Naked Mormonism Podcast

On this episode, we wrap up our logical deconstruction of the Book of Abraham. We focus our petrifying gaze on the lds.org essay titled, ‘Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham,’ the LDS Church’s official statement on this challenging piece of Mormon scripture. Is it merely more apologetics, or is there something special with this essay compared with other apologetic arguments for the ‘historical plausibility’ of the Book of Abraham? No, it’s just delicately worded apologetics we discussed at length last week. What more can we learn from this essay? What would it look like for the Brighamite LDS Church to disavow an historically authentic interpretation of this book and other Mormon scripture? We use the RLDS as an analogue to muse on what the Church has to lose when it comes to moving into an unorthodox and progressive stance on scripture and doctrine. Links: Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham https://www.lds.org/topics/translation-and-historicity-of-the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng

On this episode, we jump into the logical deconstruction of the Book of Abraham. We deal with the apologetic arguments made to claim the Book of Abraham is ‘historically plausible’. Historically plausible doesn’t mean probable or authentic, so what does it really mean? Can one believe in a book of scripture if it’s ‘historically plausible,’ even if that plausibility flies in the face of the historicity of the documents being authentic? We take apologist arguments line by line and systematically break them down into their constituent parts, hopefully arming you, the listener, with an arsenal of arguments against the historicity of the Book of Abraham. Links: Historical Plausibility: The Historicity of the Book of Abraham as a Case Study https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/historicity-and-latter-day-saint-scriptures/3-historical-plausibility-historicity-book MormonThink Book of Abraham essay http://www.mormonthink.com/book-of-abraham-issues.htm#ref2 Stephen E. Thompson essay on BoA http://mit.irr.org/lds-egyptologis

On this episode, we dive into the actual content of the Book of Abraham in our continued examination of the history of the book. We read extracts of each chapter with a bit of study guide along the way. We cover Abraham’s story arc in the book, the deeper doctrines and teachings which come from the Book, and we examine some of the cultural milieu from whence the Book of Abraham arose. We cover Joseph’s rewriting of the Genesis creation narrative, racism within the books of Mormon canon, and the Hebrew root of ‘Kolob’. What would it take to get rid of some of these pieces of doctrine, canon, and theology in the modern Church? After that we’re joined by Lesley Butterfield of Unrighteous Dominion to discuss abuse in its many manifestations within the culture of the LDS Church. Links: Book of Abraham Study Guide https://www.lds.org/manual/the-pearl-of-great-price-student-manual/the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng Book of Abraham and Facsimiles http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/book-of-abraham-and-facsimil

On this episode, we begin a 3-part deconstruction of the Book of Abraham. We begin with the cultural realm captivated by Egyptian Antiquities with Napoleon’s discoveries and how such discoveries influenced minds in 19th-century America. We trace collections of papyri and artifacts being studied and exhibited all over the country right in Joseph Smith’s back yard. We briefly cover how the Church acquired the Egyptian Antiquities collection of mummies and papyri which later became the Book of Abraham as well as the translation process. After that we continue to follow the line of possession of the collection and how it came into the possession of the Brighamite LDS Church in November of 1967. After that we have on Jake Farr-Wharton of iFriends to talk about a recent article from the Sidney Morning Herald covering the Protect LDS Children campaign. Jake is followed by a brief “Angel’s Trumpet” segment about a recent headline from Mormon-newsroom.org telling of the Church’s apology for institutionalized and doctr

On this episode, we take the opportunity of Mother’s Day to examine the life and struggles of some of the most prominent mothers throughout Mormon history. From Lucy Mack Smith caring for her children in ill health, to Mother Elizabeth Ann Whitney providing a home for Joseph and Emma when they first arrived in Kirtland, Ohio, and well beyond to the women who provided the caretaking, medicine, midwifery, and social structure to build each of the Mormon kingdoms. The actors may get the awards, but everybody else actually making the show run on the back end are often relegated to the footnotes section. Let’s bring them to life again. After that, we have on J.R. Becker with his new children’s book about the skeptical side of death. How do we have these tough conversations with our children when they inevitably arise? J.R. shares some of his personal experience and inspiration which led to his writing the Annabelle & Aiden series. Links: Michael Quinn Newel K. Whitney Family https://www.lds.org/ensign/1978/1

On this episode, the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo is finally established. We walk through the set and setting of Nauvoo in early 1842 being built on nothing more than credit. Men are the providers, while women are tasked with home chores, raising children, and maybe doing a small money-making hobby on the side to keep the house afloat. We discuss women’s roles in 19th-century America and how early feminism caused small movements to rise long before the official beginning of the Women’s Era. We read through the meeting minutes of the foundation of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo when Emma Hale Smith was elected President. We speculate on Joseph’s intentions when it was first organized and opine on how stagnant and solidified Mormon doctrine today is in comparison to Nauvoo Mormonism of 1842. What does it take to change Mormon doctrine today? We invite on Kate Kelly to discuss her history with the Ordain Women movement.   Links:   Relief Society minute book http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary

On this episode, we dive into the world of Masonry and Mormonism. In 1842, Joseph ascended to Master Mason “at-sight,” and seven weeks later revealed his Temple Endowment ceremony. If we view more of Joseph Smith’s timeline, we find Masonry was highly influential on the prophet from his earliest years, long before the Book of Mormon ever entered the public sphere. Cheryl Bruno, who is currently writing a book on Mormonism and Masonry, joins us periodically to help us walk through the history of these intertwining fields of philosophy. Links: Episode Regius Poem http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/regius.html History of Freemasonry http://www.msana.com/historyfm.asp MormonThink on Masonry and Mormonism http://www.mormonthink.com/temple.htm#masons William Morgan affair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morgan_(anti-Mason)#Aftermath:_the_anti-Masonic_movement Free Masonry its Pretensions Exposed https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=FAsAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&p

On this episode, we wrap up 1841 and get into early 1842. Jo revises the Book of Mormon and calls it the most correct book of any on the earth. Ebenezer Robinson’s belief in the morality of monogamy likely conflicts with his position as chief editor of the Times and Season so Brigham Young has to step in and stop that from being a problem. The book of Abraham is finally published and we discuss how many wives Jo took in the rest of 1841 and 1842 alone, his most active year in building his harem. After that we discuss a recent Deseret News headline reporting on President Nelson’s sermon to a congregation of Mormons in Kenya. Links: Ebenzer Robinson “Not Enough Trouble” https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V19N03_141.pdf Ebenezer Robinson Autobiography https://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/ERobinson.html Manuscript History of Brigham Young https://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/MSHBY.html “The Return” edited by Ebenezer Robinson http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/RigWrit/M&A/Ret

On this episode, we talk General Conference of October, 1841. Some financial problems within the Church are dealt with when Bloody Brigham Young rips up an old bank note and gives it to the wind. Jo offers a profound sermon concerning Baptisms for the Dead and then proceeds to hold it hostage until Talos’ temple crown is complete. A schismatic murmurer is dealt with while we analyze Jo’s business model of Mormonism. After that, we air a portion of the most recent NaMo Home Evening hangout with the Mormon Leaks team and Sam Young of Protect LDS Children discussing the recent headlines in modern Mormonism.   Links: History of the Church Vol 4:25 https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/volume-4-chapter-25 The Choice by Susan Easton Black http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/transcripts/devotionals/2004_11_02_black.htm Show Links: Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com Twitter @NakedMormonism Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism/370003839816311 Patreon http://patreon.com/nakedmormonism Music by

On this episode, we take a step back and try to view the recent headlines with a little bit of historical perspective. From the current rape scandal, to general conference, to the Protect LDS Children march, we try to put historical context on everything which happened this past week. We’ll resume our historical timeline of early Mormonism next week, this week it’s just journalism surrounding the modern SLC Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Links: Stop Protecting Sexual Predators http://fox13now.com/2018/03/31/stop-protecting-sexual-predators-outburst-interrupts-lds-general-conference/ Protect LDS Children YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUSUZZatSX4OuckwPx3p_3g Jonathan Streeter Thinker of Thoughts https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVTCFh3uDMH0GZlwl1JOoHQ Oaks Christofferson on Trib Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIJ6gL_xc-M&t=556s General Conference Sunday Session https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENDfYD-4giE Russel M. Nelson ‘Ministering’ Priesthood Session https://www.yo

On this episode, we dive into the recent leak from Mormon Leaks of Jane Doe interviewing Joseph L. Bishop wherein she accuses him of sexually assaulting her. There’s a lot to parse out with this story as it broke at a crucial time ramping up to the Protect LDS Children March happening at the end of this month.   Links: PROTECT LDS CHILDREN MARCH THIS FRIDAY http://protectldschildren.org/ Joseph L. Bishop Jane Doe Audio Recording Leak https://mormonleaks.io/wiki/index.php?title=File:2017-Joseph_L_Bishop-Audio.mp3 Joseph L. Bishop Jane Doe Audio Transcript https://mormonleaks.io/wiki/documents/f/fd/2017-Joseph_L_Bishop-Transcript.pdf Joseph L. Bishop Timeline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bishop Official Church Statement of Jane Doe’s Sex Abuse Allegations https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/statement-former-mission-president-alleged-abuse-joseph-l-bishop-march-2018 Deseret News ‘Woman Levels Accusations Against Former MTC President’ https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900013479/woman-levels-accus

On this episode, we examine when Jo’s Mormonism became a business venture as much as a religion. It didn’t take long into Mormon history before God felt the need to interfere with Church finances. From that time forward, revelation after revelation centered on money just as much as ecclesiastical matters. We discuss the nuances of the land contracts Joseph Smith signed with Isaac Galland and Horace Hotchkiss to create a sanctuary for the Mormon refugees to settle. How does the Church’s business-centric roots impact its operation and motives today? Let’s find out…. Links: Lyndon Cook—Isaac Galland, Mormon Benefactor https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/isaac-galland-mormon-benefactor Show Links: Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com Twitter @NakedMormonism Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism/370003839816311 Patreon http://patreon.com/nakedmormonism Music by Jason Comeau http://aloststateofmind.com/ Show Artwork http://weirdmormonshit.com/ Legal Counsel http://patorrez.com/

On this episode, we dive into our historical timeline by examining the power of the press in early Mormonism. From the BoM to the Times and Seasons, the Mormons were publication fiends in absolute control of the information going out of Nauvoo through public literature. Ebenezer Robinson, Robert B. Thompson, and Don Carlos Smith work as editors for the Times and Seasons which goes off without a hitch until August 1841. Polygamy starts to be taught to various members of trusted Mormon elite without Common Consent of the average chapel-attending Mormon. After that, we have on Lydia Finch to discuss cults, how to identify them, and what mechanisms they use to exert control over their members. Stick around after the interview to hear about the upcoming Protect LDS Children march at the end of this month. Links: D&C 101 1835 ed. (monogamy revelation) http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835/259#facts Agnes Coolbrith Bio http://josephsmithspolygamy.org/plural-wives-overview/b

On this episode, we invite Sam Young of the Protect LDS Children campaign. Currently, Sam’s petition has over 16,000 signatures urging the LDS Church to change its policy concerning how Bishop’s interviews are conducted. As it currently stands, Bishops frequently ask sexually explicit questions during regular interviews in a child’s development, one-on-one, behind closed doors, perpetuating a cycle of shame and creating situations where sexual grooming is normalized. March 30, 2018 marks the public march to the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City to deliver the petition to the Church along with collected stories from people who’ve been affected by these invasive interviews. Please consider joining us in this grassroots movement, whether you simply sign the petition, share your personal story, or you’re able to make it to the march, Sam needs our support. This episode is longer than usual and it’s punctuated by stories which may cause some listeners to feel triggered; listener discretion advised. Links: C

On this episode, we cover the evolution of the first vision accounts spurred by an 1841 interview with Joseph’s brother, Reverend William Smith. From the 1829 revelation included as D&C 20 today, to the mid-1830s, to the John Whitmer history in 1838, to the History of the Church printed in the Times & Season in 1842, Joseph story looks less like an actual occurrence and more like a the coming-of-age story to a mythological figure. Was it God and Jesus who appeared, was it the angel Nephi, did the Sacred Grove even happen? These questions and more pose serious challenges to the claims of divine provenance of the young prophet. After that we have on Justin Clark from the Reason Revolution podcast to talk about the rise of the freethought movement in 19th and 20th-century America.   Links: 1832 First Vision Account http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-circa-summer-1832/1#full-transcript 1835/6 First Vision Account http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/journal-1835-1836/24 184

On this episode, Brigham Young and the Quorum of Apostles slowly trickle back into Nauvoo after their surprisingly successful mission trip in Europe. Joseph provides a divine revelation to Bloody Brigham, thus relieving him from any future mission trip duties. Zina Diantha and the entire Huntington family enters our timeline with a powerful visionary experience kicking off her belief in the Mormon religion. The Huntington family make their way to Kirtland, Missouri, and finally to Illinois in Spring 1839, where Joseph and Zina become rather friendly, in spite of Zina being half his age. Joseph’s proactive heroism earns him one more deed to add to the column leaving behind a legendary legacy. After that, we have on Michael Schaffer from the Reasonable Risk Podcast. Links: Manuscript History of Brigham Young https://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/MSHBY.html Dimick Huntington Constable Appointment https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/volume-4-chapter-15 Glossolalia http://www.slate.com/culture/2018/02/tips-to-offs

On this episode, we begin with an interview discussing 19th-century American politics. Our guest walks us through the rise of the Jacksonian Democratic party in the wake of the War of 1812 and walks us through how popular opinion and anti-Jackson sentiments led to the rise and fall of the Whig political party. Dovetailing off the discussion with Chris, we jump into Illinois politics and the formation of the Anti-Mormon political party to combat the growing power of the Saints in Nauvoo and Handcock County politics. The Mormons organize the Nauvoo Legion into a military parade for the 1841 4th of July celebration, which a number of politicians and dignitaries attended to show their support for the Mormons. Jo’s truly living the American dream. Links: Teacher’s History of U.S. Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/teachers-history-united-states-podcast-about-american/id1218263890?mt=2 Times and Season 1841 http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/9099 Abraham Lincoln Timeline ht

On this episode, we give Willard Richards his very own NaMo Nickname and read his whitewashed history of Jo’s arrest and court hearing in June of 1841. Jo had found some way to squirrel himself out from under nearly every legal trouble with which he was accused since he’d started the religion 11 years prior to this and his lawyers saw it fit to stick with the trend. We discuss how the trial of the prophet was seen by local periodicals and the Warsaw Signal’s reaction to the increasing political power wielded by Jo and the church. After that we have on Gottfried to discuss Isaiah in the Book of Mormon from a nuanced perspective and finish up with a very brief listener mail segment spurring a much-needed correction. Links: Missouri Joint Fact-Finding Committee report https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/archives/resources/findingaids/fulltext/f01_f01-06.pdf Stephen A. Douglas: The Political Apprenticeship by Reg Ankrom https://books.google.com/books?id=sLEGCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA167&lpg=PA167&dq=sheriff+thomas

On this episode, we pick up with giving Wilford Woodruff his very own NaMo nickname. After that we jump into the historical timeline following the Q12 on their journey from Liverpool to New York and the great tempests and near death they faced. Then we zoom back in to Nauvoo to see what Jo and friends were up to while the Quorum was on their way back. ThomAss Sharp fires some shots across the bow of the Mormons’ Times and Season, and the Mormons fire back. After that we’re joined by a children’s book author who offers some insight to his method of teaching children a love for science and skepticism. Links: Manuscript History of Brigham Young https://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/MSHBY.html Willard Richards http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/willard-richards http://famous-trials.com/carthrage/1254-chronology http://www.116pages.com/2017/11/willard-richards-prophecy.html Times and Season 1841 http://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v2n14.htm http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/NCMP1820-1846/i

On this episode, we give Hyrum Smith his long overdue NaMo nickname. We catch up with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as their mission in Europe draws to a close. They have been busy, baptizing and converting thousands of prospects into Mormons eager to move stateside to see how green the grass is in Nauvoo. Finally, on April 20, 1841 they boarded a ship headed for New York. After the history we bring on Ryan McKnight and Ethan Dodge for a Mormon Leaks Minute. Links: 19th-Century life in England http://www.localhistories.org/19thcent.html Manuscript History of Brigham Young https://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/MSHBY.html Mormon Leaks links https://mormonleaks.io/newsroom/2018/01/16/mormonleaks-releases-eight-documents-concerning-temple-administration/ https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2018/01/13/commentary-two-mormon-petitions-show-the-contrasting-priorities-of-members/ Show Links: Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com Twitter @NakedMormonism Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mor