Everyone remembers a couple months back I made trip backeast. Well one of the places we happened to stumble upon was a site called America’s Stonehenge. The site is nestled in the mountains of New Hampshire right outside of the town of Salem. It comprises many stone chambers that are manmadealong with stones that aligned with the equinox and solstice. Once believed to have been made by early settlers, the site is now dating back to around 4,000 years ago. On this episode the caretaker of the site Dennis Stone joins me as we talk about the known history of the site, it possible origins, it uses, recent discoveries made at the site and one for sure connection to Joseph Smith and a possible connection to the Book of Mormon. Stick around for a fascinating conversation. stonehengeusa.com1830mercantile.orgwww.restoredscriptures.com
We live a blessed time. Never before has mankind had the opportunity to learn and share than ever before however many of us end up using for stuff that doesn't have eternal ramifications. Well today I have a young man on the podcast who is using tech with an eternal perspective. Josh from the TikTok Channel Dare To Be Mormon joins me to explain a project he has started using Artificial Intelligence to create animated videos that tell the story of the Restored Gospel. During the course of our conversation, we get a little bit of Josh's back story, his gaining a testimony of the Restored Gospel. From there we move on to show a couple of the videos that he produced, then Josh tell us how he creates his videos and the processes involved to create them. We wrap it all up by talking about what his hopes are for his content. The Restored Version Of The Scriptures www.restoredscriptures.com 1830 Mercantilewww.1830mercantile.org
There are a few things that those who are opposed to the Restored Gospel love to use to try and disprove the Restoration. One of those things are the multiple accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision. Well today on the podcast we dive headlong into that subject. Driving the conversation on this episode is Ken Peterson. For those who haven't heard Ken on the podcast before, Ken always comes loaded with facts and insights that help people make sense of complicated issues facing followers of the Restored Gospel and he doesn't disappoint in this episode either. During the course of our conversation, we tackle the alleged "issues" from those attacking the account of the First Vision, what the other accounts really say, the significance of the First Vision from a historical and doctrinal framework, then move on to some interesting things found in the Apocrypha that seems to lend a lot of credibility to Joseph Smith's claims of the First Vision. The Restored Version of the Scriptures www.restoredscriptures.com 1830 Mercantilewww.1830mercantile.org
Before we get started, this is one of those episodes where watching this episode could be helpful. Last week I had Michael Ness on and we had a conversation about the Documentary Hypothesis where he spoke about what it is and how it could be used to understand the scriptures. On this episode Joshua Erickson comes on the podcast to give a critique Documentary Hypothesis. We start off by refreshing our memories of what it is, the history of the Hypothesis and its originators. From there we move into some of the more obvious issues for Mormons concerning the Hypothesis, then Joshua moves into addressing some of the arguments used by scholars and biblical historians. We finally wrap it all up by talking about some of the possible negative consequences of the Documentary Hypothesis fully for believing Mormons who choose to view scripture through that “filter”. 1830mercantile.orgmormonlegacy.org
Much of how we view our religion comes from the filters through which we read the scriptures. So, it goes without saying that those filters are important and it requires us to be knowledgeable about the filters we wish to incorporate. One that has been becoming more popular as of late is the Documentary Hypothesis. So with that in mind I wanted to explore this concept more to gain a better understanding of what it is, how it would inform our understanding of scriptures, what we could learn by applying this filter and some of the big take aways we could gain or lose by viewing scripture through this lens. Now this week Michael Ness joins me as we present an analysis of this hypothesis. We talk about what it is, who came up with it, and how it could change our understanding of the scriptures. Now next week I will have on another guest who will give a critique of the Documentary Hypothesis in hopes that you will have both sides of the argument and you can make an informed decision on the topic.
I am not breaking any news here but this last month things have gotten a little dark in our society with the events of the Charlie Kirk assassination to the attack on an LDS Church in Michigan. In a world that seems to be descending into chaos, what solutions do we as Mormons have to not just preserve but improve the condition of the world around us? Well today on the podcast I have David Nielsen on to talk about a principle that may seem simple but not necessarily easy and that is brotherhood. The interesting thing is that both David and myself were contemplating the very same idea and that story is pretty cool and we kick off our conversation by relating that event, we then we move on to what brotherhood means both for the wider society as well as Mormonism in particular. We then discuss how this principle applies to being disciples of Jesus Christ, how we can implement this principle and how it can possibly not only help heal the wounds in our country but maybe even be the start of something great within our efforts to be more effective disciples of Christ. Stick around for a conversation that should not only give you hope but also empower you to make things a little bit better in your own sphere of influence.1830 Mercantile | Where believers in The Restoration… Come together to support each other.mormonlegacy.org
One of the features of the Restoration was new scripture coming forth along with translations of existing scripture and Joseph Smith defiantly did those things. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself if the format we have them is now the most conducive way to read and study them? On this episdoe I have on Drew Briney and Joshua Winchell to talk about an ambitious project that was just finished. The Restored Scriptures are scriptures put back in its original format with the edits that were made by Joseph Smith. During the course of our conversation Drew layout his thought and decision-making process as he put the scriptures back into the format the early Mormon leaders would have recognized, along with a lot of history thrown in along the way.restoredscriptures.com1830 Mercantile.orgmormonlegacy.org
Just wanted to touch base with the listeners and let everyone know about the next few weeks' worth of episodes.
The truth to the is life is that much of our testimonies that inform our beliefs, opinions and actions are gained through the crucible of adversity. That fact however doesn't always lend itself to gaining perspective. More often than not, it's only after the trial of faith that the reason for that adversity comes into view. Sometimes by talking about trials that others have gone through allows us to "borrow" some perspective on things we are going through. On this episode Cory & Joni Malloy join me as we talk about their faith journey, focusing primarily on some pretty significant trials they have encountered both while they are single and after they got married. We talk about their childhood, how they met, their marriage, the birth and loss of their son, and how Cory almost died because of Covid. Then we move on to talk about how despite all these trials and adversity how they have managed to hold on to and strengthen their faith. We then wrap up by talking about where they are in life today and some pretty exciting projects they are working on. https://mormonlegacy.org/https://1830mercantile.org/
This week has been one of the darkest in American history. I did post a special episode on Wednesday but i felt like the Lord wanted me to dig a little deeper. So today on the podcast I have Jeff Alldredge on the podcast to break down the spiritual implications. The reason why Jeff will become apparent to the listener with early in this episode. During our conversation we talk about assassination of Charlie Kirk and explored its spiritual significance, including parallels to historical prophets and its impact on Mormon society. The conversation covered various societal issues including wokeism and more. We finish our conversation by talking about what this means for us as Mormons moving forward. importance of personal repentanceHome
There are certain times in society that are deflection points, in our times those would be 9/11, the Wars in the Middle East, the Financial Collapse of 2008 and I believe what happened to Charlie Kirk will be one of those moments. Adam and I both felt the promptings to talk about it, so this episode is a little emotionally raw. After witnessing what happened today in Utah it is easy to want to strike back in anger. But as Adam and I talk we discuss why that could be the worst thing we could do and what we have to do as disciples of Christ moving forward through this dark chapter of American history.
Today I have Ben Shaffer on the podcast to talk about Freemasonry. We discussed the relationship between Mormonism and Freemasonry, addressing common misconceptions. Ben clarified that Mormon temple ceremonies were not based on Masonic rituals, and he emphasized the historical and cultural overlap between the two and wrapped it all up by talking about what Ben has learned through his time as a Freemason.
On this episode David Pyne joins me again. Now if you have haven't been a long-time listener to the podcast Mr. Pyne is who I turn to for in-depth analysis on world events. Davids time in the Army as a Staff Officer, National Security Policy Director for Senator Mike Lee, & The Defense Foreign Policy Advisor to Former Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy give him the ability to give nuanced perspective to current events. During our conversation we talk about subjects such as the war in the middle east, the ongoing Russian-Ukraine Conflict, Chinas quest for Taiwan, as well as some domestic issues.
We are in an age where Faith is a virtue that is dwindling. People are leaving organized religion in record numbers due to factors like corruption of leadership, false narratives, abuse and cover up and the list goes on. One of the hardest hit religions is Mormonism in all of its faith expressions. But once someone in Mormonism leaves their former Church home where do they go, and how do they get there. Justin Francom comes on the podcast today to talk about an idea he has to respond to this crisis. His idea? An on-line interfaith ministry made up of Mormons from all different faith traditions in Mormonism to reach out to Mormons who have left their church home. Now if you're like me when you first hear of something like that you cant help but wonder how such an organization would work. We discuss the organization's intent and goals, how it will function to preserve faith, how the organization is already made up of different people from different Mormon groups and Independent Mormon Fundamentalists. Now if you are a Mormon leaving your faith community and need a soft place to land, or you are a Mormon who feels the call to missionary work and help preserve faith, reach out to me here or click the website link in this episode's show notes.
https://gofund.me/7d9fff0f From Ammon Jeffs"After a lot of deliberation on how to cover the expenses, we are incurring with Beth’s hospitalization and the expected extended recovery from the complicated neurological effects of spinal meningitis, we’ve decided to take this route with a go-fund-me campaign."We are reaching out to our community, friends and kindhearted strangers to ask for support. Your donation will go directly to:Hospital BillsTravel & Lodging Expenses For The FamilyRecovery Support After DischargeNo amount is too small and every donation counts
WARNING NOT FOR CHILDREN!!!! 99.9% of the time I love doing this podcast! I love the guests, the audience, and the topics we cover. But that other 0.01% can be nothing but difficult,this is going to be one of those discussions. On this episode Taylor Smith and I have a conversation about the abuse that is being perpetrated in the LDS Church and its apparent cover up. Now to be fair this is not just an LDS or even Mormon problem, this is a problem across all organized religion that affects all of the religious communities and needs our attention. We start out by covering a few of the stories that have recently been in the news about the topic. Taylor provides amazing insights from his time in the LDS Church as youth which helps to give context around the cultural norms of the LDS Church as well as some incredible doctrinal insights. From There we dive into some of the more problematic ideas that surround this topic in Mormonism that have shown how a culture of “saving face” has made getting victims to safety, and healing for the offended party next to impossible. We talk about our responsibilities as congregants of our various faith communities and finally what should be done to help those who have been hurt by such wicked acts. Video for this episode is going to be really helpful because throughout the conversation we share articles, statistics, and videos that show the problem. Finally all the articles, videos and statistics we show in the podcast are available in the links below. https://youtube.com/shorts/WfNJFveNYuc?si=SgBGuHaYigJY9_4Ghttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mXR4XiA5eochttps://floodlit.org/failure-to-report/https://www.stlmag.com/news/suit-accuses-mormon-church-leaders-of-facilitating-st-louis-/https://www.ksl.com/article/51355849/elderly-west-jordan-man-charged-with-luring-girl-into-home-sexually-abusing-herhttps://floodlit.org/a/b337/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwMLY0ljbGNrAwtii2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEe2shimg9ifEJ8yRlhQz9wqm7nO7riQgGWKo2-v_LIipTCXWcXDG1fUqRhhZQ_aem_4hBOWoCISsOo7oLZTFPlTg&sfnsn=mo
On this episode I sit down and have a conversation with Steve Pynakker. Steve is the host of a podcast on youtube titled Mormon Book Reviews. Now Steve while is not a member of any Restoration group he is fascinated with the Restoration as revealed by Joseph Smith. Because he is able to maintain an observes view of Mormonism his insights into the various groups and churches makes for fascinating conversation. As we have our conversation we cover everything from the state of various Joseph Smith Restoration groups and churches to how he became fascinated with Joseph Smith & Mormonism.
In the old days of coal mining one of the common practices was to bring a canary down in the mine. They did this because canaries are very sensitive to gases like methane. So if the canaries became sick or died the miners would know it was unsafe and leave, so it was a way for predicting dire consequences. Therefore the term "canary in the coal mine" refers to an indicator which proceeds disaster. Today Michael Ness joins me as we look at certain groups which have distanced themselves from the Adam-God Doctrine and where they stand now.
On this episode David Nielsen and I have a conversation about the Endowment Power spoken of in the scriptures. We start off by finding out what the Endowment of Power is and isn't, we then examine what the term Endowment of Power means in the context of the Restoration in the days of Joseph Smith & early Mormon leaders, we then trace the doctrine back to the New Testament before wrapping by discussing what the implications are for us as followers of Christ in the Restoration.
On this episode Elior Walker joins me as we talk about the Doctrine Of Christ from the Book of Mormon. We start by setting the table by talking about certain theological principles and ideas needed to understand his idea about the Doctrine. We then move on to read the text itself cross referencing to other scriptures. We then move on the implications of the Doctrine and what it means to us as disciples of Christ.