Mormon Discussion By Bill Reel

Today Guest Host Jon Young sits down with LDS author Russell McConkie and discuss his book “Genesis Evolution.  Do science and religion really have to be at odds with each other? Are they compatible? Does there really need to be a debate about evolution vs. God?   What if Moses actually understood the science behind the […] The post 108: Russell McConkie: Genesis Evolution appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

To be a Disciple of Christ is more than to follow him.  It is more than to be inclusive, to be kind, to be compassionate.  It also has a cost.  It is uncomfortable.  It requires us to be challenged and to be pushed to our limits.  Today we talk about that cost and why the […] The post 107: The Cost of Discipleship appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today I sit down with Jon Young.  Jon will hopefully be guest hosting the podcast at times and I wanted to give listeners a feel for his journey, how he frames faith, and what trials and challenges he has been through.   I hope you enjoy this episode and please be on the look out […] The post 106: Jon Young: Faithful Framing appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

  Today I share the presentation I did in the Indianapolis IN YSA Conference.  My subject was Grace and it’s changing power in our lives.   Included is a 15 minute soundbite from Brad Wilcox’s talk “His Grace is Sufficient” The powerpoint for this episode is available on the products page of the website  Resources Brad and Wendee […] The post 105: Grace and It’s Changing Power appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we sit down with Wendy Montgomery who tells the story of her son Jordan, who came out as Gay in 2012 as a young teenager.  She talks about her experience in the Church, how she hold out hope and leads with faith.  It is an inspiring story of how to handle big challenges and […] The post 104: Wendy Montgomery: Charity towards all appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we sit down with LDS Scholars, Authors, and rolemodels within Mormonism, Terryl and Fiona Givens.  We talk about their book “The Crucible of Doubt”.   More specifically we speak about the themes of their book which is an effort to adjust paradigms and assumptions.  As they testify of, this is the crux of the […] The post 103: Fiona & Terryl Givens: Crucible of Doubt appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This is a followup 4 pt series to compliment David Bokovoy’s interview on the Historical Jesus.  Many of you are reading Bart Erhman and others who completely throw the Divine Christ out the door.  Many simply discount every evidence as discrediting any view that sees the Divine in Christ.  I want to say thanks to […] The post Bonus: NT Wright: Historical Jesus PT4 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This is a followup 4 pt series to compliment David Bokovoy’s interview on the Historical Jesus.  Many of you are reading Bart Erhman and others who completely throw the Divine Christ out the door.  Many simply discount every evidence as discrediting any view that sees the Divine in Christ.  I want to say thanks to […] The post Bonus: NT Wright: Historical Jesus PT3 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This is a followup 4 pt series to compliment David Bokovoy’s interview on the Historical Jesus.  Many of you are reading Bart Erhman and others who completely throw the Divine Christ out the door.  Many simply discount every evidence as discrediting any view that sees the Divine in Christ.  I want to say thanks to […] The post Bonus: NT Wright: Historical Jesus PT2 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This is a followup 4 pt series to compliment David Bokovoy’s interview on the Historical Jesus.  Many of you are reading Bart Erhman and others who completely throw the Divine Christ out the door.  Many simply discount every evidence as discrediting any view that sees the Divine in Christ.  I want to say thanks to […] The post Bonus: NT Wright: Historical Jesus PT1 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

We sit down again with David Bokovoy to discuss the Historical Jesus.  We discuss what we can gather from the culture and from existing fragments and documents.  We discuss the Q-source, Gospel of Thomas, and other nonbiblical sources such as Josephus and Tacitus.  We also explain the time line the four gospels were written in […] The post 102: David Bokovoy: Historical Jesus appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Sometimes we assume that there is no room to be Gay and be Mormon….. but today we blow that false assumption right out of the water.  Today we also help LDS distinguish between Doctrine, Policy and Culture around this issue.  We tackle how to be more inclusive and how to bring all unto Christ. Today […] The post 101: Mitch Mayne: Mormon and Gay appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we have a special episode featuring a new program “Stage 4 Mormons”  Ryan is our host.  He talks with us about that transitional and sometimes difficult period of shifting from simple thinking to a more nuanced and complex way of thinking.  Please send me feedback on this episode as we would enjoy hearing your thoughts. […] The post 100: Stage 4 Mormons: Episode 1 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Jeff Lindsay lives in Shanghai but has roots in Utah and Wisconsin. His interests include China and Chinese (the language and the food), intellectual property, chemical engineering, magic (a hobby), reading, writing, travel, photography, and his LDS faith. Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his LDSFAQ […] The post 099: Jeff Lindsay: Mormanity appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

I was asked in my stake to present my thoughts on what we can do to help both those with crippling doubts find faith and those without a crisis of faith to avoid them, and to also help leader, family, and friends be more supportive.  This episode is an out flow of that with the 15 points shared below […] The post 098: 15 ways to help appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This episode borrows heavily from Author – William G. Hartley who wrote the paper – “From Men To Boys: LDS Aaronic Priesthood Offices 1829 – 1996” and all credit should be given to him as his paper is quoted extensively. This paper was published in JOURNAL OF MORMON HISTORY VOLUME 22, No. 1 SPRING 1996 […] The post 097: Men to Boys: Development of the Priesthood appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today I sit down with Michael, a member of the Jedi Faith or Jediism.  We discuss his Faith’s history, Doctrine, and how it is often made light of but really a viable alternative to one who is disillusioned with other organized religion.  He talks about the force, the Jedi Code, and How their faith incorporates […] The post 096: Jediism: Temple of The Jedi Order appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today I take a look at a recent talk at BYU Idaho by Julie Willis.  The talk titled “Gaining Light through Questioning”  speaks of several concepts that we speak of often here on Mormon Discussion and which would benefit those struggling in a difficult faith transition.  So sit back as we dissect this talk and hit […] The post 095: Julie Willis: Asking Questions appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we sit down with LDS scholar and author David Bokovoy.  David is the Author of “Authoring the Old Testament : Genesis – Deuteronomy”.   We break down what scripture is and isn’t, leveling false assumptions along the way.  We discuss how to handle paradigm shifts when new info makes previous paradigms untenable. We also address […] The post 094: David Bokovoy: Authoring the Old Testament appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today I talk about “The White Shirt Phenomena”.  This is a great issue to use as a backdrop for our as a culture creating rules, believing they really are rules, and in the end there being no rule that exists.  This applies to dozens of private interpretations we make within our culture and how we […] The post 093: White Shirt Phenomena appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.