Mormon Stories Podcast

In Part 3, John Hamer talks about how Latter Day Saints living in the Midwest who continued to oppose polygamy were able to regroup and come together as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. These members included Joseph Smith Jr.’s immediate family. Joseph and Emma’s eldest surviving son, Joseph Smith III, led the RLDS Church as prophet for 54 years. Described by his biographer as a "pragmatic prophet," Joseph III was able to successfully weld diverse old Saints who had been Strangites, Cutlerites, Wightites, Whitermites, Rigdonites, Thompsonites, Brighamites, Morrisites, and more, into a Restoration tradition church that took the Kirtland era as its model. The fact that Joseph III grew up in the ruins of Nauvoo and had learned to live with his neighbors influenced the Reorganization’s strong peace tradition.

In Part 2, John Hamer talks about the pivotal period from 1844-1860, when different Latter Day Saints came up with different solutions for how to remain faithful to their religion in the wake of the founder’s death. John conceptually divides successor churches into three categories: (1) Those who sought to "purify" the church and go back to an earlier form of Mormonism, (2) those who sought to "preserve" the church as it existed in 1844, and (3) those who wanted to continue to "innovate" by having a new prophet ever revealing new doctrine and practices on the model of the founder. John describes how polygamy continued to be the main point of contention and how the organizations of most of Brigham Young’s rivals had faltered by 1860.

In Part 1, John Hamer briefly discusses the diversity within Latter Day Saint or Restoration heritage churches. He then walks us through the early history of the Restoration to explain how the seeds that have ultimately flowered with the Community of Christ and the LDS Church were planted even before Joseph Smith’s martyrdom. John talks about the rapid evolution in Mormonism from its origins to 1844, its inherent tensions, and the direct causes of the schism that emerged after Brigham Young’s showdown with Sidney Ridgon for church leadership in Nauvoo.

As the 9th feature of our Mormon Stories Book Club series, we feature Rachel Held Evans and her book A Year of Biblical Womanhood. Rachel Held Evans, from Dayton, Tennessee, is an American Christian columnist, blogger, and author of two books, A Year of Biblical Womanhood and Evolving in Monkey Town. Rachel is a New York Times best selling author.

As the 9th feature of our Mormon Stories Book Club series, we feature Rachel Held Evans and her book A Year of Biblical Womanhood. Rachel Held Evans, from Dayton, Tennessee, is an American Christian columnist, blogger, and author of two books, A Year of Biblical Womanhood and Evolving in Monkey Town. Rachel is a New York Times best selling author.

In today’s episode we interview John Hamer, who left Mormonism (and religion/belief altogether) after graduating from BYU with no intent to return. We explore how John’s relationship with his partner, Mike, helped him to discover his love for Mormon history, the Mormon historians community, and the John Whitmer Historical Association. This path ultimately led John to become baptized in the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) on April 6, 2010 - the 150th anniversary of the Reorganization and the 180th anniversary of the organization of the church. How does an ex-Mormon who had left faith altogether rediscover the value of religion within a Joseph Smith tradition church? This is John Hamer’s story. You can talk to John directly at his facebook group "Latter-day Seekers" or follow the Saints Herald blog.

In today’s episode we interview John Hamer, who left Mormonism (and religion/belief altogether) after graduating from BYU with no intent to return. We explore how John’s relationship with his partner, Mike, helped him to discover his love for Mormon history, the Mormon historians community, and the John Whitmer Historical Association. This path ultimately led John to become baptized in the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) on April 6, 2010 - the 150th anniversary of the Reorganization and the 180th anniversary of the organization of the church. How does an ex-Mormon who had left faith altogether rediscover the value of religion within a Joseph Smith tradition church? This is John Hamer’s story. You can talk to John directly at his facebook group "Latter-day Seekers" or follow the Saints Herald blog.

As the 8th feature of our Mormon Stories Book Club series, we feature Craig Harline and his book Conversions: Two Family Stories from the Reformation and Modern America, accompanied by podcast host Heather Olson Beal and readers Kimberly Brinkerhoff, Hannah Pritchett, Daniel Rawson, and Natasha Helfer Parker. Craig Harline, a native of California, is a cultural historian and a professor of history at BYU. He teaches courses on the Reformation, the history of civilization, film, and Christianity. He has also taught seminars on miracles and toleration and persecution.

Today we interview Dr. Ryan Cragun who is an expert in the sociology of religion. In this episode we discuss his perspective regarding why people are religious and how religion affects peoples' lives and society at large.

As the 7th feature of our Mormon Stories Book Club series, we feature Michael Hicks and his book The Street-Legal Version of Mormon’s Book, accompanied by podcast host Heather Olson Beal and readers Mark Brown and Jonathan Yarrington. Michael Hicks, a composer, performer, scholar, and poet, has been teaching in the BYU School of Music since 1985.