Mormon Stories Podcast

Mormon Stories Donors,

We are super excited to let you know that we have organized a special event for you next week in Salt Lake City.

Beloved Mormon podcaster Radio Free Mormon (RFM) (Radio Free Mormon podcast and Mormonism Live Podcast) will be in town, and so we have scheduled an intimate evening with him...and YOU (our beloved donors)!

The event will be held on April 26th at 7pm in American Fork, Utah.  There will be some treats, RFM will be preparing some remarks, and then we will invite you to ask RFM any question you want.

It should be a fun evening, and most importantly, it will be your/our chance to let RFM know how much he has meant to you/us over the years.

Please join us if you are able. Seating will be limited (150 max).  Cost is $15/person and proceeds from the event will go to cut RFM a big fat check to thank him for his amazing work.  You can register for the event here.  The exact address for the event will be emailed to you register, a few days before the event.

We hope to see some of you there!  And thank you for donating to support Mormon Stories Podcast.  We couldn't do it without you.

Sincerely,

John Dehlin and the Mormon Stories Podcast Team

Join Margi and John for our next episode of Thrive Stories this coming Tuesday at noon (MST). Come listen and participate in the conversation as we talk to Holly Ashton Wallin. Holly will talk about the role of passion in her life, beginning as a young girl where she was a dreamer, a lover and a fighter. She will take us through how she lost herself along the way--and with that, her passion. Holly eventually came to experience the loss of her marriage, her faith, her career path, and her health. Witness how Holly rebuilt her identity and her life after loss by connecting back to that fire within. What does it mean to live “a life on fire?” Join us to find out!

Thrive Stories is a new podcast series where Margi (alongside John or Jenn) will be interviewing a member of the community twice per month. The interviews will be shorter (1-2 hours), story-based, but will be focused on a particular aspect of healing and growth AFTER a Mormon faith crisis (thus the THRIVE name). They will happen on Tuesdays at noon (MST). Some examples of areas of thriving include: Family Relationships, Healthy Boundaries, Finding Community, Finding Meaning/Purpose, Dealing with Grief/Death, Religion after Mormonism, Health Sexuality, Parenting, Improving Physical Health, Identity, Health Marriage/Relationships, Secular Spirituality, Word of Wisdom 2.0, and Women Finding Their Own Voice after Mormonism.

If you would like to nominate someone you know who would be a great candidate for a THRIVE interview, please nominate them (or yourself) here.

Show Notes:

• John Gottman - Marriage book- The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work
• Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples: Third Edition
• Esther Perel - The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity
• Brene Brown - Braving the Wilderness
• A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
• Falling upward by Richard Rohr
• Mormon Stories Thrive interview with Dave

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We are 100% donor funded! Please click HERE to donate and keep this content coming!

Click here to donate monthly: $10 $25 $50

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*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

John John, Jenn, and special guest Aimee Heffernan as we check in with Natasha Helfer on the one year anniversary of her excommunication from the Mormon church, largely in response to her work as a licensed sex therapist to Mormons and ex-Mormons.

Show Notes:

• Natasha Helfer's Pre-Excommunication reflections on Mormon Stories
• Live Vigil at Natasha's Excommunication
• Natasha's Post-Excommunication Debrief on Mormon Stories
• Ward-less: A Post-Mormon Field Guide podcast with Aimee Heffernan
• "My Official Stance on Masturbation," by Natasha Helfer, August 6, 2012
• "I Am Not Broken," Natasha Parker, Thrive 2019
• "To Young Men Only," Boyd K. Packer's 1976 General Conference talk, in which he uses an extended metaphor comparing male genitals to a "Little Factory" to discourage masturbation
• Natasha's first interview on Mormon Stories, in which she was still afraid to talk openly about masturbation
• Feminist Mormon Housewives
• Natasha interviews Jennifer Finlayson-Fife on Mormon Mental Health podcast
• American Association of Pediatrics' position that masturbation is normative childhood behavior
• The 1982 letter from the First Presidency, calling oral sex "an unnatural, impure, or unholy practice;" this position was later officially reversed, but is still widely believed among members
• "The Lord's Standard of Morality," by Tad R. Callister, Ensign, March 2014
• "Morality? We can do much better than this..." Natasha's response to Callister condemning masturbation as "self-abuse"
• Mormon Mental Health podcast
• "We can all be more civil on LGBT issues, Mormon leader says," by Peggy Fletcher-Stack, Salt Lake Tribune, January 30, 2015
• "Elder Oaks…stop it!" Natasha's response to Dallin H. Oaks on LGBT issues
• "Come Follow Me," Russell M. Nelson, General Conference, April 2019, also known as the "Sad Heaven" talk
• "LDS Church has great power, which it has wielded irresponsibly," A letter to the prophet from a mental health practitioner, Salt Lake Tribune, April 21, 2019
• "Your Divine and Eternal Destiny," Dale G. Renlund addressing the Women's Session of General Conference, April 2022
• Sonia Johnson and Kate Kelly on Mormon Land podcast
• Jennifer Finlayson-Fife discusses Natasha's excommunication on Mormon Land
• Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism by Maxine Hanks
• "Teaching Adolescents from Twelve to Eighteen Years," A Parent's Guide, Ch 5
• Year of Polygamy with Lindsay Hansen Park
• Natasha's new project and website
• Symmetry Solutions
• Mormon Mental Health Association

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We are 100% donor funded! Please click HERE to donate and keep this content coming!

Click here to donate monthly: $10 $25 $50

—————

MSP on Spotify

MSP on Apple Podcasts

MSP Blog

Instagram

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Discord

 

Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

In this interview, Sandra Tanner talks about her journey with the book of Mormon from an LDS member who believed the Book of Mormon to be scripture, to a born-again Christian who continued to use the Book of Mormon as scripture, to her doubts about the Book of Mormon, to her ultimate rejection of the book as Scripture, and finally to her later work as a critic of the book.

Show Notes:

• Jerald and Sandra Tanner: Their Story by Ronald V. Huggins, coming from Signature Books in 2022
• "Jerald and Sandra Tanner: The Early Years," on Mormon Stories
• "Reflections on Mark Hofmann and Murder Among the Mormons," with Sandra Tanner on Mormon Stories
• "Mormon Polygamy Apologetics," with Sandra Tanner on Mormon Stories
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
  • Part 3
• "Pauline Hancock and Her 'Basement Church,'" by Jason R. Smith,The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, April 2022
• Transcript of the 1826 "Glass-Looker" Trial, State of New York v. Joseph Smith, Jr.
• The Tanners’ "Dear Friend" Letter, explaining why they were resigning from the LDS Church, reproduced in full in "Comments on the Book of Mormon Witnesses: A Response to Jerald and Sandra Tanner," by Matthew Roper, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, July 1993
• A New Witness for Christ in America: Evidence of Divine Power in the "Coming Forth" of the Book of Mormon by Francis W. Kirkham
• The Golden Bible: Or, The Book of Mormon, Is It From God? by Rev. M.T. Lamb
• Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner
• Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible by Jerald Tanner
• Studies of the Book of Mormon by B.H. Roberts, a compilation of manuscripts that suggest some General Authorities knew as early as 1922 that the Church's truth claims had significant factual problems
• View of the Hebrews, or the Tribes of Israel in America by Ethan Smith
• Archives of Salt Lake City Messenger, published by the Tanners since 1974
• Mormonism Unveiled: The Life and Confession of John D. Lee
• Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide by Grant Hardy

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We are 100% donor funded! Please click HERE to donate and keep this content coming!

Click here to donate monthly: $10 $25 $50

—————

MSP on Spotify

MSP on Apple Podcasts

MSP Blog

Instagram

Patreon

TikTok

Discord

 

Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Legendary researcher Sandra Tanner joins us for our third episode on Joseph Smith's polygamy and how the LDS church deals with this controversial subject. In this final episode, we will discuss the final part of Doctrine and Covenants 132, which tends to go unnoticed by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Follow along with textual references to Doctrine and Covenants 132

Show Notes:

• "Doctrine and Covenants 129-132 with Dr. Kate Holbrook," on followHIM podcast
• An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer
• "Preguntas y Respuestas con Elder Bednar para JAS" (English audio), in which Bednar says Mormons do not have free agency because when they got baptized they agreed to follow their church leaders and God
• Full text of "The Happiness Letter," Joseph Smith's Alleged 1842 Letter to Nancy Rigdon
• "Your Divine and Eternal Destiny," Dale G. Renlund addressing the Women's Session of General Conference, April 2022
• The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men by Carol Lynn Pearson
• Carol Lynn Pearson on Mormon Stories
• Carol Lynn on Mormon Stories discusses her book, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy
• The Black Menaces on TikTok
• The Black Menaces on Instagram
• Upcoming Events at Mormon Stories
• Lost and Found Club
• Utah Lighthouse Ministry

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We are 100% donor funded! Please click HERE to donate and keep this content coming!

Click here to donate monthly: $10 $25 $50

—————

MSP on Spotify

MSP on Apple Podcasts

MSP Blog

Instagram

Patreon

TikTok

Discord

 

Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Cara Santa Maria is a Los Angeles Area Emmy and Knight Foundation Award winning journalist, science communicator, television personality, author, and podcaster. Cara is the science correspondent on National Geographic's popular television series Brain Games as well as the creator and host of the weekly science podcast Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria. In addition to co-hosting the long-standing Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast, she also coauthored the Skeptics Guide to the Universe book.

Cara was also raised Mormon. This is her story.

*Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of suicidal ideation. If you need help, reach out:

• National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800) 273-8255
• Trevor Project Hotline for LGBTQ+ Youth (866) 488-73876

Show Notes:

• National Geographic's Brain Games
• Talk Nerdy podcast with Cara Santa Maria
• Talk Nerdy
• The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast
• The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake by Steven Novella, et. al.
• Bill Maher "unbaptizes" Mitt Romney's dead father-in-law
• Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• "Existentialism is a Humanism," lecture by Jean-Paul Satre in 1946
• Cara's Instragram
• Cara's Facebook
• Cara's Twitter
• Godawful Movies

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We are 100% donor funded! Please click HERE to donate and keep this content coming!

Click here to donate monthly: $10 $25 $50

—————

MSP on Spotify

MSP on Apple Podcasts

MSP Blog

Instagram

Patreon

TikTok

Discord

 

Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Over the last decade the Mormon Church has officially admitted that Joseph Smith and his family believed in and practiced treasure-seeking using folk magic and occult methods. However, many people overlook how these illegal and disreputable practices are closely related to the stories that Joseph would tell later, including the creation of the Book of Mormon. In this episode, Mike from LDS Discussions talks to us about Joseph Smith’s treasure digging and how it relates to the Book of Mormon story and the Church as a whole.   LDS Discussions Essay: Treasure Digging   Episode Show Notes

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LDS Discussions is made possible by generous donors!
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PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

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Join us for part 5 of our interview with Steven Pynakker, host of Mormon Book Reviews.

Show notes:

• Steven Pynakker
• Podcast: Mormon Book Reviews
• Ryan White - AIDS
• Aids Quilt at Washington Monument
• Exodus International - The Downfall of the Ex-Gay Movement
• New Evidence That Demands Verdict
• MS Podcast episode with David Bokovoy
• MS Podcast episode with Bart Ehrman
• A letter to a Christian nation book
• Shawn McCraney Podcast
• MS Podcast episode with Shawn McCraney
• MS Podcast episode with Chris Thomas

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We are 100% donor funded! Please click HERE to donate and keep this content coming!

Click here to donate monthly: $10 $25 $50

—————

MSP on Spotify

MSP on Apple Podcasts

MSP Blog

Instagram

Patreon

TikTok

Discord

 

Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Join us for part 4 of our interview with Steven Pynakker, host of Mormon Book Reviews.

Show notes:

• Steven Pynakker
• Podcast: Mormon Book Reviews
• David Hall
• Chris Thomas

—————

We are 100% donor funded! Please click HERE to donate and keep this content coming!

Click here to donate monthly: $10 $25 $50

—————

MSP on Spotify

MSP on Apple Podcasts

MSP Blog

Instagram

Patreon

TikTok

Discord

 

Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Join us for part 3 of our interview with Steven Pynakker, host of Mormon Book Reviews.

Show notes:

• Steven Pynakker
• Podcast: Mormon Book Reviews
• John Hamer
• BH Roberts
• Dan McClellan TikTok
• A Pentecostal reads the Book of Mormon
• MS Paul H. Dunn Episode (Lynn Packer)
• Steven’s episode on reviewing BH Roberts on Mormon Book Reviews
• MS Episodes with Thomas Murphy
• MS Brent Metcalfe Episode
• MS Fawn Brodie episode with Newell Bringhurst

—————

We are 100% donor funded! Please click HERE to donate and keep this content coming!

Click here to donate monthly: $10 $25 $50

—————

MSP on Spotify

MSP on Apple Podcasts

MSP Blog

Instagram

Patreon

TikTok

Discord

 

Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117