Sunstone Magazine

Why are Mormons a bewildering mix of peculiar and normal? Some of it has to do with . . . testosterone? Stephen Carter explores the Mormon implications of Joseph Henrich’s book “The Weirdest People in the World.”

Finally, we’ve arrived at the story of Lyman Wight and his break-off group of Texas Mormons. Join Lindsay and Bryan as they explore the story of Brigham Young’s troublesome apostle, Elder “fistacuffs,” the Wild Ram himself, Brother Lyman Wight. Shownotes: Purchase the book: An Abundant Life: The Memoirs of Hugh B. Brown edited by Edwin B. Firmage …

“Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith” was a turning point in the telling of Mormon history. And it has a fascinating history of its own. Linda King Newell recounts how she and Valeen Avery Tippetts wrote this groundbreaking book. This episode was recorded at the 2009 Salt Lake Symposium.

Join Lindsay and Bryan as they discuss the insane story of James Emmett, the Council of 50 member who started his own frontier break-off-get-back-together sect during the Mormon exodus. Show Notes: Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844–January 1846; Volume 1, 10 March 1844–1 March 1845-

How much of a role might hallucinogens have played in some of the visions of early Mormon history? Bryce Blakenagel, host of the Naked Mormonism podcast, explores the possibilities. This episode was recorded at the 2022 Salt Lake Summer Symposium.

Today we are talking about Council Bluffs and how Mormons ended up there. The episode with Lindsay and Bryan discusses the controversial land trade Mormons made with the federal government to be able to settle “Winter Quarters” and the tragic consequences of the deal. SHOWNOTES: A typewritten copy of a manuscript titled “Camp of the …

If the LDS Church has light, it also has a shadow. But what should it do with that shadow? Valerie Hamaker, host of the Latter Day Struggles podcast, shows how the Jungian shadow can either save or destroy a person—or a religion. This episode was recorded at the 2022 Sunstone Summer Symposium.  

We kick off a new season leaving Nauvoo and heading into the great unknown. Join Lindsay and Bryan for a fascinating look at the Mormon journey into Iowa, known as Winter Quarters.

The Season of Nauvoo is (finally) in the books. Join Bryan and Lindsay as they discuss the year and the new season ahead.

LDS Church member Beatrice Sparks published two wildly popular diaries of teen drug abuse and Satanism: “Go Ask Alice” and “Jay’s Journal.” But the diaries, and Beatrice herself, were much more complicated than they appeared. Using Rick Emerson’s book “Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World’s Most Notorious Diaries,” Stephen Carter …

As we wrap up the Nauvoo era of Mormon history, we focus in on a lesser known figure that had a big impact on Mormonism: Vilate Kimball

Utah has often been called the ‘fraud capital of the world.” In this episode, Ryan McKnight takes us on a tour of Utah’s worst fraudsters—all of them LDS. Recorded at the 2018 Sunstone Summer Symposium.

In the beginning, Sam Brannan might have been a loyal Mormon leader, but the glitter of gold and the allurements of the world are about to test his mettle. Join Lindsay and Bryan as they talk about the rise and fall of Brigham Young’s biggest colonizing competitor, Sam Brannan.

In this episode, Lindsay and Bryan discuss the Mormons’ first venture heading west: Samuel Brannan’s expedition to the so-called, “Upper California.” Special thanks to Matt Riley for the cameo on this episode. Music mentioned and used in this episode: Mormon Symphony & Mormon Youth Chorus – The Upper California

They’re embedded in a patriarchal church, so shouldn’t Mormon men be the very definition of toxic masculinity? In this episode, Stephen Carter explores the surprising ways Mormon masculinity has shifted over the past few years.

In the Book of Abraham, the gods create intelligences and put them into human bodies. Humans are now creating intelligences. But the intelligences we create could have the capacity to destroy us. Ross Richey shows how this could change the way we think about the Plan of Salvation. This episode was recorded at the 2018 …

Utah’s first AIDS cases were confirmed in 1983. How did gay and lesbian people in Utah respond to this new disease? How did the LDS Church respond? J. Seth Anderson presents an overview of this tragic part of Utah’s history. This episode was recorded at the 2017 Sunstone Summer Symposium.

After the death of Joseph Smith, things got even wilder in Nauvoo. Bryan and Lindsay talk about the crazy chaos and sit down with historian Dr. Benjamin Park to unpack it all.

Remember when Brigham Young disbanded the Relief Society shortly after Joseph Smith’s death? We do. Or do we…? In this long-awaited and teased BONUS episode, Bryan and Lindsay sit down with historian Katie Ludlow Rich to discuss her research and paper, The Shadow Succession Crisis: Challenging the Claim that Brigham Young Disbanded the Relief Society …

In this special bonus episode, historian Christopher C. Smith interviews Joseph West about a paper he coauthored with Eric W. Schoon, titled, “From Prophecy to Practice: Mutual Selection Cycles in the Routinization of Charismatic Authority.” We dig into the “death of a founder syndrome” and how schismatic movements form. Shownotes: Link to the paper: From Prophecy …