In this episode I address the past, present, and future of Mormon Stories.  I also discuss my past interactions with Stake President Bryan King, my current beliefs, my current relationship with the LDS church, and my thoughts about what appears to be a pending disciplinary council.  

John Dehlin interviews the Infants on Thrones podcast panelists.

John Dehlin interviews the Infants on Thrones podcast panelists.

In this episode J. Nelson-Seawright interviews David Michael about his experience creating his new podcast "My Book of Mormon" where David shares his thoughts and witty comments on each chapter of Mormonism's central book of scripture.

With no background in Mormonism, David is reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover for the first time in an attempt to discover why millions of people have come to believe in its writings.

As a result, David offers an insightful and entertaining "outsider's perspective" on the characters, stories, and lessons he encounters. The two discuss David's christian upbringing, his thoughts on spirituality and religion, his observations on Mormonism, and review his experience reading key stories in the Book of Mormon up to Alma 57.

Recently, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released its long-awaited series of essays on polygamy in Kirtland/Nauvoo, Utah and post-manifesto polygamy, igniting a firestorm of discussion online.

In this second installment, we bring together an all-star cast of Mormon Stories favorites to discuss the Early Utah Polygamy essay:

• Lindsay Hansen Park, who in the middle of an amazing and incredibly exhaustive project for Feminist Mormon Housewives in the Year of Polygamy podcast series.
• Joe Geisner, a long-time Mormon historian who has been assisting Lindsay in her research for the Year of Polygamy project.
• J. Nelson-Seawright, a political science professor at Northwestern University, frequent blogger and commenter on Mormonism and a favorite guest of Mormon Stories.

In the inagural episode of the Mormon Studies Podcast, host Brent Metcalfe interviews Jan Shipps. Jan is professor emeritus of history at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis and a former president of the John Whitmer Historical Association (2004–05) and the Mormon History Association (1979–80)—a scholar’s scholar who has influenced a generation of students of Mormonism, often reaching across and even narrowing the chasm between believer and nonbeliever.

Over the past several years Jan has laid the foundation for a forthcoming book on the history of Community of Christ (a.k.a. “prairie saints”; formerly RLDS) and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. “mountain saints”) from the end of World War II to the present. Explicating 1950s strategic missiology and convert retention to 2010s ecclesiastical polity and women’s priesthood, she has new and trenchant insights that she shares with podcast listeners.

In this episode, Daniel Parkinson MD, host of our sister podcast, Gay Mormon Stories, interviews Meg, Jake and Jon Abhau. Meg and Jake were conservative Mormons when their 13 year old son came out to them 18 months ago.

In Part 3, the Abhaus discuss how they have emerged from this journey as passionate activists for the LGBT Mormon cause.

In this episode, Daniel Parkinson MD, host of our sister podcast, Gay Mormon Stories, interviews Meg, Jake and Jon Abhau. Meg and Jake were conservative Mormons when their 13 year old son came out to them 18 months ago.

In Part 2, the Abhaus discuss confronting their relationships with the church after learning about Jon's orientation.

In this episode, Daniel Parkinson MD, host of our sister podcast, Gay Mormon Stories, interviews Meg, Jake Abhau. Meg and Jake were conservative Mormons when their 13 year old son came out to them 18 months ago.

In Part 1, the Abhaus discuss their family, their relationship with their son and coming to terms with their son’s orientation. They also talk about making sure they were protecting him and preparing him for a healthy future.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long affirmed the importance of religious freedom, even issuing a press release in 2013 declaring that "it is the right to think, express and act upon what you deeply believe, according to the dictates of conscience."

But a group of current and former students is concerned about implications for students who find themselves transitioning away from belief in the church while still enrolled at a church-owned school. It creates, they argue, an impossible situation where students are seemingly forced to choose between their integrity and the education they have worked and payed for.

In this episode, we're joined by several members of Free BYU, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of what they consider a lack of religious freedom within the Church Educational System.

We discuss with Free BYU leaders the Honor Code as it relates to religious freedom, ecclesiastical endorsements and how to handle a faith transition while at a church school. We'll also talk with two current students as they talk about how they are trying to navigate their faith transitions while attending BYU.