Sunstone Magazine

It seems like every general conference is the same, but data analytics tells us otherwise. Quentin Spencer talks about the surprising things the prophets have stopped talking about during the past 80 years. This episode is a recording from the 2020 Sunstone Summer Symposium.

Remember when Joseph Smith ran for president of the United States? We sure do. Join Bryan and Lindsay as they discuss the period of 1844 where Mormon prophet Joseph Smith threw his name in the ring and tried to attain the highest office of power in the world.

Susan Meredith Hinckley used to feel like she needed a bigger church, but behind that need was a more fundamental one: the need for a larger God. Regaining her spiritual footing after her children left Mormonism has required a new kind of faith: a turning away from the confines of what she had been taught …

Merry Smithmas everyone! As part of a special bonus episode for the holidays (and Joseph Smith’s birthday), Bryan and Lindsay sat down with graphic artist Mark Elwood to discuss his newest book, The Glass Looker which covers Joseph Smith’s earliest years using magic and treasure digging. Buy The Glass Looker and see more of Mark’s …

Part two of the history of the Mormon Expositor destruction is finally here! Join Lindsay and Bryan as they dig into the murky history of the newspaper that changed Mormonism forever.

What is it like to grow up as a “Lamanite” in the LDS Church? Sarah Newcomb talks about her complicated history as a seventh-generation Native American Mormon in this recording of a 2020 Sunstone Summer Symposium session.  

One of the most fiery controversies during the Nauvoo period for Joseph Smith involved the newspaper, The Nauvoo Expositor. In this episode, Lindsay and Bryan explore the people behind the infamous paper.

The LDS Church has an actual policy of never apologizing. Is it just to ward off lawsuits, or is something deeper going on? In this episode, Stephen Carter uncovers the roots of this policy and its surprising consequences.

Counterfeiting in Nauvoo is a controversial topic, not without its scandals. Bryan and Lindsay discuss the bogus counterfeiting scheme among the Saints and interview Mary Ann Clements, an expert on the subject.

In 2019, Kyle Ashworth released the “On the Record” project (lattergaystories.org/record), a detailed chronology of quotes and messaging about LGBTQIA+ issues from the LDS Church. In this episode, Ashworth takes us on a whirlwind tour of that history. Recorded at the 2021 Sunstone Symposium.

Most discussions about faith transitions center on adults. But what about the children of these parents? After his own faith transition, Jon Ogden wrestled with how he and his wife could best raise their kids — particularly while living in Utah County. In this episode, recorded at the 2021 Sunstone Symposium, Ogden shares lessons he …

There were a lot of shenanigans afoot when it came to the law in Nauvoo. In this episode, Lindsay and Bryan talk with Nauvoo legal historian John Dinger about the legal charges levied against Joseph Smith.

Many people who transition from orthodox Mormonism to either post or nuanced positions often look back on their sexual journey and feel that a lot of their decisions were co-opted by the Church. And now they’re dealing with grief, anger, feelings of betrayal, and the “what if?” syndrome. This episode addresses some of the common …

To believe is to be human. But belief has a price—one that has risen higher and higher in recent years. Can we afford it anymore? That’s the question Stephen Carter asks as he explores Amanda Montell’s book “Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism.”

While the Mormons were building a Kingdom of God in the United States, they began to branch out across the pond. Join Lindsay and Bryan as they discuss the early history of Mormonism in the UK and the English mission.

“Queer polygamy” is probably one of the most provocative phrases you could throw into an LDS conversation. But Blaire Ostler thinks it can open up constructive new ways of reimagining the ways we relate to each other. In this episode, Ostler and professor of religion Taylor Petrey unpack this phrase and explore its possibilities.

As promised, join Bryan and Lindsay for their special session at the 2021 Sunstone Summer Symposium. They discuss some of their adventures digging up the history for the podcast and much more!

The idea that our spirits are the literal offspring of heavenly parents is found nowhere in LDS scripture or the writings, sermons, and contemporaneous teachings of Joseph Smith. In fact, the theology of Smith’s King Follett Discourse undermines the doctrine. Drawing from LDS scripture and Smith’s famous sermon, Rob Lauer presents a Mormon theology that …

How did Joseph Smith Jr.’s parents and their upbringings influence Mormonism? Join Lindsay and Bryan as they discuss the early cultures and ideas in New England that made an impact on the Smith family and Mormonism at large.

Liz Brown MacDonald interviewed fifteen young adults from rigidly religious homes who had left the LDS Church and was amazed by how many similarities their stories had. For example, the lengths the children would go to to cover up their disaffiliation with the church; the way their parents would blame themselves for the children’s disaffiliation; …