Radio Free Mormon

There are five rules to the game of Mormonism; all of them from the perspective of church leaders:Rule No. 1–We are going to hide stuff from you.Rule No. 2–We are going to try to keep you from finding the stuff we are hiding from you.Rule No. 3–We are going to lie about hiding stuff from you. Rule No. 4–You can’t blame us for hiding stuff from you.Rule No. 5–If you talk about the stuff we are hiding from you, we will hide you. (See Rule No. 2)Once you understand the five “rules of the game,” everything else falls into place.RESOURCES:https://youtu.be/4hAL-qLOISshttps://www.deseret.com/2008/8/2/20379462/be-cautious-about-lds-history-articles-elder-oaks-says?fbclid=IwAR22qAPf6HvVfRVyLX_faN2NGYRqvuxMQj-VUA1I20y_votqlxiy-egQMgIhttps://youtu.be/Eqi-ll1PSr0?t=1https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teaching-seminary-preservice-readings-religion-370-471-and-475/the-mantle-is-far-far-greater-than-the-intellect?lang=eng&fbclid=IwAR3UdfA0Yy1EIhOpnaIr42oeR8pTPuSmNs-PdFd6NpL5gjX78e1wG8FSqashttps://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1986/01/truth-and-more?lang=eng&fbclid=IwAR3lTzVmfLSDIN22CSFzqtYRVpraCSTlnzt0U1k_zvoHGh8G9PwX9SfygG4https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/russell-m-nelson/truth-and-more/?fbclid=IwAR0cxr5OaF7YED0mPLTq57yGcYg5C2SCHgY94bhxST_OzJxo92Fe6Yy5dnkhttps://youtu.be/lsi3wLiyiEE?t=520https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/president-oaks-counsels-young-couples-defending-the-gospel-on-the-frontline-?lang=eng&fbclid=IwAR22qAPf6HvVfRVyLX_faN2NGYRqvuxMQj-VUA1I20y_votqlxiy-egQMgIhttps://youtu.be/Uj2VWhuW50w?t=2666https://youtu.be/RPeIgjZ0EQg?t=742https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1993/04/keep-the-faith?lang=eng&fbclid=IwAR3lTzVmfLSDIN22CSFzqtYRVpraCSTlnzt0U1k_zvoHGh8G9PwX9SfygG4https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2015-10-2060-elder-vern-p-stanfill?lang=eng&fbclid=IwAR3_4rgQQtelIZwdX-Dm5w6LqIWum5E78RDrDY2He8BeKhjRbi3v-j9zttIhttps://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/56andersen?lang=eng&fbclid=IwAR3J7TtWjDfYfVjO6xcFXNa1-M5XXsU_luV2H4tj-vKGYOAXRF8TKRR0ci4https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2012/10/can-ye-feel-so-now?lang=eng&fbclid=IwAR0_-V_9p9yrxkD9zcCcVpT-szyykb_vcN54k1x83hpb4Zvf5CEOEHN0zzk

In todays Episode Jonathan Streeter fills in for Bill Reel and takes RFM on a journey discussing the first miracle in Mormonism. They discuss the role that Demonic possessions and exorcisms play in religion generally and how such things have influenced Mormonism specifically.

Tonight we do a deep dive into the hit-piece John Gee wrote about his former Egyptology professor Robert Ritner, ostensibly as a book review for The Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities.  Is there bad blood between Gee and Ritner?  You bet there is!  And John Gee’s hit-piece brings it into high definition!

Moroni 7:27 asks Has the day of Miracles Ceased? The answer in the scriptures is nay. Yet What happens when we take a look at what LDS Leaders suggest as the miracles that are happening. We use two Sound clips at the backdrop of todays discussion. One is David Bednar’s recent BYU devotional where Elder Bednar imposes that miracles are happening today just as in days of old and gives us 8 quotes that are supposed to be evidence of the miracles except there aren’t any…. unless you are counting smiles, hours served, phones answered, and a person was were they were supposed to be.  The second clip revolves around Wendy Nelson informing us that President Nelson was prompted prior to Covid in 2020 to cancel all of their bookings for the year.  But when this “miracle” is examined it seems to contain deep factual problems and negative theological ramifications. RESOURCES: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/moro/7?lang=eng https://youtu.be/Az6-7yzZOLs?t=1 https://www.thechurchnews.com/podcast/2021-01-05/sister-wendy-nelson-sheri-dew-president-nelson-prophet-three-years-201007 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3yRp2C7BN8&fbclid=IwAR07EbuLdC4cgIibxrFlAruDHq7TuvqkinwLO3eKB_Th6reMy-GHct93fd8 www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAt4Od0teNg&fbclid=IwAR35-eQ-732TcFVmpQeXAceXtYTZ6MycK378lzYfqqiOBow4Vq7M-70DwWc www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJZ4JaCOIL8&fbclid=IwAR27aNOPG308McVU-E5-TaaZiizQddoIXCh3h6cA6kp0QVQlzRJ9HND8HdQ

We once again develop this weeks episode around Director of the Church History Library, Keith Erekson. Except this time we address his expertise as a hoax expert. No Seriously, this guy is one of the worlds experts on discerning hoaxes. He has written articles, given presentations, and taught in academia about such helping people for years to to discern and deconstruct hoaxes. But catch this….. he has been unable to apply those same tools to his religious beliefs and that is the topic for tonight’s episodeRESOURCES: https://www.keitherekson.com/2020/03/how-to-detect-a-hoax/https://www.keitherekson.com/2020/03/how-to-analyze-a-hoax/https://www.keitherekson.com/2021/01/how-to-talk-about-rumors-and-conspiracy-theories/

Tonight RFM and Bill Reel take a look at how Director of the Church History Library, Keith A. Erekson, frames apologetics, inoculation, and publicly frames the criticisms of the Church. What tone does he use? What approach does he take with the critic and their criticisms? What approach does he take with the issues? How does he interact with the members of the Church in terms of transparency? Vulnerability? Honesty? and Forthrightness? Is this an improvement or is it a deeper layer of deception? We do this by examining his recent Fireside w/ multiple stakes published on the Fredrickson Stake Youtube ChannelKeith Erekson is the head of the vaults where historical items are saved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his two assistants are the only folks with unfettered access to these archives and storage.

John Dehlin and I discuss the history and merits of the ongoing class action lawsuit against the LDS Church.  As a special bonus, the lawyer suing the LDS Church phones in and shares some startling behind-the-scenes information on how the LDS Church used strong arm tactics to try to get her to drop the case!

RFM and Bill Reel take a look at the December 2020 Changes to the General Handbook of Instruction within the LDS Church. This Second part starts with a special Guest, Wendi Wilcock Jensen, as we dive into the handbook section on Energy Work. From there we discuss the changes involving Transgender people, changes on the church’s approach to abuse, a new section on prejudice, and then we conclude with the new section on seeking reliable information and use a soundbite from a Mormonland Podcast interview to show that it is actually the LDS Church that is unreliable, non-credible, and deceptive. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/title-page?lang=eng Soundbite parody in the voice of Gordon Bitner Hinckley at the beginning is from the TikTok artist Mitch Shira also under the name “genie man”. Please Check out his work !!!

Join Sue as she tells the rest of her harrowing tale; how she escaped from the polygamy compound in Mexico, made her way back to the United States, and finally made her way back into the good graces of the LDS Church.  As it turns out, all the hoops the LDS Church made her jump through in order to be rebaptized and have her temple blessings restored ended up pushing her out of the Church . . . again!

RFM and Bill Reel take a look at the December 2020 Changes to the General Handbook of Instruction within the LDS Church. There is a major bombshell in this episode dealing with the hierarchy of doctrine when comparing the handbook with the teachings of the living prophets and the holy scriptures. Which takes precedence?  The answer may surprise you!https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/title-page?lang=eng