all the twists and turns in Mormon Cinema including your favorites, along with movies you have likely forgotten, as well as one’s you never heard of. We finish out the episode discussing the upcoming film “Ronald’s Littl...

The Salt Lake Tribune recently published a book review on the book “Ancient Christians : An Introduction for Latter-day Saints” published by the Maxwell Institute. Both the book and the Tribune article make note that what Latter-day Saints believed about early Christianity and the Great Apostasy may not only “overly simplistic, if not (a) completely false narrative”. But wh...

Recently Bill did a solo episode away from Mormonism LIVE walking members into the historical analysis of the initial Doctrine of tithing as 10% of one’s Surplus or Interest to help believers sense they had an option backed by historical documentation that allowed them to save themselves Thousands of Dollars a year while remaining faithful. After that episode a listener sent Bill and RFM an...

The running narrative within Mormonism is that Joseph Smith was an uneducated backwoods farm boy and that his lack of sophistication leaves the the Restoration as a miracle that no country bumpkin could have pulled off. But what happens when, with critical thinking skills, we take a look at the the Education he did have or had potential access to. Was Joseph Smith uneducated? Was he a middle schoo...

Most faithful Latter-day Saints pay tithing on their gross income with a few paying on net income. But do the historical documents and past teachings of Prophets, Seers, and Revelators support either of those two interpretations? We take a deep dive into the historical context exploring D&C 119, A First Presidency Letter in 1970, old manuals and handbooks, Heber C Kimball, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph...

Bill & RFM take a look at the Life of Francis Gladden Bishop, another Latter-day Saint who claimed to be the rightful heir to Joseph Smith after the martyrdom as part of the Mormon Succession Crisis. RESOURCES: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/license-for-gladden-bishop-14-april-1840-extract/1 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/145852385/francis-gladden-bishop https://atom3.lib...

Bill and RFM take a deep look at how sex and sexuality were presented within the LDS Church over the last 200 years. What was taboo and sin and to what degree did Leaders impose what could and could not go on the Bedroom. RAPE & VIRTUE A.) BOM teaching – Moroni 9:9 implemented into Gospel Principles (David O McKay, Heber J Grant, Spencer W Kimball) Restated by Marion G Romney Then by Mar...

RFM and Bill take a deeper look at the “Book of Mormon” and compare what we know about it with what we know about other books to see if it is as un unique as believers claim it to be and we even get Mormon Scholar, Brian Hales opinion on the matter. This past week on Mormonism LIVE we covered “Automatic Writing” in the episode, Mormonism LIVE: 108: Is The Book of Mormon Uni...

I’m going to let you into my head for a moment. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Have you ever considered the amount of violence and deception in Mormonism’s past and present and pondered all the reasons for folks to feel fear or personal risk in exposing Mormonism? The post Mormon Discussion: 378: Mormonism & Two Tickets to Crazy Town appeared first on Mormon Discussion b...

Sheri Dew recently gave a Devotional Talk titled “Prophets Can See Around Corners” at BYU Hawaii on Nov 1st 2022. Bill and RFM take a deep look into this talk to see if what sort of apologetic tricks and absurd claims Sheri Dew makes this time around. Make some hot chocolate, grab a slice of fruitcake, and sit down by the fire, because Reel and RFM are going to fill your stockings with...

This week we explore DezNat or a loosely connected group of folks who claim to be Deseret Nationals. We explore their violent rhetoric and their problematic ideology and we even have a former DezNat follower to help us add context to this story. #DezNat RESOURCES: Wiki DezNat – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DezNat DezNat Twitter – https://twitter.com/DeseretNation DezNat Exposed &#8211...

Since 1830 Mormonism has, as likely a part of it’s persecution complex, used violent rhetoric and has taught its members to use violent means. That rhetoric either leads to further violence or at least creates safer spaces for violence to occur. Today we look into Mormonism Past and Present to expose a history wide pattern of Mormon Leaders Encouraging Violence. RESOURCES: Boyd K Packer &#82...

What happens when a Member of the LDS Church stands opposed in a sustaining vote of Church leaders, follows the process the Church has laid out around “common consent”, and shows conclusively that current LDS Prophets, Seers, and Revelators have lied to the members. Well, you are about to find out, because Nemo does just that. RESOURCES : President Nelson lying about his flight –...

As a follow-up to episode 101 on the Third Convention, Thomas Murphy joins us to add clarity and context to all the ground we covered and to add details that make this story even more interesting. RESOURCES: The First Part – Video Version – https://youtu.be/Gmjk3Kht0S8 Slide Show used by Prof Murphy in this episode – https://mormondiscussionpodcast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/...

What is the greatest problem in the LDS Church? That question is at the heart of this week’s episode. Jim Bennett is our guest this week on Mormonism LIVE, as we explore this question and some of the territory surrounding it. The post Mormonism LIVE: 102: The Greatest Problem In The LDS Church appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel .

Apostasy is something the LDS Church show serious concern over. And why shouldn’t they knowing James Strang, Lorin C. Wooley, Denver Snuffer, Julie Rowe all have led Splinter Factions of one sort or another that have had influence over segments of Latter-day Saints. The idea that a few voices or even a single voice can sway large groups of people into disaffection has the Brethren always on...

Just a quick lesson on how rational thinking works. If anyone views/listens to this and would like to debate a problematic issue in Mormonism or disagree with my approach to rational thinking, please email me at MormonDiscussionsPodcasts AT Gamil DOT Com as I would love to continue the conversation The post Mormon Discussion: 377: Quick Lesson in Rational Thinking appeared first on Mormon Discussi...

To celebrate our 100th episode, we invite all of you to join us as we take a look back at the past 99 episodes and share which have been most meaningful and which are our favorites and we will be taking calls from you our listeners and letting you share with us which ones meant the most to you! The post Mormonism LIVE: 100: 100th Episode Super Show appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel...

On this week’s episode we take a deeper look at the 1826 trial in Bainbridge, NY. We examine what led to the trial, what witnesses claimed, what we know about the trial proceedings, how Smith and Stowell got introduced to each other, and a few other interesting facts along the way that make this such an interesting episode in Church history. This outline was used in preparation for  Mormonis...

In this Episode Bill and RFM will go into a story few members know about in regards to the Prophet Joseph Smith and one of his young plural wives. It involves some re-gifting, a land deal, and Harsh Measures T-Shirt Contest Voting takes place here – https://forms.gle/MzBroWzRvk7EFEpQ9 A.) Lucien Woodworth born April 3rd 1799   becomes a close associate of Joseph Smith around the year 18...

I can think of no better way to help believing and post Mormons best understand their religion than through the lens of another High Demand Fundamentalist religion. So here it is the Jehovah’s Witnesses The post Mormon Discussion: 376: Utilizing the Jehovah’s Witnesses to Understand Mormonism appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel .

Critics accuse the Prophets Joseph Smith of plagiarizing multiple sources in order to create the standard works and Mormon Theology. Today we take a deep look into these accusations to see if there is any merit to their claims. You won’t want to miss this.  Below is the outline for the video podcast that covers in depth Joseph Smith’s Plagiarism of outside sources in order to create th...

A listener was able to have a candid chat with Elder Bednar recently and agreed to share with us how it went! This is part 2 of that conversation. Join us live! The post Mormonism LIVE: 097: A Chat w/ Elder Bednar Part 2 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel .