Mormon.ish

The Book of Mormon posits that some or all Native Americans are descended from Israelites who migrated to the Americas. However, DNA studies of modern Native Americans show no significant genetic links to Middle Eastern populations, leading to debates about the Book of Mormon's historical accuracy. The Book of Mormon describes migrations of Israelites to the Americas, including groups like the Jar...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by former LDS missionary, Tanner Talbot as we take a deep dive into the Arizona Tucson Mission circa 2016. Tanner was the 54th missionary to be sent home by the mission president, who had been serving for only 21 months at the time. This alarmingly high rate of missionary turnover reveals a darker underside to what was occurring....

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by Unoriginal Jim to discuss the important story of The Hill Cumorah and the complete lack of any kind of evidence at that location. Mormonism came forth in an environment where the origin and identity of indigenous populations was highly questioned. There were several books published between the 16th century and the 1830s th...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Landon and Rebecca are joined by a bookclub friend, Steph, to discuss the concept of living a "meaningless" life without the confines of a high demand, high control religion. We base our discussion around the fantastic book, "The Art of Living a Meaningless Existence: Ideas From Philosophy That Change the Way You Think" by Robert Pantano. Each of us share pers...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca, Landon, and Ganesh Brigham Young's fall from grace as a result of the accusation that Brigham was responsible for polygamy, not Joseph Smith. And in addition, Brigham Young did a lot of awful other things that Joseph would never do. Ganesh show that many things Brigham Young is accused of, Joseph Smith did years earlier and independently of Brigham. I...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by the lovely Jessica to discuss patriarchal blessings and their impact on the lives of faithful LDS.  Taking to social media, we asked the question "Do patriarchal blessings come true?" The answers are very telling and reveal so much about these supposed glimpses into the future we are given in the LDS church, and their impa...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by the wonderful Doug Vincent to discuss a much overlooked powerful influence on Joseph Smith and the origins of Mormonism itself, the Erie Canal. During Joseph Smith's formative years, the Smith family lived in Palmyra New York. In describing Joseph's youth, there is little mention of the influence living so close to such a wonde...

A year and a half ago Mormonish aired a candid interview with Michelle Stone in which she talked about her faith journey, ecclesiastical abuse she had suffered, her experiences in the church and more. This interview perhaps sheds some light on her current decision to take her channel down and remove all her videos. We definitely thought it was worth airing again in light of present circumstances....

Content Warning: suic*de and other disturbing imagery In this riveting podcast, Randy Bell, delves into the chilling story of Heaven's Gate, a cult that led 39 members to a mass suicide in 1997. Through captivating insights, Bell unravels the cult's manipulative tactics, explores the twisted beliefs of its leaders, and highlights the importance of critical thinking in recognizing and avoiding such...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast Rebecca and Landon explore the many "convenient" revelations received by Joseph Smith which became the Doctrine & Covenants. One after another, these revelations arrived on the scene conveniently to solve problems for Joseph Smith. When you see the sheer number or these type of revelations you will recognize an emerging pattern of using the "word of God" to...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by favorite recurring guest, Ganesh Cherian as we delve into the influential Whitmer family who shaped more of Mormonism than most realize. Ganesh paints a picture of the Whitmers influence that had a great effect on Joseph during his time in their home and theorizes that the church would look very different than it does today wit...

Mormonish is proud to be able to bring you the ONLINE WORLD PREMIER of the first 25 minutes of the award winning film, "Ronald's Little Factory!" Many of you have followed "Ronald's" journey and were frustrated that it never came to a theater near you! Well now you can view the entire movie online Director Brent Bokovoy is going to give a FREE LINK to the movie to anyone that shares this episode o...

With General Conference weekend coming up, it's important to remind ourselves of the kind of advice and counsel the LDS leadership gives us. Buckle your seatbelts as Mormonish's Rebecca and Landon are joined by Culch to delve into the history of masturbation warning messages from the church through the decades. Our focus will be on the Mark E. Peterson pamphlet, "Steps to Overcoming Masturbation,"...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by the amazing Emily Grayson to discuss her in depth presentation on the new LDS garments. Emily shares the history of LDS modesty culture and explores the strong emotions the new garments which seem to relax these standards bring. As we wrestle with the past and try to understand the future of modesty requirements in the LDS chur...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by the wonderful Charles Harrell to discuss his new research into the history of the LDS belief that Jesus was born on April 6th, not December 25th. To most of us growing up, the idea of the April 6th birthday was a fact that Mormons knew and the rest of the world didn't. We had special knowledge. But this special knowledge come f...

(This episode was originally aired on December 23, 2023. Dr. Bell's presentation is phenomenal and we believe more people need to see it!) On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by two incredible guests, Dr. Randy Bell and Radio Free Mormon, to discuss the difference between ethical magic and unethical magic and its use in manipulating people either for entertainment,...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, we are joined by favorite returning guest, Ganesh Cherian to discuss something other than The Book of Mormon! We tackle the provocative topic of sex and Mormonism as we break down the teachings, the problems inherent in many of the teachings, and the conflict between what we are being taught and reality. Ganesh brings unique and personal insights to the topic...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by Nemo the Mormon to discuss a hot button issue in the McKinney Texas Temple scenario, the United Methodist Church Bell Tower ordinance. This issue is very easy to misunderstand so we take everyone carefully through the Fairview Town Council and Fairview Planning & Zoning Board meeting minutes step by step. Our hope to clarif...

On this episode of Mormonish, Rebecca and Landon are joined by trial lawyer Frank Stucki to discuss the kind of cases former LDS missionaries bring to court seeking justice. Frank is a civil trial lawyer licensed in Utah who has personally sat in depositions and in the courtroom during civil litigation that stems from experiences on an LDS mission. In our episode he brings to light the types of ab...

(Mormonish has had many people reach out and ask about this episode since I mentioned it on The Mormon Newscast. Because of renewed interest, we're reposting it a year and a half later.) A favorite Mormonish returning guest, Rob Lauer, told us about his experiences as a theater major at BYU in the early 1980s. The late 1970s and 1980s were a difficult time for LGBT students who were attending BYU....

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon sit down with returning guest Lars Nielsen to discuss the responses to his book, "How The Book of Mormon Came to Pass: The Second Greatest Show on Earth." Since its publication, Lars has interacted with and gotten feedback from a number of scholars and academics, as well as others who have read the book and want to weigh in. The most public...

On this special episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner to discuss the proposed McKinney LDS temple and the potential lawsuit threatened by the LDS church. It was a pleasure to have Mayor Lessner on the podcast. We've all read his statements, seen him in action during town council meetings, and watched his interviews on various new stations. Now...

On this episode of Mormonish, Rebecca and Landon are joined by Professor Matthew Harris to discuss the question of whether America was originally founded as a Christian nation or a secular republic. Evangelicals would have you believe that God played a prominent role, while the nones may believe otherwise. This debate has resulted in a culture war over the narrative that shapes The United States t...

On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by Colleen Johnston, a facilitator in the LDS addiction recovery 12 step program for almost two decades. Colleen is also a recovering addict who shares her incredible journey in the LDS church and her lifestyle that was very different from what the gospel was teaching. Colleen has a unique perspective on the LDS chuch's 12 step pr...

With renewed interest in The Nauvoo Expositor affidavits as a “silver bullet” for proving Joseph Smith practiced polygamy, Mormonish is releasing its episode with RFM debuting his groundbreaking evidence about the polygamy affidavits contained in the Expositor. No one breaks down the evidence quite like RFM and by the end of the episode you’ll understand why the terms “smoking gun” and “silver bul...