Episodes
Sunday Jun 25, 2023
5.9 Golden plates, translation, and Tibetan Buddhism
Sunday Jun 25, 2023
Sunday Jun 25, 2023
We welcome Tanner McAlister today as we discuss two articles on the translation of the Book of Mormon. We kick things off using our season’s reference, “Yet to be revealed”, from BYU studies. Grant Hardy’s article “The Book of Mormon Translation Process”, provides an excellent discussion of possible problems and resolutions in the translation of the Book of Mormon. Then Tanner, a scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, walks us through his recent work, “The Production of the Book of Mormon in Light of a Tibetan Buddhist Parallel”, published in Dialogue, which draws parallels between the discovery and “translation” of both a class of ancient Tibetan Buddhist scripture and the Book of Mormon. Join us!
Link to our Face in Hat discord server!
Dialogue Podcast Network
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/
The Book of Mormon Translation Process, by Grant Hardy
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/the-book-of-mormon-translation-process/
The Production of the Book of Mormon in Light of a Tibetan Buddhist Parallel, by Tanner Davidson McAlister
The full issue: Yet to be revealed, open questions in Latter-Day Saint theology. Edited by Eric A. Eliason and Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/journal/60-3/
Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide, by Grant Hardy
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Book-Mormon-Readers-Guide/dp/0199731705
Kathleen Flake, “Translating Time: The Nature and Function of Joseph Smith’s Narrative Canon,” Journal of Religion 87, no. 4 (2007): 497–527
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/519770
Jared Hickman, “‘Bringing Forth’ the Book of Mormon,” in MacKay, Ashurst-McGee, and Hauglid, Producing Ancient Scripture, 78–80.
Blake T. Ostler, “The Book of Mormon as a Modern Expansion of an Ancient Source,” Dialogue 20, no. 1 (1987): 66–123
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V20N01_68.pdf
James Gentry, “Power Objects” (Leiden: Brill, 2017)
https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/9789004335042/B9789004335042_001.pdf
Rosalynde Welch, “The New Mormon Theology of Matter,” Mormon Studies Review 4, no. 1 (2017): 70.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1077&context=msr2
Longchenpa and the Possession of the Dakinis, from Tantra in Practice, by David Germano and Janet Gyatso
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780691190457-020/html?lang=en
Wednesday May 24, 2023
5.8 Grace, works, and foreknowledge
Wednesday May 24, 2023
Wednesday May 24, 2023
Two for one! Grace vs. works is one of our favorite topics, and the foreknowledge of God is another! The two articles from BYU Studies we are covering today relate to each other in fascinating ways. Join us as we discuss how we can approach Grace using LDS and Protestant theology, and how the paradoxes of omniscience can be used to discover more about our own relationship with reality, time, and agency. This was a fun one!
Link to our Face in Hat discord server!
Dialogue Podcast Network
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/
Understandings of the Relationship between Grace and Works, by Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/understandings-of-the-relationship-between-grace-and-works/
On the Foreknowledge of God: Time, Knowledge, Reality, Agency, by Rosalynde F. Welch
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/on-the-foreknowledge-of-god/
The full issue: Yet to be revealed, open questions in Latter-Day Saint theology. Edited by Eric A. Eliason and Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/journal/60-3/
(I think this is the one I was referring to! -Aaron)
After All We Can Do...Grace Works, by Robert L. Millet
Believing Christ: The Parable of the Bicycle and Other Good News, by Stephen E. Robinson
Aaron’s top three talks :)
The Mediator, by Elder Boyd K. Packer
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1977/04/the-mediator
The Purifying Power of Gethsemane, by Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Beware of Pride, by President Ezra Taft Benson
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1989/04/beware-of-pride
Pelagianism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagianism
Original Grace, by Adam S. Miller
https://www.amazon.com/Original-Grace-Adam-S-Miller/dp/1639930248
Book of Mormon infinite atonement: Alma 34: 9-14
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/34?lang=eng&id=p9-p14#p9
2 Nephi 9:7
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/9#p7
The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt by Parley P. Pratt
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44896
Our episode that includes the Great God by Orson Pratt
https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/52-divinization-and-deity/
Exploring Mormon Thought: Volume 1, The Attributes of God, by Blake T. Ostler
https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Mormon-Thought-Attributes-God-ebook/dp/B0077YUTJE
Gospel Topic: God the Father
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/god-the-father
D&C 130:7, “...past, present, and future… are continually before the Lord.”
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/130?lang=eng&id=p7#p7
The “eternal now” quote: “the past, the present, and the future were and are, with Him, one eternal ‘now.’” History of the Church, 4:597, quoted here:
https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/content/knowledge-of-gods-plan
If You Could Hie to Kolob
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music/library/hymns/if-you-could-hie-to-kolob
“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.” – Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/14434-space-is-big-you-just-won-t-believe-how-vastly-hugely
Joseph Smith and the Possibility of Comics Andrew Knaupp and Sal Velluto, Pillar of Light Mark Elwood, The Glass Looker Noah Van Sciver, Joseph Smith and the Mormons, by Eric W. Jepson
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
5.7 War, Polygamy, and Disobedience
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
When exactly are we supposed to be obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law? Nathan Oman’s article on Civil Disobedience in Latter-day Saint Thought took us down a winding road exploring this question. Ride along!
Link to our Face in Hat discord server!
Dialogue Podcast Network
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/
Civil Disobedience in Latter-day Saint Thought, by Nathan B. Oman
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/civil-disobedience-in-latter-day-saint-thought/
The full issue: Yet to be revealed, open questions in Latter-Day Saint theology. Edited by Eric A. Eliason and Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/journal/60-3/
General conference
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04?lang=eng
Peacemakers Needed, by President Russell M. Nelson
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04/47nelson?lang=eng
The Restoration of Conscientious Objection, by Ron Madsen
QI Series M, Episode 2 - Military Matters (transcript)
https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/qi/episodes/13/2/
Google Books Ngram Viewer: conscientious objection and civil disobedience
Doctrine and Covenants 98
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/98?lang=eng
The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men, by Carol Lynn Pearson
https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Eternal-Polygamy-Haunting-Hearts/dp/0997458208
Wiki on “The Freeze” in Ghana
You Can't Close My Heart: Ghanaian Saints and the Freeze
Helmuth Hübener
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmuth_H%C3%BCbener
Hübener, a play by Thomas F. Rogers
https://www.amazon.com/Huebener-Other-Plays-Thomas-Rogers/dp/0963261800
(This includes a review of the play Hübener! Check it out!) Review: The Plays of Thomas F. Rogers, by B. Kent Harrison
https://squaretwo.org/Sq2ArticleHarrisonThomasRogers.html
The Darkest Abyss: Strange Mormon Stories, by William Morris. Look for the story “Reach”, a science fiction story about an oppressive future where a bishop is released from a calling his conscious mind doesn't realize he held.
https://www.amazon.com/Darkest-Abyss-Strange-Mormon-Stories/dp/1948218682
Saturday Feb 18, 2023
5.6 History, narration, and theological work
Saturday Feb 18, 2023
Saturday Feb 18, 2023
Our church’s framing of the apostasy and restoration is changing, and Miranda Wilcox wrote about it! How we narrate our religious history affects our general understanding of Christian history, and can help us better appreciate the centuries of progress between the ancient apostles and 1820.
Link to our Face in Hat discord server!
Narrating Religious Heritage: Apostasy and Restoration, by Miranda Wilcox
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/narrating-religious-heritage/
Joseph Smith and the Possibility of Comics
Reviewed by Theric Jepson
Dialogue 56, no. 1, Spring 2023 (in press)
Pillar of Light, by Andrew G. Knaupp (Author), Sal Velluto (Illustrator)
https://www.cedarfort.com/pages/pillar-of-light
The Glass Looker, by Mark Elwood
https://theglasslooker.com/about/
Joseph Smith and the Mormons, by Noah Van Sciver
Ada Palmer and the Weird Hand of Progress, by Gregory Barber
https://www.wired.com/story/ada-palmer-sci-fi-future-weird-hand-progress/
Remnant or Replacement? Outlining a Possible Apostasy Narrative, by Nicholas J. Frederick and Joseph M. Spencer
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5076&context=byusq
1st Nephi 11-14
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/11
John the Baptist wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Baptist
How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe (The Hinges of History), by Thomas Cahill
Martyrs' Crossing, by Melissa Leilani Larson
Friday Dec 23, 2022
5.5 Holy Matrimony, Holy Grail
Friday Dec 23, 2022
Friday Dec 23, 2022
So, was Jesus married? Our holiday edition of our series on open questions follows Christopher James Blythe’s article on the same question. Conspiracy, Assassin’s Creed, Dan Brown, this one’s got it all. Lots of great links in the show notes! See you next year!
Link to our Face in Hat discord server!
Dialogue Podcast Network
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/
Was Jesus Married?, by Christopher James Blythe
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5137&context=byusq
The full issue: Yet to be revealed, open questions in Latter-Day Saint theology. Edited by Eric A. Eliason and Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/journal/60-3/
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, by The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holy_Blood_and_the_Holy_Grail
Wiki on the book!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holy_Blood_and_the_Holy_Grail
Identical ancestors point
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identical_ancestors_point
Terrible Revolution: Latter-day Saints and the American Apocalypse, by Christopher James Blythe
LDS Church Issues Statement Regarding "The Da Vinci Code"
https://www.ksl.com/article/266159/lds-church-issues-statement-regarding-the-da-vinci-code
Evil along the Mississippi: Stories from Nauvoo, by Christopher James Blythe
https://irreantum.associationmormonletters.org/17-1-evil-along-the-mississippi-stories-from-nauvoo/
Introducing Introductions to Mormon Thought. The first two books are linked there and below: Eugene England: A Mormon Liberal, by Kristine Haglund, and Vardis Fisher: A Mormon Novelist
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/wordpress/introducing-introductions-to-mormon-thought/
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p058332
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=83xxc9pb9780252044090
Dialogue Book Report #19: Strange Mormon Fiction: Dave Butler and William Morris
Saturday Dec 03, 2022
5.4 Agency and its opposition
Saturday Dec 03, 2022
Saturday Dec 03, 2022
Agency is critical to the plan of salvation, and the adversary wanted it gone. But how? Philip L. Barlow wrote a banger of an article in Dialogue looking at prevailing theories, and argues the theology yields critical implications for how Mormons interact with government, politics, and church organization. It’s a great read!!!
Philip L. Barlow has a doctorate of theology (Th.D.) from the Harvard Divinity School and serves on the boards of directors for the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology and the Dialogue Foundation. How cool is that?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Barlow
Link to our Face in Hat discord server!
Dialogue Podcast Network
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/
Article for today: “Shards of Combat: How Did Satan Seek to Destroy the Agency of Man?”, by Philip L. Barlow
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/shards-of-combat/
The full issue: Yet to be revealed, open questions in Latter-Day Saint theology. Edited by Eric A. Eliason and Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/journal/60-3/
Darlene Young’s “A plan of salvation” isn’t yet published, but will appear in Irreantum’s next issue, “The Plan”.
https://irreantum.associationmormonletters.org/
Moses 4:3
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/moses/4?lang=eng#p3
Bonus! Jaywalking chat was cut from the episode, but enjoy Adam Ruins Everything - Why Jaywalking Is a Crime
Sunday Oct 30, 2022
5.3 Eternal individuation and King Follett
Sunday Oct 30, 2022
Sunday Oct 30, 2022
We welcome William Morris aka Wm, founder of A Motley Vision, onto our show to talk about the BYU studies article, The King Follett Discourse: Pinnacle or Peripheral?, by James E. Faulconer and Susannah Morrison. We talk about the nature of individuality, intelligence, and our own eternal destiny, as revealed by Joseph Smith and studied by prophets and scholars ever since. We even may have come to a new conclusion on the discourse as a whole? Join us!
Link to our Face in Hat discord server!
Dialogue Podcast Network
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/
Article for today: The King Follett Discourse: Pinnacle or Peripheral?, by James E. Faulconer and Susannah Morrison
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/the-king-follett-discourse-pinnacle-or-peripheral/
The full issue: Yet to be revealed, open questions in Latter-Day Saint theology. Edited by Eric A. Eliason and Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/journal/60-3/
Motley Vision website
The Darkest Abyss: Strange Mormon Stories, by William Morris
https://www.amazon.com/Darkest-Abyss-Strange-Mormon-Stories/dp/1948218682
Email subscription for Wm
https://buttondown.email/motleyvision
God has created “both things to act and things to be acted upon”, 2 Nephi 2:14
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/2#p14
Science the Key to Theology: Volume One: Preliminaries, by Steven L. Peck
https://www.amazon.com/Science-Key-Theology-One-Preliminaries/dp/0998605204
The Marvelous Clouds: Toward a Philosophy of Elemental Media, by John Durham Peters
https://www.amazon.com/Marvelous-Clouds-Toward-Philosophy-Elemental/dp/022625383X
Dark Watch and other Mormon-American stories, by William Morris
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Watch-other-Mormon-American-stories-ebook/dp/B00WQHCCFG
Talking to Dante in the Spirit World,by Daniel Cooper
Hemingway in Paradise and Other Mormon Poems, by Scott Hales
https://www.amazon.com/Hemingway-Paradise-Other-Mormon-Poems/dp/B09WQBHBQG
Thanks to our sponsor! Check out Beyond the Witch's Woods: Book One of the Kingdom of Adair, by Nathan K Caulder
Monday Oct 17, 2022
5.2 Divinization and Deity
Monday Oct 17, 2022
Monday Oct 17, 2022
It’s a two for one today as we look at two BYU studies articles on whether God ever has or is currently progressing, and on progression in the afterlife. Go deep with us! It’s so much fun! Plus Hadestown makes an appearance!
Link to our Face in Hat discord server!
Thanks to our sponsor! Check out Beyond the Witch's Woods: Book One of the Kingdom of Adair, by Nathan K Caulder
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BF2Q4TJX/
Two articles in this episode:
What Is the Nature of God’s Progress?, by Matthew Bowman
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/what-is-the-nature-of-gods-progress/
How Limited Is Postmortal Progression?, by Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/how-limited-is-postmortal-progression/
Both from the full issue: Yet to be revealed, open questions in Latter-Day Saint theology. Edited by Eric A. Eliason and Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/journal/60-3/
Brain cells in a lab dish learn to play Pong — and offer a window onto intelligence, by Jon Hamilton
Heike's Void, by Steven Peck (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/Heikes-Void-Steven-Peck/dp/1948218550
The Plan, a play by Eric Samuelsen
https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/155-06-31.pdf
Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel, by Kurt Vonnegut (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/Slaughterhouse-Five-Novel-Modern-Library-Novels/dp/0385333846
Hilbert's paradox of the Grand Hotel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert%27s_paradox_of_the_Grand_Hotel
Infinity - Here Come the 123s, by They Might Be Giants
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pTpEB-Y2Ai0&list=OLAK5uy_ltENVxaQXfqCtKD-WTW_t38dlM81kvy-E
How To Count Past Infinity - Vsauce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrU9YDoXE88
Infinity is bigger than you think - Numberphile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elvOZm0d4H0
(Aaron) I couldn’t quite verify it, but it’s rumored that Matthew Bowman’s The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith states that James Talmadge was one of the first Mormon’s with a Ph.D.
https://www.amazon.com/Mormon-People-Making-American-Faith/dp/081298336X
Talking to Dante in the Spirit World, by Daniel Cooper
Hadestown! It’s the best. Here’s a spotify link.
https://open.spotify.com/album/1J1yxODbNlqKbwRqJxYJUP
Hades! Also the best. Get it on steam or it’s free right now on xbox if you have game pass!
https://www.supergiantgames.com/games/hades/
Joseph Smith and the Mormons Hardcover, by Noah Van Sciver
https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Smith-Mormons-Noah-Sciver/dp/141974965X
Next time! The King Follett Discourse: Pinnacle or Peripheral?, by James E. Faulconer and Susannah Morrison
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/the-king-follett-discourse-pinnacle-or-peripheral/
Our related previous episode: 2.2 Canonization and the King Follett Discourse
https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/22-canonization-and-the-king-follett-discourse/
Saturday Sep 24, 2022
5.1 Open Questions, an intro to season 5
Saturday Sep 24, 2022
Saturday Sep 24, 2022
Welcome to season 5! In this season we are studying the recent BYU Studies Quarterly issue 60:3: “Yet to be revealed, open questions in Latter-Day Saint theology.” In each of the articles, an unsettled, open question is presented along with viewpoints from LDS authorities, theologians, and scholars. The goal is not to resolve or debate but to present and discuss, a take we appreciate. Join us! Our first episode is on the article “Oh Say, What Is Truth?”: Approaches to Doctrine, by Michael A. Goodman.
Link to our Face in Hat discord server!
Full issue: Yet to be revealed, open questions in Latter-Day Saint theology. Edited by Eric A. Eliason and Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/journal/60-3/
Introduction to a BYU Studies Quarterly Special Issue on Open Questions in Latter-day Saint Theology, by Eric A. Eliason and Terryl L. Givens
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/introduction-3/
“Oh Say, What Is Truth?”: Approaches to Doctrine, by Michael A. Goodman
https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/oh-say-what-is-truth/
Optimistic Nihilism - The philosophy of Kurzgesagt, by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture, by Terryl L. Givens
https://www.amazon.com/People-Paradox-History-Mormon-Culture/dp/0199915989
Argument - Monty Python
Tuesday Jun 28, 2022
4.8 Mormonism and Judaism
Tuesday Jun 28, 2022
Tuesday Jun 28, 2022
Mormons love the Old Testament and everything about the Jewish faith and culture. Join us as we go into the history of Judaic influences on the LDS faith, and the sometimes complex relationship between our faiths.
Link to our Face in Hat discord server!
Colonialism - The Board Game Struggle, by No Pun Included
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQuFSxs9VXA
Wiki: Judaism and Mormonism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism_and_Mormonism
What Is Cultural Appropriation?, by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/story/what-is-cultural-appropriation
The Complicated Relationship between Mormons and Jews, by Matthew Bowman (free registration and free trial required)
Reverence vs Chutzpah, by thmazing
https://motleyvision.org/2013/05/01/reverence-vs-chutzpah/
Selections from Jews and Words by Oz and Oz-Salzberger, by thmazing
https://thmazing.blogspot.com/2013/03/selections-from-jews-and-words-by-oz.html
Jews and Words, by Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Salzberger
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300156472/
Cats, Feces, Zombies, Jews, Wars, Princesses, Prophets, Exes, Screenplays, blog post by thmazing
https://thmazing.blogspot.com/2013/03/cats-feces-zombies-jews-wars-princesses.html#lineage
What Is It About Mormonism?, by Noah Feldman (subscription required)
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/magazine/06mormonism-t.html
(Aaron) I couldn’t find the reference for Spencer W. Kimball sharing a joke with the Lord, but I did find the awesome list of jokes and stories about Spencer W. Kimball. Highly recommended!
Spencer W. Kimball: A Man of Good Humor, by Edward L. Kimball
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2389&context=byusq