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… Read More »MORMONISM LIVE !: 011: The Rules of the Game

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… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 213: BAD BLOOD

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… Read More »MORMONISM LIVE !: 009: Elder David Bednar & Wendy Nelson, Has The Day Of Miracles Ceased?

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… Read More »MORMONISM LIVE !: 008: Keith Erekson Hoax Expert

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… Read More »MORMONISM LIVE !: 007: Breakdown of Fireside by Director of Church History Library

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… Read More »Mormonism LIVE !: 006: LDS Handbook Changes Part 2

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… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 211: Escape from Polygamy Mountain Part 2

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… Read More »Mormonism LIVE !: 005: LDS Handbook Changes

Tonight I have the distinct honor of interviewing Dr. Simon Southerton, whose 2004 book, “Losing a Lost Tribe,” made headlines around the world and sent shockwaves through the Mormon Community! The reason this book made such a splash is because it demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that a Semitic tribe such as depicted in the… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 210: DNA and the Book of Mormon

Mormon Apologists have long pointed out that one criticism of the Book of Mormon is its use of the female name Alma for a male’s name. After citing the criticism, Mormon Apologists immediately follow up with evidence of Alma’s use as a Male name in the ancient eastern world. But is this really an argument… Read More »Mormonism LIVE !: 004: The Rise And Fall of Alma the Apologetic

Using the recent Atlantic Magazine Article about Mormonism which includes an interview with Russel M. Nelson, President of The LDS Church as a springboard, RFM and Bill talk about Mormonism’s endless quest for acceptance by the outside world, and why Mormonism seems to be going about it all wrong. Atlantic Magazine Article Linkhttps://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/the-most-american-religion/617263/

Peter Bleakley, a life-long Latter-day Saint from across the pond, is actively engaged in calling out current church leadership on their gaslighting, distortions, and dissembling.  In this interview, Peter is equal parts brilliance and bravura!  RFM finds out what makes Peter tick, why the current state of Mormonism infuriates him so much, and what Peter… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 209: Christians v. Pharisees

Join RFM today as his good friend, Sue, tells about her escape from polygamy!  Sue was a happily married TBM until her husband became converted to the fundamentalist practice of plural marriage, converted Sue after a year-long emotionally abusive indoctrination, and began taking new wives.  The family moved down to Mexico to continue the practice… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 208: Escape from Polygamy Mountain, Part 1

RFM and Bill Reel have a lot of fun dismantling FairMormon’s new Book of Abraham video, showing their absolute over-the-top use of ad hominem arguments! This video does everything it can to avoid dealing with the actual issues related to this book of scripture!

The Inaugural Episode of Mormonism LIVE! kicks off tackling FairMormon’s new video series titled, “This Is The Show” (T.I.T.S.). T.I.T.S. is intended for a younger audience. Radio Free Mormon (RFM) and Bill Reel dive into whether FairMormon is taking on this project with honesty toward the material and compassion toward those who lose faith. Sadly… Read More »Mormonism LIVE!: 001: What in Hell is Going on at FairMormon?!

RFM interviews John Kirk Williams, author of “Heaven Up Here,” a memoir of his two-year LDS church mission to Bolivia!  John talks about his mission, his time working for the church curriculum department, and the events that led him to lose belief in Mormonism!

RFM makes several important announcements involving the direction of the podcast, an update on the #GiveThanks episode from last week, and revealing a big secret about what has been going on behind the scenes at Radio Free Mormon!  This is a must-listen!

During this Thanksgiving season, global faith leader Russell M. Nelson has given the world the revelation direct from God that we should . . . wait for it . . . give thanks!  Bill Reel, together with Allan and Kattie Mount join me for a fun dissection of President Nelson’s Message of Hope and Healing!… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 205: #GiveThanks

Philip McLemore joins us again to share his fascinating experiences with LDS General Authorities including Ezra Taft Benson, Vaughn Featherstone, Paul Dunn, Marion Hanks, and more!  Philip McLemore tells it all!  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

Former CES Director Philip McLemore pulls back the curtain to give us a look behind the scenes at what really goes on in the Church Educational System.  As a bonus, we also get to hear about the strange happenings on his mission to Brazil in the early 70s.  Finally, Philip shares the untold story of… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 203: Confessions of a CES Director

Professor David Bokovoy and RFM dig deep into  the third chapter of the Book of Abraham.  What does all this material about astronomy really mean?  And what can it tell us about the actual author?  These questions, along with a host of others, are delved into in this fascinating discussion!

Today RFM is joined by Jonathan Streeter of Thoughts on Things and Stuff to dissect the Saturday morning session of October 2020 General Conference!  General Conference has never been so much fun!!!

Dr. David Bokovoy brings his formidable knowledge of Bible studies and textual analysis to bear on the Book of Abraham!  How does the Book of Abraham hold up?  This is one you don’t want to miss!!!

In this wide-ranging interview, Dr. David Bokovoy talks about his experience trying to build a bridge between contemporary Bible scholarship and the Religious Education Department at BYU.  *SPOILER ALERT*  BYU wasn’t interested. Closing music by The Dead Cowboys!

This is Lecture 10 in my twelve-lecture Institute class on Defending the Faith taught at the University of Texas at Austin in the spring semester of 1989.  In this class I show how to use the Bible to confute Born Again Christians who believe salvation is by grace alone!

Tonight we sit down with Born Again Mormon superstar Shawn McCraney and find out what makes him tick!  This interview packs a lot into 90-minutes! (***Listener Warning for some mildly salty language–Shawn is a bad influence on me.)

RFM gives a rundown of the fallout apologists have been experiencing due to the Robert Ritner interviews!  On top of that, three examples are given of the games apologists play in defending the Book of Abraham!

Many Latter-day Saints are leaving the Church over issues relating to the Book of Abraham.  In this special fireside, I talk about the most commonly heard criticisms of the Book of Abraham, and how faithful LDS scholars respond to them.  This fireside is a must-listen for anyone with questions about the Book of Abraham.

Dr. Kerry Muhlestein, BYU Egyptologist apologist for the Book of Abraham, has finally responded to our invitation to have him and Dr. John Gee on the podcast to show Dr. Robert Ritner where he is wrong.  Unfortunately, Dr. Muhlestein and Dr. Gee have declined the invitation.  Not because they are scared, mind you, but because… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 194: Brave Sir Kerry (Muhlestein)

In a stunning reversal of events, John Gee publicly announces he no longer believes a long-touted evidence for the Book of Abraham is valid!  This raises the question, how long has John Gee known this, and why has he been the major proponent of this evidence for decades?  After a thorough examination of the evidence,… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 193: John Gee Comes Clean!

The amazing Rock Waterman drops by RFM’s underground bunker to talk about what he’s been up to recently, and share some laughs.  Fortunately, Rock is a good sport about RFM’s incessant ribbing!  Two hours never went by so fast!

John Dehlin and I conclude this historic three-part podcast interviewing Dr. Robert K. Ritner, world famous Egyptologist and former professor of Dr. John Gee of BYU.  We cover a lot of ground in this 5 1/2 (!) hour episode, and before we are done, Dr. Ritner gets to finally give his version of the famous… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 191: Dr. Robert K. Ritner on the Book of Abraham part 3

Now that new research has established the dependency of Joseph Smith’s Bible translation on the Adam Clarke Bible Commentary, RFM launches into a spate of new and additional ideas and inferences that can be drawn from this conclusion.  RFM shows how the Adam Clarke Bible Commentary may not only have influenced the JST, but also… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 190: The Adam Clarke Connection

In this episode, Dr. Ritner goes through Facsimiles Two and Three and shows how the actual Egyptian translations do not match those provided by Joseph Smith.  We also go into depth on two of the apologists’ favorite arguments; (1) The practice of human sacrifice in ancient Egypt; and, (2) The translation of the four sons… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 189: Dr. Robert K. Ritner on the Book of Abraham part 2

Dr. Robert K. Ritner is a world renowned Egyptologist and professor of Egyptology at the prestigious Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.  I am honored to have been invited by John Dehlin to engage in a multi-part interview with Dr. Ritner to explore his views on the Book of Abraham; a subject he is… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 188: Dr. Robert K. Ritner on the Book of Abraham part 1

In their long anticipated and recently released research paper, Haley Wilson-Lemmon and BYU Professor Thomas Wayment demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Joseph Smith used Adam Clarke’s Bible Commentary in his production of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.  RFM walks us through each and every one of the seventeen examples set forth in… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 187: “Borrowed Robes”–The JST’s Reliance on the Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

RFM shares his first experience going through the LDS temple endowment!

RFM has a lot of experience teaching at church over the past four decades!  He presented some great stories and thoughts on the subject to a special gathering of Denver Snuffer followers in Europe!

Professor Brian Hauglid is recently retired from BYU where he spent 21-years as Professor of Ancient Scripture.  The extensive work he has done on the Book of Abraham manuscripts has led him to state publicly that the “scholarship” of Book of Abraham apologists such as John Gee and Kerry Muhlestein is “abhorrent.”  Professor Hauglid explains… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 184: The Brian Hauglid Interview

Carol Lynn Pearson, the Poet Laureate of Mormonism, drops by RFM’s underground bunker to chat about her life, her loves, and her latest projects!  Prepare yourself for a very special experience!

Paul and Matt are former Mormons who have gone on to become Born Again Christians.  RFM talks with them about their journey, answers their questions, and poses some questions of his own.  A few of RFM’s questions get somewhat pointed, but Paul and Matt take it in stride and a good time is had by… Read More »Radio Free Mormon: 182: Born Again Mormons

RFM dissects the world-wide young adult devotional given on May 3, 2020 by Elder And Sister Gay.  This devotional is a classic study in how the LDS Church gives its members freedom to choose with the right hand while simultaneously taking it away with the left.

Today is the big day when the Utah State Records Committee issued its ruling on RFM’s public disclosure request for the emails directing BYUPD to withhold information relating to the Joseph Bishop rape investigation!

How do LDS Church leaders get the members to do what they are told, while at the same time telling them they are free to choose?  RFM digs into the heart of this fascinating subject!

RFM interviews the hosts of Marriage on a Tightrope, Kattie and Allan Mount.  Kattie and Allan are in a mixed-faith marriage.  Their podcast seeks to help others navigate the sometimes stormy waters of mixed-faith marriages.

RFM compares a personal experience he had in 1985 with the way Joseph Smith practiced plural marriage.  It’s hard to escape the fact Joseph abused his power.  Badly.

RFM reveals for the first time the contents of an unpublished manuscript.  In it, RFM seeks to answer six questions raised by the fact the Book of Mormon teaches salvation by grace!  Several surprising discoveries are made along the way!

Does the Book of Mormon teach something about salvation entirely different from what the modern LDS Church teaches?  This is one you don’t want to miss!