Category: Episodes

Was Joseph Smith Ever “Sealed” To Emma?

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Why wouldn’t Joseph Smith’s sealing to Emma be a celebrated, documented, discussed, or written about as a major LDS restoration milestone? Why didn’t a single record of the town’s biggest celebrity couple’s sealing exist in a gossipy town of 12,000+ people? Why were cryptic symbols used to hide Joseph Smith’s perfectly legal “sealing” to Emma? Why would a well-known and legally married couple need to hide a sealing? Why rewrite a guys name as a woman’s in order to claim Hyrum was sealed to him/her? How did a violent man’s assault trial turn into a random outpouring of sealing ordinances, even for people who weren’t even there? How did people end up being sealed before they were supposedly married, according to sworn affidavits? Who was behind these changes, and why

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Why was the Nauvoo Expositor Destroyed?

Why Was The Nauvoo Expositor Really Destroyed?

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Some insist that the Nauvoo Expositor was destroyed because of its slanderous remarks about Joseph Smith, but what do the contemporary historical records actually say? If the workings of the press were said to bring the mob, why would a mob be outraged, given they were also against Joseph Smith and in favor of the slander being printed? Why would news of a surprise visit from Governor Ford cause cause prominent church leaders to scramble to adjust their accounting books? Why would a founding member of the Nauvoo Expositor burn the building down? Could there be something else that justified the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor besides slander against Joseph Smith? Could the continuation of those same illegal activities after Joseph Smith’s death be the catalyst for Brigham Young being forced to prematurely flee the state of Illinois in the dead of winter as a fugitive dodging federal indictments?

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What are Baptisms for the dead?

Baptisms for the Dead?

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Where did this concept of “baptisms for the dead” originate? Who started it? When and where did the first baptisms for the dead happen? When did they officially add this doctrine to the teachings and the scriptures? Is the idea with baptisms for the dead compatible with other scriptural teachings on the atonement? We’ll explore these questions and more in this interview.

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What is the New & Everlasting Covenant of Marriage?

New & Everlasting Covenant… of Marriage?

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Explore the documentation behind the claim that marriage for eternity is a requirement for the celestial kingdom. What is the new and everlasting covenant? How has the new and everlasting covenant evolved in LDS church history, and was marriage part of that covenant initially? How did the saints break the covenant 12 years before it was revealed? At what point did eternal marriage become the focal point of the everlasting covenant and who was responsible for this “new” covenant?

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Who Wrote D&C 132?

Who Wrote D&C 132?

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Part 3 of an interview with Ryan Hinckley (host of the “Mormon Theories” podcast), exploring the origins of the alleged July 12, 1843 revelation known today as D&C 132. Was it from Joseph Smith? Who wrote it? Where was it kept and why wasn’t it shared with the saints for 9 years? What doctrines did it change? Does it match the writing style, tone, syntax and communication style of Joseph Smith or the voice used in former revelations?

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Who Killed Joseph Smith Q&A with Steve Sorensen & Justin Griffin

“Who Killed Joseph Smith?” Live Audience Q&A

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Part 2 of the interview series with Justin Griffin & Steve Sorensen (directors of the documentary “Who Killed Joseph Smith?”) where we take questions from a live audience, discuss the particulars of the theories in the movie. We’ll also discuss personal lives of the directors, their beliefs about certain things, critiques to the movie’s theories and research, and more. Leave all of your questions in the comments section below, like the best questions and we’ll try to cover as many as possible.

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interview with Whitney Horning Joseph Smith Revealed a Faithful telling

Interview with Whitney Horning, Author of “Joseph Smith Revealed: A Faithful Telling”

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Whitney Horning’s book “Joseph Smith Revealed: A Faithful Telling” explores in great detail the truth behind Joseph Smith’s energetic denunciation of polygamy amid the growing popularity of Nauvoo’s troublesome “new order of things.” In this interview, we discuss Whitney’s journey, her life experiences, stories, faith, persecutions, triumphs, insights and findings in regards to her book projects, and address from the audience several of their top questions in regards to the question: Did Joseph Smith teach or practice polygamy?

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Origins of LDS Polygamy- Samuel Smith & Orson Hyde's Missionary Journals Among the Cochranites

Origins of LDS Polygamy: Samuel Smith & Orson Hyde’s Missionary Journals Among the Cochranites

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What are the real origins of LDS polygamy? Where did it start? Who was involved? Where did these teachings of spiritual wives and plural wives come from? One of the earliest contemporary first hand records we have are the priceless journals of Samuel Smith and Orson Hyde, two early Mormon missionaries who detailed extensively their findings among the Cochranite people of 1832 New England. Did the Cochranites influence early LDS polygamy? Why does the LDS church own these journals, yet speak nothing of them and their connections to early origins of polygamy?

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