Is there a hidden temple theology in the Book of Mormon temple theology waiting beneath the 1830 text? That question, sparked by my friend Boyd in an online forum, turned into a three-part answer, and this is the final installment. While preparing, an AI tool handed me a word I had to look up: palimpsest, a manuscript scraped clean and written over, where the earlier text still shows through faintly. It turned out to be the perfect frame for the debate.

Temple Theology in the Book of Mormon

On one side are Val Larsen, Dave...

This Greg Prince interview is a throwback to 2017, and for the first time the entire conversation is available in one piece. On September 27, 2017, historian Greg Prince was in Salt Lake City to deliver the Sterling McMurrin Lecture at the Salt Lake City Public Library, and before his talk he sat down with me for a long and candid conversation. We originally released it in seven parts.

Don’t miss our other conversations with Greg: https://gospeltangents.com/people/greg-prince

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Gospel Tangents

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Full Greg Prince Interview

Raising Kids in Polygamy

Raising kids in polygamy comes with a hard truth: many children raised in plural families walk away as adults. Some join the LDS Church, some leave religion altogether. So what do plural families hope for their own kids? In the final part of my interview with Joshua, Charlotte and Melissa Erickson of Lehi, Utah, we talk about their hopes for their children, a new fundamentalist fellowship Joshua leads, and why so many fundamentalists still won’t talk to outsiders.

Don’t miss our other conversations on Mormon fundamentalism: https://gospeltangents.com/deno...

Dallin Oaks BYU: Why Mark Skousen Was Called into His Office

Dallin Oaks BYU was a formidable figure, and economist Mark Skousen remembers what happened when a controversial student newspaper editorial brought him face-to-face with the university president.

In the final installment of our four-part Gospel Tangents interview, Mark shares some remarkable stories from his years at Brigham Young University, including a confrontation with Dallin H. Oaks, his experiences in student journalism, and his unlikely home teaching partnership with historian Richard Bushman.

It’s a fascinating glimpse into BYU history, academic freedom, and th...

Was Joseph Smith a socialist? Economist Mark Skousen was surprised—and more than a little irritated—when he discovered that a BYU economics professor had classified the founder of Mormonism as a utopian socialist. But when I challenged Mark about Joseph Smith’s economic teachings, his answer was more complicated than a simple yes or no.

Don’t miss our other conversations with Mark Skousen: https://gospeltangents.com/people/mark-skousen

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Gospel Tangents

All Rights Reserved

In Part 3 of our four-part Gospel Tangents interview, Mark Skousen examines the economics of early M...