The Mormon Renegade Podcast

So there are a ton of things I have learned in doing this podcast. The one thing I have learned that I never saw coming was to just what lengths people will go to, to discredit Joseph Smith and other early LDS church leaders. See this very same tactic was used to discredit the Founding Fathers of the United States in order to remake the country into something it was never supposed to be. Well as said earlier now the same tactic is creeping into Mormonism. Discredit the founder and then Mormonism can be turned into something else. It was brought to my attention by my friend Justin Francom that the newest effort regards Joseph Smith and the First Vision. The charge that is being made by those seeking to undermine the foundations of the Restored Gospel is that Joseph’s First Vision was not of Heavenly origin but was instead his experiences while on hallucinogens. Now as preposterous as this sounds people are buying into it and this movement is growing. So on this episode Justin and I breakdown this theory and look at what its proponents trot out as evidence. I am sure that you will come to the same conclusion Justin and I have that the idea that Joseph’s First Vision was the result of a “trip” is complete nonsense and the accounts they use as evidence does not pass scrutiny. My hope is that by the end of this podcast you will be armed with the facts and be able to refute this claim when you encounter it. *Go to mormonrenegade.com for all episodes

Look I told you from the very first episode of this podcast that I was always going to tell you the truth as I understand it. Doing that means sometimes having to say things that may be unpopular or unpleasant. This is going to be one of those episodes. For about the last 6 months I have seen instability in the economy, now I these were just my gut feelings. So when I have those feelings I reach out to people who are way smarter than me on the topics at hand. It’s for this reason that I brought Kelsey Williams back on the podcast. Now you’re going straight talk and straight up truth about where the economy is. We then go into to an in depth history of the financial system of the United States including the birth and role of the Fed, the Bretton Woods Summit and what that all means in historical context. Kelsey then moves on to tell us what he thinks is coming our way and what we can do to help us weather the coming economic storm. You are going to get in depth history and analysis on this episode about the economy that you normally don’t get from the major news networks and political & economic pundits.

So just the day before Thanksgiving my buddy sent me a news article that told the story of an elementary school in California who had authorized an after school club for Satanists. Let me say that again…an elementary after school club for Satanists. I found the timing interesting because just a few days before that I had a conversation with Russ Barlow about the state of public education. Now for those who haven’t listened to Russ’s first time on the podcast I would encourage you to go back and listen to episode #35. Now on this episode Russ and I take deep dive on how modern education has got to the point it has in regards to indoctrinating our children. As Russ and I explore the origins of public education there are many points at which I get freaked the hell out on just how evil and insidious the design was. By three quarters of the way into our conversation you will no longer be wondering how a story like the one I mentioned earlier can happen in public education. Here’s the good news, at the end Russ gives a very candid answer on what we can do as parents to save our children. Now in a first for this podcast I have video for this episode. The reason I did this is I felt the visuals that Russ uses are super important. So you can see that here or at my YouTube channel Mormon Renegade Podcast and for those who prefer just to listen that format is available as well

In Mormon history there are a few events that are watershed moments that shape the future of Mormonism for generations. A couple of those events are Josephs Smith’s Last Charge and Brigham Young’s Transfiguration after the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. To better understand those events I have a man on the podcast that certainly needs no introduction in Mormon Fundamentalist circles. He is a former attorney, an author of many books both scholarly in nature as well as fiction. His name? Drew Briney. On this episode we breakdown Drew’s back story a little bit, and then dive into Jospeh Smith Last Charge and Brigham Young’s Transfiguration. The historical findings that Dew has discovered are really quite groundbreaking and sheds new light on these events that I think most haven’t considered.

So for those of you who have been listening for a while you will remember a few Months back I had on Ken Peterson. He wrote a book that shows Mormon Doctrine and Teachings in the Apocrypha. For those who might be new to the podcast I would recommend going back and listening to Episode #20 first. On this episode I have Ken back on and we have a conversation about one book of the Apocrypha in particular and that is the Pistis Sophia. This particular book of the Apocrypha is fascinating. In its pages we see the resurrected Savior teaching the mysteries of the Restored Gospel to his followers in a question answer format. Ken and have a conversation about the books contents that range from Temple Ordinances, to a more detailed account of the three degrees of glory, to the Generations of the Gods, to the Reckoning of time in the Celestial realms, to even the conception of the Savior. Buckle up because this episode is bound to blow your mind as we see Joseph Smith proved right over and over again from a book that is 2,000 years old as it also dives into the mysteries of the Restored Gospel.

So I was just talking with a friend a couple days ago about the podcast. He said “Dave I love the podcast but you have had a few episodes that seem out of place on a podcast about Mormonism.” I asked which ones and he told me the ones I have done about liberty and freedom. In response to that I want to read the following quote from Brigham Young “Every organization of our government, the best government in the world, is crumbling to pieces. Those who have it in their hands are the ones who are destroying it. How long will it be before the words of the prophet Joseph will be fulfilled? He said if the Constitution of the United States were saved at all it must be done by this people. It will not be many years before these words come to pass.” (Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 12:204 ) Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, & many other early Church leaders understood that the Gospel could only thrive in an environment of liberty. So that’s why I have episodes on this podcast about liberty and freedom. The two are intertwined and cannot be separated. Furthermore Brigham states in that quote “He said if the Constitution of the United States were saved at all it must be done by this people.” We have a divine mandate as Mormons to preserve the Constitution of the United States. On this episode I sit down and have a conversation with Enoch Moore. Enoch is the founder of Defending Utah. We have a fascinating conversation where we not only talk about the issues facing Utah and the nation but more importantly the solutions for ensuring our continued liberty and in turn the ability to continue to practice our religion. https://www.defendingutah.org

So I have a question….What happens when a Lutheran interested in Mormonism has a discussion with three Mormon fundamentalists? Well you are about to find out. A few months back I had a man named Billy reach out to me with some questions about Mormonism, Fundamentalism, and the LDS Church. Now one of the things I like about Billy is that he is an honest seeker. He wants to understand without playing “gottcha games”. Billy eventually had the idea of wanting to come on the podcast and ask some questions about Mormon Fundamentalism. Now because I like Billy I thought he deserves to talk to someone way smarter than a clown with a microphone so I reached out to two guys way smarter than me Michael Ness and Jacob Vidrine. So on this episode myself, Billy Michael and Jacob sit down and answer Billy’s questions. We end up having a fascinating conversation and deep diving on some pretty interesting topics.

So on this episode Joshua Erickson and I are continuing our discussion on the Feast and Holy Days of the Jewish calendar. This is instalment number 3 in the series. Again I strongly recommend that if you haven’t going back and listening to Episode # 15. That episode sets the table for this series. Then listen to episodes numbers 27 and 28. The reason for this is that as I have had these conversations you can see that the Lord instituted these Feast and Holy Days to build on top of one another. There is a certain heavenly momentum that I think the Lord is trying to convey through the Jewish calendar. On this episode Joshua and I cover what the Feast of Tabernacles is, what it is in memory of, how it was celebrated anciently, how it is celebrated today, and finally the lessons and principle we can take away from the Feast of Tabernacles.

On this episode of the Podcast I continue my conversation with Joshua Erickson for our series on the Feast & Holy days of the Jewish calendar. As Mormons one of our central tenants of faith is the idea of restoration. Now we know that the Feast and Holy days were instituted by God anciently and were observed by the Savior himself. This leads to the questions that should we as Mormons give greater attention to the Jewish calendar and can we glean something special from an understanding and even participation in these Holidays. Now I strongly encourage those who haven’t listened to episodes #15 and #27 to stop here and go listen to those first. Episode #15 sets the table for this series and episode #27 is on Rosh HaShanah. Today me and Joshua’s conversation turns the next major event on the Jewish calendar which is Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. We talk about what the Yom Kippur is, what it points to and its significance, how it was observed anciently, and finally how it can be observed in our day and age as Mormons.

On this episode I have Joshua Erickson back on the podcast. Now Joshua and I had an epic 5 hour conversation on Episode #15. If you haven't heard that one you will want to go back and listen to that because it sets the table for the rest of the discussions we will have on the Jewish feast and holy days. On this episode Joshua and I talk about Rosh HaShanah. What the celebration is in remembrance of, how it is celebrated, and some interesting parallels in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

OK I am not breaking any news here. We all see that the world around us is getting darker. It is plainly evident that the love of man is waxing cold. We see violence, corruption, war, hunger, poverty, sexual immorality all around us and it oly continues to intensify. In a world that has seem to have lost its moral compass what are we supposed to do as followers of Christ? The answer to that question is that we must stop looking for others to change. We have to be the change we seek. Today on the podcast I have on David Patten. David is a man who has worked in Hollywood in the film industry and seen the inner workings of the film industry. He has since left Hollywood and has started a film company of his own that seeks to make films that tell accurate Mormon history and films that uplift and help people become pure in heart. We talk a little about the genesis of this project, some of his challenges as a Mormon Fundamentalist independent film maker, and what his vision is for the future of his venture. Along the way we also talk a lot about Gospel principles and teachings.

The term counter culture is a term that we as fundamentalist & traditional Mormons I think better start to take seriously. Let me tell you how the dictionary describes counter culture “a way of life and set of attitudes opposed to or at variance with the prevailing social norm”. So if you’re like me you are probably thinking wow maybe we as traditional & fundamentalist Mormons are a counter culture. Well the good news is we aren’t the first and we might be in good company….excepting of course the drug culture of the 60’s. If you take a historical look at the first century Christians the Founding Fathers of the United States and even 19th century Mormons these are all example of counter culture. Somewhere along the line a lot of Mormons decided they just wanted to be like everyone else. Today however I think we are in a place that as Mormons we need to re-embrace this idea of being and actually start taking actions to strengthen a Gospel centered counter culture. But to do that we will need some tools. Today I have on the podcast Ben Shaffer to have a conversation about an alternative currency that might be an important tool to help us reach that goal. It can help strengthen not only each other but also local supply chains and small independent business. And who knows it may even help us establish the counter culture of Zion. https://www.goldback.com/

On this episode I have on Hannah Stoddard. Hannah is the Director of the Joseph Smith Foundation which seeks to defend the Restoration as given through the Prophet Joseph Smith. They do this by battling false narratives and staying true to and telling accurate history and defending Joseph Smith and other early LDS Church Presidents. Hannah and I have a conversation about how the Joseph Smith Foundation was started and the work that they do. Later we discuss current efforts of so called historians in revising and rewriting early LDS Church history. In our conversation Hannah does an amazing job of telling the story of how this revisionist history first got started and all the players involved. We also discuss how the tactics used in rewriting LDS history is almost an exact duplicate of how academics rewrote American history concerning the nation’s founders. Towards the end of our conversation Hannah offers fantastic solutions on how faithful Mormons of all types can combat this insidious attempt at rewriting Mormon history.

So I have a question, If Joseph Smith really restored the Gospel we should be able to look back to ancient prophets and their teachings and we should see that those teachings line up with what Joseph Smith taught right? Well on this episode of the podcast I have a conversation with Ken Peterson. Ken is a devout lifelong member of the LDS Church. Ken has released a book titled Mormon Doctrine in the Apocrypha. In the book Ken lines out where teachings from the Apocrypha are exact matches to the teachings of the Restored Gospel as taught by Joseph Smith. We cover Ken’s backstory, how he got involved in writing this book, his process in selecting material, some of the content of the book, and ultimately what Ken hopes that the book will do for Mormons.

On this episode I have Kevin Kraut back on the podcast. Today we are going to talk about a topic that isn’t well known unless you’re in fundamentalist circles. That topic is the Dream Mine in Salem Utah. This mine has been the subject of visions, prophecy, & one man’s excommunication from the LDS Church. We breakdown the history of the mine, its current state, and also how it ties in to some peoples end times theology. Now personally I haven’t made up my mind if the stories associated with mine and its prophesied future production are true, but it’s a fascinating story.

One of the greatest points of contention between Mormons of different sects has always been who is in charge and who has the keys. To get the proper answer to that question there is a lot of principles that need to be understood first. On this episode Michael Ness comes back on the podcast to discuss that very topic. We do a deep dive into priesthood, priesthood keys and Presidency. As we compare and contrast those three topics I think you will find that certain assumptions we may have made about these topics might be incomplete as we look at what former prophets and apostles have said about them.

In Mormon Fundamentalism there are names that everybody knows. Then there are a distinct few who’s influence is felt all through the community. On this episode we talk about one such man, Ogden Kraut. I sit down with Kevin Kraut Ogden’s son to talk about his Dad. We cover Ogden’s upbringing, his mission, and his work as a Mormon fundamentalist historian and author. Some of the most fascinating portions is hearing about Ogden’s interactions with folks like John Koyle, Bruce R. McConkie, Hugh Nibley, and Cleon Skousen.

Ok so I told you early on that that this podcast was a place for me to sit down with people I found really cool and interesting. Well this episode is like a dream come true for me. I had the opportunity to sit down with Cristina Rosetti. I am a huge fan of her work. She has spent her academic career studying Mormon Fundamentalism. Her work is respected by academics and Mormon Fundamentalists alike. Her work is both uncompromising and fair. In our conversation we cover how she became interested in Mormon Fundamentalism, how she gained access to so many fundamentalists, where she thinks Mormon fundamentalism is going, and her experiences working to pass the bill in Utah that would ultimately lead to the decriminalization of plural marriage.

This episode has been published and can be heard everywhere your podcast is available. On this episode of the podcast I sit down and have a conversation with Joshua Erickson. I have known Joshua for about a year. He is a Mormon Fundamentalist that takes a very holistic view of Mormonism. Rather than seeing the gospel and restoration in a New Testament & Old Testament sort of way he tends to look at it from the whole. The outgrowth of having this point of view is that Joshua and his family practice Mormonism in conjunction with holding to many ancient Jewish traditions including celebrating the feast days as outlines in the Old Testament. We cover that as well as touch on other subjects such as America being a continuation of the story of the House of Israel

So first let me apologize that I didn’t get this episode out sooner. The audio in spots is kind of rough due to some bad internet connections so I was really working the audio over to try and clean it up so that’s why this is a few days late. However despite some rough patches this episode is one of the most important I think I have done to date. On this episode I have on Moroni Jessop. This is normally the spot where I tell everyone a little about my guest…but let’s be honest its Moroni Jessop…everyone in fundamentalism knows who he is!! Anyway he came on and we talked about the history of and changes made to the temple ordinances. Now about the last half hour of this podcast interview Moroni and I end up talking about a pretty controversial topic. I am sure that last segment of the podcast will end up ruffling some feathers….in fact this might just turn some folks off on the podcast. Now I hope this doesn’t happen but I told you the listener early on that I was going to be truthful with you in my search for truth and authenticity. I have counted the cost on this episode and know this may cost me but to stay true to who I am it’s something that had to happen.

one of the first episodes i ever did on this podcast was about the Adam-God doctrine with Jacob Vidrine and to date it is still one of the most downloaded episodes. After we were done recording that episode Jacob and I talked and felt like we really left some stuff on the table. Despite that episode being three hours long we really just managed to cover the history of the doctrine. In this episode we dig deeper on the doctrine. We try to answer some common questions about the doctrine, look at the importance of the doctrine and what it means to accept the doctrine. We also take a look at some evidences from scholars and historians which make an interesting theory that early humanity knew of the Adam-God Doctrine.

On this episode we talk about the economy. To help do that I brought on a guest who is why smarter than I am. His name is Kelsey Williams. Kelsey has worked in finance in one form or another for well over 40 years. He is the author of two books First Inflation: What it is, What it isn’t and Who’s responsible for it and his second book All hail the fed. He also has written and published many articles both for his website as well as other publications. All these resources can be found in the show notes. During our conversation Kelsey breaks down exactly what is happening right now to the economy in a way that even a guy like me can understand. We talk about some possible scenarios on what the next couple of months could bring as well as touch on a few things you can do to weather this economic storm.

On this episode I have a fascinating conversation with Kimberly Watson Smith. Kimberly has been the leading voice in debunking the “Who killed Joseph Smith” film and the theory it presents. Not only do we cover that but we also dig into what the “Doctrine of Christ” movement is, Its founder and also some of their ideas. We wrap up our conversation by talking about some amazing prophetic parallels and events surrounding the martyrdom of Joseph & Hyrum Smith.

On this episode of the podcast I have a conversation with Sean Anderson & Michael Ness. This is an epic conversation. Not only do we cover Sean’s journey into Mormon Fundamentalism but we go into depth on the Council of Fifty. We cover what the council was, what its purpose was and dispel some common misconceptions about the council. Finally we debunk a new idea gaining ground with young Mormons that the Law of Consecration & United Order is simply socialism with a religious bent. We do this by digging into the scriptures and seeing what the Lord has to say about the Law of Consecration and United Order then we do an A-B comparison of Law Of Consecration vs. Socialism. Buckle up for an epic conversation on this episode. To find More episodes check outhttps://www.mormonrenegade.com/

On this episode I have on Michael Ness. Michael was raised in the LDS Church in a devout traditional LDS home. After serving an LDS Mission Michael became a Mormon Fundamentalist. On this episode we cover Michaels backstory then talk about some of the deeper doctrines & ordinances with in Mormonism and how they bind us to Christ. We cover doctrines such as Adam-God, Plural Marriage, the Endowment, & Priesthood. For all episodes go to https://www.mormonrenegade.com