Analyzing Mormonism

Captain William Kidd (or Robert Kidd) was a Scottish privateer. He was likely born in Dundee and later settled in New York City. But 1690, Kidd had become a highly successful privateer, commissioned to protect English interests in North America and the West Indies. In 1695, Kidd received a royal commission to hunt down pirates and enemy French ships in the Indian Ocean. Later, England turned against him and he was denounced as a pirate. He was arrested upon his return to Boston and stood trial in London. He was found guilty and hanged in 1701. Because of his quick arrest, many believed that Kidd hid or buried his hoards of treasure and sought to uncover it. Among those who hunted for Kidd's treasure was the man who would later be called the founder of the Mormon Church: Joseph Smith. Join Julia and America as they discuss the sources connecting Joseph Smith's to Captain Kidd's buried treasure. For links to these sources please visit my website! https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/captain-kidd/

We are here with certified sex therapist Natasha Helfer to talk about masturbation! Join us as we talk a little bit about the Mormon mindsets and myths around masturbation as well as the health benefits for it and more! ___________________ Welcome to Analyzing Mormonism! Our aim is to help teach accurate Church history and to help our listeners become, in many ways, Mormon historians.  Help us continue to deliver quality content by coming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/donate/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AnalyzingMormonism Venmo: @Julia-Rose88   Our platforms: Analyzing Mormonism Website: https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AnalyzingMormonism TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@analyzing.mormonism?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/analyzing.mormonism/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ijt0y0RkXQeoihcAkpR2l   Contact us: julia@analyzingmormonism.com

Here with the Unpacking Mormonism Podcast, Julia and America go over the evolution and changes of the Mormon Temple Ceremonies.   ___________________   Welcome to Analyzing Mormonism! Our aim is to help teach accurate Church history and to help our listeners become, in many ways, Mormon historians.    Help us continue to deliver quality content by coming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/donate/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AnalyzingMormonism Venmo: @Julia-Rose88   Our platforms: Analyzing Mormonism Website: https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AnalyzingMormonism TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@analyzing.mormonism?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/analyzing.mormonism/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ijt0y0RkXQeoihcAkpR2l   Contact us: julia@analyzingmormonism.com

Join with America and Julia as they discuss the Equal Rights Amendment with Kelly Whited Jones of Utah's ERA Coalition. Utah ERA Coalition Website https://utahera.org/ Utah ERA Coalition - Facebook   / utaheracoalition   National ERA Coalition https://www.eracoalition.org/ Generation Ratify https://www.generationratify.org/ NOTE: We are aware of the audio complications in this episode and we apologize. Due to faulting microphones on our end, the recording came in very unclear. We still felt it was important to release the episode. Again, we apologize.  ___________________   Welcome to Analyzing Mormonism! Our aim is to help teach accurate Church history and to help our listeners become, in many ways, Mormon historians. Help us continue to deliver quality content by coming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/do... Patreon:   / analyzingmormonism   Venmo: @Julia-Rose88 Our platforms: Analyzing Mormonism Website: https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/ Patreon:   / analyzingmormonism   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@analyzing.mor... Instagram:   / analyzing.mormonism   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ijt0y0... Contact us: julia@analyzingmormonism.com

The Family: A Proclamation to the World was published in 1995. Join with America and Julia as they discuss the background of the document and it's contents. To full proclamation can be seen here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/s... ___________________   Welcome to Analyzing Mormonism! Our aim is to help teach accurate Church history and to help our listeners become, in many ways, Mormon historians. Help us continue to deliver quality content by coming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/do... Patreon:   / analyzingmormonism   Venmo: @Julia-Rose88 Our platforms: Analyzing Mormonism Website: https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/ Patreon:   / analyzingmormonism   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@analyzing.mor... Instagram:   / analyzing.mormonism   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ijt0y0... Contact us: julia@analyzingmormonism.com

Join with Julia as she reads the 1980 booklet released by the Church titled "The Church and the Proposed Equal Rights Amendment: A Moral Issue." The booklet can be found here: https://archive.org/details/the-church-2/page/n1/mode/2up   ___________________   Welcome to Analyzing Mormonism! Our aim is to help teach accurate Church history and to help our listeners become, in many ways, Mormon historians. Help us continue to deliver quality content by coming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/do... Patreon:   / analyzingmormonism   Venmo: @Julia-Rose88 Our platforms: Analyzing Mormonism Website: https://www.analyzingmormonism.com/ Patreon:   / analyzingmormonism   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@analyzing.mor... Instagram:   / analyzing.mormonism   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ijt0y0... Contact us: julia@analyzingmormonism.com

While the Relief Society started in 1842, it ended in 1844, and did not start up again for twenty years. The Relief Society once stood for women's rights and women's education, while maintaining their own autonomous structure -earning their own money, storing their own grain, writing their own periodicals, etc., little by little the leaders of the Church chipped away at the structure until it became just a shell of what it once was. Join with us as we give an overview of the history of the Relief Society.

The Equal Rights Amendment was written in 1923 by Alice Paul. It is only twenty-four words long and has still to this day NOT been ratified. The Amendment reads: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Despite the support from leading Mormon women in the early days of the church, the church is very much against the Equal Rights Amendment. Why? Join with Julia and America as they discuss the history of the ERA and how the Church responded (and continues to respond) to it.

On October 31, 2023, a lawsuit was filed against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Daniel Chappel, Masen Christensen and John Oaks. U. S. News summarized it this way: "They claim the three of them combined have donated about $350,000 to the church over the past decade. Their lawsuit seeks class-action certification, potentially involving millions of church members, and an independent entity to oversee collection and use of church donations."   A copy of the lawsuit can be found here: https://www.scribd.com/document/681591278/Lawsuit-against-the-LDS-Church

Join with us as we discuss the origin and history of the angel Moroni. Was he an old man? A hiker? A toad? Wade through the historical documents with us and find out!

During some of Joseph Smith's treasure digs, it was reported that an animal had to be sacrificed as part of the rituals to help ward off spirits, etc. What are the sources for this? What types of animals did the Smith's sacrifice?

Let's talk about Don Bradley's "New Discoveries" on what Joseph Smith's motives were when he started polygamy (at least in Nauvoo). And then let's debunk them. Julia and Carah from NuanceHoe discuss polygamy and all its downfalls through Don Bradley's argument as presented in his recent FAIR conference as well as on Ward Radio. The evidence shows that Joseph Smith was not as reluctant to participate in polygamy as Don Bradley wants to paint him. If you want to follow and support me on Patreon click here! Also, please follow and support NuanceHoe! She's freaking amazing!

During episode 41 of Analyzing Mormonism podcast, Julia and America read and discuss the letters exchanged between Lowry Nelson and the LDS church back in 1947, shortly after WWII, regarding racism in the church. Lowry Nelson was a professor of sociology and taught at BYU into the 1970s. He's our newest hero! Please follow and support us on Patreon!

Did the early Mormon prophets adhere to the Word of Wisdom? No. Although the revelation was given in 1833, it would be another 88 years before the church made it a prerequisite for temple attendance.  This episode is also available on our YouTube channel. We're trying something new and we will be uploading our new epsiodes as videos.  If you would like to see more research like this, please like and share and considering following us on Patreon!

A couple of weeks ago we visited Nauvoo as a family. This episode goes over our experience there and we discuss a few stories of the early Nauvoo saints. 

Years before the revelation on polygamy was given, Joseph Smith Jr. was taking plural wives. Join Jenn Kamp, America and I as we discuss wives 11-15 of the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith. Today we will go over: Elizabeth Durfee Sarah Cleveland Eliza R. Snow Delcena Johnson Sarah Ann Whitney To see the video for this episode please visit Our Truth Be Told on Youtube.

Today America and I read the emails between my old stake president involving my excommunication from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Also, we have started a publishing company called Edina Publishers, in which we will not only publish queer affirming literature, but we will also publish out-of-print Mormon books. If there are any that you want to see published that are in the public domain, please reach out to me! William Smith on Mormonism's ebook is available today! The audio book and hard copy will be available soon! You can also see a list of upcoming Mormon books on the main website.  If you are able to purchase the books or donate any amount monthly, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you everyone for your support!

Years before the revelation on polygamy was given, Joseph Smith Jr. was taking plural wives. Join Jenn Kamp, America and I as we discuss wives 6-10 of the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith. Today we will go over: Agnes Coolbrith Sylvia Sessions Mary Elizabeth Rollins Patty Bartlett Sessions Marinda Nancy Johnson To see the video for this episode please visit Our Truth Be Told on Youtube.

Years before the revelation on polygamy was given, Joseph Smith Jr. was taking plural wives. Join Jenn Kamp, America and I as we discuss the first five wives of the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith. Today we will go over: Fanny Alger Lucinda Pendleton Louisa Beaman Zina Huntington Presendia Huntington To see the video for this episode please visit Our Truth Be Told on Youtube.

America and I give commentary to the Church's Gospel Topics Essay titled: "Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo."

Join us as America reads the essay published on the Church's website under the topic: "Plural Marriage."

Today I am sharing an essay by Dan Vogel titled: "The Locations of Joseph Smith's Early Treasure Quests" published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol 27 No. 3 (1994): 197–231. Dialogue has given me permission to share this essay and if you'd like to see the written version, please visit their website: dialoguejournal.com  Despite popular belief among the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith was not simply a hired hand to help dig holes to search for lost mines. Joseph played the role of Seer in these digs, in which he looked into his white hat at a stone that supposedly showed him the locations of buried treasure. According to Dan Vogel, Joseph was involved in at least eighteen treasure digs. According to researcher and artist, Mark Elwood, Joseph Smith could have been involved in as many as forty treasure digs. To learn more from Mark Elwood, please visit his website theglasslooker.com.  In my opinion, Joseph Smith's treasure quests are among the most fascinating of Mormon History and the most underappreciated. I hope you enjoy Dan Vogel's essay!

Last month, Jenn Kamp and I got together and did an episode on her podcast Our Truth Be Told, about Heavenly Mother. Join with us as we discuss current teachings, past teachings and the doctrine and theology of our Mother in Heaven! To view the sources for this episode, please view the episode on Our Truth Be Told's Youtube channel where you can see the slides. I hope you enjoy!

This episode is a reading of an article from Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Volume 15, No. 4 that was published in 1982. The article is called Grain Storage: The Balance of Power Between Priesthood Authority and Relief Society Autonomy by Jessie L. Embry.  This article goes over the power struggle between the Relief Society and the Presiding Bishopric and other priesthood leaders during the early 1900s. Dialogue has given me permission to share this article on this podcast. If you wish to learn more, please visit dialoguejournal.com.

In the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints women have used the priesthood. Women gave blessings of healing, dedicated homes, officiated to men in the temple, and one even raised a man from the dead (temporarily). These stories are not told in the manuals of the Church. You will not find them in Sunday School or Gospel Doctrine. It seems that the Church today is trying to distance itself from when it ever gave the woman these priesthood rights and privileges. I hope you enjoy hearing these important stories from the Church's history ! To view the episode, please visit Our Truth Be Told hosted by Jenn Kamp!

Another great episode with Jenn Kamp on her podcast Our Truth Be Told! If you want to see our slides, our sources, etc., please go over to her YouTube channel and watch it there! I learned so much when preparing for this podcast! I had been a part of the Relief Society since I was seventeen and didn't know most of these things! One prophet promised the Relief Society a building and commended the women for doing so much good! The next prophet took their funds and bought a building for the Presiding Bishopric, allowing the women “only a few rooms.” Another prophet stated that not even the prophet himself had the power to take the carefully stored grain out of the hands of the Society who it rightfully belonged to. Another prophet secretly sold the entire grain storage during WWI to the US government without the permission of the Relief Society and they kept the funds. The women in the church's history have not been treated fairly!

Another great episode with Jenn Kamp on her podcast Our Truth Be Told! Please go on over to YouTube and view this episode with our many sources, quotes, and just super great slides!  Join with us as we discuss the role the LDS leadership and church played in the Equal Rights Amendment. What messages were given to women within the LDS church? What oppression did they foster? How are the lives of thousands of women affected by the Patriarchy and inequality within the "Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (the LDS church's official name). [I also want to apologize for my dog! He loves to bark!]

Jenn Kamp, who is the host of the new podcast Our Truth Be Told, has given me permission to share with you the episode we did together on The Family Proclamation.  If you go and visit her channel, you'll get to see our beautiful slides and sources! So if you can and are willing, please hop on over to her YouTube channel! I am so thrilled to be able to get together with Jenn once a month to discuss the truth claims of the Mormon Church on her podcast! Be sure and look for those episodes at the end of each month! I will also be sharing them here!      

Join America and me as we give our response to Hugh Nibley's pamphlet "No Ma'am That's Not History." We break down five of his specific criticisms of Fawn Brodie along with a few others. First we discuss the origin of the Book of Mormon. Second, Joseph Smith's character. Third, the First Vision. Fourth, Joseph's communion with angels and Five, the Book of Abraham. We also discuss polygamy, the evolution of the Church's name, and the changing doctrines of the Church. 

In response to Fawn Brodie's book No Man Knows My History BYU Professor and Mormon apologist, Hugh Nibley wrote a booklet called No Ma'am That's Not History. Published in 1946, the sixty-two page booklet is now out-of-print and mostly ignored even among active Mormon circles. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did.  The booklet is available online, if you wanted to read along or use it for reference.  http://www.sainesburyproject.com/mormonstuff/No%20Ma'am%20That's%20Not%20History.pdf    

A few months back I got together with Scott who is the host for the podcast Rameumptom Ruminations and together he and I did a four part series of a Book Club discussing the book "No Man Knows My History" by Fawn Brodie. He has given me permission to share each of those parts here on my podcast.  This is the fourth and final part of the book club where we go over chapters twenty-two through twenty-seven, as well as the epilogue. These chapters were probably my favorites of the entire book. There was a lot I didn't know before and Brodie does a magnificent job of showing how far Joseph Smith rose before his martyrdom in Carthage, Illinois. I hope you enjoy listening!  

A few months back I got together with Scott who is the host for the podcast Rameumptom Ruminations and together he and I did a four part series of a Book Club discussing the book "No Man Knows My History" by Fawn Brodie. He has given me permission to share each of those parts here on my podcast.  This is Part 3 of that series, where we go over chapters fifteen through twenty-one.

A few months back I got together with Scott who is the host for the podcast Rameumptom Ruminations and together he and I did a four part series of a Book Club discussing the book "No Man Knows My History" by Fawn Brodie. He has given me permission to share each of those parts here on my podcast. This is Part 2 of that series where we go over chapters eight through fourteen. After I share all of these, I am going to share Hugh Nibley's response to Fawn Brodie's book, so stay tuned for that as well!

A few months back I got together with Scott who is the host for the podcast Rameumptom Ruminations and together he and I did a four part series of a Book Club discussing the book "No Man Knows My History" by Fawn Brodie. He has given me permission to share each of those parts here on my podcast.  So this is Part 1 of that series. After I share all of these, I am going to share Hugh Nibley's response to Fawn Brodie's book, so stay tuned for that as well!

I recently reached out to the Mormonism Research Ministry and asked permission to read their booklet on my podcast. And they consented! The booklet is called "The Palmyra Revival & Mormon Origins" by Rev. Wesley Walters. His research goes over the accuracy of the revivals occurring in and around Palmyra, New York during the 1820s. His findings are revolutionary to understanding Mormon History.  While there is only little that I disagree with from the Mormonism Research Ministry (namely their teachings on the Bible), these findings are sound and undeniable and I thank them for this important contribution! 

Dozens of individuals around the world claimed to have had heavenly visions, much like Joseph Smith. This episodes highlights eighteen of those individuals who gave their accounts before 1832 (with one in 1838 from a member of the Church).  These individuals are as follows:  Catharine Hummer in 1786, the Richards Brothers in 1794, David Brainerd in 1812, Benjamin Abbott in 1813, Lorenzo Dow in 1814, Rachel Baker in 1814, Norris Stearns in 1815, Elias Smith in 1816, *Charles G. Finney in 1821, Benjamin Putnam in 1821, Asa Wild in 1823, Alexander Campbell in 1824, Billy Hibbard in 1825, John S. Thompson in 1826, Solomon Chamberlin in 1829, Martin Harris in 1831, Harriet Tubman in 1832, and James G. Marsh in 1838 (just before Joseph Smith gave his most in-depth account that became the canonized version). Why is Joseph Smith's first vision so foundational to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when it wasn't written down until twelve years later, no one was told of the vision before joining the Church, Heavenly Father didn't become a character in the vision until eighteen years later, and dozens of individuals were also having visions of God and Jesus Christ? How could Joseph Smith's first vision be "the greatest event in world history since [Jesus Christ]" if it seems by all accounts never to have happened?

The author of the book Letter for My Wife has given me permission to share his book on my podcast. Comparable to The CES Letter, Letter for My Wife seeks to share the discrepancies between actual Church History and the canonized stories we heard growing up within the Church.  To learn more about this book, please visit https://www.letterformywife.com/  

Join America and me as we read over ten of the secondhand accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision. The first five accounts that we go over are directly from the Joseph Smith Papers website. The next five come directly from the Journal of Discourses.  Brigham Young, 1855 (Journal of Discourses vol. 2, p. 171) Heber C. Kimball, 1857 (Journal of Discourse vol. 6, p. 29) George A. Smith, 1868 (Journal of Discourses vol. 12, p. 334) Orson Pratt, 1874 (Journal of Discourses vol. 17, p. 278) John Taylor, 1879 (Journal of Discourses vol. 20, p. 167) Additionally, I reference John Larsen a few times in this episode, this comes from Mormon Stories Podcast episode 1469. If I have missed any secondhand accounts, please email me at julia.analyzing.mormonism@gmail.com

Join us as America reads the essay published on the Church's website under the topic: "Mother in Heaven."

During his lifetime, Joseph Smith and others published four first-hand, First Vision Accounts -in 1832, 1835, 1838 and 1842. Join with us as we read over and compare each account.

In honor of Pride Month, I wrote out a ten page essay that I shared on my personal facebook page. The essay seeks for greater inclusion for the LGBTQ members and poses a number of questions as to why the Family Proclamation is set up the way that it is. This is me reading that essay. It is my hope that everyone can come with empathy and leave an ally. 

America, Jessica and I give commentary to the Church's Gospel Topics Essay titled: "Are Mormons Christian?"

Joseph Smith organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830. In 1832 Joseph Smith claimed that he saw Jesus Christ in a vision twelve years earlier. What evidence is there that Joseph Smith did, in reality, have this heavenly vision? Were there others that validated this claim? Join us as we analyze historical documents (including letters, newspaper articles, and the religious activities of him and his family) and explore the evidence of Joseph Smith's first vision in 1820.

Join us as America reads the essay published on the Church's website under the topic: "Are Mormons Christian?"

This is part two of Jessica, America and myself giving commentary on the Gospel Topics Essay titled "First Vision Accounts."

America, Jessica and I give commentary on the Church's essay on the First Vision Accounts. This is part 1 of 2.

On March 20, 1826 Joseph Smith Jr. was put on trial for being a “glass looker”. Join America and me as we read some of the trial accounts for Joseph Smith Jr. The first document comes from the article “Mormonism” published in the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge in 1883. (Which is nearly identical to the court notes published in Frazer's Magazine in 1873). Another document comes from W. D. Purple, published in the Chenango Union on May 2, 1877. The final account that we read is from the New England Christian Herald published on November 7, 1832.  I also want to ask that you check out Mark Elwood's book “The Glass Looker.” The book is filled with gorgeous illustrations and intriguing sources for Joseph Smith as a treasure digger. You can purchase his book on https://theglasslooker.com. Joseph Smith's beginnings as a treasure digger and his using multiple seer stones, gives a whole new side to the origins of the Church and to the prophet himself. 

This is me reading the essay published on the Church's website under the topic: "Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham."

To persuade himself to invest so much into the printing of the Book of Mormon, Martin Harris went to a man named Charles Anthon to see if he could authentic the characters taken from the golden plates. In this episode I read from the 1838 Church History account as well as the 1832 Church History account concerning Charles Anthon. I also read from the Palmyra Freeman that was published in 1829 which discusses the ordeal in some detail. Little known, however, is that Charles Anthon himself spoke out twice concerning Martin Harris' recollection of their encounter. He spoke out in 1834 and in 1841.  Join with me as I read and discuss the man named Charles Anthon and his association with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This is me reading the essay published on the Church's website under the topic "First Vision Accounts."

This is me reading the essay published on the Church's website under the topic "Book of Mormon Translation."