Many people don’t realize just how many Mormons were part of the fated Donner/Reed tragedy. In this episode, Lindsay and Bryan discuss the horrible tale of travel gone awry. Shownotes: Donate to Sunstone and the History Podcast (leave us a note in the comment section to say hi!) Register for the Sunstone Summer Symposium The …

The story goes that anyone who leaves the Good Ship Zion comes back all wet and half drowned. But in this episode, Stephen Carter argues that this is short-sighted, and that a journey away from the ship may actually be the best way to save both yourself and the ship.

Mormonism used to pride itself on how different it was from other Christian sects. But it has since become part and parcel of the Evangelical movement. How did this happen? In this episode, Stephen Carter looks at recent LDS history through Kristen Du Mez’s book “Jesus and John Wayne: How Evangelicalism Corrupted a Faith and …

Women were an integral part of the Mormon Battalion story and Lindsay and Bryan share their histories, including the story of a rogue group of women that braved the wild to avoid practicing polygamy. Shownotes: Donate to Sunstone and the History Podcast (leave us a note in the comment section to say hi!) Register for …

Walking into the forest means walking into the unknown. Reverend Patty Willis has done so many times in her life, and is about to do it again.

In this episode, Lindsay and Bryan discuss the history of the only United States military regiment ever mustered specifically from a religious group: The Mormon Battalion. Shownotes: Donate to Sunstone and the History Podcast (leave us a note in the comment section to say hi!) Register for the Sunstone Summer Symposium Charisma Under Pressure: Joseph …

When the Proclamation on the Family says “gender,” what does it mean? Ted Lee makes a case that using the academic, rather than colloquial, definition of gender opens the way to fitting transgender people into the Plan of Salvation.

In these two hilarious and compelling dialogues by Theric Jepson, Mormon Socrates explores the theology behind transgender people and reproductive rights.

The third in a three-part miniseries where Bryan and Lindsay discuss the development of race in Mormon theology through a historical lens. Shownotes: Donate to Sunstone and the History Podcast (leave us a note in the comment section to say hi!) Register for the Sunstone Summer Symposium Charisma Under Pressure: Joseph Smith, American Prophet, 1831–1839 (Dan Vogel).  …

It’s hard to know how to respond when a favorite artist breaks one of you most cherished values. Starting with Erich Hatala Matthes’ book “Drawing the Line: What to Do with the Work of Immoral Artists from Museums to the Movies,” Stephen Carter explores some approaches to cancel culture and their surprising connections with Mormonism.