Evangelical Steven Pynakker interviews Rebecca Janzen author of "Liminal Sovereignty: Mennonites and Mormons in Mexican Culture". This episode is kind of an introduction for many of my viewers to Rebecca and her fascinating work. It is part of my "up and comer's" Thursday summer interview series. In the program Rebecca details the struggles Mennonites and Mormons have had with the Mexican government, post- Revolutionary land reform, the threat of drug cartels, how these communities are viewed and portrayed in the media, and some unusual Mennonite funeral practices.

Link to purchase

Evangelical Steven Pynakker interviews Mark Staker co-author of "Joseph and Lucy Smith's Tunbridge Farm: An Archaeology and Landscape Study". In this episode we discuss Mark and co-author Donald Enders archaeological expedition of Tunbridge Farm. Joseph and Lucy Smith cleared and farmed the land from 1791-1805. This episode is a bit a of a prelude to an upcoming show in which Mark will reveal the results of a soil study that will indicated what type of pollen it contains. This will enable us to know what type of crops they planted when they farmed it. Mark expects to have the results next month. So he will come back on and my viewers will be among the first to know the results! Stay tuned. Special thanks to Rick Bennett of Gospel Tangents for doing a last minute edit for me on this video.

Link to purchase book

Steven Pynakker interviews fellow Evangelicals Paul Nurnberg and Matthew Eklund. They are the hosts of the Podcast "Outer Brightness". Both were faithful LDS and they served successful overseas missions. I like their podcast because it is both an outreach to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a forum for open, civil dialogue. This is a bit of a prelude to the 2 part interview of me on their podcast. In this episode we discuss their time in the LDS Church, leaving Mormonism, and the history of their podcast. We then conclude with a lively book discussion of Richard Bushman's "Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling". When the 2 part interview of "yours truly" is posted I will provide a link here in the description.

Here is a link to Part 1: https://www.outerbrightnesspodcast.co... And Part 2: https://www.outerbrightnesspodcast.co...

Link to purchase Rough Stone Rolling

Evangelical Steven Pynakker has a "late night" conversation with Daniel Stone who is the author of "William Bickerton: Forgotten Latter Day Prophet". He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. It is a Restorationist Pentecostal church, and is also referred to as the "Church of Alma". In this very comprehensive conversation, we take a deep dive into William Bickerton and the Church he founded. There really isn't a whole lot online about this unique organization. I felt it was important to have this long form interview for the benefit of my audience and future researchers. Daniel was a real pleasure to have on. We could have easily gone another hour!

Link to purchase book

Link to Church of Jesus Christ's Website

In this fairly wide ranging conversation, Jaxon Washburn and Steven Pynakker have a productive dialogue between one another. Jaxon was raised in a faithful LDS household until his mother became a "Non-Denominational" Christian when he was 12. After that, he would attend both an Evangelical church and his LDS ward. He was exposed to the Protestant concept of Grace, and that would later influence his theology. Other topics covered include: the Cross, Heavenly Mother, the treatment of the LGBTQ community in the Church, and woman and the Priesthood. Jaxon also relates his experiences with Hyper-Calvinists Jeff Durbin and James White. The conversation finishes up with him discussing his work and involvement with the Armenian community and it's culture.

Link to Jaxon's Blog "The Apotheosis Narrative":

This is the first episode of a special series where I highlight "up and coming" YouTubers, podcasters, authors, scholars, and influencers of the Restoration. My first interview is with Robert who is a YouTuber who has a channel called "Book of Mormon Editions". He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In each episode he gives a detailed review of various editions of the Book of Mormon. Did you know that there are many editions printed by groups other than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Community of Christ? He reviews editions from various groups and gives insightful information. This is a favorite channel of mine and it was really cool to get to know Robert and have him on. Check out his channel!

Here is a link to a cool "shoutout" video he made about my channel

Evangelical Steven Pynakker has a very interesting conversation with Richard Bushman. He is the Gouverneur Morris Professor of History, Emeritus, at Columbia University. Dr. Bushman is best know for his groundbreaking work "Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling". In this episode we talk about the growth and development of early Mormonism, Evangelical and LDS dialogue, Leonard Arrington, and his ongoing project The Center for Latter-day Saint Arts. It was a real privilege to be able to interview one of the leading historians of Mormonism and American Religion. Special thanks to fellow podcaster (Pod of Thunder) Nick Jones for fixing the audio.

Here is a link to purchase Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling

Link for The Center for Latter-day Saint Arts

Steven Pynakker interviews Bruce Van Orden an emeritus professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University. In this open and forthright interview we discuss the tension of being a faithful member and grappling with Church history, the challenge of Jerald and Sandra Tanner, religious trauma and PTSD, and the "November Policy". Watch as an Evangelical an a Restorationist discuss faith verses works and the future of interfaith dialogue. I want to thank Bruce for coming on at such short notice. Soon we will be taping another interview in which we will discuss his book "We'll Sing and We'll Shout: The Life and Times of W.W. Phelps".

Link to purchase his book

Evangelical Steven Pynakker interviews John Hamer, a minister in the Community of Christ (formerly know as the RLDS). In this special episode John talks about growing up LDS, questioning his faith in Highschool, and his time spent as a student at BYU. For a period of time John pretty much left his faith, and then returned to the Restoration via Fawn Brody! A pretty in depth dive into John's theology is also explored. What does a metaphorical approach to Scripture look like? Is a more nuanced view of Church history a better approach in a post-modern world? These and many other topics are addressed in this fascinating episode.

A link to Toronto Centre Place: https://www.centreplace.ca/

In part 3 of this very revealing series, author Matthew Harris discusses the final decades of Ezra Taft Benson. Did you know that there was a purge of John Birch Society members and other right wingers in the Church during Benson's Presidency? In this very interesting final episode, Evangelical Steven Pynakker and Matthew delve into the fight that the Church Bureaucracy had with right-wing elements in the church. Conversations that the author had with the John Birch Society President John F. McManus are detailed as well as Benson's relationship with Militia leader and Presidential candidate Bo Gritz. This was a wonderful series of interviews and I was honored to have Matthew on.

Link to Purchase book: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=watchman+o...