Radio Free Mormon – Radio Free Mormon

RFM joins Jonathan Streeter to discuss how lawyers use words to deceive. Even when the lawyers are LDS Church leaders. And even when they’re not lawyers! Prepare to have your eyes opened!

This just in!  Elder Oaks has proven that he is NOT a liar! In this joint podcast with the fabulous Jonathan Streeter from Thinker of Thoughts , we dissect a 1993 talk Elder Oaks gave to the students of BYU’s law school. In his remarks, Elder Oaks demonstrates convincingly to all assembled that he does not justify lying in any form, nor is he himself a liar! Either that, or this is actually...

Was Ethan Smith’s View of the Hebrews a potential source for Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon ? That is the question RFM tackles in this important episode hosted by Dr. John Dehlin. After having heard about this allegation since the 1980s, RFM finally took the time to get View of the Hebrews and methodically work his way through it. The results are explosive!

Today I am joined by John Dehlin to discuss several essays (two recent!) written by Dr. John Gee criticizing the Joseph Smith Papers Project volume dealing with the Abraham Egyptian Manuscripts.  Is Dr. Gee fair in his criticisms, or is he grinding a well-honed axe?  You be the judge!

Jonathan Streeter and I continue our analysis of October 2020 General Conference with the Saturday afternoon session!  This session may contain the worst GenCon talk I have heard in forty years!  The audio is a bit sketchy toward the beginning (thanks, Zoom!) but it levels out pretty quickly!  Hang in there and you will be amply rewarded!

Tonight we do a deep dive into the hit-piece John Gee wrote about his former Egyptology professor Robert Ritner , ostensibly as a book review for The Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities .  Is there bad blood between Gee and Ritner ?  You bet there is!  And John Gee’s hit-piece brings it into high definition!

John Dehlin and I discuss the history and merits of the ongoing class action lawsuit against the LDS Church.  As a special bonus, the lawyer suing the LDS Church phones in and shares some startling behind-the-scenes information on how the LDS Church used strong arm tactics to try to get her to drop the case!

Join Sue as she tells the rest of her harrowing tale; how she escaped from the polygamy compound in Mexico, made her way back to the United States, and finally made her way back into the good graces of the LDS Church.  As it turns out, all the hoops the LDS Church made her jump through in order to be rebaptized and have her temple blessings restored ended up pushing her out of the Church . . . aga...

Tonight I have the distinct honor of interviewing Dr. Simon Southerton , whose 2004 book, “Losing a Lost Tribe,” made headlines around the world and sent shockwaves through the Mormon Community!  The reason this book made such a splash is because it demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that a Semitic tribe such as depicted in the Book of Mormon did not exist in the New World.  And it...

Peter Bleakley , a life-long Latter-day Saint from across the pond, is actively engaged in calling out current church leadership on their gaslighting, distortions, and dissembling.  In this interview, Peter is equal parts brilliance and bravura!  RFM finds out what makes Peter tick, why the current state of Mormonism infuriates him so much, and what Peter thinks is the only hope left for...

Join RFM today as his good friend, Sue, tells about her escape from polygamy!  Sue was a happily married TBM until her husband became converted to the fundamentalist practice of plural marriage, converted Sue after a year-long emotionally abusive indoctrination, and began taking new wives.  The family moved down to Mexico to continue the practice where Sue lived with her husband and sist...

RFM interviews John Kirk Williams , author of “Heaven Up Here,” a memoir of his two-year LDS church mission to Bolivia!  John talks about his mission, his time working for the church curriculum department, and the events that led him to lose belief in Mormonism!

RFM makes several important announcements involving the direction of the podcast, an update on the #GiveThanks episode from last week, and revealing a big secret about what has been going on behind the scenes at Radio Free Mormon!  This is a must-listen!

During this Thanksgiving season, global faith leader Russell M. Nelson has given the world the revelation direct from God that we should . . . wait for it . . . give thanks!  Bill Reel, together with Allan and Kattie Mount join me for a fun dissection of President Nelson’s Message of Hope and Healing! #givethanks

Philip McLemore joins us again to share his fascinating experiences with LDS General Authorities including Ezra Taft Benson, Vaughn Featherstone, Paul Dunn, Marion Hanks, and more!  Philip McLemore tells it all!  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

Former CES Director Philip McLemore pulls back the curtain to give us a look behind the scenes at what really goes on in the Church Educational System.  As a bonus, we also get to hear about the strange happenings on his mission to Brazil in the early 70s.  Finally, Philip shares the untold story of how he was asked by top CES leadership to write up a thorough debunking of anti-Mormon cr...

Professor David Bokovoy and RFM dig deep into  the third chapter of the Book of Abraham.  What does all this material about astronomy really mean?  And what can it tell us about the actual author?  These questions, along with a host of others, are delved into in this fascinating discussion!

Today RFM is joined by Jonathan Streeter of Thoughts on Things and Stuff to dissect the Saturday morning session of October 2020 General Conference!  General Conference has never been so much fun!!!

Dr. David Bokovoy brings his formidable knowledge of Bible studies and textual analysis to bear on the Book of Abraham !  How does the Book of Abraham hold up?  This is one you don’t want to miss!!!

In this wide-ranging interview, Dr. David Bokovoy talks about his experience trying to build a bridge between contemporary Bible scholarship and the Religious Education Department at BYU.  *SPOILER ALERT*   BYU wasn’t interested. Closing music by The Dead Cowboys!

This is Lecture 10 in my twelve-lecture Institute class on Defending the Faith taught at the University of Texas at Austin in the spring semester of 1989.  In this class I show how to use the Bible to confute Born Again Christians who believe salvation is by grace alone!

Tonight we sit down with Born Again Mormon superstar Shawn McCraney and find out what makes him tick!  This interview packs a lot into 90-minutes! (***Listener Warning for some mildly salty language–Shawn is a bad influence on me.)

RFM gives a rundown of the fallout apologists have been experiencing due to the Robert Ritner interviews!  On top of that, three examples are given of the games apologists play in defending the Book of Abraham!

Many Latter-day Saints are leaving the Church over issues relating to the Book of Abraham.  In this special fireside, I talk about the most commonly heard criticisms of the Book of Abraham, and how faithful LDS scholars respond to them.  This fireside is a must-listen for anyone with questions about the Book of Abraham.

Dr. Kerry Muhlestein, BYU Egyptologist apologist for the Book of Abraham, has finally responded to our invitation to have him and Dr. John Gee on the podcast to show Dr. Robert Ritner where he is wrong.  Unfortunately, Dr. Muhlestein and Dr. Gee have declined the invitation.  Not because they are scared, mind you, but because that is not the way “true scholars” discuss things...