Mormon Stories Podcast

Have you ever wanted a credible explanation for how the Book of Mormon was created?

Steven Pynakker knows more about Mormonism and Mormon history than 99.9% of all Mormons…. combined. Join us today as Steven shares his views on how the Book of Mormon was created.

Show notes:

• Steven Pynakker
• Podcast: Mormon Book Reviews
• Kathlene Melanocus - Secret Combinations: Evidence of Early Mormon Counterfeiting
• Alexander Campbell review of the Book of Mormon
• Thomas Payne
• Grant Palmer
• Johnathan Edwards “Natural Man is an enemy to God”
• Adam Clarke: Biblical translation
• William Morgan - Wrote exposé of Masons
• Thomas Murphy - Interview
• Dan Vogel
• CES Letter
• The Late War 1812
• Ethan Smith - View of the Hebrews
• The Glass Looker - Mark Elwood
• Benny Hinn
• Sally Chase
• Luman Walters
• John Hamer
• William Davis’ Theory
• Visions in the Seer Stone - William L. Davis
• Mormon Think timeline
• Letter for my wife
• Mike Brown Essays & Timeline

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Steven Pynakker, host of the Mormon Book Reviews YouTube channel, shares with us his story of how he gained an avid interest in Mormonism growing up as an Evangelical Christian.

Show notes:

• Steven Pynakker
• Podcast: Mormon Book Reviews
• Gospel Tangents Podcast
• A Pentecostal reads the Book of Mormon
• MS Chris Thomas Episode
• Full Gospel Business Men Association
• The late great planet earth: (1988) 
• Godmakers Cartoon
• Ed Decker MS Interview
• No Man Knows My History
• Martha Beck - Leaving the Saints
• Encyclopedia of Mormonism
• Gospel Tangents
• Don Bradley: Lost 116 pages
• Palmer: The incomparable Christ
• Richard Bushman

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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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*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Since the founding of Mormonism in 1830 there has been a core belief in the imminent 2nd coming of Jesus Christ (thus the "Latter-day Saints" portion of the Mormon church's official name). Within modern Mormonism over the past few decades there has been an increasing trend towards "end times" preparedness - wherein ultra-orthodox Mormons begin preparing for the 2nd coming of Jesus by selling their 401k's and retirement plans, moving to rural areas, attending "Prepper" conferences like "Preparing a People," building fortresses, stockpiling food/weapons/ammunition/tents/trailers, denying traditional health care to children, etc., and preparing (i.e., "prepping") for the arrival of Jesus. This movement has been at best benign (for a few), but for many has led to extreme behaviors, divided families, financial ruin, a host of emerging "prophets" (e.g., charlatans) who prey on this mentality (e.g., Julie Rowe), and in some cases murder (e.g., Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow story).

Emma was raised in a Mormon Prepper household. In Part 3 of our 3-part series with Emma, she discusses "coming out" as lesbian while as BYU student, and how her emerging LGBTQ identity, along with family rejection and problems with her family's "Prepper" beliefs, led her to lose faith in the Mormon church, and to become alienated from her orthodox Mormon family.

Show Notes:

• "LGBTQ students at BYU light up the 'Y' in rainbow colors," by Courtney Tanner, Salt Lake Tribune, March 5, 2021
• "A Bishop's Family Questions Mormonism," Kelly and Kayla Mikesell on Mormon Stories
• Cultish podcast
• "Coming Out as a Non-Believer to Family Members," Gift of the Mormon Faith Crisis
• Encircle: Utah Resources for LGBTQ+ Youth
• "Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Urges BYU to Embraces Its Uniqueness, Stay True to the Savior," the August 2021 speech at BYU, in which Holland urges "musket fire" in defense of the school's current standards under pressure for equal rights for LGBTQ+ students and staff
• The Out Foundation
• "Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus," Quentin L. Cook, General Conference October 2016, in which he warns against the "stumbling block" of "expensive preparation for end-of-days scenarios"
• Upcoming Events with the Open Stories Foundation

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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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MSP on Spotify

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Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

In Part 2 of our 3-part interview with Emma about being raised as a Mormon "prepper," Emma discusses what it was like to serve an LDS mission in the Philippines, which included a corrupt wherein missionaries were encouraged to baptize impoverished Filipinos at any cost and by any  means necessary, largely out of a desire to inflate mission statistics. See Parts 1 and 3 of this series with Emma to learn about the Mormon "Prepper" movement.

Show Notes:

• "I-Thou vs I-It Conversions: The Mormon 'Baseball Baptism' Era," by D. Michael Quinn, Sunstone Magazine, December 1993
• "Dr. Ted Lyon on LDS Church Change, Latin American Missions, LDS Membership Statistics, and Thoughtful Faith" on Mormon Stories
• "Kiddie Baptisms? My Mission Experience in Guatemala," John Dehlin on Mormon Stories
• "Stories from a CES Director, Mission President, and Trustee for Deseret Trust Company," Roger Hendrix on Mormon Stories
• "How a Mormon Mission President Lost His Testimony," Roger Hendrix on Mormon Stories
• "Tithing and the LDS/Mormon Church," Understanding Mormonism
• Church Membership Information for the Philippines
• "New Temples Veil Mormonism's Decline," Simon Southerton on Mormon Stories

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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

Since the founding of Mormonism in 1830 there has been a core belief in the imminent 2nd coming of Jesus Christ (thus the "Latter-day Saints" portion of the Mormon church's official name).  Within modern Mormonism over the past few decades there has been an increasing trend towards "end times" preparedness - wherein ultra-orthodox Mormons begin preparing for the 2nd coming of Jesus by selling their 401k's and retirement plans, moving to rural areas, attending "Prepper" conferences like "Preparing a People," building fortresses, stockpiling food/weapons/ammunition/tents/trailers, denying traditional health care to children, etc., and preparing (i.e., "prepping") for the arrival of Jesus.  This movement has been at best benign (for a few), but for many has led to extreme behaviors, divided families, financial ruin, a host of emerging "prophets" (e.g., charlatans) who prey on this mentality (e.g., Julie Rowe), and in some cases murder (e.g., Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow story).

Emma was raised in a Mormon Prepper household.  In Part 1 of our 3 part series with Emma, she discusses what it was like to grow up in a Mormon Prepper household.

Show Notes:

• Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
• "Tara Westover, Author of Educated: A Memoir" on Mormon Stories
• "Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right" with Matt Harris on Mormon Stories
  Part 1
  Part 2
• "The Mormon Influences on Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow" on Mormon Stories
• Visions of Glory: One Man's Astonishing Account of the Last Days by John Pontius
• Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie
• Doctrines of Salvation: Sermons and Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith by Bruce R. McConkie
• "Is the Mormon Church in Decline? An Insider Report" on Mormon Stories
• "Rodney Meldrum: Founder of the Book of Mormon Heartland Model" on Mormon Stories
• "Rodney Meldrum and the Book of Mormon Heartland Model" on Mormon Stories
• Saturday's Warrior
• "Examining Mormon Mind Control with Luna Lindsey Corbden" on Mormon Stories
• "Entrata founder who accused 'Jews' of Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy steps down from software company's board," by Bryan Schott, Salt Lake Tribune, January 4, 2020

—————

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

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Patreon

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Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Join Margi, John, and Gerardo for our next episode of Thrive Stories this coming Tuesday at noon (MST). Come listen and participate in the conversation as we talk to Jake Bellenfant. Find out how Jake has processed the damaging experiences of his youth and young adulthood growing up gay in the church and how he has reclaimed his own mental health. In addition, listen to how Jake has navigated grief and loss in witnessing both the death of his mother and the loss of his community. Jake is now a mental health advocate, studying at the #1 ranked Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program at Vanderbilt University. He aspires to improve the mental health of populations across the lifespan and in marginalized groups that are struggling with mental illness-- particularly those who have suffered the mental health effects of undue influence, high demand belief systems, abusive family dynamics, and religious trauma.

Thrive Stories is a new podcast series where Margi (alongside John and Carah) 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:

• THRIVE story application form link
• Prop 8
• Podcast (icarly) Jennette McCurdy
• Empty Inside Podcast
• Kolby Sorensen MS Episode
• Combating Cult Mind Control
• Steven Hassan website
• Mind Over Mood
• Utah Crisis Line
• Mindfulness Meditation
• Steven Hassan - Influence Continuum Podcast
• Recovering Agency
• Documentaries on cult control and mental control:
  • Bad Vegan - Netflix
  • Wild Wild Country - Netflix
  • The Matrix - HBO Max, Peacock TV & Redbox
  • Pleasantville - Prime Video, Vudu Movie & TV Store, Redbox., Apple TV
  • Tangled - Disney +
  • Holy Hell - Amazon Prime
  • The Invention of Lying - Prime Video, Vudu Movie & TV Store, VUDU, Apple TV or Redbox
  • Smallfoot - Prime Video, VUDU, Vudu Movie & TV Store or Redbox
  • The Vow - Hulu

—————

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

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Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

We've whipped up another epic episode discussing the context left out of LDS church curriculum around early Mormon polygamy. Sandra Tanner joins Mormon Stories as a special guest to address comments made on the followHIM podcast by church historian Kate Holbrook. Join John, Sandra, and Gerardo live Monday at 4:30pm MT.

Show Notes:

• "Doctrine and Covenants 129-132 with Dr. Kate Holbrook," on followHIM
• followHIM podcast with Hank Smith and John Bytheway
• Full text of "The Happiness Letter," Joseph Smith's Alleged 1842 Letter to Nancy Rigdon
• "A Study in Religious Manipulation," Jonathan Streeter on "The Happiness Letter"
• "Nancy Rigdon and the Happiness Letter," on Mormon Discussion podcast
• Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
• "Kingdom Come," by David Van Biema, Time, June 24, 2001
• A Woman's View, Helen Mar Kimball Whitney's Journals
• "Joseph Smith and Other Men's Wives," by Dan Vogel
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
  • Part 3
• Full court transcript of the "Temple Lot Case"
• "'Warts and all' in Smith biography," Deseret News, October 1, 2005 
• Joseph Smith's Polygamy by Brian Hales
• Let's Talk About Polygamy by Brittany Nash
• "Polygamy and the Church's Past," Brittany Chapman Nash on All-In podcast
• "Rebuking Iniquity," 1856 Brigham Young address threatening to divorce his wives if they didn't stop "whining,"Journal of Discourses Vol. 4
• In Heaven as It Is on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death by Samuel Brown
• In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith by Todd Compton
• "For Eternity Alone," a poem by Helen Mar Kimball in which "for time" may mean she agreed to be sealed to Joseph, only to find out later that she was expected to have sex with him
• "The Joseph Smith-Sylvia Sessions Plural Sealing: Polyandry or Polygyny?" by Brian Hales, Mormon Historical Studies, April 2013
• Elder Jeffrey R. Holland at Sisters Devotional in Lima, Peru, in January 2020
• Utah Lighthouse Ministry

—————

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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MSP on Spotify

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Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Join us for Part 3 of our interview with Rodney Meldrum, wherein we discuss his beliefs regarding the Book of Mormon Heartland model.

Show Notes:

• Steven Hawkings
• Ancient Society - Lewis Henry MorganRodney Meldrum Book
• Jonathan Neville
• Camorah
• Gospel Topic Essays
• Charles Darwin
•  Kay Godfrey
• Heartland Model
• Thomas Stuart Ferguson
• Gregory Smith’s article
• Hannah Stoddard
• Mormon Stories Interview with Thomas Murphy

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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

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Patreon

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Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Join Margi, John, and Carah for our next episode of Thrive Stories this coming Tuesday at noon (MST). Come listen and participate in the conversation as we discuss sexuality, body confidence, and owning our own stories from this minute forward. Faith has found deeper meaning and exhilaration in celebrating sexuality and body autonomy in her life after Mormonism.

Thrive Stories is a new podcast series where Margi (alongside John and Carah) 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:

• "Mindy Gledhill Discusses Her Mormon Faith Transition" on Mormon Stories
• "Broken Open," Margi Dehlin on Mormon Stories
• How to Change your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan
• Fantastic Fungi documentary
• Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships by Christopher Ryan
• Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski
• Faith's Facebook
• Faith's Instagram

—————

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

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Patreon

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Contact Us!

*[email protected]

*PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Join us for Part 1 of a multi-part series where John Larsen discusses Mormonism and logical fallacies. We talk about how fallacious arguments are natural to the human brain and how people in and outside of the Mormon church use bad reasons to keep their line of thinking alive.

Please support this content and having John Larsen on by donating to the Mormon Expressions fund HERE!

Show Notes:

• Encyclopedia of Mormonism
• Mormonism - What everyone needs to know By Terryl Givens
• Richard Bushman Rough Stone Rolling
• Rodney Meldrum Books
• Mormon Expression Donations
• Mormon Expression Podcast Link

—————

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