How did Joseph Smith Jr.’s parents and their upbringings influence Mormonism? Join Lindsay and Bryan as they discuss the early cultures and ideas in New England that made an impact on the Smith family and Mormonism at large.

Liz Brown MacDonald interviewed fifteen young adults from rigidly religious homes who had left the LDS Church and was amazed by how many similarities their stories had. For example, the lengths the children would go to to cover up their disaffiliation with the church; the way their parents would blame themselves for the children’s disaffiliation; …

Displays showing the remains of Native Americans were pretty normal in LDS museums for many decades. In this episode, Thomas Murphy gives a brief history of how these displays came to be, who protested them, and why repatriation is finally starting to happen. This episode is from the 2021 Sunstone Symposium.

He was the murderous, rough-and-tumble police chief in Nauvoo, but Hosea Stout was also a lot more than that. Join Lindsay and Bryan as they talk about the history of early Mormon leader Hosea Stout.

Is an LGBTQ worldview more Mormon than Mormonism these days? After reading Blaire Ostler’s book “Queer Mormon Theology,” Stephen Carter thinks so. In this episode, Stephen follows some of Ostler’s concepts to discover some startling compatibilities between the LGBTQ and LDS worldviews.

A great majority of Latter-day Saints can trace their roots to immigrants who were part of the “Great gathering of Israel.” Immigration to Nauvoo was just the beginning, bringing thousands of Saints from all over Europe. They came by boat, wagon and steam. Join Lindsay and Bryan for a discussion of Nauvoo immigration and Joseph …

The LDS Church used to run on belief. But things have changed so drastically in the past five years that Stephen Carter believes only doubt can save it now. But it must be a very deep kind of doubt. One that would change the church forever.

While Mormonism was steamboats and celestial sealings over in Nauvoo, something else was afoot in old B-town. Bryan and Lindsay describe some of the lesser known Mormon settlements, including the Boston Mormons of the 1840s.

Mormonism has a long and interesting history with Masonry. The beginnings of those connections are as fascinating as the history itself. In this episode, Lindsay and Bryan discuss the complicated origins of Mormonism’s relationship to the masons.

Two famed Mormon pioneers, Jacob and Jane helped shape Mormonism in a big way. But how much do you know about them? Join Lindsay and Bryan as they discuss what life was like for these two in Nauvoo. Featuring a bonus cameo by historian Christopher C. Smith who discusses another pioneer man that never got …