Episodes

We dig into one of the lesser-known but deeply revealing historical sources from early Mormonism: the Fayette Lapham interview with Joseph Smith Sr. Lapham’s account places Joseph Smith’s father in conversation about the earliest days of the movement — before the Church had polished narratives, before later offices were cleanly defined, and before memory had decades to smooth out the rough edges. What emerges is a version of early Mormon leadership that feels far less settled and far more experi...

Tonight on The Mormon Newscast we lead with breaking local news out of Layton: a junior high employee has been arrested and charged with inappropriate conduct involving a 17-year-old. We break down what we know, the legal implications, and the community response. In other headlines, we cover a troubling case out of Cody where a woman allegedly wiped her husband’s phone after his arrest on suspicion of child sex crimes and now faces significant prison time and fines if convicted. Also in Cody new...

Join us on New Year’s Eve for a special episode of Mormonism Live. We’ll look back at the biggest Mormon news stories of the year from The Mormon Newscast and reveal the Top 5 stories you voted for. We’ll also dig into a few late-breaking developments, including the passing of Elder Holland. Support The Mormon Newscast: https://donorbox.org/the-mormon-newscast https://donorbox.org/mormonish-podcast The post 2025 Mormon Newscast Year in Review appeared first on Mormon Discussions Podcasts - F...

David Whitmer is one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, but his life after Mormonism raises some of the most challenging questions anyone serious about truth claims has to wrestle with. He broke with Joseph Smith. He rejected Brigham Young. He condemned polygamy, secret combinations, and priesthood hierarchy. And yet, for nearly sixty years, he never denied seeing the angel or the plates. In this episode of Mormonism Live, we take a careful, historically grounded look at David Whitmer...

WHY MORMONS HAVE TO LIE ABOUT MORMONISM. RFM and Kolby Reddish take Austin Fife out behind the woodshed yet again in this newest analysis of “The Light and Truth Letter.” The more Austin defends the LDS Church, the deeper the hole he digs for Mormonism. In Chapter 19 titled “Critical Myths,” Austin Fife proves that truth should be no obstacle in defending the Mormon Church. RFM and Kolby are right there to point out all the lies, half-truths and distortions that Austin must use to make Mormonism...

Join us this Christmas Eve for the Third Annual Radio Free Mormon Christmas Eve Party. RFM will be joined by over Mormon influencers from the Mormon and post-Mormon space, and maybe even a few surprises! Get stocked up on eggnog and gingerbread cookies! Stay up with RFM and watch the stars come out! This is going to be a blast! Thomas murphy https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/V58N04_2.pdf Unsettling Scripture The post A Radio Free Mormon Christmas Eve ! appeared ...

When Radio Free Mormon says this is the show the LDS church doesn’t want you to see, he’s not kidding! The LDS church already took down the original version of this episode by lodging a copyright strike against it with YouTube. But now, what with Dallin H. Oaks being made president of the LDS church, and what with excommunications on the rise again, this message has never been more timely! Is there a connection between increasing church discipline and President Oaks’s injunction to local leaders...

The LDS Church has quietly opened the door for English-speaking members to read Bible translations beyond the King James Version. On the surface, that may sound harmless. But once members begin reading the Bible in clearer, modern language, some long-standing Mormon doctrinal assumptions start running into friction. Tonight, we look at why this change matters and what happens when Mormon theology is measured against a less filtered biblical framework. We also cover several additional stories mak...

This week on The Mormon Newscast, we lead with new data from sociologist Jana Riess showing that Gen Z and younger Millennials are leaving the LDS Church at significant rates, raising serious questions about the Church’s repeated claims of strong growth. We break down what the data actually says, what it does not say, and how this trend collides with the Church’s public narrative. We also look at the newly announced Young Men’s Advisory Board and what it signals about where is heading. At the sa...

Radio Free Mormon and Kolby Reddish dissect chapter 17 of Austin Fife’s Light On Truth Letter. Easily the worst chapter so far, Austin inadvertently reveals a lot about himself, including the fact that the way he deals with critics of Mormonism is to “stop listening to them.” This was surprising from somebody who wrote an entire book to address their arguments, but there you have it. Austin also lets us know that he systematically mischaracterizes critics of Mormonism as the worst people on the ...

Tonight on Mormonism Live we celebrate the 5th anniversary of Mormonism Live. 5 years of in depth dives into Mormon History. 5 Years of examining the theology of the LDS Church, 5 years of current events. All on a weekly live show designed to entertain you! It’s our 5th Anniversary special, and we’re turning the show over to you. Call in and tell us your favorite episodes, your favorite RFM breakdowns, your favorite Bill Reel rants, the moments that shocked you, cracked you up, or helped you see...

A lot of people feel down around the holidays. So did RFM! But a few years ago, RFM stumbled across some wisdom from a guy who lived 2,000 years ago that turned everything around. And maybe it will for you, too! RFM shares how he used to be in love with Christmas as a boy, how he parted ways with Christmas in a messy break-up, and how after a long period of alienation, they finally got back together. Join RFM as he tells the wonderful stories that led him through this experience, and how he gain...

Tonight on The Mormon Newscast: The LDS Church is now pressuring creators to stop using the word “Mormon” because they want surprise, surprise, they want the word; even after years of telling members not to use it. Why does the Church suddenly want the word back? What’s behind this new legal push, and what does it mean for podcasts, media, and the wider post-Mormon community? We break down the key details from the Salt Lake Tribune’s reporting, the legal implications, and why critics say the Chu...

There are stunning new developments in the Wade Christofferson case, a story shaking Mormonism from the inside out. A federal complaint, coded messages to a child, a secret attic space, and a connection to one of the highest-ranking leaders in the LDS Church… this update is darker, more disturbing, and more revealing than previously reported. And the deeper you look, the harder it gets to ignore the patterns. We walk you through the newest details, what investigators found, what prosecutors alle...

Oliver Cowdery was more than Joseph Smith’s scribe. Oliver was a co-founder of the Mormon movement, a visionary of sacred experiences with Heavenly Messengers, and one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon’s golden plates as well as an angel. But what happens when that witness walks away? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we dive deep into Cowdery’s life, exploring his pivotal role in early Church history, his fiery fallout with Joseph, and the twists and turns of his life outside Mormon...

In this follow-up to “To Catch a Thief,” Radio Free Mormon and Bill Reel return with a deeper, wider investigation into the claims and credibility of Ward Radio’s Jonah Barnes. Last time, we showed clear evidence that Barnes lifted Eldon Watson’s Adam-God research and passed it off as his own. This time, we broaden the lens. RFM and Bill walk through a lineup of respected scholars and historians whose work directly contradicts Barnes’s narratives, exposing just how far he’s been stretching, bend...

Tonight on The Mormon Newscast, we’re diving into a major update in the Wade Christofferson case. New details are out about how the LDS Church allegedly handled his membership, leadership callings, and decades of abuse reports. And what this says about the system itself. We’ll walk through the new timeline, the institutional decisions, and why so many feel the Church’s internal structure made future victims less safe. We’re also covering several big stories breaking across Mormonism this week: ...

Getting together with family during the holidays can be beautiful… or it can feel like stepping into a spiritual escape room you never signed up for. In this episode of Almost Awakened, Teresa and I dive into the real-life challenges that mixed-faith families face this time of year — from surprise prayers to passive-aggressive testimony moments to the subtle pressure to play your old role in the family system. In this episode of the Almost Awakened Podcast, We’ll walk through 10 practical, human...

Tonight’s Mormon Newscast opens with a heavy story making waves across the ex-Mormon and Mormon-watching world: the arrest of Apostle D. Todd Christofferson’s brother on federal child-abuse charges. We walk through what’s known, what’s confirmed, and what this means inside a culture where reputational control is everything. We’ll also cover the Church’s recent move to lower the missionary age for young women to 18, raising big questions about recruitment strategy and cultural pressure. From ther...

In this episode, we break down the story of a Latter-day Saint Bishop who when he was currently serving when he officially stepped away from the Mormon Church. We’ll walk through what led to his decision, what he saw behind the curtain as a leader, and how the gap between the Church’s public messaging and its private reality became impossible for him to ignore. This isn’t just another faith transition story. It’s a rare account from someone who lived the system, moved up in the ward hierarchy, e...

Radio Free Mormon is joined once again by esteemed co-counsel Kolby Reddish to take apart yet another chapter of Austin Fife’s “Light On Truth Letter.” RFM and Kolby agree this has got to be the crappiest chapter in an otherwise crappy book. But sometimes, the crappier the chapter, the longer it takes to break down. We point out numerous logical fallacies Austin Fife engages in to try to make Mormon plural marriage defensible, many of which Austin Fife mentioned earlier in his own book! That’s r...

Tonight on The Mormon Newscast, we’re jumping into Sunday School where the Come Follow Me finally lands on D&C 132, and the online reactions range from confused to downright chaotic. We also dig into what’s actually going on with the Giving Machines this year, and why the spin doesn’t match the data. The Church is touting 250 trucks of humanitarian aid, so we’ll walk through what that really means and what it doesn’t. And yes! the word Mormon might be sneaking its way back into mainstream use… e...

In this episode, Radio Free Mormon welcomes Bill Reel into the studio for a deep-dive investigation into a troubling pattern coming out of the Ward Radio camp. RFM walks viewers through clear, point-by-point evidence that Ward Radio’s Jonah Barnes is presenting another scholar’s research as if it were his own. Bill acts as the jury weighing the evidence and speaks to why this matters for anyone trying to do responsible Mormon scholarship. And in the end you get a front row seat as RFM attempts t...

Mormonism Live’s Bill Reel & RFM dive deep into a recent claim by Ward Radio that the so-called “Adam God Doctrine” never existed. They sift through the documentary history, the original speeches, journal entries, and the commentary of leading Mormon scholars to see if the claim holds up. Did the doctrine ever exist? Was it a misunderstanding, a misrepresentation, or a developed belief held by some early leaders? We’ll explore all that—and what it means for a faith’s history where its apologists...