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Welcome back to part 16 of our Joseph Smith Podcast with Dr. John G. Turner! In this episode, we cover chapter fifteen of John Turner's new book titled “Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet” which covers 1834-1835 in Kirtland, Ohio and parts of Missouri. We discuss the rise of patriarchal blessings, the creation of new church offices –like the Twelve and the Seventy. We also discuss the challenges posed by critics like E. D. Howe and his problematic book published in 1834. These years were formative for Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saint movement. We explore such topics as:-The publication of E. D. Howe's Mormonism Unveiled-The 1835 Doctrine and Covenants (and the Lectures on Faith)-The creation of the Quorum of the Twelve and the Seventy-The beginning of the Law of Adoption-How Joseph Smith used blessings and promises to help people follow himDid this first anti-Mormon publication get under Joseph Smith's skin? What power did early church members believe they were receiving through blessings and ordinances? How did Joseph Smith transform crises into opportunities to strengthen his movement? Join us as we seek to answer each of these questions!Please purchase the book ⁠here⁠.To support this series please donate ⁠here⁠. One half of all donations will go to Dr. Turner for as long as he is participating in the series.___________________YouTubeAt Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

In this episode, we share about the CEO program that's already having a huge impact on OTHS students. Seventy percent of CEO graduates say they can see themselves remaining in their communities and making a difference. We talk about what the day in the life of a CEO student looks like! Plus, it's FALL! And the community calendar is PACKED and we couldn't love it anymore!  On the calendar: Sat, Oct 4 8am Vine Street Market at OFallon Station Sat Oct 4 12-7pm June's Fall Festival @ June's Breakfast & Patio in Shiloh Sat Oct 4 5-9pm District Frights in the Downtown District Tues, Wed, Thursday October 7-9 6:30-8:30pm O'Fallon Fire Department's annual open house  Oct 10 YMCA's Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat Oct 14 O'Fallon Police Dept's Night to Unite Oct 18 8am-noon final Vine Street Market of the season Oct 18 Chalk it up to Art Oct 18 9am-3pm Shiloh's Treasures in the park Oct 18 4pm Parks and Rec's Fall Festival at Rock Springs Rotary Park Oct 25 1-4pm Serra Honda's Trunk or Treat Nov 1-2 OTHS Band Booster's Annual Craft Fair Nov 22 Vine Street Market's Thanksgiving Market Enjoy Fire Pit Friday's at August the Mansion each Friday in October starting October 10th!

"From the Frontlines" is an ADL podcast which brings listeners to the frontline in the battle against antisemitism and hate through conversations with ADL staff who are living that battle every day. According to a recent ADL survey, a significant number of Jewish faculty members have considered leaving their positions. One in three has experienced antisemitic incidents on their own campuses. Seventy-three percent report that antisemitism has worsened since October 7th. And many are staying silent about their Jewish identity out of fear for their careers and safety. This is the stark reality revealed by this groundbreaking new Faculty Survey conducted jointly by ADL and the Academic Engagement Network (AEN) - the first comprehensive national study examining the experiences of Jewish faculty in American higher education. The guest for this show is Masha Zemtsov, ADL's Associate Director for Advocacy. Masha has been instrumental in developing ADL's response to campus antisemitism and worked closely with AEN on this groundbreaking research, speaking directly with faculty members who are experiencing these troubling incidents firsthand. To read the full survey results, visit: https://www.adl.org/resources/report/faculty-under-fire-antisemitism-and-anti-israel-bias-higher-education. This conversation was recorded in September 2025.

Send us a textPeaches, Aaron, and Trent come in hot: Halloween costumes get dark, Oompa-Loompas invade, and naked 70s playing cards almost derail a four-star visit. Then it gets serious—General Mark Welsh flames out at Texas A&M over gender ideology drama, Special Warfare kills all 2025 ship dates, and the Air Force admits it's broke while Congress hasn't passed a budget since 1997. PCS moves? Just a spreadsheet scam. Candidates failing pipeline tests? Seventy-two down last class. This is peak Ones Ready: chaos, comedy, and calling out the BS nobody else will touch.⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Special Warfare attributes model refresher 01:08 – Halloween costumes: generals, ICE agents, and Oompa-Loompas 03:25 – Pentagon staff roast: careerism and dry cleaning duty 06:20 – Why E7 is the sweet spot before the lobotomy 09:30 – Chief doxxing drama + bad guests revisited 11:43 – Should bad ideas still get a platform? 17:58 – General Mark Welsh canceled at Texas A&M 22:23 – Dog-and-pony shows and naked playing cards 28:47 – Leadership lessons from Welsh's flameout 30:30 – Drag queen story hour at STS? The crew jokes 31:30 – Air Force broke + PCS spreadsheet madness 35:35 – Congress hasn't passed a budget since 1997 38:28 – PCS stories: spreadsheets vs. people 39:59 – Tasty Gains sponsor shoutout 41:46 – Shoutout from Special Warfare Training Wing + pipeline updates 42:00 – No more 2025 ship dates, backlog crushes dev 44:05 – Attrition games and making “doc rate” again 46:16 – Don't be one of the 72 failures 47:53 – Wrap-up + Nashville OTS plug

Luke's HAARP Time Warp: Part 3 Marion readies her attack. Based on a post by somethin fishy, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Chapter 11. The next morning the three of them all woke at about the same time. Luke was amazed that he had slept in and Cecilia was amazed that she had woken up early and was so rested. Watching Marion trying to walk, Cecilia fell off the bed she was laughing so hard. To rub salt into Marion's wounds, Luke was chuckling a bit as well and all Marion could do was blush. She was too sore, at the moment, to do anything else. They all took turns with the chamber pot and after Marion and Luke had washed each other up a bit; got dressed and went to get something to eat. In the dining area Luke was greeted like a mighty warrior; while Marion was getting jealous looks from every woman in the room. Everyone had heard them and every woman wanted to be her or have a man like she did. This actually cheered Marion up quite well. She actually was enjoying the looks that she was getting; after all it just proved that she had something that none of them could even dream of. The innkeeper meanwhile had given the lovebirds free food. This annoyed Luke but he yielded after the innkeeper explained that she was not only very happy for them, but their love making had lured extra people in for supper the night before. It had actually been standing room only and the only fighting had been when someone else made too much noise. She had made more money off Luke and Marion's love making then she had made in the previous month. Marion's reaction to this got laughs from everyone in the room because she flushed the deepest red that anyone had ever seen. Cecilia had also noticed that she had been getting some jealous looks; but hers were equally from men and women. It didn't take her long to figure out that they were jealous of her front row, well bed seat, to last night's entertainment. Of course, it didn't hurt that all three of them smelled like hot sex. Eventually they got done eating breakfast and returned to their room to pack up. Within an hour they were on the road to York. The three of them traveled quickly for Cecilia had given up on killing Marion on the road. Now she figured that she would use Marion to keep Luke around. Of course, that didn't mean that Marion could be free; oh no. The first thing that Cecilia planed on doing when she got home was to trump up some charges against Marion to have her thrown in the dungeon. With Marion still alive, Cecilia could use her to force Luke's cooperation. While traveling, Luke had noticed the change in Cecilia's behavior. At first, he had hoped that she might be starting to change, but a couple of comments, that she made, put this theory to rest; after all how often do leopards change their spots. Marion though, was overjoyed at her sister's change in demeanor for she had always wanted a loving sister growing up and now, apparently, she had one. As they rode Cecilia and Marion talked and joked as if they were the best of friends. Luke started to just ignore them and instead focused on keeping a look out for traps. The rest of their trip back to Cecilia and Marion's land was uneventful. Cecilia's charm though, wasn't fooling Luke and he began to mentally prepare himself to do whatever he had to do, including abandoning Marion, in order to keep his knowledge from getting into the wrong hands. As they passed back into their family lands, the ladies immediately noticed a change. A blind person could have seen it. Houses were burnt and the people that lived in the area were starting to show signs of starvation. It was so bad that even Luke felt sickened by the sights. Cecilia and Marion were pale as ghost as they threw up everything in their stomachs. Eventually, Marion found one of the people that she trusted. It was an older woman, Lucy, who had lost her husband years before. Lucy had been Marion's nanny, back when Marion was younger and they had retained a close friendship. When Marion first saw Lucy, Marion actually had to look very hard to make sure for Lucy had changed so much since Marion had last seen her, and that was just a week before Marion had left for London. “Lucy what happened?” “It was Richard. As soon as the three of you left for London, he moved in and took over. The guards that remained loyal are rumored to be in Richard's dungeon; that is if they have not been killed by torture yet. Where is your father anyway?” Lucy was so depressed and dirty that it broke Marion's heart, for she loved this woman. Lucy was the mother that Marion had never known. “Father was killed in an ambush. John, Cecilia's fiancé was killed too. The ambush was led by none other than William.” Lucy hissed at hearing this. “I am so sorry, Marion. Now the big question, who is the giant behind you?” “Oh sorry. Lucy this is Luke. Luke this is Lucy. She took care of me when I was younger. Lucy, Luke is the stranger that rescued Cecilia and me from the ambush. He killed William with his bare hands and he has been keeping us safe ever since. Also, we have fallen in love.” “Oh really.” “What, I am not allowed to fall in love?” Lucy smiled at this. Marion had always had a bit of fire in her soul. “Back to serious issues Marion, you three need to get out of here before you are discovered. Word has it that Richard has put a bounty on your and Cecilia's heads.” “Not to fear Lucy, the only head that is going to be collected will be Richard's” growled Luke. Lucy now felt a spike of fear go through her. She had never heard a human sound like this. This Luke sounded much more like a wild animal. More to her surprise, the look on Marion's face had hardened as well. Obviously these two knew something that Lucy didn't. “Lucy, I need all the information and rumors that you have on this Richard bastard.” Said Luke. Over the next hour the woman told Luke everything that she knew about Richard. Richard was an older Earl that lived next to their land and had been eyeing Marion's family land for years. Richard was one of those who get everything that he wanted, mostly because he was very quick to resort to very dirty and underhand tactics to get them. In the thirty years since Richard had gained his Earldom, he had tripled his land holdings. In the process, he had killed off whole villages and had put such a tax burden on the peasants living on his land that many of them were in a constant state of half starvation. This is what he had started doing in Cecilia and Marion's lands, but here he taxed the peasants at such a high rate that many of them would be dead by the end of the year. If a peasant couldn't pay the tax then one of several things might happen to them: they might be tortured, killed, if there were good looking women in the family then they would be taken to serve Richard or his men, young boys would be taken to be turned into soldiers. To put it simply, Richard viewed everyone below him as an expendable plaything and everyone including the king was below him, in his mind. By now, Cecilia had realized that she would have to put a hold on getting revenge on Marion. There was no way that Cecilia would live long enough to make up the charges against Marion, never mind pump Luke for information. Luke listened carefully to everything that the women told him and asked pointed questions if he thought that they might have missed something. Finally, Luke asked Lucy: “Where can I find Richard?” “Why he now lives in the castle” said Lucy while she pointed at the castle that had once been Marion and Cecilia's home. Luke gave Lucy some money and one of their extra horses and told her to get lost and if he failed to get rid of Richard, never come back. Luke had figured out, listening to all the stories that the only way to get rid of Richard was to kill him. So that's what Luke set out to do. He had Marion show him a spot from which Luke could watch the castle and remain hidden. He then told Cecilia and Marion to get back to Lincoln and stay there until Luke sent for them. Cecilia was good with this, Marion wasn't. Eventually it was agreed that Cecilia would travel to Lincoln with Lucy and Marion would help Luke. The ladies hugged each other when Cecilia set off with Lucy. Luke and Marion had given almost all their money to Cecilia and Lucy. Luke had told Lucy that she should find some business to invest in. That way she could keep making money and would have a secure future. Luke now had to face the problem that he didn't know what Richard looked like. Yes, he could shoot Richard from a long way off, but he had to know what Richard looked like first. Marion couldn't take Luke to show him Richard, because too many people in the castle knew Marion. Then he hit on a solution. Luke would go into the castle, claiming to be a Scottish mercenary looking for a new job. “How are you going to do that?” asked Marion “You're not Scottish.” “Something I haven't mentioned to you, my family name is MacDougall, and I've spent enough time in Scotland to fake the accent good enough. Just have to hope that Richard doesn't have any other MacDougall's around.” “Damn it Luke, how many more secrets do you have?” “If you're afraid of the answer then you probably shouldn't ask the question my dear. On the plus side, you already know my biggest one. The rest aren't too bad.” Marion just gave him the stink eye. “I should only be gone for a couple of days. If I'm not back by sunset four days from now, get out of here as fast as you can and never look back.” Marion was starting to argue, but Luke wasn't having any of it. “Damn it Marion, think with your head and not your pussy. We can't launch an attack without knowing what all Richard has going on inside and you are too well known to go in. That leaves me, plus I have a military background so I know what to look for.” Again, Marion was gearing up for a fight, when she suddenly drew in her breath. She had realized that once again Luke was right and that if she tried to go in, she would be caught before the sun had gone done. “Okay, Luke. Get going, just be careful and remember that I love you.” “I love you too, Marion. Remember if I'm no back by sunset four days from now get out of here, and take all my gear with you.” With that, Luke mounted his horse and started riding toward the family of York's castle. Chapter 12. Getting inside the castle was a pain for Luke, for he was searched multiple times. Finally, he managed to get through the guards. Once inside, Luke was amazed at how destitute the place was. Everywhere it seemed there were people hanging at the end of ropes or in stocks. The air was thick with flies, but the remaining people didn't seem to even notice. He saw some desperate people actually walk up behind someone in stocks and carve a big piece of flesh from them. A number of the people hanging appeared to be merchants and craftsmen which amazed Luke; after all what kind of idiot ruler would go after the very people who earned the money to pay the taxes. Of course, three answers came to Luke's mind. Evil despot rulers, socialist, and communist and usually the evil despot rulers were brightest of the three. Their end goal was always the same just dressed up in different ways; power for themselves and their supporters. Luke didn't even have to look for an inn because there were so many abandoned homes to pick from but first Luke had to get a meeting with this Richard idiot. This actually proved to be very easy. Luke just walked right up to the main castle doors and told the guard that he was a mercenary looking for a job. Luke looked the part too with two swords, an impressive collection of knives, and a large shield that he had bought while in Lincoln. When Luke finally met the Earl Richard for the first time Luke almost fell to the floor laughing. This guy had some serious man issues. For starters he was hideously ugly. Marion of course had told his this, but Luke had never pictured something this ugly. Another thing was Richard was extremely short, even for the era. Luke estimated him to be no more than four foot nine or ten. Finally, the guy had some kind of speech problem which for normal people wasn't a problem, but for people who thought of themselves masters of the world, this was a major problem. “So, I hear that you want a job as one of my soldiers?” “Yes sir, that is correct.” Stated Luke with his slight Scottish accent. He could have laid it on thicker but figured that keeping things light would help convince Richard that Luke was really a very experienced soldier. “Why?” “Why not. I need a job and I heard that you sir are hiring.” “Well, let us see what you can do.” “David, Matt, John. Test this man's metal.” Richard set back to enjoy the entertainment. He was going to enjoy watching his best man whittle this giant down to size. The three of them approached Luke spaced out evenly around him. Luke waited until the last possible second, then stuck. Using the same method that he had used on William; Luke sidestepped David's strike, grabbed his right wrist with one hand and broke is elbow with his other. Luke then moved and snapped David's neck. This pissed the other two men off for all three were very close. With new fury they moved on Luke who was still calm as ever. This time he drew his swords. These were hand and a half swords, but in Luke's hands they became single handed swords. With longer swords and much more strength, Luke quickly forced the other two knights back. Finally, Matt managed to get past Luke's swords and deliver a blow to Luke. This blow was normally a fatal blow, but Luke just shrugged it off. Before Matt could get out of the way, Luke hit him between his eyes with the pommel of one of his swords. Matt's skull shattered with the blow causing everyone around to cringe. Now it was one to one and John was not only in a rage, but was also fearful. He had seen both his best friends killed before his eyes and this giant had received a usually fatal blow from Matt. Yet it barely seemed to affect him. Luke now went on an all-out attack on John. It was all John could do to keep Luke's blades off of him. If John didn't do something fast, he would be killed too. Finally, John had an opening and he took it. Problem was that Luke had purposely let his have that opening and taking it proved to be a fatal mistake for John. As John delivered what he hoped would be at least a debilitating blow on Luke, Luke trapped John's sword and pulled John to him. Close in, Luke dropped his swords, picked up John, turned him over, and drove him head first into the floor. This completely crushed John's head. It was so bad that you couldn't even tell that it had been a head. Luke the casually picked his swords up and sheathed them. He then started to return to in front of Richard who was sitting in his chair with is mouth open. He had never seen someone win a three to one fight so fast. As Luke got back to where he had started, he heard the unmistakable sound of a bow being drawn. As quick as lighting, Luke drew a throwing knife and let it fly. It stuck the bowman in the throat, killing him instantly. Luke walked over, kicked his knife loose of the man's neck, wiped it off on the man's uniform, and returned the knife to its place. By now the look of fear was in every face of the room, including Richard's. It was obvious to all that this man was not one to be messed around with. Upon returning Luke asked: “Well, happy now?” “Yes, you are a remarkable soldier, how did you survive Matt's strike; sorcery?” Luke snorted at this. “Sorcery please? Do not insult me in such a way ever again. I survived because I designed my own armor which is hidden in my clothes. Only complete losers blame their loss on sorcery. Real men take responsibility for their victories as well as their defeats.” “So, they do, friend. So, they do. Now to business, what would you be charging for your services?” “Eighty pounds sterling a year.” He had talked with Marion and she had told him that while this was a bit expensive Richard would gladly pay it to have a soldier of Luke's caliber. “Sixty pounds a year plus I will provide you with girls to use whenever you please.” “Seventy, plus some girls of my choosing.” “You drive a hard bargain, Hildyard. I accept and my I say that name suits you very well.” “Thank you my lord.” Luke had picked this alias for that very reason. It meant one who is like a wolf in battle. “Take my new knight to pick his girls.” Richard said to a servant. The servant wouldn't even dare look at Richard for Richard would kill anyone who he thought gave him a disrespectful look. Luke followed the servant into another set of rooms. There were many good-looking females there, some being quite young and some being decent looking Milfs. “Thank you, my good man. What is your name?” asked Luke looking at the servant. “Michael, sir” Kneeling down in front of the servant Luke said quietly to him: “Never call me sir again, you hear me. My name is Hildyard. Got it?” “Yes sir, Hildyard” said Michael with a slight grin. “Good.” Luke had a warm smile on his face “When you tell your friends about me as I am sure that you will, make sure that you pass the word on to them.” “Yes Hildyard.” With that, the servant scampered away almost causing Luke to laugh. Turning back to the women, Luke had to work to hide just how disgusted he really felt. These women were being forced into sex slaves because their family couldn't pay the sky-high taxes that Richard insisted on levying on them. Luke quietly looked at each one. Finally, he thought that he might have a way that he could do this. Going to one of the servants by the door: “This is going to be a hard choice for me to make. Can you show me to my chamber and then have the women report to it one at a time please?” “Yes sir. This way sir.” the servant snapped. Luke sighed to himself, this servant hadn't heard his bit to Michael. ‘Oh well' thought Luke. Once Luke had been shown his chamber, the women were sent in one at a time like he had requested. Luke had to be very careful here for one false move on his part and Richard would figure out that Luke was lying through his teeth and then it was only a matter of time. As Luke carefully questioned each of the women, he had to work at sounding like an arrogant mercenary soldier when in fact all he wanted to do was to get the woman out of there and back to their homes. Luke finally picked some young ladies who were all a bit younger than Marion and an older one that had worked in the castle while Marion had lived there. The reason that Luke had picked the younger woman was to help protect them for they were brand new to the harem and were still virgins. He had absolutely no intention of forcing himself on any of them. Of course, this first night he would be able to use being very tired as an excuse but the following nights could be difficult. Finally, it was time for bed. Luke had managed to procure a separate room for “his” woman so that no one else would have a chance to force themselves on them. Luke took the oldest one into his room for the night. Of course, he had already checked out the room twice and had found no hidden listening holes. Still, he had to be careful. The older lady was named Stella and Luke put her age about thirty or so. “So, Stella what can you tell me about yourself. I find sex to be more enjoyable when I know something about the bitch.” “Well, I am twenty-nine years old, I think. Married once but he died from an accident. I had one child with him but she died before she made it to one year old. I have been working in this castle all my life and I know exactly how to please men.” “What can you tell me about the previous owners? I have heard whispers about them but none of it makes any sense.” “Why do you want to know about the previous owners?” “Because I am curious, so humor me please.” “The owner was named Charles. He was a good man who lost his wife so after his youngest daughter, Marion, was born. After this he never remarried but used the ladies of the castle to keep him company. It was actually very good for us because he was kind and gentle with us.” “You mentioned a daughter?” “He actually had two, Cecilia and Marion. Cecilia was a two-faced wild child, but Marion was kind, loving, and very intelligent.” “Was?” “Yes, word has it that they were killed on their way back from London which is just as well. For if they had gotten back here, Richard would have had Charles tortured and imprisoned and his daughters would have become Richard's concubines.” “I see. I can see where death would be preferable. Come here Stella.” Stella came up to Luke, expecting to be ravaged, but to her surprise Luke invited her to lay with him while she still had her clothes on. “Master what is wrong? Do I not please your eyes?” “Never call me master. My name is Hildyard and that is what I expected to be called. Understand?” “Yes” squeaked Stella. “Good. Now for tonight I just want a beautiful, caring woman to curl up with; for after my travels and the excitement of this afternoon I am too tired for any fun right now.” With that Stella curled up in Luke's arms and quickly found herself feeling safer than she had felt in years. This man was very kind and considerate; a bit weird for a man but Stella could live with that. He was much better than Richard was that was for sure. When she woke up the next morning, Luke was gone. His spot was still warm though so he wasn't far away. Indeed, as she put her feet on the floor, Luke came through the door holding two bowls of stew. He gave Stella her pick of the two and he took the other one. He also gave her a piece of bread and a few veggies. Now Stella was just blown away by this man. He was far kinder than any other man she had ever met. She was also glad that he had been able to get the fresh virgins before Richard could get to them for Stella knew that Hildyard would be gentle with them; while Richard purposely was extra rough with fresh meat. After they finished eating Luke gave Stella her assignment for the day. “I want you to care for my ladies. Get them cleaned up. A couple of them smell so bad that it is hard to be in the same room with them. Also, if anyone of the bastards so much as touches any of them I want to know about it. Got it?” “Yes, Hildyard” “Good. Now I have to get going for I have a lot of things to get done today.” Chapter 13. Luke wasn't actually worried that anyone would mess with his ladies, he had scared everyone shitless yesterday, but it was always better to be ready. Luke first went to the training yard to work out with some of the other knights and other soldiers, at least that's what he told everyone. In reality he was looking for weaknesses, learning about these knight's fighting styles, and learning just how many men Richard had here. Many of the knights seemed to be second rate and the soldiers only went about their training half heartily. Luke could guess why, but the last thing he wanted to do was ask them. The problem with asking questions is that you tell the person that you're asking that the information you seek is in some way important to you so Luke spoke as little as possible. After a few hours of training, Luke had a little bit of free time, so he wondered the town. Everywhere he went he could feel the people's eyes following him. He could feel the hatred in their looks. This, of course, put him on high alert but thankfully no one attacked. He made sure to quietly pay extra for all the food that he bought. Most of it he would take back for his ladies so that they could start to regain their strength. He dropped the food off in his quarters and went to find Richard for he had an important meeting scheduled. Luke had a contract to sign with the devil. To Luke's surprise, the contract was in order and ready for signature. After signing Luke got his first assignment. He was to go toward London and look for Richard's son William. William should have reported in by now and yet nothing had been heard of him. While out Luke was to keep an eye out for the previous owners. If Luke met them, he was to kill or capture them, whichever was most convent at the time. Luke couldn't believe his ears; this was going to play right into his hands. As an added bonus, he could take his women with him and he would have a small escort. The escort part bothered Luke a bit but they were easy to get rid of. On the other hand, though…Luke requested that he be able to choose his men. He figured that three should be enough. Richard agreed but only allowed Luke two. Luke made sure to pick two of the men that had shown the most hatred toward Richard's knights during the training session. Luke told them that they would be setting out first thing in the morning so they had better get some rest. Upon returning to his chamber for the evening, he was surprised that all his ladies were in the room. When Luke entered, they all stopped talking and looked at him. Luke had to admit that they definitely cleaned up nice. Then Stella stepped forward: “Hildyard, rumor has it that you are leaving in the morning?” “That is correct. Are you speaking for the group, Stella?” “Yes I am.” “Well then get on with it or let them speak for themselves.” “We thank you kindly for the extra food. That was the best that we have ate since this Richard took over.” “Well, no thanks are necessary.” Luke said to the group with a warm smile that always seemed to melt hearts. “Now ladies listen up. I will be leaving very early in the morning on a special mission. I have been given permission for you to accompany me on my journey. We will also have a two-man escort. Now I suggest that all of you get to bed now, for I want to be going through the gate just as it is getting light. Now move and no arguments.” Tonight, Luke took the youngest of the ladies to bed with him. Her name was Gabriel and she reminded Luke a lot of Marion. “Hildyard, I have no idea how to please...” That was as far as she got before Luke cut her off with a gentle kiss. “Do not worry about that for now. Just come sleep next to me for we have to be up early in the morning.” Gabriel was starting to feel things that she had never felt before and Hildyard was causing those feelings. “But” Luke just gave her his special shut the fuck up look. It worked every time he used it, and it did here as well. Gabriel curled up next to Luke and like Stella the night before felt completely safe and quickly fell asleep. As promised, Luke was up very early the next morning. He figured that it was about three AM. He went around to all the ladies, gently woke them up, and ordered them to get ready to leave. Then he made his way to the barracks; here he wasn't gentle at all. He expected his men to follow orders and sure enough, neither of them was up yet. Luke woke them up with his boot on their asses. “Get up you miscible excuses for soldiers! Get up now! When I tell you to be ready to go at a certain time you had better be ready to go.” Luke's voice boomed through the barracks. He was being far meaner than usual on purpose. He figured that these men would probably continue to be soldiers once he helped Marion take over and Luke wanted to get a start on instilling disciple in the men. Luke had to wait almost an hour for the men to get squared away and ready to go. Of course, he had already anticipated this; after all that's why he woke everyone up so early. Finally, everything was ready and the small group set off. The two soldiers weren't happy to put it mildly. They had been dragged out of their billet before dawn, they were assigned to escort a monster and a group of his concubines, and the worst part was that this Hildyard had the complete support of that asshole Earl Richard. They were partisans for the previous landowner and they were convinced that Richard had something to do with the Charles's disappearance. “When that bastard is busy with his women, it will be the prefect chance to get rid of him, and then we can rescue those women and get them back home.” One of the escorts said quietly to the other as they were headed out of the castle. The other nodded in agreement. The trip out of the town gates went quickly for the sun was just starting to lighten up the Eastern sky. Luke made sure that they headed out the right gate so that Marion would see them. As the group was ready to head into the forest, the escort was out in front of the group; they came across a man standing in the road, wearing a long cape with the hood up. “Get out of our way!” one of the escorts, Michael yelled. He was agitated and this man had already pissed him off. “I have just as much right to be on this road as you do.” Answered the man calmly. This really pissed Michael off and he drew his sword. His companion, Tom drew his too. Luke just calmly watched but didn't draw his sword for he figured who the man was. “Why are you not drawing your weapon?” asked Stella “Why bother? The odds are already two-to-one, plus I know who that is and I have no desire to cross swords with her.” “Wait. Her?!?!” exclaimed Stella. “Just watch.” Marion waited until both men committed to their attack before making her move. She used her staff to knock both men off their mounts. Then she made sure to grab both men's mounts before they ran off. The last thing Marion wanted to do was to chase done the horses. She tied the horses to a nearby branch. By the time that Marion got the horses under control and tied up, the men were finally getting to their feet and to say that they were pissed would have been an extreme understatement. How had this peasant dismounted both of them? Marion just waited for them to get up. The men both charged at the same time and this time Marion actually had to fight back a bit. She used a leg sweep to take Tom out and she side-stepped Michael. Before Michael could turn around, Marion had him in a sleep hold and her knee was planted firmly in his back. With Tom still suffering from the wind being knocked out of him; it was just Marion and Michael so when she demanded that he yield, he did. Marion then drew her sword and held it to Tom's throat and demanded that he yield as well. Tom had no choice so he did. Marion then turned to Luke. “Well big guy, how about you? Are you going to join the party?” “I think not. I've done some dumb things in my time, but I'm not stupid.” The ladies in his group looked at him, confused. Luke didn't strike them as cowardly but here he was refusing to give battle and what was those strange words that he used. “No, you're not, Luke. You're a lot of things but you're not dumb.” Giggled Marion Now everyone in the group was confused. Who was this man? Why was Hildyard afraid of him? Who is Luke? “Now that I have everyone's attention...” said Marion. She then dramatically swept off her hood and there was a collective gasp from the group. This man that Hildyard was afraid of was a woman. Stella then recognized who it really was, leapt off her horse, ran to Marion, and fiercely embraced her. Stella whispered in Marion's ear, while embracing her: “What are you doing here? Marion, get out of here. Now! Hildyard has orders to arrest or kill you on sight. Get out of here, I will try and hold Hildyard off so you can escape.” “Stella, why would I want to escape?” Stella was alarmed for she cared deeply about Marion. Marion turned to Luke “Seriously Luke, Hildyard” Luke dropped his Scottish accent “What? I thought it was a nice touch.” With that he got off his horse walked over to Marion, picked her up, kissed her, and swung her around. Marion was laughing during this. Finally, they both turned to the group, who were now confused, afraid, and several emotions that they didn't know what they were. Marion then spoke to the group. “Everyone, I want to introduce to you Luke MacDougall, and yes he is my man. He rescued Cecilia and I when Richard's son attacked us. Luke killed William's men and killed William with his bare hands. Since then, he has been protecting us on the journey home. Cecilia has returned to Lincoln with Lucy until the crisis is over. By the way Luke, your gear is safely hidden away in camp” Luke turned to the women that he had brought with him “All of you are now safe. If you want you can return home.” One of the ladies started crying: “I cannot return home. Richard's men destroyed it.” Marion ran to comfort her while the others gave a similar story. While Marion was taking care of the women, Luke walked over to the guards. “Neither of you have anything to fear. I taught her” Luke pointed at Marion “how to fight. That is why both of you got your asses beat, and no I have no intention of supporting a bastard like Richard. I am completely loyal to Marion.” The relief on the men's faces was as obvious as it was instant. Michael also started to look a bit guilty for he remembered their plans and wasn't sure what to do or even what to think. Luke saved him from further worry. “No need to worry Michael. I figured that you and Tom were planning on killing me eventually. The reason I picked you two was the shear hatred, for Richard and his men, that I had seen in your eyes during our training season the other day.” Both of them were now red as beets and Luke had to laugh. “Part of the training that I got, when I was in the military, was how to look for traps and part of that is properly reading people. Now I am going to need your help. I want to help Marion get rid of Richard permanently. Will you two help me, help her.” “That bastard killed my wife in front of me after he and his men raped her. He took my daughters and made them his concubines, and he hung my sons from the ceiling of my house. He then forced me to be one of his soldiers and if I refused then my daughters would be killed very slowly. I only became one of “his men” to hopefully find a way to save my daughters.” Said Tom “What is your story, Michael?” asked Luke. “My family was killed several years ago. I had to come to town for a few days and when I returned home, I found out that they had all gotten sick and died while I had been gone. I became a soldier so that I would hopefully never have to return to that village again. Life was good while Charles was the lord running things, but under that devil Richard no one is safe. I was actually getting ready to leave and head to London.” “Well men, will we help me and hopefully afterwards stay soldiers but this time under Marion?” Neither man looked at the other one. They went up to Marion, drew their swords, kneeled in front of her, and held their swords up to her. Behind them, Luke smiled. He was happy that once again his instincts had been correct. Marion's embarrassment was just an added bonus. “Stand up, both of you. Luke did you tell them to do this?” Marion asked with a bit of venom in her voice. She had caught him smiling. Luke just shrugged at her. Luke and Marion then spent the next hour learning everyone's stories and telling their story. Neither Luke nor Marion mentioned that Luke was from the future. They were not ready to revile that secret, yet. Eventually, Luke and Marion stood next to each other, Luke with his arm around Marion's shoulder, “So ladies will you help us as well?” asked Marion. “But, we're women...” “And I'm not a woman?” asked Marion cutting them off. “That's…that's not what we meant Lady Marion.” Said the women all at once. Marion looked crossly at them and they all shrunk in fear. They were really thrown for a loop when Marion then smiled warmly at them. “Not to worry for once I was like you. I could not defend myself and then I met Luke. He taught me how to fight and more importantly when to fight and when to retreat and I bet that he will teach all of you too. One more thing, I am just Marion, not Lady Marion” Marion then looked at Luke and he nodded. Chapter 14. Over the next month, Luke and Marion trained everyone in the group basic self-defense tactics. The ladies were amazed at how their fortunes had changed. They had started off as simple concubines only allowed to live if they were able to please men and now, they knew how to protect themselves. Luke also taught them how to be soldiers. The guys didn't really agree with teaching the women how to fight or be soldiers, but they certainly were not going to complain. After all they now had a chance to square accounts with Richard. Part of their training was to ambush groups of Richard's soldiers as they raided the countryside. At first the women had a hard time killing, but they quickly got over it. When they would look at Marion, they would always take heart. In battle, Marion was proving to be not only extremely intelligent but also could be very cold blooded and ferocious when she had to be. She had no problems with executing prisoners that they took. Marion knew that they couldn't give prisoners a chance to escape and warn Richard. They also didn't have the extra manpower to guard them or food to feed them. In every battle, they would strip the dead of gear. When they had extra gear, they would put it in hiding so that they could come back and get it later. The better the women became the more disgruntled Michael became. He didn't believe in women in combat or even having them as soldiers, but he did admit that having them in close quarters did provide him with some unique opportunities for he was a serial rapist and murderer. There was nothing that he liked better then popping a virgin's cherry, filling her up with cum, and then forcing her to suck all the bloody cum off his cock before he strangled them. In this group he thought that he had found the pinnacle of virgins, Gabriel. She was tall, had chestnut colored hair that was full and wavy. She had warm, brown eyes, a firm pair of tits and with all the exercise that she had been getting over the last moth; she was developing a very firm ass. He wasn't worried about the fact that she had taken to Luke and Marion's training the best for he was planning on surprising her, raping, and killing her before anyone else knew what was going on. Afterwards, he would disappear and continue his raping somewhere else. Finally, it was the evening before the group was planning on returning to York. Their raiding of Richard's men had taken its toll on Richard's forces. They were afraid to leave the safety of the castle for even a short distance because just leaving the gates was proving to be very dangerous. Marion had made sure to leave some of the corpses where they could be seen from the castle walls. She had done this at Luke's urging while he explained to her the modern-day concept of Psy Ops. The more she thought about this, the more she liked it. If the enemy could be mentally defeated before battle then you would suffer fewer causalities and maybe you could even avoid a battle in the first place. Michael meanwhile had been watching everyone in the group and he finally saw his perfect opportunity to strike. The rest of the group had bedded down early so that they could get up early and get ready. Gabriel had gone down to the stream so that she could get a quick bath. She was unaware that she was being followed. Just as she had got her clothes off, Michael stuck. He came up to her quickly, put one of his powerful hand over her mouth and held his knife to her throat with the other one. Normally this would have been more than enough, but Gabriel now knew what to do. Before Michael could react, she drove her heal into his knee. While she didn't break it, he was now hurting and lost his grip on Gabriel. As soon has her mouth was free, she screamed. Michael was too busy trying to get control of his prey to care, after all they were a way away from the camp and everyone else had turned in. Michael was able to land a punch squarely in Gabriel's face. This knocked her to the ground and the force of hitting the ground stunned her. Michael untied his pants and slowly lowered them. He loved seeing the fear on his victim's faces when they realized what was about to happen to them. As Michael was getting on his knees so that he could force his way into Gabriel's virgin cunt, he felt something cold and sharp touch the back of his neck. This caused him to freeze. Slowly he turned his head and found himself looking into Marion's expressionless face. “Hey Luke, before we go to sleep, I have something to tell you.” Luke looked down at Marion. She had assumed their usual post coitus spot. Her head lying on his shoulder and one of her legs over his with her cream filled pussy leaking on him. “Oh ya what's that.” Said Luke half asleep. “I'm pretty sure that I'm pregnant. Won't know for sure for a little while but I missed my last period and I've not been feeling good in the mornings.” Luke was now fully awake. During their time together he had never given a thought to Marion getting pregnant. Mentally Luke cursed himself for being such an idiot. Yes, he loved Marion, but Luke wasn't sure why he had been transported to this universe and Marion having a child could cause serious problems if Luke ever got the opportunity to go home. This is why he never told Marion all he knew about the future. He never even told her his real fears of leaking the information that was locked away in his head. Marion misread the look on Luke's face. “Don't worry honey, it was bound to happen eventually and I'm so happy to be carrying your child.” Luke took a deep breath. He was going to have to finally tell Marion all of his fears. As he was about to start, they both heard a scream and recognized it as Gabriel. Marion grabbed her sword and raced off toward the scream as fast as she could still naked. Luke stopped to put his pants and then he was following in Marion's wake with both of his swords. When Luke caught up, he found Gabriel on the ground still stunned. Her clothes had been put on a nearby branch so Luke assumed that she had been getting a bath. Marion had her sword at someone's neck but however it was, was facing away from Luke. Then they turned their head and Luke could see that it was Michael. Luke went over and helped Gabriel to her feet and gave her back her dress. Meanwhile Marion was forcing Michael to return to camp without his clothes. Gabriel had serious problems walking so Luke decided just to carry her. He gently picked her up and cradling her in his arms, carried her back. Marion forced Michael back to camp and made him get on his knees. “You think making me get on my knees will change anything bitch then you are dumber than I thought you were. I was well within my rights as a man to demand that she service me.” Marion leaned in and whispered in his ear “It's not just me that you have to worry about. And if you think that raping that poor girl makes you a man then I have to wonder how humans have survived so long. With such sorry excuses for a man as yourself, we should have all died off thousands of years ago. I'm willing to bet that it was actually Adam that got humans kicked out of the garden and when the men writing the bible realized the truth, they switched the roles so that history wouldn't find out the truth.” By this time, Luke had returned with Gabriel and she was starting to recover. Luke tried to hand her off to Stella to care for but Gabriel wasn't having it. “I want to see what happens to him.” Her voice was one of iron and Luke knew that arguing wouldn't do him any good. “Well come on then” was all he said. Luke was actually impressed when he realized what Marion was doing. She was organizing a trial by jury. Everyone knew what had happened but Marion wanted to start establishing a precedent. She was obviously thinking long term and Luke was impressed. Once everyone in the group had gathered; the trail started. Gabriel told all what happened and what Michael said. Michael was given the opportunity to defend himself but refused. He obviously didn't realize Marion's growing power and strength. Finally, it was time for the group to vote on Michael's guilt or innocence. The entire group voted Michael guilty. Michael was stunned when Tom voted with the women. While Michael had been growing disgruntled, Tom had been changing as well. He saw the women getting stronger and he found that he was being drown to them and one in particular, Stella. They were close to the same age and had both had a hard life. Stella, for her part, was well aware of Tom's attraction to her and while she hadn't made a final decision on the matter yet, she was starting to have naughty thoughts about Tom especially while Luke and Marion were practicing their love making. With the guilty verdict, Marion passed sentence on Michael. He would be castrated, his balls would be forced down his throat, and then he would be executed. Luke was stunned by her harshness. He had never seen Marion so cold as she was now but he didn't argue. After all, this was her time era not his, and after the word got around of what she was capable of then hopefully there wouldn't be as much resistance for her. Marion ordered Michael tied to two trees. She then stood in front of him as she slowly sharpened her knife. Finally, Marion reached down and cut Michael's balls off. As he was screaming, Marion put his balls in his mouth and then covered his nose and clamped his mouth shut so that he would have to swallow his balls. After he swallowed his balls, Michael was crying. Luke and Tom cringed but didn't look away; after all nobody had forced Michael to attempt to rape Gabriel. Marion then drew her knife across Michael's throat, cutting the jugular and carotid. It took a minute or so for Michael to bled out. During that time, Stella came up next to Tom and held his hand. After all, Michael had started off being Tom's best friend. Marion then ordered that Michael's body be left where it was. It was getting late and they had to travel almost half a day tomorrow to get back to York. Chapter 15. Marion grows as a leader but only after some serious pain. It was early the next morning when Luke and Marion woke the group up. The sun was just starting to light up the Eastern sky but everyone in the group was used to getting up this early. They made sure to cook up an extra hardy breakfast for they didn't know when they would be able to eat again. Over the previous month the scared young women that had traveled out of York with Luke had been replaced with strong, young women that thought like soldiers and fought like lions. They now all carried swords and knives and knew how to use them. Every one of them also wore a leather overcoat that they could wrap around themselves to protect against swords or even long-range arrows. Under that they wore a green shirt and pants. Sown inside each shirt was light steel and leather armor that Luke had designed to deflect blows. They each also carried a helmet that was radically different than anything else currently in use. It looked a cross between a World War two German helmet and a modern U S military helmet. He had designed it this way to be able to give maximum protection with the materials available. Gabriel also carried a bow that she had gotten to be very good with. She was good enough to put an arrow into someone's eye from fifty paces. Luke was extremely proud of the ladies and of Tom. Tom had helped train everyone in sword use and had grown to love each of the ladies like sisters except Stella. No, her he loved romantically. What's more she was also falling in love with him. Tom was armed like all the women and he loved this new gear. It was lighter than his previous gear and protected him far better. It was a warm morning when they set out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. They made quite a sight the seven of them, Marion, Luke, Tom, and the four women that were “suppose” to be Luke's whores. In that group there was from oldest to youngest: Stella, Pollyanna, Alice, and Gabriel. Stella was the leader of the group being the oldest amount them. Pollyanna was showing signs of wanting to become an engineer like Luke. Alice was showing an interest in medicine, while Gabriel was the sharpshooter and Luke thought that she might make one hell of a sniper. One of the other things that Luke had started teaching them was how to read and write for soldiers needed to know how to read orders and make out reports. It took the group almost half a day to reach York. During their trip they had to hide once to avoid a large patrol that Richard had sent out. Yes, they could have taken the patrol out but it was now far more important for the group to get to York. When they got to the gates Luke had to talk fast to get through. Once through, the group was deeply disturbed by what they found. The town had gone further downhill. The people were now walking skeletons and the streets were full of filth. The soldiers walking around took whatever they pleased including having their way with anything they pleased. Marion actually vomited at the horror that was before her. Still, they had a mission to accomplish. All the ladies were well aware that every soldier had their eyes on them. Many of the soldiers whipped out their cocks and waved them at the women. Marion actually snickered at some at the tiny cocks that were being waved at her, for Luke's was far bigger. At least she was still feeling good enough to snicker. Finally, the group reached the castle. Luke told the guard who he was and they let him in. They easily remembered him. Once in the group was in for another surprise, especially Tom, for Richard was in the middle of an orgy and Tom's daughters were in it. Luke had to act fast to keep the group under control for Tom was furious and Luke's “whores” were about to gut Richard where he was. Problem was that there were too many of Richard's loyal men in the room and they wouldn't have made it out, even with their skills. They had to release the men loyal to Marion first, that is if any of them were left. First thing that Luke had to do was to make his report. Richard wasn't happy that he was being interrupted mid orgy but he did stop long enough to listen. “I am sorry Milord, but we traveled all the way to London and did not find a trace of William. We heard some rumors of him but we could not find him.” “Well, you may go now, but I shall want to talk to you more later about this matter.” “Yes Milord.” Luke turned around and got the hell out of there and made his way back to his chamber. Once there, he found Tom puking his guts out, Stella was trying to comfort him. The ladies were white as ghost, seeing the fate that so far, they had avoided. Marion was the worst one, of the group, for not only was she puking but she was crying her eyes out. She had known some of the women that she had seen in the orgy. That is even if you could call the women people anymore. Luke knew that they had to move fast for he figured that it wouldn't be long before Richard came for “his” women as well. Within an hour Luke got a message that Richard wanted to see him immediately so Luke put the rest of the group on alert and he left to meet with Richard. “Ah Hildyard, Good to see you.” “It is good to be seen, sir.” “So, you found no sign of my son or his men?” “No Milord and we traveled all the way to London. If they had been there, we found no signs of them. We came back a different route and still found no signs of them.” “Now tell me about the whores that came in with you.” “Well, traveling fast does tend to make any fat disappear and they travel faster when they are healthy.” “By my count, you left with four, but I could have sworn that I see you come back with five.” “The fifth one is my intended, sir. I also must report the loss of one of my men. We were ambushed on the road. Tom and I had to fight hard to get out. By the time we did, there was no sign of Michael. We think that the bandits took him for we searched afterwards and found only some of his gear.” “So you couldn't find my son and you lost one of my men in the process; Hildyard, if you disappoint me anymore then I will take back the whores and might even have to take your intended. Do I make myself clear?” “Yes, Milord.” “Good, now get the fuck out of my sight.” To be continued in part 4, Based on a post by somethin fishy, for Sex Stories.

Here is my JWHA recap 2025! I'll show photos and give my reactions to the award winners! Check it out! Don't miss our other Tangent Trips! https://gospeltangents.com/mormon_history/gt-trips/ Copyright © 2025 Gospel Tangents All Rights Reserved https://youtu.be/NL_LkWQBApk Fresh off the plane from Kansas City, I wanted to share a recap of my fantastic, albeit hectic, week at the John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) meetings in Independence. It's been a whirlwind of travel lately—from Atlanta to Canada and then straight to JWHA—but the experience was absolutely worth it. Honoring Legends and Celebrating New Works The awards ceremony was a major highlight, celebrating the brilliant minds in Mormon History. A truly special moment was seeing Mark Staker, this year's JWHA president, present Grant McMurray with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Grant, a former president of the Community of Christ and one of the founders of JWHA 50 years ago, was in high spirits despite being in a wheelchair, which I hadn't seen before. He joked that with a Lifetime Achievement Award, he didn't need to do anything else in his life, which got a good laugh from everyone. Congratulations are also in order for several other award winners: Matt Harris, the incoming JWHA president, deservedly won the Best Book Award for his incredible book, Second Class Saints. It was great to see him presented with the award. His mother attended the conference too! Jason Smith, who runs the JWHA podcast, received the Excellence in Leadership award. Cristina Gagliano (formerly Rosetti) won Best Biography for her book on Mormon fundamentalist Joseph White Musser. William Perez won for his article "Unholy Waters," and Ryan Davis won for his work on Mormon missionaries and popular music in Spain. Katie Rich and Heather Sundahl were recognized for their work on 50 Years of Exponent II. Katie Rich is clearly an impressive historian who has slipped under my radar, and I need to get her on the podcast soon!. JWHA Recap: Presentations, Pictures, and People The conference was packed with fascinating people and presentations. I had the opportunity to present with Mark Tensmeyer and Amanda Hendrix-Komoto on Joseph Smith's polygamy and the statistical question of how many children he should have had. We're hoping to get a group together for a follow-up discussion soon. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, I missed several presentations I was eager to see, including those by Kyle Beshears (my favorite Baptist pastor), my good friend Newell Bringhurst, Ganesh Cherian, and Jared Halverson. Kyle, an expert on James Strang, was even passing out hilarious Nintendo 64-style stickers of Strang. It was a joy to reconnect with so many friends and colleagues, including: My friend Matt Turner, who helped me with a walking tour of Independence a few years ago. Historians and authors like Alex Baugh, Brian Hales, Craig Foster, and Mark Scherer. Representatives from various restoration groups, which is what makes Whitmer so unique. I chatted with Wayne, a Seventy in the Bickertonite Church, and John Hajicek, who follows James Strang's legacy. Special Interview and a Look Ahead One of the most exciting parts of the trip was interviewing Stassi Cramm, the first female prophet of the Community of Christ. The interview took place this morning, and I'm hoping to edit and post it this weekend, so keep an eye out for that! I also had the pleasure of meeting other leaders from the Community of Christ, including Bunda Chibwe of the First Presidency. We also took a fascinating tour led by Matt Harris to Topeka, Kansas, to visit the elementary school of Linda Brown from the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case. Now a museum run by the National Park Service, it was a powerful experience to see the history firsthand. For those planning ahead, next year's JWHA conference will be in Council Bluffs, Iowa,

The cybersecurity industry operates on a fundamental misconception: that consumers want to understand and manage their digital security. After 17 years at F-Secure and extensive consumer research, Dmitri Vellikok has reached a different conclusion—people simply want security problems to disappear without their involvement.This insight has driven F-Secure's transformation from traditional endpoint protection to what Vellikok calls "embedded ecosystem security." The company, which holds 55% global market share in operator-delivered consumer security, has moved beyond the conventional model of asking consumers to install and manage security software.F-Secure's approach centers on embedding security capabilities directly into applications and services consumers already use. Rather than expecting people to download separate security software, the company partners with telecom operators, insurance companies, and financial institutions to integrate protection into existing customer touchpoints.This embedded strategy addresses what Vellikok identifies as cybersecurity's biggest challenge: activation and engagement. Traditional security solutions fail when consumers don't install them, don't configure them properly, or abandon them due to complexity. By placing security within existing applications, F-Secure automatically reaches more consumers while reducing friction.The company's research reveals the extent of consumer overconfidence in digital security. Seventy percent of people believe they can easily spot scams, yet 43% of that same group admits to having been scammed. This disconnect between perception and reality drives F-Secure's focus on proactive, invisible protection rather than relying on consumer vigilance.Central to this approach is what F-Secure calls the "scam kill chain"—a framework for protecting consumers at every stage of fraudulent attempts. The company analyzes scam workflows to identify intervention points, from initial contact through trust-building phases to final exploitation. This comprehensive view enables multi-layered protection that doesn't depend on consumers recognizing threats.F-Secure's partnership with telecom operators provides unique advantages in this model. Operators see network traffic, website visits, SMS messages, and communication patterns, giving them visibility into threat landscapes that individual security solutions cannot match. However, operators typically don't communicate their protective actions to customers, creating an opportunity for F-Secure to bridge this gap.The company combines operator-level data with device-level protection and user interface elements that inform consumers about threats blocked on their behalf. This creates what Vellikok describes as a "protective ring" around users' digital lives while maintaining transparency about security actions taken.Artificial intelligence and machine learning have been core to F-Secure's operations for over a decade, but recent advances enable more sophisticated predictive capabilities. The company processes massive data volumes to identify patterns and predict threats before they materialize. Vellikok estimates that within 18 to 24 months, F-Secure will be able to warn consumers three days in advance about likely scam attempts.This predictive approach represents a fundamental shift from reactive security to proactive protection. Instead of waiting for threats to appear and then blocking them, the system identifies risk patterns and steers users away from dangerous situations before threats fully develop.The AI integration also serves as a translation layer between technical security events and consumer-friendly communications. Rather than presenting technical alerts about blocked URLs or filtered emails, the system provides context about threats in language consumers can understand and act upon.F-Secure's evolution reflects broader industry recognition that consumer cybersecurity requires different approaches than enterprise security. While businesses can mandate security training and complex protocols, consumers operate in environments where convenience and simplicity drive adoption. The embedded security model acknowledges this reality while maintaining protection effectiveness.The company's global reach through operator partnerships positions it to address cybersecurity as a systemic challenge rather than an individual consumer problem. By aggregating threat data across millions of users and multiple communication channels, F-Secure creates network effects that improve protection for all users as the system learns from new attack patterns.Looking forward, Vellikok anticipates cybersecurity challenges will continue evolving in waves. Current focus on scam protection will likely shift to AI-driven threats, followed by quantum computing challenges. The embedded security model provides a framework for adapting to these changes while maintaining consumer protection without requiring users to understand or manage evolving threat landscapes. Learn more about F-Secure: https://itspm.ag/f-secure-2748Note: This story contains promotional content. Learn more. Guest: Dmitri Vellikok, Product and Business Development at F-Secure  On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitrivellikok/ResourcesCompany Directory:https://www.itspmagazine.com/directory/f-secure Learn more about creating content with Sean Martin & Marco Ciappelli:  https://www.itspmagazine.com/purchase-programsNewsletter Archive: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/tune-into-the-latest-podcasts-7109347022809309184/Business Newsletter Signup: https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-business-updates-sign-upAre you interested in telling your story?https://www.itspmagazine.com/purchase-programs Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There's a new book out this month about "the most beloved unknown nature writer in Minnesota history." That's how author David Hakensen describes Helen Hoover, the subject of his new biography. Seventy years ago Hoover moved to a cabin on the Gunflint Trail, where she became a best-selling author, writing about her experiences and the wildlife she observed. MPR News reporter Dan Kraker spoke to Hakensen about why he finds Hoover's story so compelling.

In Part 2 of our powerful conversation with Dr. Hillary Cauthen — licensed clinical sport psychologist, author, and President-Elect of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology — we dive deeper into the culture of youth sports, the pressures athletes face, and the role coaches and parents play in creating safe, healthy environments. From the hidden costs of monetized youth sports, to the importance of leadership, to the fine line between resilience and burnout, Dr. Cauthen shares hard truths and practical strategies for building a culture of care in athletics. Whether you're a coach, parent, or athlete, this episode will leave you rethinking how we measure success on and off the field.

Do you feel like your sins are unforgivable, or that you're not doing enough? What is the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and how did it get its name? D&C 106-108 offers answers that will bring peace to your soul and deepen your understanding of the Lord's kingdom. Summary: In this episode, we explore D&C 106-108, beginning with two lesser-known members, Warren A. Cowdery and Lyman Sherman. Their personal revelations provide powerful insights into scrupulosity and toxic perfectionism. We'll learn how to "let your soul be at rest concerning your spiritual standing" while still being "more careful henceforth". Next, we dive into the organizational and doctrinal revelations of D&C 107. We will uncover the true nature of the Melchizedek Priesthood, its authority to "administer in spiritual things" and the incredible blessing to "enjoy the communion and presence of God". We'll also explore why the "Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God" was renamed out of "reverence" for God's name, and how this applies to us today. The section on the organization of quorums, including the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, and the Seventy, will help us understand the unique blend of hierarchy and democracy in the Lord's Church. We'll examine the principle of unanimous decisions and the attributes required for righteous counsel. Finally, we'll look at the powerful, prophetic gathering at Adam-ondi-Ahman, where Adam gave his last blessing and predicted all that would befall his posterity. This lesson is a profound reminder of the Lord's mercy, the power of His priesthood, and the sacred history that connects us to our first parents. Call-to-Action: What spiritual blessings have you experienced through the Melchizedek Priesthood? Share your thoughts in the comments below! If you found this discussion insightful, please like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay "Unshaken" in your faith. Chapter Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 2:36 Scrupulosity 16:28 The Power of the Melchizedek Priesthood 27:48 That's My Name, Don't Wear It Out 37:55 Hierarchy and Democracy 52:25 Making Decisions 1:10:19 Adam-ondi-Ahman 1:20:45 Strike a Blow for the Kingdom! 1:29:31 One-Liners

Our Mothers Knew It with Maria EckersleyA Creative Study of Come, Follow MeD&C [D&C 106-108]“The Order of the Son of God”September 22 – September 28, 2025WEEK 39 SUMMARY=================Doctrine and Covenants sections 106 to 108 focus on Church organization, priesthood responsibilities, and personal faithfulness. Section 106 calls Warren A. Cowdery to be a presiding high priest, emphasizing preparation for the Lord's coming and promising blessings for faithful service. Section 107 provides detailed instructions on the organization and duties of the priesthood, outlining roles for the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Seventy, while emphasizing order and unity in the Church. Section 108 encourages Lyman Sherman to continue in his faithfulness, promising blessings for obedience and highlighting the importance of humility and strengthening others in their faith. Together, these sections underscore the importance of organized leadership and personal dedication in the Church.SPARK 1: COMPONENTS OF LIGHT================OBJECT LESSON: “There Are, in the Church, Two Priesthoods”: Priesthood Organization Bucket GameSPARK 2: NATURAL GROWTH===================================OBJECT LESSON: “Special Witnesses of the Name of Christ”: Spinning Balloon RingSPARK 3: FATHER'S BLESSINGS=============================OBJECT LESSON: “To Ordain Evangelical Ministers”: Patriarchal Blessing Study SheetCHAPTERS=========00:00:14 INTRO00:03:12 QUICK GLANCE00:07:22 SPARK 1 INSIGHTS00:16:40 SPARK 1 OBJECT LESSON00:20:30 SPARK 1 QUESTIONS00:23:53 SPARK 2 INSIGHTS00:33:07 SPARK 2 OBJECT LESSON00:36:49 SPARK 2 QUESTIONS00:39:41 SPARK 3 INSIGHTS00:50:24 SPARK 3 OBJECT LESSON00:55:59 SPARK 3 QUESTIONS00:58:55 WRAP UPLINKS=====WEB: https://www.gather.meckmom.comETSY: https://www.etsy.com/shop/meckmomINSTAGRAM: Instagram @meckmomlifePODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST DISCLAIMER=================================This podcast represents my own thoughts and opinions. It is not made, approved, or endorsed by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Any content or creative interpretations, implied or included are solely those of Maria Eckersley ("MeckMom LLC"), and not those of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Great care has been made to ensure this podcast is in harmony with the overall mission of the Church. Click here to visit the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Send us a text"To Have the Heavens Opened"...Join us this week as we discuss the personal conversion story of Warren Cowdery, the organizing of the priesthood offices and quorums, and Lyman Sherman's desire to receive comfort of full forgiveness.  From Come Follow Me Manual:          "At first glance, Doctrine and Covenants 107 might seem to be only about organizing priesthood offices into a leadership structure for the Lord's Church. Indeed, by the time this revelation was published, Church membership was already outgrowing the capacity of the few leaders it had in place. So outlining the roles and responsibilities of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, the Seventy, bishops, and quorum presidencies was surely needed and helpful. But there's so much more to the divine instruction in section 107 than just how to organize priesthood offices and quorums. Here the Lord teaches us about an ancient priesthood order that was “instituted in the days of Adam” (verse 41). Its purpose from the beginning has been to make it possible for God's children—including you—to receive the saving ordinances of the gospel and enjoy “all the spiritual blessings of the church—to have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, [and] to have the heavens opened unto them” (verses 18–19)."See “Restoring the Ancient Order,” Revelations in Context, 208–12.Support the Show!Become a "PATRON SAINT"! 

Section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants is a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith that lays out the organization and structure of priesthood authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It explains the two priesthoods—the Melchizedek Priesthood and the Aaronic Priesthood—detailing their offices, responsibilities, and governing councils. The revelation establishes the presiding quorums, such as the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Seventy, and gives instruction on their roles in guiding and administering the Church. It also highlights the principle that all Church leaders are to act in righteousness, humility, and under the direction of revelation. The section further emphasizes the eternal nature of the priesthood, teaching that it was first given to Adam and passed down through his posterity, continuing in an unbroken line of authority. It underscores the order, unity, and accountability required in priesthood service and notes that bishops serve as judges in Israel, caring for the temporal and spiritual welfare of members. The revelation concludes with a call for diligence, urging all who serve in the priesthood to learn their duty and act with exactness, promising that those who do so will magnify their callings and bring honor to God's work.

We'd love to hear from you about this episode.According to 2025 data released by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1 billion people are living with mental health disorders. US survey data collected in March and April 2025 indicate a substantial portion of adults experienced a mental health crisis in the past year, with many facing barriers to accessing help. The US is experiencing a significant shortage of mental health providers, which has led to a reduction in access to care. We must find proactive ways to manage the rising mental and emotional challenges that we consistently face. Creativity and wellness are deeply connected. Engaging in creative activities like art, music, and writing has been shown to reduce stress and lower symptoms of anxiety and depression. Making time for creative outlets as a form of self-care allows for emotional management and expression, stimulates brain function, and promotes a sense of connection to oneself and others. Welcome to Episode Seventy-One of the Nature of Wellness ™️ Podcast!!! In this episode, we spoke with artist, mental health advocate, and keynote speaker Jeffrey Sparr. Diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder as a college athlete, he struggled to live a "normal' life. Jeff co-founded PeaceLove Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes mental health through creative expression.Join us as we talk to Jeff about his journey with mental illness, how a friend's suggestion to try painting changed the course of his life, and how his new digital teaming tool, Scribl,  is reshaping human connection through creativity.Jeff discusses the challenges mental illness can impact health and wellness, how creativity can serve as a superpower, and how any creative endeavor has a profound impact on quality of life.This conversation is a work of art (pun intended).Please subscribe, rate, and leave a review anywhere you listen to this podcast. We appreciate you all.Be Well-NOW ™️ Jeffrey's Website: http://www.jeffreysparr.com/ScriblLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scribl-coInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/scribl.co/PeaceLoveLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peacelovefoundationInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacelovefoundation/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peacelovestudios* The unbelievable Shawn Bell produces the Nature of Wellness Podcast, making us sound good.** The NOW theme song was penned, performed, produced, and provided by the dynamic duo of Phil and Niall Monahan. *** This show wouldn't exist without our amazing guests and all of you who listen. Please like, subscribe, follow, and review to help us get these important messages out to more folks who can benefit from them. Thank you all.Breaking Free from Narcissistic AbuseWhen love turns toxic, this podcast helps you make sense of the chaos and start to heal.Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.DAN.9:22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.DAN.9:23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.DAN.9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?PRO.1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.PRO.1:24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;PRO.1:25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:PRO.1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;PRO.1:27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.PRO.1:28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:PRO.1:29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:PRO.1:30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.PRO.1:31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.PRO.1:32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.PRO.1:33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.GET NOTIFIED WHEN WE GO LIVE HERE AND DOWNLOAD THE APP!fringeradionetwork.comHOW TO SOW THE SEED FINANCIALLY:PAYPAL:spiritforce01@gmail.comBITCOIN:3H4Z2X22DuVUjWPsXKPEsWZmT9c4hDmYvyVENMO:@faithbucksCASHAPP:$spiritforcebucksZelle:faithbucks@proton.mePATREON:Michael BashamHOME BASE SITE:faithbucks.com

“AI has eaten software for lunch, but it might be eating communications for dinner,” says Dario Betti, CEO of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), in a wide-ranging conversation with Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News. In this podcast, Betti discusses his recent article, The AI Gold Rush Isn't Going Elon Musk's Way, and explores how mobility has become the front line in the AI revolution. With OpenAI's ChatGPT generating $2 billion in consumer spending from its mobile app—compared to Elon Musk's Grok's estimated $25 million—Betti argues that AI's future is already in the hands of mobile users. For channel partners, MSPs, and UCaaS/CPaaS providers, the implications are profound. Enterprises must rethink how end-users are accessing services today and how they'll expect to interact in the next five to ten years. “Seventy percent of AI integrations in enterprises have failed,” Betti warns, “but doing nothing is not an option. If you don't experiment, you'll be left behind.” The discussion spans: Why mobile is the true AI battleground The legal and competitive drama between Apple, OpenAI, and Elon Musk's Grok The risk of subscription fatigue—and why users still pay for AI today How AI may reshape UCaaS, CPaaS, and contact center experiences Practical advice for MSPs and resellers preparing for 2026 Betti emphasizes that enterprises and partners alike must begin experimenting, even at the risk of failure. The stakes are too high to wait. To learn more about MEF, visit mef.mobi.

Dr. Brent Top continues an in-depth look at D&C 107, explaining how priesthood organization keys and councils, from the first Presidency to the Seventy, were divinely structured to guide the Church, bless every member, and prepare the world for the Savior's return.SHOW NOTES/TRANSCRIPTS English: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC239EN French: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC239FR German: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC239DE Portuguese: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC239PT Spanish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC239ESYOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/OX7ry77l94gALL EPISODES/SHOW NOTES followHIM website: https://www.followHIMpodcast.comFREE PDF DOWNLOADS OF followHIM QUOTE BOOKSNew Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastNTBookOld Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastOTBookBook of Mormon: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastBMBook  WEEKLY NEWSLETTER https://tinyurl.com/followHIMnewsletter  SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/followHIMpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastTIMECODE00:00 Part 2 - Dr. Brent Top02:12 Evolution of the structure of the Church04:37 Unanimity is power09:14 Seeking to be mediocre11:43 Church leaders' private success vs. spiritual leadership16:22 Delegating keys20:02 Mission Leader Keys25:01 Finding Patriarchs28:02 Preside like unto Moses30:47 How does the organization bless the individual33:25 See progression in the temple36:00 How the Priesthood blesses men and women40:29 Learn his duty43:51 Keys and infallibility46:49 How has Church leadership blessed Dr. Top?49:29 Church basketball apologies53:04 Keep learning your duty57:09 End of Part 2 - Dr. Brent TopThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Cofounder, Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish TranscriptsAmelia Kabwika: Portuguese TranscriptsHeather Barlow: Communications DirectorSydney Smith: Social Media, Graphic Design "Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com

Send us a textIn this short episode, Kenny shares some thoughts from our stake conference. Our visiting area Seventy, Elder James N. Robinson, shared some profound insights with us during the Sunday morning session.  Many walked away from that meeting with a whole new understanding of what it means when the scriptures tell us that God requires "a broken heart..." as an offering from us to Him. I hope Elder Robinson's insight is as meaningful for you as it was for me!  -KennySupport the Show!Become a "PATRON SAINT"! 

Josh Krehbiel // SEVENTY SEVEN

Josh Krehbiel // SEVENTY SEVEN

This isn't just about pronouns or gender-bending fairy tales. This is about Leftism, the political equivalent of a clown car crash. Conservatives, we've been told to step aside and let insanity take the wheel. Seventy-one genders? Sure, why not? Men becoming women? Go for it, champ! Illegals getting better healthcare than veterans? Oh, absolutely, let's throw in a free pony while we're at it! This is the Left's platform, folks—a buffet of batshit with a side of chaos.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Josh Krehbiel // SEVENTY SEVEN

Revelation Dates: November 1834 – December 1835 Revelation Places: Kirtland, Ohio Section 106 - Historical Background: It had been 5 months since the return from Zions Camp. Joseph was engaged in the building of the Temple in Kirtland, along with visiting and strengthening each branch in the area. The previous month of March, Joseph had visited the town of Freedom, baptizing 30-40 people there, including Warren Cowdery, the brother of Oliver Cowdery. This revelation is directed to Warren Cowdery. Recap: Warren Cowdery to be ordained a High Priest and preside over the saints at Freedom, Ohio. He is to be humble and an example, preaching to the people. Section 107 - Historical Background: On Feb 14, 1835, Joseph invited all those who risked their lives at Zions Camp, to attend a special meeting. From the congregation, the 12 Apostles were chosen. Shortly thereafter, the First Council of 70 was selected, presided over by a presidency of 7. On March 28, 1835, the Twelve were about to leave on various missions and desired an uplifting revelation to take with them.     Recap: There are two priesthoods, the Melchizedek and Aaronic. All offices in the church are appendages to this priesthood. Priesthood offices are listed along with their rights and duties. Melchizedek: To administer the keys in spiritual things, authority to preside over all; Offices include High Priest – organized into the First Presidency, quorum of 12 Apostles, quorums of the Seventy, Patriarch and Bishop; and all other holders of the Melchizedek priesthood are to be ordained to the office of Elder. Aaronic: To administer keys of the administering of angels and the outward ordinances, to be presided over by the High Priest of the bishopric; Offices include Priest, Teacher and Deacon. [Note: When it comes time to translate records, such as the sealed portion of the gold plates, the book of Enoch, the brass plates, etc. the prophet will be sustained not only as prophet, seer and revelator, but also translator.] The number of quorums of the Seventy will expand as needed to travel as ministers among the gentiles. Section 108 - Historical Background: Lyman Sherman was among those faithful brethren who answered the call to Zion's Camp. However, upon their return to Kirtland, he wavered. Prompted by the Lord, Lyman approached Joseph to request a blessing and revelation from the Lord. Recap: Because of following the prompting of the Lord, Lyman is forgiven. The Lord admonishes to stop resisting the promptings of the Spirit and to be more careful in observing your vows. Be patient and faithful so the Father can bless you. Stringthen your brethren through conversation, prayers and in your doings. 

Our chapter depicts the three lines of the Sons of Noach - Yefet, Ham and Shem and the development of their civilizations. This is the story of the "Seventy Nations".

It's obvious that, a fight between one man in a space-suit, and a full-fledged space cruiser is, certainly, "no contest". True-but you've got the wrong slant! Hide and Seek by Arthur C. Clarke. That's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.If you've already filled out our survey, thank you, if you haven't done so yet, would you please? There's a link in the description or go to lostscifi.com and click on survey.Seventy-six years ago, back in 1949, you could fill your gas tank for just 26 cents a gallon and pick up a loaf of bread for only 14 cents. And for a quarter, you could grab the September issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Tucked inside its pages was a tale with a title that sounded more like a childhood game than a story of survival among the stars. Flip to page 58 and you'll find it—Hide and Seek by Arthur C. Clarke…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Old Dominie Vanderhoof was dead, but he did not rest in his grave, for evil was afoot in the old Dutch church. Two Black Bottles by H. P. Lovecraft.Survey - https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlkRise - http://bit.ly/45So7Yr☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVDiscord - https://discord.gg/EXrY7UHTFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPod❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Every Month Someone$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue$5 Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous ListenerPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Revelation Dates: February – June, 1834 Revelation Places: Kirtland, Ohio and Fishing River, Missouri Section 102 - Historical Background: With the rapidly increasing membership of the church, Joseph needed help in administration. A meeting was called consisting of 62 brethren, and Joseph taught about the ancient councils and how they were operated under Moses and Peter, among others. Joseph had received in vision how Peter presided over councils. Joseph laid out the formation of a Church Council (later named High Council) to assist the First Presidency in the administration of the church. This section, rather than a direct revelation like other sections, is the record or minutes of this meeting.  Recap: A High Council will be organized, consisting of 12 High Priests and the First Presidency. Its purpose is to settle disputes that cannot be settled by the Bishop's Council. A quorum of at least 7 must be present to act. The members of the council were chosen and approved. The accused and the accuser will each be represented by half the council, selected by lot. The president will make the final decision but approval will require a majority of councilors to approve that decision. Section 103 - Historical Background: Joseph was deeply concerned for the saints in Jackson County, now that it was learned they had been completely driven from their homes. In Section 101, Joseph learned that at some point he would be required to lead “the strength of mine house” to Zion in order to “redeem” it. Seeking further understanding, comfort and direction, Joseph received this revelation as he petitioned the Lord. Recap: The Lord will pour out his wrath upon the enemies of His church, but only in his own due time. [26 years later, the Civil War ravished Jackson County until nothing was left standing.] A waiting time is required until (1) the wicked are fully ripe in iniquity, and (2) the slothful saints in Zion receive chastisement and repent sufficiently. If they do not repent, the saints will be subject to the kingdoms of the world and thrown down. In due time, Zion will be redeemed. It is decreed by God, for He will raise a powerful leader like unto Moses to accomplish it. This leader will be Joseph Smith. [Note: Because the saints failed to repent, the accomplishment of this decree was delayed, but will still occur in the future by Joseph Smith in his resurrected state, as promised in his patriarchal blessing.]   Joseph is to organize “Zions Camp,” to call up 500 men willing to risk their own lives on a mission of peace and goodwill to restore the fleeing saints to their own lands. If 500 do not heed the Lord's call, 300 will be accepted. If not 300 men, 100 will have to suffice. If at least 100 men cannot be gathered, the relief expedition will be abandoned. Section 104 - Historical Background: As leaders of the church prepared to leave Kirtland for “Zions Camp,” and not knowing if they would survive and return to Kirtland, concern was given over the pressing debts and temporal affairs of the church they were leaving behind. The saints had failed to live the Law of Consecration properly so they were lacking in resources, especially in building the temple. Joseph turned to the Lord for guidance. Recap: The purpose of the United Order is to be a blessing to the church and a benefit for the poor. But some of the saints are unfaithful, resulting in a cursing rather than a blessing. The innocent will be spared, but the guilty cannot escape God's wrath. Leaders are to remove transgressors from the Order. Each saint must be held accountable for their stewardship. The rich are to reach out and assist the poor, so that both may benefit and rejoice. The Lord directs the assignment of properties in the United Order according to faithfulness and usefulness. Because the saints in Zion (Missouri) have transgressed the Order and broken their covenants, their United Order with the saints in Kirtland will be dissolved. The Lord clarifies that all properties are His and the saints are stewards only. There shall be two separate treasuries, one for the sacred funds from the people's tithes for the printing of the scriptures, building of the temple and general works of the church; the other treasury will include proceeds from the properties consecrated to stewards to be used within the needs of the Order. All debts must be paid. The Lord will soften the hearts of their debtors. For this once, the Order is allowed to pledge the properties under stewardship in order to pay off their debts. Section 105 - Historical Background: To answer the Lord's call to rescue Zion, Joseph could only rally 100 men in Kirtland, while other leaders rallied another 100 men from outlying areas, making Zions Camp only 205 men. From this faithful little group, God will later staff his quorums of Apostles and Seventy. Though the group was small, Joseph could wait no longer to proceed. With clothing and provisions, this small group begain their 1,000 mile march to Independence to confront the mobs who greatly outnumbered them. However, they had a pledge from the Missouri Governor that the saints would receive a military escort back to the lands of the homeless saints. At a place called Fishing River, Joseph learned the Governor now refused to honor his pledge. Joseph reaches out to the Lord for directions how they should proceed to redeem Zion.  Recap: Were it not for the transgressions of the church, Zion would have been redeemd already. But the church members have not learned to be obedient, impart of their substance to the poor, and are not united. Therefore, the saints will be chastened and Zion will not be redeemed for now. The leaders are to vigorously teach the saints more perfectly until they are spiritually prepared. God will fight the battles of the saints, but they must first become a righteous people. Those of Zion's Camp who want to stay in Zion may do so, but refrain from boasting of God's revelations. God will soften the hearts of the people, giving the church time to prepare for Zion's redemption. Purchase as much land as possible. Finish the temple in Kirtland and receive endowments there. Those who will redeem Zion will not be called, but will, at that time, be carefully chosen.

Imagine for a moment that eternity is like one long and endless rope. At the beginning of that rope is a red section that is about 4 inches long representing your life from birth to death. The average life expectancy for humans globally is 73 years and 78.4 years if you live in the United States. To put that into perspective, 78.4 years is only 28,616 days of life... maybe. The four-inch-long red section of an endless rope is your life. Seventy-eight years (28,616 days) may sound like a lot of time but consider that 9,450 days of your life is spent sleeping which leaves us with $19,166 days away from birth to death... if we live out our 78 days. Not counting the time we need for sleep, permit me to provide a little perspective: If you are 15 years old, you have about 23,141 days to go before your 78th If you are 25 years old, you have about 19,491 days to go before your 78th If you are 30 years old, you have about 17,666 days to go before your 78th If you are 50 years old, you have about 10, 366 days to go before your 78th Whatever your age is, dont forget to consider the 5 hours and 16 minutes spent on your phone each day. That red mark on that very, very long rope also represents how much time you are in the bathroom, looking for something you lost, hours you spend in education or working, and whatever else that consumes your time. Regardless of the time you think you have left, you might not be here tomorrow. The entire epistle is James pleading with us not to be so foolish to live our lives with all our language, all our energy, and all of our passion invested in the red portion of the rope. James calls us to live the red part of our lives on the rope of eternity! So, heres what I hope to do with the time we share. I want to devote our attention to James 4:13-16, because everything James warns us about stems from his reflections on how brief and delicate our lives truly are. When I say temporal, Im referring to the fleeting and fragile nature of our existence. But before we dive into James 4:13-16, lets take a moment to explore the verses that come before and after, setting the stage for a fuller understanding. The Fruit of Temporal Living is a Life Wasted James cautions us about five pitfalls that people can easily fall into if they live like this life is all there is. The apostle Paul echoed a similar idea, saying that if theres no resurrection and no hope beyond death, then it would be logical to live just for the moment: If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (1 Corinthians 15:32). Thankfully, the reality of the empty tomb affirms that what the Bible teaches about life, death, and what lies beyond is true. If we believe this life is all there is, then its logical to chase after pleasure for our own sake. This is the essence of secular hedonismseeking fulfillment in what is immediate and self-focused, disconnected from any greater purpose. James explains that this perspective grows out of the same source as worldly wisdom, which he describes as earthly, unspiritual, demonic (Jas. 3:14). In James 4:115:6, he outlines the harmful outcomes that spring from this outlook. Importantly, James directs these warnings to Christians, urging them to recognize and resist these patterns. Self-centered speech (4:11-12) Slander is a kind of speech that elevates the person doing it above othersand, ultimately, above the authority of Gods commands. The issue isnt that Christians should never judge others; in fact, Scripture often calls us to hold one another accountable (see Matt. 7:15-16). Rather, James cautions against speech that tears down rather than builds up, words that fail to encourage others in their walk with God (see Jas. 2:8-10; Heb. 10:24-25). Self-centered pursuits (4:13-16) This kind of planning assumes that we are in complete control of our own destinies, confident that well rise to greet the day as we expect. James cautions us against making life plans without seeking Gods guidance, warning that self-centered pursuits often revolve around our own abilities and ambitions rather than the purpose our Creator has for us. Self-centered responsibilities (4:17): The person who knows, the right thing to do and does not do it is the person who lives according to his/her own moral code. For James, this is the Christian whose decisions are shaped by what he/she wants to do over what Gods word has said we must do. Included in this kind of rebellion is the Christian who knows that God is leading him/her into a certain direction, but refuses to yield to God over what he/she wants. Self-centered riches (5:1-3) When we adopt the view that this life is all there is, it becomes natural to seek comfort and gain at the expense of others. James speaks especially strongly against those in the church who ignore the needs of the poor to enrich themselves. The issue isnt money itselfafter all, financial resources are vital for supporting missions and ministries. Nor does James condemn Christians simply for being wealthy. Instead, he challenges the relentless pursuit of wealth that disregards the truth that every blessing comes from God, entrusted to us for the purpose of advancing His work and serving those around us. Self-centered advantages (5:4-6) Some members of the churches James wrote to were taking advantage of others by withholding the wages rightfully earned by their workers. This injustice stemmed from greeda desire to live for personal pleasure, placing themselves at the center of their worlds, often at the expense of those around them (v. 5). By refusing to pay the laborers, they not only pursued selfish gain but also acted with disregard and even malice, putting the well-being of the righteous at risk. As James writes in verse 6, You have condemned and put to death the righteous person... The Christian should know better than to live in the sorts of ways James warns us about. These things James lists are grievous sins, and those guilty of such things should not take comfort in a salvation they might not possess. The reason why James uses very strong language is to shock those guilty of such things out of their complacency and toward repentance. There is a judgement coming that we all must be mindful of as we live out our lives here: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10). The Fruit of Living in Light of Eternity, is a Life Well Spent You do not exist for what is earthly, natural, and demonic. You and the life you have today, in the words of James, is only a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away (4:14). You are here and then you are gone, and just so you know, that is assuming that you have until your 78th birthday. Who knows what will happen between now and tomorrow, and it assumes that you are going to be here with little to no regard that each moment is an undeserved gift from Almighty God! This is why we are admonished in these verses: Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil The kind of boasting that is evil is the kind that assumes not only will you be getting up tomorrow, but also the failure to recognize that if you do get up in the morning, that God allowed it because there is a purpose greater than your plans for work, vacation, the honey-do-list your spouse created, or the leisure you crave. Dear brothers and sisters, if you are a Christian, then the God who created everything found you in your sin and spiritual deadness. The good news is that He not only found you, but He did not leave you to your sin and in your spiritual death! Think about what this means for you! Think about the implications! You were dead, and now you are alive! Listen to the way Colossians 2:13-14 describes what you have experienced: And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Christian, do you know what this means? You are now alive with Christ. How did it happen? The apostle Peter describes the miracle of new birth in his epistle: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people for Gods own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1:9-10). Because of this, no matter what happens to you in this vapor-like life, Jesus promised that even if death comes, not a hair of your head will perish (Luke 21:18). Christian, because you are alive with Christ, because you belong to Him, because you have been rescued and delivered from the darkness of this world that is earthly, natural, and demonic... your citizenship is in heaven and what you do in this life is an investment for eternity. James point in these verses is that you do not waste the life that God has gifted you. You were made for joy, and that joy is only possible in Jesus (John 15:11). This is why the Christian is able to find joy in suffering knowing that this life is a vapor compared to what is ours as citizens of Gods kingdom. Remember how James begins his epistle: Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4). The apostle Paul essentially says the same thing in Philippians 3:7-11 that has become my prayer for us as a church family: But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. If you make it your ambition to spend your life well by seeking to know Christ more in the way Paul describes, you will find that whatever comes into your life, that will not be what defines you. Why? Because what defines you is Jesus and your identity in Him. Even if your dreams crumble into ashes, you will be able to dream a different dream that lines up with the heart of God.

Imagine for a moment that eternity is like one long and endless rope. At the beginning of that rope is a red section that is about 4 inches long representing your life from birth to death. The average life expectancy for humans globally is 73 years and 78.4 years if you live in the United States. To put that into perspective, 78.4 years is only 28,616 days of life... maybe. The four-inch-long red section of an endless rope is your life. Seventy-eight years (28,616 days) may sound like a lot of time but consider that 9,450 days of your life is spent sleeping which leaves us with $19,166 days away from birth to death... if we live out our 78 days. Not counting the time we need for sleep, permit me to provide a little perspective: If you are 15 years old, you have about 23,141 days to go before your 78th If you are 25 years old, you have about 19,491 days to go before your 78th If you are 30 years old, you have about 17,666 days to go before your 78th If you are 50 years old, you have about 10, 366 days to go before your 78th Whatever your age is, dont forget to consider the 5 hours and 16 minutes spent on your phone each day. That red mark on that very, very long rope also represents how much time you are in the bathroom, looking for something you lost, hours you spend in education or working, and whatever else that consumes your time. Regardless of the time you think you have left, you might not be here tomorrow. The entire epistle is James pleading with us not to be so foolish to live our lives with all our language, all our energy, and all of our passion invested in the red portion of the rope. James calls us to live the red part of our lives on the rope of eternity! So, heres what I hope to do with the time we share. I want to devote our attention to James 4:13-16, because everything James warns us about stems from his reflections on how brief and delicate our lives truly are. When I say temporal, Im referring to the fleeting and fragile nature of our existence. But before we dive into James 4:13-16, lets take a moment to explore the verses that come before and after, setting the stage for a fuller understanding. The Fruit of Temporal Living is a Life Wasted James cautions us about five pitfalls that people can easily fall into if they live like this life is all there is. The apostle Paul echoed a similar idea, saying that if theres no resurrection and no hope beyond death, then it would be logical to live just for the moment: If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (1 Corinthians 15:32). Thankfully, the reality of the empty tomb affirms that what the Bible teaches about life, death, and what lies beyond is true. If we believe this life is all there is, then its logical to chase after pleasure for our own sake. This is the essence of secular hedonismseeking fulfillment in what is immediate and self-focused, disconnected from any greater purpose. James explains that this perspective grows out of the same source as worldly wisdom, which he describes as earthly, unspiritual, demonic (Jas. 3:14). In James 4:115:6, he outlines the harmful outcomes that spring from this outlook. Importantly, James directs these warnings to Christians, urging them to recognize and resist these patterns. Self-centered speech (4:11-12) Slander is a kind of speech that elevates the person doing it above othersand, ultimately, above the authority of Gods commands. The issue isnt that Christians should never judge others; in fact, Scripture often calls us to hold one another accountable (see Matt. 7:15-16). Rather, James cautions against speech that tears down rather than builds up, words that fail to encourage others in their walk with God (see Jas. 2:8-10; Heb. 10:24-25). Self-centered pursuits (4:13-16) This kind of planning assumes that we are in complete control of our own destinies, confident that well rise to greet the day as we expect. James cautions us against making life plans without seeking Gods guidance, warning that self-centered pursuits often revolve around our own abilities and ambitions rather than the purpose our Creator has for us. Self-centered responsibilities (4:17): The person who knows, the right thing to do and does not do it is the person who lives according to his/her own moral code. For James, this is the Christian whose decisions are shaped by what he/she wants to do over what Gods word has said we must do. Included in this kind of rebellion is the Christian who knows that God is leading him/her into a certain direction, but refuses to yield to God over what he/she wants. Self-centered riches (5:1-3) When we adopt the view that this life is all there is, it becomes natural to seek comfort and gain at the expense of others. James speaks especially strongly against those in the church who ignore the needs of the poor to enrich themselves. The issue isnt money itselfafter all, financial resources are vital for supporting missions and ministries. Nor does James condemn Christians simply for being wealthy. Instead, he challenges the relentless pursuit of wealth that disregards the truth that every blessing comes from God, entrusted to us for the purpose of advancing His work and serving those around us. Self-centered advantages (5:4-6) Some members of the churches James wrote to were taking advantage of others by withholding the wages rightfully earned by their workers. This injustice stemmed from greeda desire to live for personal pleasure, placing themselves at the center of their worlds, often at the expense of those around them (v. 5). By refusing to pay the laborers, they not only pursued selfish gain but also acted with disregard and even malice, putting the well-being of the righteous at risk. As James writes in verse 6, You have condemned and put to death the righteous person... The Christian should know better than to live in the sorts of ways James warns us about. These things James lists are grievous sins, and those guilty of such things should not take comfort in a salvation they might not possess. The reason why James uses very strong language is to shock those guilty of such things out of their complacency and toward repentance. There is a judgement coming that we all must be mindful of as we live out our lives here: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10). The Fruit of Living in Light of Eternity, is a Life Well Spent You do not exist for what is earthly, natural, and demonic. You and the life you have today, in the words of James, is only a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away (4:14). You are here and then you are gone, and just so you know, that is assuming that you have until your 78th birthday. Who knows what will happen between now and tomorrow, and it assumes that you are going to be here with little to no regard that each moment is an undeserved gift from Almighty God! This is why we are admonished in these verses: Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil The kind of boasting that is evil is the kind that assumes not only will you be getting up tomorrow, but also the failure to recognize that if you do get up in the morning, that God allowed it because there is a purpose greater than your plans for work, vacation, the honey-do-list your spouse created, or the leisure you crave. Dear brothers and sisters, if you are a Christian, then the God who created everything found you in your sin and spiritual deadness. The good news is that He not only found you, but He did not leave you to your sin and in your spiritual death! Think about what this means for you! Think about the implications! You were dead, and now you are alive! Listen to the way Colossians 2:13-14 describes what you have experienced: And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Christian, do you know what this means? You are now alive with Christ. How did it happen? The apostle Peter describes the miracle of new birth in his epistle: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people for Gods own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1:9-10). Because of this, no matter what happens to you in this vapor-like life, Jesus promised that even if death comes, not a hair of your head will perish (Luke 21:18). Christian, because you are alive with Christ, because you belong to Him, because you have been rescued and delivered from the darkness of this world that is earthly, natural, and demonic... your citizenship is in heaven and what you do in this life is an investment for eternity. James point in these verses is that you do not waste the life that God has gifted you. You were made for joy, and that joy is only possible in Jesus (John 15:11). This is why the Christian is able to find joy in suffering knowing that this life is a vapor compared to what is ours as citizens of Gods kingdom. Remember how James begins his epistle: Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4). The apostle Paul essentially says the same thing in Philippians 3:7-11 that has become my prayer for us as a church family: But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. If you make it your ambition to spend your life well by seeking to know Christ more in the way Paul describes, you will find that whatever comes into your life, that will not be what defines you. Why? Because what defines you is Jesus and your identity in Him. Even if your dreams crumble into ashes, you will be able to dream a different dream that lines up with the heart of God.

The Dean's List with Host Dean Bowen – A The moral of the equitable grading story is that students get a grade for not doing any work while school districts flout empty numbers to make themselves look good. Many teachers have expressed their frustration with this Marxist way of measuring the ability of their students. Seventy-one percent of the teachers surveyed stated that grading policies should...

Guests:* Rossana D'Antonio – Author of 26 Seconds: Grief and Blame in the Aftermath of Losing My Brother in a Plane Crash* Marty Ross-Dolen – Author of Always There, Always Gone: A Daughter's Search for TruthTwo authors, Rossana D'Antonio and Marty Ross-Dolen, each faced the unimaginable loss of loved ones in separate plane crashes decades apart. Their grief led them to write powerful memoirs—Rossana's 26 Seconds and Marty's Always There, Always Gone—that explore truth, healing, and the lasting impact of tragedy. In an extraordinary coincidence, both books were released in the same week, a situation that could easily spark feelings of rivalry or jealousy between writers. Instead, their shared experience created a bond as they connected over loss, resilience, and the courage it takes to turn pain into story. This episode dives into that connection, exploring not only grief but also the unexpected solidarity found in telling similar stories side by side.Hey everyone, it's Jenny Nash. This episode happens to feature an Author Accelerator book coach. Author Accelerator is the company I founded more than 10 years ago to lead the emerging book coaching industry. If you've been curious about what it takes to become a successful book coach, which is to say, someone who makes money, meaning, and joy out of serving writers, I've just created a bunch of great content to help you learn more. You can access it all by going to bookcoaches.com/waitlist. We'll be enrolling a new cohort of students in our certification program in October, so now's a perfect time to learn more and start making plans for a whole new career.Transcript below!EPISODE 464 - TRANSCRIPTJennie NashHey everyone. It's Jennie Nash. This episode happens to feature an Author Accelerator book coach. Author Accelerator is the company I founded more than 10 years ago to lead the emerging book coaching industry. If you've been curious about what it takes to become a successful book coach, which is to say someone who makes money, meaning and joy out of serving writers. I've just created a bunch of great content to help you learn more. You can access it all by going to book bookcoaches.com/waitlist. That's bookcoaches.com/waitlist. We'll be enrolling a new cohort of students in our certification program in October, so now's a perfect time to learn more and start making plans for a whole new career.Multiple SpeakersIs it recording? Now it's recording, yay. Go ahead. This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone. I don't remember what I'm supposed to be doing. All right, let's start over. Awkward pause. I'm going to rustle some papers. Okay, now—one, two, three.Jennie NashHey everyone. I'm Jennie Nash, and this is the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast, the place where we talk about writing all the things, short things, long things, fiction, nonfiction, pitches and proposals. Today I'm here to talk with two writers who I brought together because of a very interesting coincidence; each of these writers recently published a memoir about a plane crash. They each lost somebody that they love in a plane crash, and they wrote a story about their search for understanding and their search for healing and what it all means to their lives. These two books are really different stories, which I think is so interesting and says so much about the creative process. And what's remarkable is that these two books were published just one week apart, and these two writers became aware of each other's books and became friends. I happened to have a connection to each of these writers. At several points throughout her writing process, I coached Rossana D'Antonio including the very first time she came into a classroom to write about this story. Her book is called 26 Seconds: Grief and Blame in the Aftermath of Losing My Brother in a Plane Crash. Marty Ross-Dolen is the other author. Her book is called Always There, Always Gone: A Daughter's Search for Truth. Marty is a writer who came into my Author Accelerator book coach certification program to study how to become a book coach, and that's when I became aware of her and her story. In this conversation, Marty and Rossana come together with me to talk about grief, writing, jealousy and so many of the things that make memoir such a difficult and challenging genre to write and also such a satisfying one. I can't wait for you to listen. So let's get started. Welcome Rossana and Marty. I'm so excited to have you both here today to talk about this incredible topic. And before we get going, we are talking just days after there was a terrible plane crash in India in which a lot of people died and one man walked away, and there's a plane crash at the center of both of your books. And I just wanted to start by asking, how do you feel when this happens as it happens so many times, you know, are you okay as we sit here today? Or does this weigh on you? What is it? What is it like to sit here today? So maybe we'll start Rossana with you.Rossana D'AntonioOkay, well, thanks, Jennie, for inviting me on your podcast. It's really exciting to be here and to share, you know, this podcast with Marty. And, yeah, I mean, I, I agree with you. It's really, I mean, I think our memoirs—it's just so timely that they're out during this time because it's, you know, it's not just Air India. We've had several incidents within the last several years, actually, that have brought to light the strain in the aviation industry. It's been, it's been really interesting because, as it seems like there's not a day that goes by that there isn't something in the news with regards to plane crashes or plane incidents, near misses, whatever it may be. But as we experience each incident, and it becomes breaking news, and you know, we're witnessing it on live TV, it is, it is hard not to relive the experience. And I'm—I'll speak for myself—it is hard for me not to relive the experience. And in the book, I kind of talk about it because I say that it's kind of like we belong to this group that we never asked to be part of and this group is made of families of the victims of plane crashes. And, you know, the very first images that you see are of the grieving families and the pain and the grief that is stamped on their faces, the shock of it all. Plane crashes are so dramatic and so violent that it's hard not to get caught up in the whole story, and it's hard not to think of the families and want to comfort them, knowing that their hell is just starting, and all the things that they're going to have to go through, you know, with regards to the aftermath, the investigation, recovering their loved ones and their loved ones' belongings. So it is hard, but I try to, I try to focus on hoping that their recovery or their healing—the sooner they face the disaster, the tragedy—their healing can actually start.Jennie NashIt's got to be so hard. We'll, we'll return to all of these topics again. But Marty, you're... what are your thoughts?Marty Ross-DolenI echo what Rossana says about how—first, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here with you. I echo, and I love being here with Rossana, and I echo what she says as well. When I see some sort of headline or announcement that an airplane accident has taken place, my heart sinks. My stomach sinks. I know that I'm going to be in it for a couple of days, if not longer, and nowadays, with social media and the immediacy of information—and for the first time, with this devastating Air India crash, and part of it is because there was a survivor—we have information that we've never had before about the experience of it, and somehow, what came across my news feed on social media as well were videos of the inside of the cabin just before the crash. I don't even know how these were available. I don't even know if they're real because of AI—it's... but then I see that because I can't not see it, and I'm stuck with that in my brain until it goes into that little pocket that contains all those things that we see over our lifetimes that we try never to think about again. So it's hard, it's really hard, and it's really hard to get on an airplane. But that's true for everyone. That's true for everyone, but because, as Rossana describes, we're members of this group, this club that we didn't sign on for, it's probably extra hard.Jennie NashYeah, I want to come back to that "get on an airplane" thing, but just so our listeners can know about the stories that I'm referring to here, we know that you both wrote books, and they're both memoirs, and they're very, very different experiences for the reader—vibes, purposes, feelings, all of those things—and yet they share this plane crash at the center. So I wanted to ask if you would each just give a summary of what your book is about—the title, what it's about—so our readers can know, our listeners can know, what we're talking about. Your readers, our listeners. Rossana, we're kind of in a pattern here, so why don't you go first?Rossana D'AntonioSure. Thanks, Jennie. So my story, my book, is 26 Seconds: Grief and Blame in the Aftermath of Losing My Brother in a Plane Crash. And it's the story of—well, the title says it all, right? So on May 30, 2008, TACA Flight 390 departed from El Salvador International Airport en route to Miami, Florida, with an interim stop in Honduras at one of the most notoriously dangerous airports in the world, Toncontín International Airport. The area was buffeted by Tropical Storm Alma at the time. So there was a lot of wind, a lot of rain, a lot of fog, and when TACA Flight 390 attempted to land on the airport's very short runway, it overshot the runway, crashed into an embankment, and killed five people—three in the plane, including my brother, the pilot, and two in a car that were crushed when the plane landed on them. The book is my search for the truth as to what truly happened on that day. I suspected my brother would be made a scapegoat. Seventy percent of airplane accidents are blamed on the pilot, and so I just suspected that that would be our reality. And so this book is the story about me finding answers to the questions as to what happened that day..Jennie NashAnd in terms of the timeline of this story, when I first met you, you had just begun to write about it. I think it was 10 years. Oh, no, I've got that wrong. How long after the event? You came into a class of mine at UCLA—it was really close to the event.Rossana D'AntonioYeah. So it was February of 2009, so it was a little over six months. So it was still very, very raw.Jennie NashI know the 10 years part is you came back to me 10 years later, having finally wrapped your hands around how you wanted to approach it. So the story as you write it is 10–15 years after the event, looking back on it and all the work that you did to understand this crash and you are uniquely positioned. And I remember thinking about this way back when I first met you. You have a very unique perspective on disaster, and you have a very unique positioning or perspective from which to look at that. Do you want to explain what that is?Rossana D'AntonioSure. So I'm an engineer. I'm a civil engineer, and I worked for over three decades in the public sector at Los Angeles County Public Works. I was over—as I left county service, I was a deputy director over our emergency management business area, and so I was trained to respond to all sorts of different disasters. Our agency managed several pieces of infrastructure, including five different airports. So I was trained to not only plan, design, construct infrastructure, but also to respond to emergencies following not only natural disasters but, you know, human-made disasters. And following these disasters, I was the lead for preparing after-action reports, which essentially describe what happened, what went wrong, what went well, and what lessons learned can we actually take away from these disasters. So that was my background.Jennie NashYeah, it's an incredible connection to this tragic event. So we'll come back to that in a minute. So Marty, tell us about your book.Marty Ross-DolenSure. So my book is entitled Always There, Always Gone: A Daughter's Search for Truth. And in 1960, my grandparents were killed in an airplane accident that was a collision over New York Harbor. Their plane—they had left Columbus, Ohio. They were traveling to New York, and they were on a TWA Super Constellation, and then a United jet that had originated in Chicago was flying in. My grandparents' plane was set for landing in LaGuardia. The United flight was set for landing in Idlewild, which is now JFK Airport. The United plane got off course and collided with my grandparents' plane. My grandparents' plane landed in Staten Island in an empty airfield, and the United flight actually continued for a few miles and landed in Park Slope, Brooklyn, killing people on the ground. So on the planes, there were 128 people who lost their lives, and then six people on the ground in Brooklyn. And because of that horrific situation in Brooklyn, that's where most of the sort of media was focused. There was one survivor who survived for about 24 hours—a boy—but he didn't live. My grandparents were on their way from Columbus to New York to meet for a meeting to talk about their family business, their iconic family magazine Highlights for Children, and they were looking to place the magazine on the newsstands. So they were executives with the company, and this accident was actually the largest commercial jet airplane disaster up until that time in 1960, so it was a pretty well-known, famous accident.Jennie NashSo you two have a very unique connection to that accident, and where you stood when you wrote about it is much further in the future from the crash itself, because your mother, if I remember correctly, was 14 years old at the time.Marty Ross-DolenRight. So my mom was 14. It was six years before I was born, so obviously I didn't know my grandparents. My mom was the second oldest of five, and they moved from Columbus, Ohio, to Austin, Texas, to live with a paternal uncle and his family. And so my book is more about my experience of being raised by a mother who was in protracted mourning after having lost her parents and not had a way to process her grief as an adolescent, and as she got older. So my approach to my book is from that angle primarily, in addition to getting to know my grandmother through her letters, which was a significant goal through the writing process.Jennie NashRight. So you have this reverberation through time of this accident and your connection to the work your grandparents did. You're a writer, you're an editor, you're a person who deals with story, and they were—I mean, I was such a reader of Highlights back in the day—and that, you know, you use the word iconic, you know, probably launched the careers of so many writers and thinkers, and you have a connection through time with that, which is a very unique perspective to have on your story. So you each bring these very different ways of looking at this event. So before we kind of dig into the decisions you each made around how to structure your book, and the tone and shape and all of that, part of the reason we're all talking here today is this, what I think of as a very delightful outcome of these books, which is that you know each other. You've met each other after the books were written. And oftentimes we think, when we're writing something, that well, we think several things: nobody's ever written anything like this, and everybody else has already written this story. What do I have to say? You know, those sort of back-and-forth thoughts that writers often have—Is this unique? Do I have something to add? Do I have something to say? How am I going to serve my readers, or what experience am I going to give to my readers? And then, you know just those pinging back-and-forth thoughts. And it's not very often that we get to actually meet a writer who, at the same time, in the same phase here of publishing, you know, just the same year even, has written something that is similar-ish, you know, about a plane crash, but totally different books. But I just want to ask you each about the meeting of each other and the thinking of that book, and what that's like, because it's so unusual to get to have this kind of conversation. So, you know, I imagine there are lots of things going through your head when you heard about this other book or, you know, I don't know if I have a connection to both of you. I don't know if it came from me or what, but why don't we start this time with you, Marty.Marty Ross-DolenYeah, one of the great joys of this last year has been publishing with the same publisher as Rossana, and for us to get to know each other, because we both published our books with She Writes Press, and we just happened to be in the same cohort of summer 2025. We published in the same month, one week apart. Yeah, yeah. And I remember when we first were introducing ourselves as a group, and Rossana mentioned what her story was about. And my reaction was, is it really true? Is there really another airplane accident story amongst us? Because it is—it's not common. I mean, you don't very often come across people who have lost loved ones this way, and what became clear to me over time was that our books were very, very different. And by the nature of the fact that Rossana lost her beloved brother, who she was very close to, and I lost grandparents I had never met, our stories were just—and there's decades that separate these events—so by those natures, it was clear to me that our books were going to be different. I was excited to read Rossana's book. I was also apprehensive because, for the same reason that I described about when I'm reading about it in the news, it's just hard. But I will say, in reading Rossana's beautiful book, I immediately noticed just kindred spirits with her as a writer. It happened early in the chapters that I was reading. I had used the word lullaby to describe the sound of the engines getting going when you're sitting on a plane and it's about to take off, and sort of the sound of almost a lullaby that will put you to sleep. The person who was working with me as I was writing kept crossing that word out: “That doesn't make sense. Why would you call that a lullaby?” And I wanted it in there. It felt so right. And Rossana described that exact time, those sounds, as a lullaby. It was like; this is something that's just unique about people who have experienced what we've experienced.Jennie NashOh, wow, that's so interesting. Rossana, what about you? Your coming upon Marty's book.Rossana D'AntonioI know. What are the odds, right? I mean, I had never met anyone who had ever experienced a plane crash in their family. As a matter of fact, I'm going to get geeky here, but the U.S. Department of Transportation statistics indicate that one in 2 billion people will die in a plane crash. So what are the odds that, you know, life would bring Marty and I together, that had this connection, not only with the plane crash but also with you, Jennie? I mean some that came out later on. And so I thought, wow, you know, talk about serendipity and, you know, the mysterious ways of life. And although, you know, these are very different stories, I mean, they're connected at their core by a common theme, right? Very similar tragedies. And when I read Marty's book, like she says, there was—I was taken aback because there were many similar passages, you know, how we describe things or how we perceive things. There were a lot of commonalities, even though we came from it from different perspectives, which again reinforces my belief that we're part of this group that we never want to be a part of, and we'll always be connected in one way or another. I think one of the things, though, that was obvious when I read her book was that I connected, I understood, I related to her mom, obviously, right? Her mom was one that had experienced this plane crash, so it was kind of obvious the way it had impacted her, the tragedy, the aftermath, the bottling up of her feelings, PTSD, whatever—all of that I, like, clicked. But I think the most fascinating part of Marty's book was how that grief could be transferred from generation to generation. And I thought that was the fascinating thing that I learned that I really didn't know, and how these tragedies can be prolonged for, you know, generations.Jennie NashYeah, it's—well, first of all, thanks for geeking out because that is a good description of what your book is. You have a lot in your book that is kind of geeky in a—you know, you really get into the aviation industry, into the nuts and bolts of, literally, planes and how they function to the way that governments and reports about accidents function. So when reading your book, people get that layer, which is, you know, you bring to that work. So, geek out all you want. It's great. And Marty's book, by contrast, is this exploration of, you know, you drop a pebble in a pond, and how does it hit the shores? And that very emotional—you know, she had a mother immersed in grief. And what does that do to the child? And then the child's impulse to—I think it's the word search in both of your subtitles, I think it might be, or certainly the concept of it—but that idea of a quest or a journey or, you know, a need to understand. And in Rossana's case, it's what happened on that day. In Marty's case, what happened to my mom? You know, like, what was this thing that happened to my mom? And you're both seeking—that core of both of them. So I want to ask about, because I'm fascinated by this—you know, there's a raw material of a story, and how you make your choices about what the tone of that story is going to be, or the shape and structure of that story, what you want the reader to feel or to experience. Can you both go back to when you knew you were going to write about it? I think that's the first thing, is how did you catch this idea as, "This is a thing I'm going to write about"? Marty, do you want to start with that one?Marty Ross-DolenSure. I started writing after I attended a 50th anniversary memorial event for the airplane accident. And there's a sort of story that leads up to that memorial event and my attending it. But prior to that—which was, so that was 2010—prior to that, I wasn't necessarily inclined to write about it. So after attending this memorial event in 2010, a few months later, I just started telling the story of the memorial and putting some backstory into it, and that ended up being an essay that was about... I don't know, it was a long essay, like, say, 40 pages, but I was told the story was done. Because for those of us that like to use writing and words and language to try to process those things that are sitting—that we're obsessing about or sitting in our minds—I wanted to have done that and be done, because this thing was deeper than anything else that I could excavate in terms of pain in my life. So after I submitted this essay to a class that I was taking at Ohio State—writing, creative writing workshop—and at the end of the semester, the professor said to me that he thought that really what I was doing was writing a book, because there was too much material here and I hadn't done what needed to be done. My stomach sank because I didn't want to write a book. It wasn't—I wanted to be done with this topic. So I took his feedback and all of my workshop peers' feedback, and I stuck it all, the pile of papers, into a cabinet, and it stayed there for 14—well, 10—years.Jennie NashWow!Marty Ross-DolenYeah. And then, during that time, my mother had become the archivist for Highlights, for the family business, and was going through all of the saved artifacts and materials and papers related to the company and the family. And I had always wanted to know my grandmother better. My grandmother is the person I'm named for. I had always known a lot of stories about her, but I asked my mom if she had access to any letters that she might come across in the attics and basements that she was excavating—could I have them? So she started sending them to me. So while I had an essay in the cabinet, I had bins of letters from my grandmother in the basement. And that whole time, anybody who would ask me what I was working on, writing-wise, I'd say, "Well, you know I've got these letters in the basement..." but I never did anything with it. I just couldn't—it was too—everything was too overwhelming. And then what happened for me is that COVID—when the pandemic, you know, 2020, started—became part of our lives. I realized that it was an opportunity for me to pursue an MFA that I had wanted to do for a long time because it was going to be remote. And then I realized I've got time, and I could pull all of this out and see if it was something worth tackling. So that's the story of the decision to write. It was a slow one.Jennie NashWow. Oh, so interesting. And Rossana, well, we heard that you, six months after your brother died, you were in this class trying to learn how to write about it, which, at the time, I didn't quite put together that had been so recent. So when did you decide you were going to write about it? How did you know?Rossana D'AntonioYeah, so, I mean, I didn't set out to write a book. I just started to write. And as you know, as an engineer, I wasn't really trained to be like a memoir writer or writing essays of this type of nature. But I have to give you so much credit, because when I went to your class—and I went out of curiosity to see, well, is anything I'm scribbling down in these journals, is anything really good?—and so your class brought me together with all these other students, and, you know, reading some of the material out loud, all of a sudden, it was a four-day—I don't know if you remember—it was a four-day, one of these four-day intensive classes, and at the end, we're reading our material, and all these strangers are suddenly referring to my brother like they know him, and I recognize that it was because I was somehow relaying his story to them, and I was somehow, maybe through my work or my words, keeping him alive in some way, and that was really transformational for me, because I thought, well, maybe I can do this. And you were very kind. You said that the work was actually pretty good, and then I had some teachers that, you know, added to that. So it started out like, you know, just like playing with words, and then it turned into a grief memoir. That's the… you know, it's evolved greatly. It turned into a grief memoir, which you—I went back to you and you said, “Well, this is great, congratulations, but it's really not marketable, and if you really want to get it out into the world, you're going to have to make some changes.” And so at that point, that's when I decided, all right, I'm going to go ahead and explore. I'm going to go deeper and try to explore the truth about what happened that day. Maybe make it more scientific, more technical; maybe bring in some of the elements that were missing from this memoir. And so along with working with you and working with my editor­— Jodi Fodor—both of you, like within the last few years—I thought I had written it, I thought I was fine, I thought it was done. But then I'd come back to all of you, and you would ask me these probing questions. Perhaps I hadn't developed a scene well enough, or maybe I needed to go deeper. You know, memoir is different than what I was trained to do, and that would send me down this rabbit hole in search of answers to, you know, the questions you were asking, which, by the way, was very annoying because obviously I did not want to come to terms with, you know, the questions that you were asking, because it would, like, get me down into the feeling part of the whole memoir writing. But I did the homework, I came back with answers, and then I realized that memoir is a different animal. And I really felt that your input, your feedback, your questions, your probing, really did make it a lot richer of a story. And even through those seeking answers to the questions that you had brought me to self-discoveries, epiphanies, that perhaps… things that I had bottled up, and that even at the tail end of writing the story, there was still so much more to discover with regards to grief and healing, and which was a lesson to me that I suppose this journey never really ends.Jennie NashOh, I want to defend myself when I said, “This is great, but it's not marketable.” There is such a danger with memoir, particularly memoir around big things, and you both are writing about a big thing, and also particularly around grief, where it's so big in your own head, it takes over your whole mind or life or heart or world, that you assume that everybody else gets it. Right? Like this thing happened, and it's tragic, and in Marty's case, it reverberates through my whole life, and it's so easy to skip over the work of making that story mean something to the reader, and of just sort of resting on the fact that this dramatic thing happened in your family and your life. And there are so many manuscripts like that that when they land on the desk of an agent or the hands of a reader, it's not enough, right? It's not enough. And so that was what I was responding to you. And I know because I got to work with you, and I know from Marty, because I see the result of her finished book, you both did that really hard work, and when I say it's really hard, you just named, Rossana, why it's hard. You have to look at yourself in a way… you know you have to dig in there to things you might not really want to think about. You certainly probably don't want to feel. Do you even want to share them? All of those decisions and choices and ideas. That's what's so hard. And you both put yourself through that process. So I want to ask you each about that—what was it like? So Marty, we'll start with you. In your case, you're digging into these letters, you start then digging into the news, the articles, the pictures, the—you know, all this stuff that your mother never spoke about, and here you're digging, digging, digging. What was that like for you on an emotional level?Marty Ross-DolenAh, it took over my life for a period of time. It was very time-consuming and overwhelming, and nothing about it was easy. I spent a lot of time and tears. I had a tough time sleeping. I did a lot of the work of writing in the middle of the night. In my head, I would wake up in the middle of the night reciting something I had written the day before. It had totally taken over my brain, and fortunately, my mother is very supportive of my work and has been very supportive of the book. And while I was reading the letters—and I read them all, and there are hundreds and hundreds of letters and thousands of pages of them—my mom was available to me to have very long conversations each day through it, because I would want to share something that I read with her, check with her about a story, or she would add and fill in some cracks. And she and I spent a lot of time on the phone crying. We also spent a lot of time laughing, because my grandmother was hilarious, which helped the situation. Her letters were a joy to read. But it really—it's a commitment. It's something that anybody who decides that they're going to take on a project that's going to just sort of open up the wound and create a rawness you're not even familiar with until you're there certainly needs to have established the support system. And I also had my husband, who was incredibly willing to talk about—I mean, he's been talking about this with me and listening for, at this point, for years, but certainly all the time back then, during those days. So it's not pretty, it was hard, but there's nothing about it that doesn't feel like the biggest gift I've ever given myself, because as much as I was trying to avoid it for all those years, there was a reason. I had to do it. I had to go through the process. And also, no question, there's a healing component to writing about something like this, and that reflective writing process, when you do the deep work and try to really dig and let yourself—as Rossana was saying—you know, the annoying stuff that was really like not where you wanted to go, but that is what really changed how it helped me heal in terms of grief, but it really also changed the way I thought about the story and imagined the story, and helped me not look at it through quite as much sadness and even anger, as much as I then was able to look through more of a lens of love at all of it. And I would venture to say that Rossana may have felt that too, because I read her book, and her book is all love. So…Jennie NashYeah, so Rossana, what was that experience of writing like for you?Rossana D'AntonioYeah, well, like Marty said, you know, it was, it did become all-consuming. I became obsessed. For me, though, it was the plane crash, right? The plane crash is the common thread throughout the whole book. And I would venture to say that the crash is a character itself. I like to think of it as the crash is the villain that I battle throughout the story. Everything revolves around it, and it was all-consuming. I analyzed it a million different ways. I deconstructed it. I peeled layer after layer, fact upon fact, trying to get to the core of what truly happened, right? And then I put everything back together, reconstructing it to try to make sense of it all in an effort to find out the truth, with a little bit of fear as to what I may actually find, right? There were no guarantees that I would like what I actually discovered. And as a matter of fact, you know, working with my editor—because I got so ingrained in it, because I got so weedy and geeky and just too technical—you know, she would actually slash dozens of pages, and she said, “I'm not even going to read this because this is not memoir appropriate. You need to do better.” And I think it was at that point where I had that conversation with Jody that the crash evolved from a thing to a character that I could eventually conquer. And like Marty said, there is a healing, and at the end, I actually make peace with this experience. You know, not that I'm all healed, but I make peace with it. There's really nothing I could do. My search was for the truth, and I got the truth, and then I was able to let it go and actually continue to live, because it was so consuming that I wasn't really living until I let it go.Marty Ross-DolenCan I ask, Rossana, do you think that all that writing that you did that got slashed out—do you, because I have writing also that had to be removed—do you feel that that had to be written in order to be removed, in order to get on the other side of it?Rossana D'AntonioOh, that's a good question. I never thought of it that way, but yeah, it could be. I mean, it's part of the quest. It wasn't appropriate for the work that I was working on, but it did highlight facts that I needed to know in order to, like you said, let it go.Marty Ross-DolenYeah, I just think that's interesting, because I have material that didn't end up in the book, but I know I couldn't have written the book if I hadn't written that material. It's just… yeah.Jennie NashSo you both talk about having arrived at a place of peace, or you use the word a “gift to yourself,” Marty. It sounds like during the writing of these books it didn't feel like that… it feels like that now. So why did you keep going when it was so hard? Marty, what would you say to that?Marty Ross-DolenI think because even though it was hard, I was sensing that it was necessary. I was sensing the value of it, and I had just decided that I was committed to it, and I wasn't going to give up. I just had a sense that once I found myself on the other side, I would be in a place that would have made it all worth it.Jennie NashWhat about you, Rossana?Rossana D'AntonioWell, I mean, for me, there are two things. I mean, people who know me know that once I say I'm going to do something, I cannot let it go. So that's one. But the whole purpose of going down this journey was I needed to know what happened. So not knowing what happened was just not an option. I mean, that was the outcome that I was looking for, and there was fear and pain that I knew I was going to take on. But in order to get there, I needed to go through it. So it was just something inevitable. I just knew what I was getting myself into. And I—you know—bring it on.Jennie NashYeah. So I want to ask about the shaping of the stories. You know, there are so many different shapes a story can take. And Rossana, we heard how you started with one type of book, moved into another. You cut this and that. And Marty, you had this incredible amount of primary source material. How did you make a decision? I mean, there are so many questions we could ask here, but I'm going to just focus on the plane crash as part of this discussion. How did you decide where in the story the crash would come—let's call it the scene of the crash—because it appears in very different places in your books, and in some ways, that colors the tone or form or experience for the reader of that book. So, Marty, how did you make that decision? Because the crash comes quite late in your book, where we actually see it. And it struck me when I was reading your book that that was exactly right for your story, because your mother never spoke about it. You didn't know about it. It wasn't a thing you were playing over in your head, and so the not feeling the crash or knowing about the crash was part of the story of it, in a way. So how did you make that decision??Marty Ross-DolenI will say that the essay that I wrote in 2010 that I described as the foundational essay for the book was largely what part five of my book is. So in many ways, I had written the end of the book. That was the first thing I wrote. And then figuring out where to put what was really the largest challenge. And I ultimately started to realize that I knew that I was coming to the book with the goal of not having the book be about my grandparents' death, but having it be about their life, particularly my grandmother's life. And so I wanted to downplay, even though the details of the accident and my discovering it were critical to the story, I wanted to downplay their death, because that's what I was trying to do for myself, because I had grown up my whole life only knowing their death, and that wasn't what I wanted people to know about myself, my mother, or my grandmother. So that was probably the biggest reason that I decided to put it at the end. And then also I put it at the end because I did want to have some buildup. I sensed some value in the reader getting to know the characters well before finding out what actually happened, and I also wanted it to correlate with my own—as you said—my own discovery of the story, which happened later in my life.Jennie NashWell, then there's this—yeah, there's this cool thing that I thought was really cool that happens in your book, which is your grandparents have this magazine, this business, and they make a decision: “Oh, maybe we should see if we could get this in—was it dentist's offices or, you know, doctors' offices waiting rooms?” And then, you know, they're on this plane to try to get it on newsstands. And we know the incredible success that those ideas went on to have in terms of a business. You know, the seeds that they planted bore incredible fruit. And so that part of the story, I thought, was really beautifully handled as well, because we all know what Highlights was and what it became. And then to find out those were their ideas, and then they died. They were not the ones that saw that through. There's something so powerful about that, that their ideas were so strong. They were so prescient. They were, you know, they created this thing that reverberated—there's that word again—through so many people's lives. I thought that was really a beautiful touch to how you placed that plane crash too.Marty Ross-DolenOh, thank you. That's interesting to think of it from that perspective because, in addition to my not wanting the story to be about my grandparents' deaths solely, it was also not meant to be the story of the history of Highlights. It was meant to be who they were. And, you know, it really is more of a focus on my grandmother in relation to the company, but they saved the company. And there were many times in the 1950s when they were struggling to keep it from bankruptcy and the decision—the sort of… actually, it was an epiphany of a salesperson who came up with the idea of selling through doctors' and dentists' offices. But their decision to implement that happened a couple of years before they died, and that's when they actually started to see the company thrive. So they died when the company was thriving, and they were, just as you said, pursuing more. Because the whole Highlights is a mission-driven company. Our whole goal is to have material that will help children become their best selves. So the more children that it touches, the more successful the mission. And so, yes, I mean, it is part of the story as much as maybe I see it as separate. It's just not separate. But making decisions about how much of one thing, you know, is this book supposed to have? I mean, there were people who wanted me to write the history of Highlights more than I did, for sure. There were people who wanted more airplane accident, for sure. And I wanted more of my grandmother, my mother, and me, so…Jennie NashRight.Marty Ross-DolenYeah, it was a balance.Jennie NashRight. Well, you pulled it off beautifully.Marty Ross-DolenThank you.Jennie NashAnd Rossana, in your book, the plane crash literally starts on page one—or even in the title. How did you…? And I feel like it was maybe always that way. Was it always that way? Was that one thing that never changed?Rossana D'AntonioYeah, I was just going to tell you, the book went through a ton of revisions, but the one thing that remained constant was the opening scene, which was the timeline of the 26 seconds that describe touchdown to impact. And I remember reading that in your class early on, and there was a sense of shock from the reception from the other folks in the class, and I knew that that's how I wanted to start the book. I mean, that's the premise that sets everything in motion. So that was the one constant, and I'm pretty proud of that.Jennie NashYeah. I mean, it's really interesting. So we know from the very beginning what happens. And then you circle back to talk about how you learned of the crash, which is a very dramatic story as well. So how did you hold the tension through the rest of the book? When the reader knows what happened, this is not a mystery, then you have to construct the story in such a way to hold the reader—you know, what else are we going to root for or learn or find out? How did you pull that off? Because you did.Rossana D'AntonioWell, the mystery is, you know, what happened? The mystery—I mean, I talk about how the industry had, continues to have, a tendency to blame one individual, which is the pilot, the last person that touches this very complex system that is the aviation industry. And so I kind of made the industry somewhat of a villain. And this quest for me to seek the truth and hopefully to—you know, I suppose the reader wanted me to be right that the industry was somehow to blame. And so that's how I thread the story, in addition to the fact that, you know, there were facts that kind of reinforced my whole premise, right? I mean, the accident report was never—so the accident happened outside of the country. And so here in the United States, the NTSB will always do an investigation and release the report as public information, as a public document. But outside of the country, the accident investigation—although the NTSB and the FAA participated in it—the lead was the Salvadoran Civil Aviation Authority, and they opted not to make that investigation report public. And so to me, that screamed of a conspiracy. So I thread that into the whole story. And, you know, my family gets the report through indirect means, and I'm able to dive into it, and lo and behold, I discover smoking guns in the report that indicate that the industry lied and covered up. And there were conspiracies, which are not—they're not unique to this one accident. And that's the other thing I do in the book, is I bring in parallel accidents here in the United States that reinforce that the industry is a global industry, and that corporate greed is alive and well in this industry as well.Jennie NashYeah, indeed, your book is revelatory that way. And that leads me to a question I want to ask you both, which I'll start with you, Rossana. Given how hard it was to write the story, and to be in it, and to think about it, and how this plane crash dominated your thinking for so long, what do you think about when you step on a plane? Is it hard for you?Rossana D'AntonioWell, there's a little trepidation. Yes, absolutely. Every time I have to fly, there's a thinking in the back of the mind, right? I think I had a conversation with you, Jennie, where we talked about when I crossed the threshold, whether we like it or not, we are relinquishing all sense of control to those people who are flying the plane and to everybody else in the industry who helps support that pilot and co-pilot, and we have to trust that everyone has done their job. And we've discovered with recent incidents that that isn't always true. So, I mean, there are things that I do. I mean, I try to sit in the exit row. From now on, I will be sitting on 11A, you know? And, you know, I do pay attention to the safety message that the flight attendants do before we depart. I think that's a common courtesy. And by the way, you know, a lot of us feel that we're professional flyers, but we've never been tested under the most dire of conditions in an accident, so we just assume we know what to do. But do we really? And hopefully we'll never be, you know, required to put that knowledge into use. I text my husband, “We're leaving now, taking off,” and then when we land, I tell him that we've landed safe and sound, because there's no guarantee, there's no guarantee that we will make it to our destination. I like to believe—you know, we've been conditioned to believe—that flying is the safest mode of travel, and I believe that, I really do. I don't want to dispel that. I don't want to cause fear. But I do also believe that the industry is under tremendous strain. Those two things can be true at the same time. We can't just say, “I'm not going to travel.” That's just not realistic. And so I choose to trust just like my brother trusted the system when he was alive. I choose to trust the system, and we'll leave it at that.Jennie NashI love that. Marty, what about you?Marty Ross-DolenI find, interestingly, I have a lot more anxiety leading up to flying than actually while I'm flying. In the days before, I can't really focus. Part of it is this feeling of needing to get every little thing in order. And it just sort of takes over in my mind. So the thing that I like the least about flying is the days before I actually do it. And then I have a tradition that I insist that anybody flying with me, that I know personally, also take part in, which is that I kiss the plane, kiss my hand, and place it on the outside of the plane. I think that that's super superstitiously protective. And then I actually feel some relief once I'm in my seat that it's going to move forward. And maybe, maybe part of that is that whatever control I've had up to that point, I can let go. But I do, you know, my husband always says it's safer to fly than drive. And I think that that's true. I'm not a great passenger in a car, for sure, but I'm with Rossana. You trust the system, and you have to live, and you can't choose not to travel or not use a mode of transportation. It's just the way our society and lives are. And I guess I feel grateful and fortunate that we have those options. So, yeah.Jennie NashI love that! Kiss the plane. I might start doing that. I cannot recommend both of these books more. They're so beautiful, they're so different. Reading them together would be incredibly powerful if that's something listeners are inclined to do. But just to remind folks, Marty's book is called Always There, Always Gone. Rossana's book is called 26 Seconds. Thank you both for coming on with each other to talk about this unique connection you have to each other and also your individual books. Can you tell folks where they can go to learn more other than the obvious, go-buy-the-book places? Marty, why don't you go first?Marty Ross-DolenSure. Thank you. All of my information—there's a lot to learn through my website, which is martyrossdolen.com. It's M-A-R-T-Y-R-O-S-S-D-O-L-E-N.com, where there's things to learn about Highlights, there's book club questions, there's Q&A's, just lots of things. There are links to things I've done and all places where you can find the book.Jennie NashWe'll link to that in the show notes. It's just a beautiful book about mothers and daughters and grandmothers and history and our place in it, and grief and life and all of it. It's a beautiful read. And Rossana, where can people find your geeky and soulful book about your beautiful brother, Caesar [Captain Cesare D'Antonio], and his love of flying and this tragedy that unfolded and how you made sense of it? Where can they learn more?Rossana D'AntonioYeah, thank you. So my website is rossanadantonio.com—that's R-O-S-S-A-N-A-D-A-N-T-O-N-I-O.com—and you can find all sorts of information there as well.Jennie NashWell, thank you both for talking to me today.Rossana D'AntonioThank you, Jennie. Thank you, Marty.Marty Ross-DolenThank you, Jennie. Thank you, Rossana. It's been a pleasure.Rossana D'AntonioIt's been fun.Jennie NashAnd for our listeners, keep your butt in the chair and your head in the game.NarratorThe Hashtag AmWriting Podcast is produced by Andrew Perella. Our intro music, aptly titled Unemployed Monday, was written and played by Max Cohen. Andrew and Max were paid for their time and their creative output, because everyone deserves to be paid for their work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

We'd love to hear from you about this episode.It is hard to argue that changes to our environment are real. Regardless of political affiliation, geographical location, or level of education, it is easy to see that the planet is changing. These changes can lead to health and wellness challenges, including mental and emotional concerns.Climate anxiety is a prevalent and growing concern, particularly among young people and increasingly in the general population. A landmark 2021 study found 84% of young people aged 16-25 were moderately worried about climate change, with 59% being very or extremely worried, while a 2023 study also found that 45% of young people said their feelings about climate change affected their daily functioning. A 2020 American Psychological Association poll found that 55% of adult respondents were somewhat or extremely anxious about climate change. What can we do to manage these mental and emotional stressors?Welcome to Episode Seventy of the Nature of Wellness ™️ Podcast!!! In this episode, we spoke with Sarah Newman, the founder and executive director of Climate Mental Health Network. Leading the largest organization in a growing sector, Sarah and her team focus on addressing the mental health consequences of climate change.Join us as we talk to Sarah about her personal journey with the natural world, the realities of a changing world, and how climate anxiety can negatively impact our daily quality of life.Sarah discusses the role that the Climate Mental Health Network can help all populations manage the concerns over a changing climate, the importance of community in dealing with climate change, and some tangible ways to protect our mental health and wellness amidst constant change.We left this conversation with a much greater peace of mind.Please subscribe, rate, and leave a review anywhere you listen to this podcast. We appreciate you all.Be Well-NOW ™️ Climate Mental Health Network Website: https://www.climatementalhealth.net/CMHN Instagram: @climatementalhealthCMHN Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/climate-mental-health-network/CMHN Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ClimateMentalHealthNetworkHow to Invest in CMHN's Mission: https://givebutter.com/climatementalhealthGEN Z Study Mentioned: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(24)00229-8/fulltext Climate Emotions Map: https://www.us-climate-emotions-map.org/Upcoming CMHN Webinar: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jkch6Yg2SEKQtT8xqbcP0Q#/registration* The unbelievable Shawn Bell produces the Nature of Wellness Podcast, making us sound good.** The NOW theme song was penned, performed, produced, and provided by the dynamic duo of Phil and Niall Monahan. *** This show wouldn't exist without our amazing guests and all of you who listen. Please like, subscribe, follow, and review to help us get these important messages out to more folks who can benefit from them. Thank you all.

Join Jim and Greg for the Wednesday 3 Martini Lunch as they dive into how the left muzzled common sense in the transgender debate not long ago, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping's bizarre quest for immortality, and shocking new polling that shows just how dependent Gen Z is on their parents in the workplace.First, Jim spotlights candid comments from bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell, who admitted he always thought allowing men to compete in women's sports was absurd but stayed silent out of fear of professional backlash. With cultural winds now shifting, more people feel free to defend common sense, but as last week's Minneapolis shootings showed, the left and media will still do everything possible to protect the trans movement. Jim also points out a major shift in this debate on social media.Next, they examine Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping musing about living well past 100 years. Putin even floated the idea of immortality. Jim and Greg point out the absurdity of that and also dig into why they would want to live forever. Jim also says the bottom line is that neither of these guys is leaving power voluntarily.Finally, they're stunned by new polling numbers of Gen Z employees. Seventy-seven percent say they brought parents to their job interviews. Nearly half say their parents speak with their bosses regularly. And almost 75 say their parents help them do their work. Both Jim and Greg are appalled, and Jim also explains how parents are actually hurting their kids by being that involved with their work.Please visit our great sponsors:No missed calls, no missed customers with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months athttps://OpenPhone.com/3MLSupport your health with Dose Daily.  Save 25% on your first month when you subscribe athttps://DoseDaily.co/3ML or enter code 3ML at checkout. Upgrade your skincare routine with Caldera Lab and see the difference.  Visithttps://CalderaLab.com/3ML and use code 3ML at checkout for 20% off your first order.

Let the story unfold, About a swami from India, brave and bold. Seventy years young, with a mission in his soul, Prabhupada's tale, let the rhythm take control. (Verse 1) Nineteen sixty-five, a voyage on the sea, Heart attacks strikin', but his spirit runs free. Seven dollars in his pocket, that's all he had, New […] The post Song: Swami from India appeared first on Radha Krishna Temple in Utah.

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As part of BYU-Idaho's Summer Session Devotional Recommendations, we're featuring “The Power of the Book of Mormon" by Elder Michael T. Ringwood, which was delivered on March 15, 2016. Elder Michael T. Ringwood was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2009. Following his call as a General Authority, he served at Church headquarters as Executive Director of the Priesthood and Family Department and as a member of the Priesthood and Family Executive Council. He was also a member of the Church Board of Education. Elder Ringwood began service as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy on August 1, 2024. He currently assists members of the Twelve Apostles in supervising the North America Northeast, Europe North, Utah, and Africa West Areas. Elder Ringwood has served in a number of Church callings, including a full-time missionary in the Korea Seoul Mission, bishop, high councilor, high priests group leader, Scoutmaster, stake president, and mission president.

The Community of Christ has sold the Kirtland Temple and several Nauvoo properties to the LDS Church for a jaw-dropping $200 million. But RLDS finances are still shaky! That money is only expected to keep the church afloat for about five years. Historian John Hamer joins us to explain why he thinks the deal could have been much better, why he's disappointed there are still no openly gay apostles, and to share his brutally honest thoughts on Steven Veazey's leadership. Stick around—this conversation pulls no punches. John is the co-author of Scattering of the Saints: Schism Within Mormonism. https://youtu.be/F3sTvJCWD3c Don't miss our other episodes with John Hamer! https://gospeltangents.com/people/john-hamer/ Copyright © 2025 Gospel Tangents All Rights Reserved Deep Dive into the Kirtland Temple Sale & Path Forward The recent sale of the Kirtland Temple sent shockwaves through the Latter Day Saint movement, and for the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS). It highlighted significant and ongoing financial challenges. John Hamer, a Community of Christ historian and Seventy, has offered candid insights into the church's financial state, the controversial temple sale, and his hopes for the future. Kirtland Temple Sale: A "Pittance" and a Crisis of Legitimacy The sale of the Kirtland Temple to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for less than $200 million was a deeply troubling event for many in the Community of Christ. John Hamer describes the price as a "pittance," emphasizing that the property's value, particularly in terms of "legitimacy" for the LDS Church, is "priceless" and far exceeds the sale amount. He provocatively suggests that the LDS Church, with its "hundreds of billions of dollars," would not sell the temple for even $200 billion. A major point of contention was the lack of transparency and consultation surrounding the sale. The decision was made "in secret," without any input from the World Conference, the church's "giant legislature". This went against historical precedent, as a previous General Conference had determined that a revelation would be necessary to sell the Kirtland Temple, which had originally been built by revelation. Hamer views the sale as a missed opportunity, stating that it was sold for "a third of what was necessary" for the church to achieve a "sustainable endowment for operations" (which he estimates would have required $600 million.) He suggested that a wealthy family foundation within the Community of Christ could have acquired the assets for the same price, held them as an investment, and then sold them to the LDS Church for a significantly higher amount later, but this option was not considered. Broader RLDS Financial Woes and Leadership Accountability The Kirtland Temple sale is just one symptom of deeper financial struggles within the Community of Christ: Declining Tithing to Headquarters: Over the 20-year tenure of former prophet-president Steve Veazey, "tithing to headquarters... has gone down so precipitously," with only around 6,000 members in the United States and Canada contributing to the world church. Hamer attributes this partly to members feeling their input is ignored when resolutions from the World Conference are ruled "out of order" by the executive leadership. High Operating Costs: The Community of Christ headquarters apparatus costs approximately $2.5 million annually to operate, while its current income is less than $10 million. Unsustainable Endowment: The endowment established to perpetually fund the Independence Temple was, in Hamer's opinion, "invested not like a responsible investor would do" and became "not worth anything" during Veazey's leadership. Unfunded pension obligations also contributed to the financial crisis. Short-Term Fix: The $200 million from the Kirtland Temple sale is projected to sustain headquarters only until "up through 2030," after which "anything goes".

This year marks seven decades since a Kiwi pilot changed the course of aviation by touching down on the Tasman Glacier using a plane fitted with retractable skis. Katie Todd reports on the milestone.

With Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre now flooded, we look back on the first time this happened in white history. Seventy-five years ago, Australia's driest and most inhospitable region became a huge inland sea — and was explored by Elliot Price, a salt-lake-of-the-earth sorta bloke tooling around in a home-made boat. Wanna support Forgotten Australia?It's easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They'll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia's Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season Eight of Seventy Palms is about to start and we want you to be prepared. We have a fall of fun prepared for you!! Take a listen to hear what is in store. The Canopy is an extension of Seventy Palms, a gathering for women at Life Church WI. It is our heart to serve and care for women everywhere. Please follow us on Instagram, @seventypalms and on YouTube, @seventypalms9448, we would love to connect with you.

He was a Greek from the island of Crete. Born and raised as a pagan, he came to faith in Christ through the ministry of the Apostle Paul, and labored with the Apostle in preaching the Gospel. St Paul in his epistles calls St Titus both "son" and "brother." He was ordained Bishop of Crete by St Paul, who wrote to him the Epistle that bears his name. He reposed in peace at the age of ninety-four.

Full video: https://youtu.be/ooOVSPrgeY4Follow our instagram: hereFollow Sammy: @sammypetersenunofficialFollow Bron: @bronlewiscomedy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We'll discuss controversial RLDS beliefs with John Hamer, a Seventy with the Community of Christ. We're focusing on the 1844 succession crisis, its lasting impact on both the LDS and Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) churches. He's the co-author of Scattering of the Saints: Schism Within Mormonism. Don't miss this fascinating discussion! https://youtu.be/mscrLYLKZs0 00:00 How 1844 Succession Affects Us Today 8:15 How Baptism For Dead Was De-canonized 14:22 Will Book of Mormon Be De-canonized? 24:10 Black Priesthood in Community of Christ 36:37 3 Official Languages in CoC Copyright © 2025 Gospel Tangents All Rights Reserved Succession Crisis and its Legacy: ◦ The 1844 schism "froze" both churches into peculiar systems, as each justified its own succession to assert legitimacy. ◦ LDS Church Succession: Brigham Young's claim relied on his position as the senior-most apostle, a concept that was not established doctrine in 1844 but emerged from the crisis. ◦ Community of Christ (RLDS) Succession: Joseph Smith III's claim was supported by patriarchal blessings and prophecies. His acceptance of the prophet role in 1860 solidified the General Conference's (legislative) authority to choose the prophet. Sidney Rigdon also made a claim to leadership, presenting himself as a "guardian of the church.” ◦ The Mark Hofmann forgery of Joseph Smith Jr.'s blessing to Joseph Smith III is discussed, noting its incorrect date caused dissonance Jerald & Sandra Tanner. It was acquired by the LDS Church, which then traded it to the RLDS Church for a copy of the Book of Commandments. The RLDS Church put it in the appendix of their version of the Doctrine & Covenants & then later removed this forgery from its historical appendix through a "historical appendectomy.” RLDS Doctrine and Covenants and De-canonization: ◦ The Community of Christ's Doctrine and Covenants is an active scripture, with new sections added through votes by elected representatives at World Conferences. The conference also has the power to remove sections, which it has done several times. ◦ Baptism for the Dead: This practice was removed from the RLDS Doctrine and Covenants, largely due to the church's desire to distance itself from associations with LDS temples and practices, particularly those perceived as "secret" or "embarrassing.” John Hamer expresses a nuanced view, considering it meaningless as a necessary saving ordinance for random names but "incredibly valid and amazing" as a spiritual practice for connecting with cherished ancestors (e.g., Jane Manning James). ◦ Blacks in the Priesthood (RLDS): Joseph Smith III's 1860s revelation allowed black men to hold the priesthood but included a racist caveat to "be not hasty" in ordaining them, reflecting the prevailing societal racism of the 1860s. A recent World Conference resolution to remove this section was voted down, with John Hamer arguing against removal to avoid setting a precedent of "Jefferson Bible" editing scripture. ◦ De-canonization of the Book of Mormon: There's a "dig" (and potential validity) that the Community of Christ "doesn't believe in the Book of Mormon" in the same way other groups do. Some leaders and members, traumatized by the "New Mormon History" and historical-literary criticism suggesting the Book of Mormon is a 19th-century construct, have proposed to "jettison all of this stuff.” However, others, especially older members, find it essential to their identity. John Hamer "firmly anticipates" a resolution to remove the Book of Mormon from the canon, though he personally opposes it. Understanding Scripture: ◦ John Hamer advocates for viewing scripture as "errant, not inerrant.” He believes scripture is a "human response to God's revelation," filled with the "biases and limitations of every prophet.” ◦ He argues against treating scripture as a "perfect idol" or a "literalistic rule book," emphasizing that doing so misses its true meaning and preve...

As part of BYU-Idaho's Summer Session Devotional Recommendations, we're featuring “What's Not to Love?" by Elder Ronald A. Rasband, which was delivered on February 13, 2022. Elder Rasband was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3, 2015. He had been serving as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy since 2005 and was serving as the Senior President of the Seventy when called to the Twelve. Elder Rasband was named a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 1, 2000. He has served as a counselor in the Europe Central Area Presidency, President of the Utah Salt Lake City Area, and Executive Director of the Temple Department and has supervised the North America West, Northwest, and Utah Areas as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. Elder Rasband attended the University of Utah. In 1995 Utah Valley University awarded him an honorary doctorate of business and commerce. In 1976 he joined Huntsman Container Company as a sales representative, and in 1987 he was appointed president and chief operating officer of Huntsman Chemical Corporation. When he left Huntsman Chemical Corporation in 1996 to serve as a mission president in New York, he was also serving as a member of the board of directors. Elder Rasband has held numerous Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Eastern States Mission (1970–72), Temple Square missionary guide, bishop, and member of the Church's Sesquicentennial Committee. He presided over the New York New York North Mission from 1996 to 1999. Elder Rasband was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1951. He married Melanie Twitchell in 1973. They are the parents of five children.

I'm excited to welcome John Hamer back to the show. John is a Seventy in the Community of Christ and a remarkable historian of Restoration Churches. Earlier this month, he was in Utah for the 50th Anniversary of Sunstone, and today we'll be talking about the many ways to Mormon, including some of the Restoration Churches/schismatic groups that were represented at Sunstone. This episode will be part of a broader conversation about various Latter Day Saint schismatic movements. Join us for the discussion! https://youtu.be/1-hvle_929o Don't miss our other episodes with John Hamer! https://gospeltangents.com/people/john-hamer/ Copyright © 2025 Gospel Tangents All Rights Reserved Exploring the "Multiple Ways to Mormon" at Sunstone's 50th Anniversary The recent 50th anniversary of the Sunstone Symposium in Utah provided a unique opportunity to delve into the rich and diverse landscape of the Mormon culture and restoration heritage. John Hamer is a three-time guest on Gospel Tangents and a Seventy with the Community of Christ. Sunstone serves as an "open diverse forum" that welcomes individuals from all backgrounds, whether they are orthodox LDS, fundamentalists, or members of the Community of Christ. This gathering truly embodies the idea that there is "more than one way to Mormon". There are various schismatic groups that emerged after the pivotal 1844 schism which Joseph Smith died. These groups form distinct branches of the restoration tradition, each with its own unique history and practices. Major Restoration Churches of the Restoration Following the 1844 schism, two primary branches emerged: The Brighamite Branch: This branch is by far the largest expression of the restoration tradition. It includes: ◦ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ◦ All of the fundamentalist churches, such as the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) which is also called “The Work”, & the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church). ◦ The "new emerging remnant movement" with Denver Snuffer. The Josephite Branch: Named for Joseph Smith III, this branch includes the Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Within the Josephite tradition, there are also: ◦ Independent expressions or "restorationists". These groups broke away from the mainline Community of Christ Church over issues like women in the priesthood and lineal succession. Some of these have grouped together in a confederacy of churches, like the Joint Conference of Restoration Branches (JCRB. See our interview with apostle Patrick McKay.) ◦ The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is considered a "restorationist church" by Josephites. Figures like Terry Patience, the new prophet-president, and Jim Vun Cannon have been prominent within this church. (Jim now leads a different church, the Everlasting Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Day.) These "Josephite fundamentalists" are distinct from polygamists. Lesser-Known but Significant Restoration Churches Sunstone also provides a platform for understanding smaller, yet historically significant, schismatic groups: The Bickertonites (Church of Jesus Christ with headquarters in Monongahela, Pennsylvania): ◦ They are generally considered the third largest branch to emerge after the 1844 schism, with an estimated 25,000 members. ◦ They see themselves as "the true one true church" and are noted for retaining spiritual gifts from the Kirtland era, including speaking in tongues and spontaneous services. Their services feature spontaneous talks and no pre-written bulletins, similar to practices found in the Centennial Park group. ◦ Their heartlands are primarily in Pittsburgh and Detroit. ◦ Notably, they have recently produced an academically trained historian, Daniel Stone, who has focused on William Bickerton and their own history.

As part of BYU-Idaho's Summer Session Devotional Recommendations, we're featuring “Abide the Day" by Elder Jack N. Gerard, which was delivered on October 29, 2019. Elder Jack N. Gerard was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31, 2018. He previously served in the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Northeast Area from 2010 to 2016. He is currently serving in the Europe Central Area Presidency. Elder Gerard has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Australia Sydney Mission, bishop, stake president, and—his favorite—ward nursery leader. Elder Gerard attended George Washington University, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a juris doctor degree. During his career he worked as president and CEO for several entities. He worked in the United States Senate and House of Representatives and served on multiple civic organization boards. Jack Noel Gerard was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on December 15, 1957. He married Claudette Neff in 1984. They are the parents of eight children.

It's the 80th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has the Doomsday Clock at 89 seconds to midnight, while Trump moves nuclear submarines closer to Russia in response to social media posts by Russian officials. Aerial photographs of the Gaza Strip look eerily similar to Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years ago. It's a good a time as ever to consider and re-consider the lessons of Truman's "Atomic Diplomacy" in 1945. So we're reposting our episode on the atomic bombing of Japan at the end of World War Two. -----------------------------------------From the 2020 episode: “For years, large majorities of Americans have believed that the U.S. had to use the A-Bomb against Japan on August 6th, 1945 to end the war quickly and avoid a land war and thus save one-million American lives. Scott and Bob discuss the use of the bomb, why it was used as a message to the Soviet Union and not a military necessity, the chronology behind the development and deployment of atomic weapons, the U.S. public response to it, and the creation of a new history, a propaganda piece, regarding the use of the bomb. The dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima was vital in the development of the Cold War, the arms race, the military-industrial complex, and the National Security State. Seventy-five years after the first atomic weapon was used by the U.S., it's still a highly-debated and important topic.”------------------------------------Outro- Green and Red Blues by Moody