Episodes

Tonight on The Mormon Newscast, we lead with a major development: John Dehlin and Mormon Stories have officially walked away from mediation with the “Mormon” Church over trademark threats tied to the word “Mormon.” From there, we move through a packed lineup of stories shaping the LDS landscape right now: * Are missionaries starting to push the boundaries on dating while serving? * Is the aging leadership of the Q15 creating deeper institutional blind spots? * A first female bishop—what’s re...

Joseph Smith was a treasure seeker in his youth. But it didn’t end there. The religion he founded, and the book he dictated into existence, also bear unmistakable signs of his treasure-seeking activities, specifically the process he used to locate buried treasure. Dr. John Lundwall shares his new theory that the Book of Mormon fits best within the framework of performative spell-casting by a treasure-seeking Joseph Smith. Radio Free Mormon shares his perspective on how this framework also fits a...

In this episode we examine one of the most foundational claims in Mormonism: the translation of the Book of Mormon. Most Latter-day Saints grew up hearing a very specific story. Joseph Smith sat at a table, the gold plates were present, and he translated the ancient record through divine power. But when we turn to the actual historical eyewitness accounts, a more complicated picture appears. Multiple witnesses—including Martin Harris, Emma Smith, and David Whitmer—described a translation process...

A confrontation of historic proportions happened forty-five years ago; a confrontation between an LDS apostle and a BYU professor; between Elder Bruce R. McConkie and Professor Eugene England. The subject was the nature of God. But the ramifications were more far-reaching than that. Join Bill Reel and RFM as they dig deep into this controversy and explore what it meant then, and the fallout it still has today! Join the conversation live or catch the replay Like, Subscribe, and Share to help br...

Tonight’s Mormon Newscast breaks down a wild week of headlines with the top story of ABC abruptly canceling The Bachelorette just days before its premiere featuring Mormon Taylor Frankie Paul as the lead. With her deep ties to Netflix’s Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and the MomTok world, this wasn’t just another season… and the sudden cancellation has people asking what really happened behind the scenes. Also in this episode we cover: * LDS women are finally allowed to serve as Sunday School pr...

Former Bishop Nathan Hinckley joins the show, together with a very special guest appearance from his wife, Amy! Together they tell us about their journey through Mormonism; a journey that ultimately led both of them out of the church just three short years ago. This is one you won’t want to miss! The post Mormon Bishop Rebels: RFM: 446 appeared first on Mormon Discussions Podcasts - Full Lineup.

In this episode of Mormonism Live, we sit down with Ember, a Native American and former Latter-day Saint, to explore a side of Mormonism that often goes overlooked – the lived experience of Native Americans inside the Church. For many Indigenous members, Mormon doctrine didn’t just offer a spiritual framework. It reshaped identity, ancestry, and self-worth. Teachings about “Lamanites,” skin color, righteousness, and divine lineage weren’t abstract ideas—they were personal, and often deeply painf...

In this episode, we examine one of the lesser-known but revealing moments in Mormon history: the Kinderhook Plates. In 1843, a set of small brass plates covered with strange engravings were discovered in Kinderhook, Illinois and brought to Joseph Smith. Contemporary accounts record that Joseph examined the plates and began offering an interpretation of the characters, identifying them as an ancient record connected to a descendant of Ham. But decades later, the truth emerged. The Kinderhook Plat...

The LDS Church has announced that it spent $1.58 billion in humanitarian and welfare assistance in 2025, a number the Church says represents record-level giving around the world. But what exactly is included in that number, and how much of it represents money the Church itself donated versus funds that passed through programs like fast offerings, welfare systems, and the “Giving Machines”? Tonight we break down the announcement, what the Church says it means, and why critics say the way the numb...

Dr. Randall Bell brings fresh new research to Mormon Studies in this fascinating episode of Radio Free Mormon! Apologists claim the presence of an ancient Hebrew literary form called “chiasmus” proves the Book of Mormon to be ancient. “Not so fast,” says Dr. Bell, who shares with us a much more plausible source for chiasmus in the Book of Mormon than being put there by ancient American Jews whom DNA studies show didn’t exist. This is an episode you will want to not only watch, but share with you...

We’re having a party! And by “we,” I mean Radio Free Mormon and Kolby Reddish. What are we celebrating? Finally getting through our over-one-year dismantling of Austin Fife’s “Lite on Truth” Letter! And everybody is invited to this party! You will be able to join us in the studio by way of streamyard link. We will be going over our favorite parts of the twenty-episode series, together with what Kolby’s computer AI program can tell us by breaking down all sixty-plus hours of content! This will be...

Sam Young is the legend who did amazing things almost a decade ago to protect children in the Mormon Church. Of course, the Mormon Church didn’t appreciate Sam’s efforts to protect the children, so they excommunicated him. This is Sam’s story! And for the first time, Sam will speak publicly about what happened during his excommunication proceeding! This is a show you won’t want to miss! If you enjoy Mormonism Live and want to support the show, please consider donating: https://donorbox.org/morm...

Tonight on The Mormon Newscast, we begin with a development in the Wade Christofferson Abuse Allegations, specifically the Church’s official response regarding the brother of apostle D. Todd Christofferson. We’ll walk through what the Church said, what it didn’t say, and why the situation is drawing attention both inside and outside Mormon circles. We’ll also cover several other stories making headlines this week. The Ruby Franke / Jodi Hildebrandt case made news this week as new developments ra...

Why Do People Leave the LDS Church? In this episode of Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon examine a topic that has been discussed inside Mormonism for nearly two centuries: why do people leave the Church? From early sermons by Brigham Young to modern General Conference addresses, Latter-day Saint leaders have offered explanations for why members lose their faith. These explanations often frame departure as the result of deception, pride, sin, offense, or the influence of Satan. Toni...

Tonight on The Mormon Newscast, our lead story comes out of Atlanta where Morehouse College has unveiled a portrait of Joseph Smith Jr. inside its Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel — placing the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the school’s International Hall of Honor alongside figures like Abraham Lincoln. The portrait was revealed at a vespers service on Feb. 1 and has ignited a lively discussion on campus and beyond about race, history, and how instituti...

In this episode, we examine one of the clearest translation claims in Mormon history: the Book of Abraham. Joseph Smith said he translated ancient writings of Abraham from Egyptian papyri. Those papyri were displayed, studied, and described as the source of the text. Today, we still have fragments of those papyri. And Egyptologists can read them. They do not say what Joseph said they say. So what happened? We carefully walk through the original claim, what the surviving papyri actually contain (...

The Lost 116 Pages — What Really Happened? In this episode, we take a careful look at one of the earliest and most important moments in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon: the loss of the 116 manuscript pages. Believers have long heard the story. Martin Harris takes the manuscript. It disappears. Joseph is devastated. A revelation explains why the pages cannot be retranslated. But when we slow down and examine the logic of the situation, deeper questions begin to emerge. If Joseph had the pl...

What if the reason you felt like you were never enough… wasn’t you? In this episode, Teresa explores the striking parallels between narcissistic relationship dynamics and high-demand religious systems, specifically within Mormonism. Through a compassionate but honest lens, she examines how institutional patterns like shifting expectations, avoidance of accountability, image preservation, and conditional belonging can shape identity, nervous system regulation, and long-term wellbeing, especially ...

RFM blows up one of the most popular apologist theories for how the Book of Mormon can still be divinely inspired . . . even though it contains indisputable elements from Joseph Smith’s 19th Century environment. It’s called “The Expansion Theory.” It was created by Blake Ostler. And Mr. Ostler is not going to be happy about the thrashing RFM gives his theory. After this episode, the only thing that will be left of Ostler’s “Expansion Theory” is a mushroom-shaped cloud on the horizon. Don’t miss ...

What is it like to be a Mormon missionary in Japan? RFM reflects on different aspects of his mission through the use of some recently acquired letters he himself wrote while serving his mission almost half a century ago! The post Mormon Mission Letters Home: RFM: 442 appeared first on Mormon Discussions Podcasts - Full Lineup.

Tonight on Mormonism Live, we tackle one of the most persistent and uncomfortable questions in modern Mormon scholarship: What does DNA actually say about the Book of Mormon? Our guest is Dr. Thomas W. Murphy, anthropologist, award-winning scholar, and author of Unsettling Scripture: Iroquois and the Book of Mormon. Dr. Murphy’s latest presentation, “DNerAsure: Unsettling Science & Scripture” DNerAsure – Unsettling Science, challenges both apologetic narratives and oversimplified dismissals of t...

In this episode, we step into one of the most provocative and uncomfortable chapters ever written about Joseph Smith — “The Don Juan of Nauvoo,” from Dr. W. Wyl’s 1886 exposé. These are not modern critics looking backward with hindsight. These are men and women living in Utah in the late 1800s — people who lived through Nauvoo, who knew Joseph personally, who saw the culture firsthand, and who were willing to share their memories of Joseph’s behavior with women. Their recollections paint a portr...

On this episode of The Mormon Newscast, we take a closer look at a growing debate inside Mormonism: Are Latter-day Saints actually leaving the Church—and if so, why? Apologists and researchers are pushing back against the idea of mass disaffiliation, pointing to data showing high activity rates among those who still identify as LDS. But does that data tell the full story? We break down the claims, the research, and what it may reveal about the Church’s future. We also cover major financial news ...

The LDS Church has called Clark G. Gilbert as its newest apostle, and the implications of this decision reach far beyond a single leadership change. At just 55 years old, Gilbert is now positioned to shape the Church for decades to come. Tonight, we break down who Clark Gilbert is, what he said about his unexpected calling, his background in Church education and media, and why this move appears to signal an intentional effort to stabilize and protect institutional orthodoxy at a time of growing ...