Sunstone Mormon History Podcast

Sunstone Mormon History Podcast

There’s the Mormon history you do know … and the Mormon history you don’t. Join Lindsay Hansen Park (Year of Polygamy) and historian Bryan Buchanan as they dig into all aspects of Mormonism’s astonishing 200-year past—uncovering the little-known stories that chronicle how a six-person church grew into a multi-billion-dollar religion.

Episodes

Episode 1: The Creation

February 20, 2019 • 49 mins
Join Sunstone’s Lindsay Hansen Park and Benchmark Books’ Bryan Buchanan as they discuss the origins of the creation story in Mormonism, and the tensions between science and Mormonism.   Listen to this episode here.   Additional resources and information about topics discussed in this episode: “The 1911 Evolution Controversy at Brigham Young University” (Gary J. Bergera) http://signaturebookslibrary...
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Episode 2: The First Mother in Israel

March 15, 2019 • 71 mins
Lindsay and Bryan discuss the life of Lucy Mack Smith, the mother of Joseph Smith Jr. This episode features special guests Tim Coray and Carol Lynn Pearson reading as Lucy Mack Smith. Listen to this episode here.   Additional resources and information about topics discussed in this episode: “Lucy’s Image: A Recently Discovered Photograph of …
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Episode 3: The Smith Family

March 29, 2019 • 78 mins
In this episode, Bryan Buchanan and Lindsay Hansen Park discuss the sisters of Joseph Smith. Joined by historian Christopher C. Smith, this episode explores the lives of members of the Smith family and how Mormonism impacted their stories. Listen to this episode here  Additional resources and information about topics discussed in this episode: The Sword …
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Episode 4: Magic and Mormonism

April 12, 2019 • 113 mins
Did early Mormons once dabble in the occult? This episode explores Joseph Smith’s fascination with magical practices, including animal sacrifice and seer stones. Join hosts Lindsay Hansen Park and Bryan Buchanan as they discuss early Mormonism and the Magic World View with acclaimed Mormon historians D. Michael Quinn and Christopher C. Smith. Listen to this …
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Episode 5: History of the Scriptures

April 27, 2019 • 106 mins
Did Joseph Smith write or translate the Book of Mormon? Who was involved? Is it true a magic toad and a bloody ghost helped bring forth scripture? Tune into the Sunstone History Podcast as Bryan Buchanan and Lindsay Hansen Park discuss the history of Mormon scriptures with Brian Hales, Sarah Stone, Kalani Tonga, Christopher C. …
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Episode 6: Bad Boys of Early Mormonism

May 10, 2019 • 73 mins
In early Mormonism, it was often hard to parse out the Saints from Scoundrels. Bryan Buchanan and Lindsay Hansen Park discuss some of the early “bad boys” in the Mormon movement including Hiram Page, Oliver Cowdery, William McLellin. This episode features commentary by historians Cheryl L. Bruno and Christopher C. Smith. Listen to this episode …
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Episode 7: The Bad Girls of Early Mormonism

May 25, 2019 • 64 mins
Not every woman in early Mormonism was obedient, submissive, nor compliant. Who were these “huffy” women? Join Bryan Buchanan, Lindsay Hansen Park, Christopher C. Smith, and Maxine Hanks as they discuss the “Bad Girls” of early Mormon history. Listen to this episode here.  Additional resources and information about topics discussed in this episode: “‘Seizing Sacred …
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Episode 8: How Was the Book of Mormon Translated?

June 7, 2019 • 31 mins
How was the Book of Mormon created? Bryan Buchanan and Lindsay Hansen Park explore different approaches to the Book of Mormon with historians Sheldon Kent and Christopher C. Smith. Listen to this Episode here. Additional resources and information about topics discussed in this episode: Manuscript Found: The Complete Original “Spaulding Manuscript” Manuscript Found | Religious Studies …
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Episode 9: Straight Outta New York

June 23, 2019 • 50 mins
The Mormon movement was seeded in New York and spread throughout the United States. Why New York? How did the geography surrounding Mormonism impact the doctrine, culture, and belief? How did white settler narratives impact the Book of Mormon? Bryan Buchanan and Lindsay Hansen Park explore these ideas with help from Mormon scholars Cristina Rosetti …
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Episode 10: Restoring What Was Lost: Priesthood Restoration Narratives

July 5, 2019 • 71 mins
Exactly how was Christ’s Priesthood restored in the mind of Latter-day Saints? That question isn’t easily answered. Bryan Buchanan and Lindsay Hansen Park bring on Mormon historians Dan Vogel and Christopher C. Smith to give it a try. Listen to this episode here.
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Episode 11: An Episode Full of Females

July 20, 2019 • 65 mins
What attracted women to the early Mormon church? Podcast hosts Lindsay Hansen Park and Bryan Buchanan dig into this question and ask historians Brittany Chapman Nash and Christopher C. Smith to help shed light on who these early Mormon women converts were. Special thanks to Grace Pool and TheBurningBosom and Sister Jensen on Youtube.   …
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Episode 12: Crazy For Kirtland

August 17, 2019 • 53 mins
Mormonism’s earliest converts weren’t always the straight-laced, pious pioneers we sometimes remember them as. As this episode will demonstrate, early Kirtland was a wild, wild time. Join Lindsay Hansen Park and Bryan Buchanan as they talk about early ecstatic Kirtland, the Smith entheogenic theory with Bryce Blakenagel, and the Morley Farm. Listen to this episode …
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Episode 13: Early Black Mormons

August 30, 2019 • 34 mins
Mormonism isn’t always known for its diversity, especially in its beginnings on the edge of the frontier. This episode will discuss some of the early black Latter-day Saints who joined the movement with help from Mica McGriggs, Darius Gray, and Christopher C. Smith. Listen to this episode here.
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Episode 14: Translating the Joseph Smith Translation

September 13, 2019 • 31 mins
What’s the deal with the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible? In this episode, Bryan, Lindsay, and Christopher explore what Joseph Smith did and what he might have been trying to accomplish when he attempted his own translation of the Old and New Testaments. Listen to this episode here. 
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Episode 15: Words on the Words of Wisdom

September 27, 2019 • 90 mins
There’s a lot to be said about the Mormon “health code,” the Word of Wisdom. Tune in to hear Lindsay Hansen Park, Bryan Buchanan and Christopher C. Smith join with researchers and historians Clair Barrus and Joe Geisner to better understand the history of Mormonism’s most talked about commandment, er, revelation, er, suggestion. You get …
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Episode 17: Boys and Bayonets

October 25, 2019 • 45 mins
Missouri would be a tough time for Mormons and Gentiles alike. How did the conflict get started? How did violence change the landscape of Zion? Check out this episode with Bryan Buchanan, Lindsay Hansen Park and Christopher C. Smith about Zion’s Camp and more. Listen to this episode here.
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Episode 18: Translate Like an Egyptian

November 13, 2019 • 42 mins
Joseph Smith’s Book of Abraham project was just the tip of the capstone when it came to his engagement on Egyptian lore and artifacts. Join Lindsay, Bryan and Christopher as they discuss the Book of Abraham translation and Joseph Smith’s fascination with ancient antiquity. Listen to this episode here.
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Episode 19A: Part One: More Episodes Than One

December 13, 2019 • 119 mins
The history of polygamy is long and discursive so we try to break it down for you in this two-part episode. Listen to Lindsay and Bryan give an overview of Mormon polygamy and discuss the history of its origins to today. This episode also features and interview with Randy Barlow, an expert on priesthood authority …
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Episode 19B: Part Two: More Episodes Than One

January 8, 2020 • 37 mins
The history of polygamy is long and discursive so we try to break it down for you in this two-part episode. Listen to Lindsay and Bryan give an overview of Mormon polygamy and discuss the history of its origins to today. This is part two in the series and discusses the history of the modern …
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Episode 20: Houston, We Have a Problem (in Kirtland)

February 3, 2020 • 44 mins
If you think safety is expensive, try… creating a bank? Things were just getting good in Kirtland until the Saints tried their hands at banking, or anti-banking. Join Lindsay and Bryan as they talk about the Kirtland Safety Society and how the attempt to form a Mormon bank didn’t turn out so well. Listen to …
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