In this special bonus episode, historian Christopher C. Smith interviews Joseph West about a paper he coauthored with Eric W. Schoon, titled, “From Prophecy to Practice: Mutual Selection Cycles in the Routinization of Charismatic Authority.” We dig into the “death of a founder syndrome” and how schismatic movements form. Shownotes: Link to the paper: From Prophecy …
E133: More Than One Way to Polyg.
What if we could free polygamy from patriarchy and inequality? In this episode, Brady Williams and Blaire Ostler talk about how we could greatly expand the definition of this odd Mormon concept to make room for more types of relationships.
E82: Succession Crisis Showdown
It’s finally here; the story of how Brigham Young took over the church after Joseph Smith’s death. We’ve shown you the candidates, and now it’s time for the Succession Crisis showdown.
E132: Don’t Forgive the Way God Forgives
Stephen Carter found a copy of “The Miracle of Forgiveness” at DI . . . and read it. How does the book that launched a million bishop confessions sound more than 50 years after publication? And how has the very idea of forgiveness changed along the way?
E131: Why Most Ex-Mormons Leave Religion Completely.
When people leave the LDS Church, they rarely go join another church. Why do ex-Mormons go from “all in” to “all out”? Ryan Wimmer presents his ideas in this episode, recorded at the 2018 Sunstone Summer Symposium.
E81: The True Mission of Captain Cutler
Alpheus Cutler broke with Brigham Young but his timing couldn’t have been worse. Join Bryan and Lindsay as they discuss Cutler’s role in the succession crisis in Mormonism and the Cutlerite movement.
E80: Tinseltown and the Curse of Beaver Island
In the final part of the James Strang saga, Bryan and Lindsay discuss the rise and downfall of the growing Mormon congregation on Beaver island known as the Strangite movement.
E130: Own Your Religion
After working with Helen Whitney on the PBS documentary “The Mormons,” Whitney told Greg Prince, “You have a good religion, but you need to own it. Most of its members are borrowing it.” In this episode, Prince reflects on what it means to own one’s religion. Recorded at the 2018 Sunstone Summer Symposium.
E129: Disconcerting Soup for the Soul
How many of your beliefs, words, and actions are driven not by your self, but by your context? Social psychologist Peter Leavitt proposes some disconcerting answers, giving us more reason question ourselves as well as more reason to be compassionate with others. This episode was recorded at the 2018 Sunstone Summer Symposium.
E128: More Than One Way to Family
After an LDS apostle suggested the existence of “counterfeit families,” Sunstone sponsored a conference that gave many types of families a voice. In this episode, LaShawn Williams, Jerilyn Hassell Pool, Brady Williams, Richard Ostler, and Weston Clark talk about their unique families. This episode was recorded at the 2018 Sunstone Summer Symposium.