Mormon.ish

Mormonish and The Good Book Club are joined by the wonderful Matthew Harris to discuss his book "The Founding Fathers and the Debate over Religion in Revolutionary America" co-authored with Thomas S. Kidd.) Our discussion explores whether America was built as a secular republic or a Christian nation. Matt's book shows the Founders' beliefs varied widely. Some were skeptics like Thomas Paine, while others were traditional Christians like Patrick Henry. Despite these differences, most rallied around core religious principles such as: Human Equality: The belief that people were created equal.Religious Liberty: The separation of church and state, requiring the disestablishment of state-backed religions. And Public Virtue: The necessity of strong moral character for a republic to survive. This is a fascinating and timely discussion as Matt shares many stories and insights into the founding of America and what the lens of Mormonism does to the narrative.

Can Mormons celebrate Halloween? It depends on who you ask! On this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by the wonderful Lila Tueller to explore LDS Halloween traditions and the dos and don’ts of this delightfully terrifying holiday from an LDS perspective. From ward parties and trunk-or-treats to witch costumes and spooky decorations, Halloween offers plenty of opportunities for fun—and some interesting questions about where to draw the line. When does a harmless scare become an invitation to something sinister? Why do some families embrace the holiday while others approach it with caution? And who decides which Halloween traditions are a little too spooky for the Saints? With humor, personal stories, and lively conversation, we explore the intersection of faith, fear, folklore, and fun. Grab your candy, put on your favorite costume, and join us for a Halloween conversation with plenty of Mormonish treats!

What goes bump in the night in Mormon history? And why do stories of spirits, mysterious encounters, and messages from beyond continue to fascinate us? Join us for a special Halloween episode of Mormonish Podcast as we explore spooky stories from Mormon history alongside ghost stories submitted by our social media community. From encounters with departed loved ones to experiences that are a little harder to explain, these stories offer a glimpse into the mysterious side of Mormon belief and culture. We also talk about why people tell ghost stories in the first place. They can bring us together, offer comfort about life after death, pass along warnings, and help us make sense of experiences we don’t fully understand. What happens when those stories are viewed through a Mormon lens, with its teachings about spirits, ancestors, and the world beyond the veil? Turn down the lights, grab some Halloween candy, and join us for an evening of eerie tales, thoughtful conversation, and a few good chills!

Could a new data center put an important piece of Mormon history at risk? On this episode of Mormonish, John Hajicek and Ron Yorgason join us to explore John’s research into the historic Arthur plantation property near Liberty, Missouri, where a data center development raises questions about preserving the past. John shares his findings connecting the property to early Mormon history, Book of Mormon witness graves, and accounts of a reburied bone attributed to Zelph. We discuss the evidence, what remains uncertain, and what could be lost if these historical connections are overlooked. Will the LDS Church weigh in or take steps to help preserve this site? Could other Mormon denominations, historical organizations, or preservation groups get involved? We explore who might advocate for protecting this history—and whether there’s still time to make a difference.

In this episode, Ron Yorgason and Sarah Smith join Mormonish to discuss the Facebook support group they’ve started for parents who have stepped away from Mormonism while their children are serving—or preparing to serve—LDS missions. The group offers a place for post-Mormon parents to connect, share experiences, and talk through the challenges of navigating faith differences between themselves and their children. Many of these parents raised their children in Mormonism and encouraged them to want to serve missions, but later stepped away from the faith themselves. The group can also offer practical advice for situations that may arise during an LDS mission. At the group’s heart is a shared goal: loving and supporting their missionaries while maintaining positive, meaningful relationships across differing beliefs.Products

A $2 million donation—and a quiet return. With the LDS Church now donating $3 million to the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth, TX, we’re revisiting our episode about the First Americans Museum’s decision to return the church’s $2 million gift. The LDS church also previously donated $2 million to the International African American Museum in South Carolina. The common thread? Each museum partnership includes a FamilySearch genealogy center, connecting the church’s financial support with a presence inside institutions dedicated to preserving Black and Indigenous history. Genealogy can help visitors reclaim family stories, but FamilySearch is also operated by the LDS Church, where genealogy serves a religious purpose tied to temple ordinances for the deceased. How do those overlapping interests shape these partnerships—and why did the First Americans Museum give the money back? Join Mormonish as we explore philanthropy, faith, and who gets to tell a community’s story. This episode originally aired in October 2023.

“When the prophet speaks, the conversation is over.” “Follow the brethren.” “It’s wrong to criticize leaders, even if the criticism is true.” “This will all be sorted out in the next life.” “Doubt your doubts.” Sound familiar? Mormonish welcomes Unoriginal Jim to explore 40 thought-stopping phrases in Mormonism—and how they can shut down critical thinking and meaningful conversations. A thought-stopping phrase is a short, familiar saying used to dismiss questioning, doubt, or further discussion rather than address the issue itself. Steven Hassan discusses this technique in his work on undue influence and how it discourages independent thinking. We’ll unpack these familiar phrases, why they’re effective, and what happens when we stop accepting them as answers. How many do you recognize? What others can you add? You won’t want to miss this episode!

In Episode 10 of this series, Patrick presents the final, and strongest, set of textual clues that point to the Book of Mormon’s author. First, he reviews the claim that the theology in the text is the result of early Joseph Smith Sr exposure with the “seeker” movement. Next, he demonstrates that two phrases from the regional dialect of the Ohio/western Pennsylvania area (where Rigdon grew up) appeared frequently in the original text of the book. Patrick then leverages a recent Mormonism Live episode that reviews Rob Terry’s online article describing the dozens of obscure 19th century non-Biblical phrases in the Book of Mormon, and which religious books they might have originated in. This is an area of research ripe for academic study! But a few examples illustrate the point that the Book of Mormon author was likely well educated, well read, and familiar with higher level theological thought. Next, Patrick leverages another recent Mormonism Live episode that reviews Campbellism theology in the Book of Mormon. He lists two dozen points of Campbellite, or “Disciple” doctrine—most of which would be very familiar to the Mormon or LDS community—even today. He explains where the Campbell movement was physically located and which religions were primary in the Palmyra area where Joseph grew up. After a quick review of Joseph’s religious leanings (Methodist), Patrick demonstrates an amazing discovery—that the theology of the Book of Mormon lines up exactly with Rigdon’s personal theology! Further, the areas where Rigdon disagrees with the Campbells, those doctrines show up in the Book of Mormon with Rigdon’s view in all cases. There is even a change in the doctrine of the sequence of conversion that changes in Rigdon’s view during the dictation of the Book of Mormon—and his new view shows up after that point in the dictation sequence! The new view contradicts the prior position in the text. Patrick breaks out an Excel spreadsheet to compare the long list of doctrines from Campbell and Rigdon that map to the Book of Mormon and shows how the doctrines of the Methodists and other restoration churches contradict the Book of Mormon on most points of doctrine. Join us for a thoughtful look at the evidence behind one big question: who authored the Book of Mormon?

What makes people willing to surrender their individuality to a cause, a movement, or a group—and why can belonging become so powerful? In this episode of Mormonish Podcast, Rebecca and Landon are joined by Cameron Stringham and Kendel Christensen to discuss Eric Hoffer’s classic book The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements through the lens of Mormonism. Hoffer explores why people are drawn to mass movements, what makes someone a “true believer,” and how movements create powerful feelings of identity, purpose, certainty, sacrifice, and belonging. Together, we examine how these ideas can help us understand aspects of Mormon history, culture, belief, and the experience of both joining and leaving a high-demand religious community. Why do movements become so compelling? What happens when the group becomes part of who we are? And what can The True Believer teach us about our own need to believe, belong, and find meaning? Join us for a fascinating conversation about Mormonism, mass movements, and the psychology of belief.

In Episode 9 of this series, Patrick presents the third set of textual clues that point to the Book of Mormon’s author. First he reviews the likely causes that led to the many anomalies that show up in the second half of the Book of Mormon dictation, like the loss of the first 116 pages of text, changes in location and scribes, and the ongoing development of points of doctrine. Many students of Book of Mormon authorship, chalk up the late variation in the text as simply “stylistic drift”. But what actually is “stylistic drift”? Patrick reviews the definitions and common examples of such. He then sets up the important thought exercise—do all of the late anomalies in the text appear to be drift or do they appear to match the Rigdon Theory explanation. That is, that Joseph faithfully dictated the first half of the text either from memory or by reading the text in the hat, until the change in plans. The plans changed in the second half of the dictation when the 116 pages were lost, scribes changed, and doctrinal elements were adjusted with new ideas from Rigdon. This led to Joseph having to adjust his mechanics—now he is “riffing or ad-libbing” more and his unique voice begins to appear in the text, becoming more apparent from 1 Nephi to the Words of Mormon. Having set the stage for this thought exercise, Patrick reviews the primary anomalies that show up in the second half of the text: the introduction of the “Late Voice”, as defined by Rob Terry’s 3-Voice Framework, loss of mathematical cohesion, the “Black Hole” of names, Smith family content, anti-Catholic messaging, the Therefore/Wherefore switch, Enveloping, and several examples of Early Modern English in the text. Patrick points out that “drift” would seem to be gradual. What we actually see in the anomalies is a step-shift—for example, average word frequency of say 4 uses per thousand words, consistently appearing in the first half of the text, stepping up to a consistent average frequency of 8 in the second half of the text. He also points out that the changes we do see that relate to the categories of stylistic drift (tense, tone, vocabulary) are not related to the typical drift by character or scene—they are global changes that step-shift across all characters and all scenes between the first and second halves of the text. Join us for a thoughtful look at the evidence behind one big question: who authored the Book of Mormon?