In part 1 of a multi-part series, Dr. Richard Bushman, the world's foremost scholar on Joseph Smith and early Mormonism and the author of Rough Stone Rolling, discusses his early years--including his struggle with faith as a Harvard undergraduate, his decision to get a PhD in history, and his experiences with Leonard Arrington, Dialogue and Sunstone.  He also discusses the role of candid, honest history within the modern LDS Church.

047: Richard Bushman Part 1 -- Experiences as a Faithful Mormon Historian

Mormon Stories podcast, created by John Dehlin, was retired in 2007.  MormonThink.com is re-posting this podcast, along with John's other works, for those who still want/need the information.  Because John released all of his podcast episodes with a Creative Commons license, we are within our full legal rights to post them here.

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I served an LDS mission in Guatemala in the late 1980s. As my mission progressed, we began to average over 700 baptisms per month, with some companionships baptizing over 40 in one month. When I tried to talk with my mission president about the issue--it got messy. Today we claim 12+ million in the Church, but truth be told, less than 1/2 of them actually consider themselves Mormon....and thus the reason why activity rates are so closely guarded.

001: Kiddie Baps...My Mission Experience in Guatemala

David O. McKay presented a dramatic contrast to his predecessors: an athletic, movie-star-handsome, clean-shaven figure who often wore a white double-breasted suit; contrasted to the dark-suited, bearded polygamists (or, in the case of George Albert Smith, son of a polygamist) who preceded him as Church President ever since Joseph Smith. In an age prior to professional image-makers, he instinctively grasped the importance of appearance, and coupled it to the substance of a professional educator to become an icon of Mormonism whose persona did much to change the negative image of the Church in much of the world.

002: Gregory Prince and "David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism"

003: Gregory Prince, David O. McKay and the Blacks/Priesthood Issue"

004: Inside the Mind of an Anti-Mormon

The Mason/Mormon connection consistently ranks as a top 10 issues for those who are struggling with, or who have left the LDS Church.  Greg Kearney, a lifelong, multi-generational Mormon and Master Mason, discusses the history of Masonry, how it became associated with the LDS Church, and why this association is a positive, and not a negative one.

047: Richard Bushman Part 1 -- Experiences as a Faithful Mormon Historian

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