Mormonism Live! – Radio Free Mormon

For decades, the historical consensus has been that Joseph Smith introduced and practiced plural marriage in Nauvoo. But a small group of researchers has argued for a very different conclusion: that Joseph Smith was not the founder of Mormon polygamy and that the historical evidence has been misunderstood. In this episode of Mormonism Live, we sit down with researcher Jeremy Hoop to explore that perspective in depth. Jeremy has spent years examining William Clayton’s journals, the Nauvoo land deeds, the Augusta Cobb letters, the British Mission, and many other historical sources. He explains why he believes the standard na...

Tonight on Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon take a deep dive into one of the most talked-about Mormon history stories in recent memory: the recent leaking of the William Clayton journals. For years, the full Clayton journals have been a source of speculation, controversy, and anticipation. William Clayton was not a peripheral observer. He was in the inner circle of Joseph Smith’s Nauvoo world, served as Joseph’s clerk, recorded the revelation that became Doctrine and Covenants 132, and left behind some of the most important firsthand records tied to plural marriage, temple theology, and the secr...

Does the Book of Mormon fit better in the ancient world or in early nineteenth century America when it was created? Defenders of the book point to a handful of twisted and strained comparisons to the ancient world to make their case. Bill and RFM, on the other hand, demonstrate conclusively that the Book of Mormon is a much better fit for the early nineteenth century in which it was produced. Indeed, no book is more obviously a product of its times than the Book of Mormon. And that time was the first part of the nineteenth century in...

What if the most revealing thing about Mormon apologetics isn’t the evidence being presented… but the behavioral patterns behind the arguments? Tonight on Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon sit down with Dawn McCarty who works in Forensic Criminology behavioral analysis. Can forensic criminology profile Mormon apologetics? Drawing from several of her recent forensic intelligence briefs, Dawn examines Mormon apologetics, institutional responses to criticism, and high-demand religious systems through the lens of behavioral analysis, threat assessment, cognitive containment, and coercive influence. Together we discuss: • How criminologists identify behavioral patterns in institutions • Narrative patching, semantic inversion, and epistemo...

The Mormon Church keeps telling us it is growing. And not only is it growing, they say it is growing faster than it has ever grown in history! And yet faithful Mormon researcher Jeff Strong says the LDS Church has lost 40 % of its active membership in the last twenty-five years. How will the Church react now that its generation-long deception is being revealed? And what will the Mormon influences do who have repeated and championed the lies told them by the Church they seek to defend? Time will tell. In the meanwhile, Bill and RFM are going to take...

Bill Reel and RFM are joined this week by Meggan Hayes, host of the “Generally Unquotable” podcast, which features a news report on things Mormon every weekday morning! How does Meggan do it? Where does she get her stories? What are the biggest stories she has covered? These are just some of the things we’ll be finding out in this fascinating episode of Mormonism Live!

Tonight on Mormonism Live, we explore one of the most uncomfortable and fascinating questions in early Mormon history: Was Moroni originally understood through the same treasure-digging framework Joseph Smith had already been practicing for years? Long before the Book of Mormon was published, Joseph Smith and those around him were involved in treasure seeking using seer stones, ritual practices, magic circles, guardian spirits, and buried treasures hidden in hills. In the earliest recollections of Moroni and the gold plates, the similarities become difficult to ignore. In this episode we examine: Moroni as a possible “treasure guardian” Joseph Smith’s use of...

What if the harm didn’t start with a crisis… but with what you were taught as a child? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we sit down with researcher and clinician Samuel Clemens, PhD, LCSW, to unpack his groundbreaking study on religious trauma among former Latter-day Saints—particularly those who identify as sexual minorities. This isn’t a conversation about people being “offended” or simply losing belief. It’s about something deeper. Clemens’ research reveals that for many, the damage isn’t tied to a single moment—but to years of subtle conditioning. Messages about worthiness, identity, obedience, and belonging begin...

Who won the debate? Bill Reel or Robert Gurr? Bill Reel and RFM dissect Bill’s recent debate about Mormonism with Robert Gurr. This one is going to be a lot of fun! Don’t miss it!

Tonight, one of the darkest chapters in Mormon history—the Mountain Meadows Massacre. This isn’t a surface-level retelling. We walk through what led up to it, how it unfolded, and what happened afterward… and we let the historical record speak for itself. We examine the environment in southern Utah at the time—heightened fear, isolation, and rhetoric that blurred the line between obedience to leaders and loyalty to God. We talk about the Baker–Fancher wagon train, why they were targeted, and how a situation that could have ended peacefully turned into something far worse. We break down the massac...

Mormons have turned to the Bible to prove their beliefs are true ever since the inception of the LDS Church. But are the Mormons getting the Bible right? World renowned Bible expert and prolific author Bart Ehrman joins us to get down to the bottom of the issue, and to help us answer the question, “Does the Bible prove Mormonism is true?”

Join Bill Reel and RFM as we cue up the most scintillating and awe-inspiring moments from the April 2026 General Conference! You are sure to have a good time!

Join Bill Reel and RFM as we cue up the most scintillating and awe-inspiring moments from the April 2026 General Conference! You are sure to have a good time!

In this episode of Mormonism Live, we walk through the full evolution of the Word of Wisdom—from its origin in 1833 to how it functions today as a requirement for temple worthiness. We start in Kirtland, where the School of the Prophets was filled with tobacco smoke, chewing, and spitting—and where Emma Smith’s frustration becomes part of the story behind the revelation. From there, we zoom out and examine the broader 19th-century health movements already shaping ideas about diet, stimulants, and self-control. Figures like Sylvester Graham and the growing temperance movement weren’t fringe—they were mainstream. And their...

A confrontation of historic proportions happened forty-five years ago; a confrontation between an LDS apostle and a BYU professor; between Elder Bruce R. McConkie and Professor Eugene England. The subject was the nature of God. But the ramifications were more far-reaching than that. Join Bill Reel and RFM as they dig deep into this controversy and explore what it meant then, and the fallout it still has today!

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In this episode of Mormonism Live, we sit down with Ember, a Native American and former Latter-day Saint, to explore a side of Mormonism that often goes overlooked – the lived experience of Native Americans inside the Church. For many Indigenous members, Mormon doctrine didn’t just offer a spiritual framework. It reshaped identity, ancestry, and self-worth. Teachings about “Lamanites,” skin color, righteousness, and divine lineage weren’t abstract ideas—they were personal, and often deeply painful. We talk through: What it means to be labeled a “Lamanite” in a modern world with DNA evidence The psychological weight of doctrines tied to skin col...

Sam Young is the legend who did amazing things almost a decade ago to protect children in the Mormon Church. Of course, the Mormon Church didn’t appreciate Sam’s efforts to protect the children, so they excommunicated him. This is Sam’s story! And for the first time, Sam will speak publicly about what happened during his excommunication proceeding! This is a show you won’t want to miss!

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Why Do People Leave the LDS Church? In this episode of Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon examine a topic that has been discussed inside Mormonism for nearly two centuries: why do people leave the Church? From early sermons by Brigham Young to modern General Conference addresses, Latter-day Saint leaders have offered explanations for why members lose their faith. These explanations often frame departure as the result of deception, pride, sin, offense, or the influence of Satan. Tonight we take a careful look at those teachings. We explore what Church leaders have said historically, how those ideas...

Tonight on Mormonism Live, we tackle one of the most persistent and uncomfortable questions in modern Mormon scholarship: What does DNA actually say about the Book of Mormon? Our guest is Dr. Thomas W. Murphy, anthropologist, award-winning scholar, and author of Unsettling Scripture: Iroquois and the Book of Mormon. Dr. Murphy’s latest presentation, “DNerAsure: Unsettling Science & Scripture” DNerAsure – Unsettling Science, challenges both apologetic narratives and oversimplified dismissals of the DNA debate.

What We Discuss
The acknowledged lack of Middle Eastern DNA in ancient and modern Indigenous American populations
Why the science is not “settled” in the way m...

In this episode, we step into one of the most provocative and uncomfortable chapters ever written about Joseph Smith — “The Don Juan of Nauvoo,” from Dr. W. Wyl’s 1886 exposé. These are not modern critics looking backward with hindsight. These are men and women living in Utah in the late 1800s — people who lived through Nauvoo, who knew Joseph personally, who saw the culture firsthand, and who were willing to share their memories of Joseph’s behavior with women. Their recollections paint a portrait very different from the sanitized image often presented today. We will read their words directly. Their observa...

Was Joseph Smith’s relationship with Fanny Alger an early plural marriage, a sexless sealing, or a scandalous sexual affair?

Long before Nauvoo polygamy, secret sealings, or theological justifications, there was Fanny Alger; a teenage girl living in Joseph and Emma Smith’s home in Kirtland, Ohio.

When the relationship was discovered, it triggered scandal, apostasy, and one of the earliest crises in Mormon leadership.

In this episode, we start by taking a look into the life of Fanny Alger sharing details of her life that are little known even to those familiar with...

Did Joseph Smith’s understanding of God come through divine revelation — or did it evolve alongside his education? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we examine one of the most important and least discussed developments in early Mormon history: the dramatic shift in Joseph Smith’s theology of the Godhead. Using early Mormon scriptures, historical documents, and Joseph’s own study journals, we walk through how the earliest teachings portrayed God as a single divine being, closely resembling early Christian modalism. We then trace a clear timeline showing how those teachings changed over time — especially following Joseph Smith’s intensive st...

The LDS Church teaches that its top leaders are prophets, seers, and revelators; men who speak for God and whose guidance deserves trust, obedience, and moral authority. When serious problems arise in Church history, doctrine, or policy, the most common explanation offered is simple: prophets are fallible. But does that explanation actually resolve the issue? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we take a step back and examine what prophetic fallibility is being asked to accomplish, and whether it truly holds up under scrutiny.

We walk through multiple categories where prophetic authority is expected to function reliably...

Mormonism Live is honored to host the 2025 Brodie Awards, an annual event dedicated to recognizing excellence, courage, insight, and impact in the world of Mormon-related scholarship, commentary, media, and creative work. Named after historian Fawn M. Brodie, the Brodie Awards exist to spotlight voices—both established and emerging—who meaningfully contribute to public understanding of Mormonism. These awards are about acknowledging thoughtful analysis, original research, compelling storytelling, and principled engagement with a complex tradition. The 2025 Brodie Awards Ceremony will feature the 2025 award categories and nominees, an announcement of the 2025 winner in each category, and shining a light on the impa...

We dig into one of the lesser-known but deeply revealing historical sources from early Mormonism: the Fayette Lapham interview with Joseph Smith Sr. Lapham’s account places Joseph Smith’s father in conversation about the earliest days of the movement — before the Church had polished narratives, before later offices were cleanly defined, and before memory had decades to smooth out the rough edges. What emerges is a version of early Mormon leadership that feels far less settled and far more experimental than most members were ever taught. One claim in particular raises eyebrows: the suggestion that Joseph Smith may have i...

Join us on New Year’s Eve for a special episode of Mormonism Live. We’ll look back at the biggest Mormon news stories of the year from The Mormon Newscast and reveal the Top 5 stories you voted for. We’ll also dig into a few late-breaking developments, including the passing of Elder Holland.

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Join us this Christmas Eve for the Third Annual Radio Free Mormon Christmas Eve Party. RFM will be joined by over Mormon influencers from the Mormon and post-Mormon space, and maybe even a few surprises! Get stocked up on eggnog and gingerbread cookies! Stay up with RFM and watch the stars come out! This is going to be a blast!

Thomas murphy
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/V58N04_2.pdf
https://uofupress.com/books/unsettling-scripture/

David Whitmer is one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, but his life after Mormonism raises some of the most challenging questions anyone serious about truth claims has to wrestle with. He broke with Joseph Smith. He rejected Brigham Young. He condemned polygamy, secret combinations, and priesthood hierarchy. And yet, for nearly sixty years, he never denied seeing the angel or the plates. In this episode of Mormonism Live, we take a careful, historically grounded look at David Whitmer’s life and testimony. We explore what he actually claimed to see, how he described the experience, wh...

Tonight on Mormonism Live we celebrate the 5th anniversary of Mormonism Live. 5 years of in depth dives into Mormon History. 5 Years of examining the theology of the LDS Church, 5 years of current events. All on a weekly live show designed to entertain you! It’s our 5th Anniversary special, and we’re turning the show over to you. Call in and tell us your favorite episodes, your favorite RFM breakdowns, your favorite Bill Reel rants, the moments that shocked you, cracked you up, or helped you see Mormonism in a whole new way. Whether you’ve been with us since...

Oliver Cowdery was more than Joseph Smith’s scribe. Oliver was a co-founder of the Mormon movement, a visionary of sacred experiences with Heavenly Messengers, and one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon’s golden plates as well as an angel. But what happens when that witness walks away? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we dive deep into Cowdery’s life, exploring his pivotal role in early Church history, his fiery fallout with Joseph, and the twists and turns of his life outside Mormonism and in the end, back in. Did he ever truly deny his te...

In this follow-up to “To Catch a Thief,” Radio Free Mormon and Bill Reel return with a deeper, wider investigation into the claims and credibility of Ward Radio’s Jonah Barnes. Last time, we showed clear evidence that Barnes lifted Eldon Watson’s Adam-God research and passed it off as his own. This time, we broaden the lens. RFM and Bill walk through a lineup of respected scholars and historians whose work directly contradicts Barnes’s narratives, exposing just how far he’s been stretching, bending, or outright stealing ideas to prop up his platform. When someone pretends to be a scholar...

In this episode, we break down the story of a Latter-day Saint Bishop who when he was currently serving when he officially stepped away from the Mormon Church. We’ll walk through what led to his decision, what he saw behind the curtain as a leader, and how the gap between the Church’s public messaging and its private reality became impossible for him to ignore. This isn’t just another faith transition story. It’s a rare account from someone who lived the system, moved up in the ward hierarchy, enforced the rules, and finally couldn’t keep pretending...

Mormonism Live’s Bill Reel & RFM dive deep into a recent claim by Ward Radio that the so-called “Adam God Doctrine” never existed. They sift through the documentary history, the original speeches, journal entries, and the commentary of leading Mormon scholars to see if the claim holds up. Did the doctrine ever exist? Was it a misunderstanding, a misrepresentation, or a developed belief held by some early leaders? We’ll explore all that—and what it means for a faith’s history where its apologists do everything they can to get away from the problems and contradictions of Mormonism

Than...

This week on Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon sit down with researcher Kolby Reddish for a fascinating deep dive into the Dead Sea Scrolls and what they reveal about the Book of Mormon’s ancient claims. Kolby walks us through the history of the Scrolls, what they actually contain, and how they’ve transformed modern biblical scholarship. Then the conversation turns to the big question: If these are the most important ancient Hebrew and Aramaic writings ever discovered, certainly they mean something about the history, language, theology, and narrative patterns found in the Book of Mormon? Don’...

Everyone knows Martin Harris as one of the Three Witnesses. But few know how strange, conflicted, and revealing his story really is. Was he a man of unwavering faith in the Truth… or a man chasing every new revelation that came along? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we dig into the real Martin Harris; the devout farmer who financed the Book of Mormon, saw angels (and maybe more), then spent decades bouncing between movements, prophets, and visions. From his 1838 claim that he only saw the plates “in vision or imagination,” to his deep belief in the Shaker “Sacred Roll and...

Lee Krahenbuhl returns to Mormonism Live for a fascinating deep dive into some of the strangest and most unusual aspects of Mormon history. Discover the surprising connections between Brigham Young, matchmaking traditions, spirit messages from Joseph Smith, and the most famous magician of the 19th century.

What hidden stories link Mormon leaders, spiritualism, and 19th-century magic?

How do these strange connections reshape our understanding of LDS history? Don’t miss this eye-opening episode as we uncover the bizarre, the mysterious, and the downright magical side of Mormonism’s past.

Support Mormonism Live here: http...

Tonight on Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon sit down with writer and blogger Sarah Steed, whose essays contain sharp insight, poetic honesty, and unflinching critique of LDS culture. Sarah’s work dives deep into the unspoken layers of Mormon life—gender, perfectionism, obedience, and the lingering ghosts of patriarchy that shape the spiritual experience of both men and women. She explores how theology becomes culture, how “sisterhood” can sometimes turn into surveillance, and how the Restoration’s original mysticism was slowly domesticated into corporate religion. This is not your typical discussion on faith. Expect intelligent dialogue, uncomforta...

In this special episode, we take a in-depth look at the life and ministry of Elder Dallin H. Oaks, who stands next in line to become President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Few leaders have been as controversial —from his time as President of BYU to decades in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We’ll explore the major moments that have shaped his spiritual approach to the gospel and to others: the legal mind that helped define Church policy, the Speaker who spoke boldly on Church theology, and the Latter-day Saint disciple who has guid...

Mormonism Live uncovers the explosive history of the Reed Smoot Hearings (1904–1907)—a time when Mormon leaders, including President Joseph F. Smith, were forced to testify under oath before the United States Senate. What happens when prophets, seers, and revelators can no longer hide behind the pulpit and instead must answer blunt questions from skeptical senators under oath and penalty of perjury?

We’ll walk you through:
Why the hearings began and why the nation was riveted.
Joseph F. Smith’s shocking admissions about polygamy, revelation, and his business empire.
The contradictions between what Church leaders...

What happens when a Mormon Apostle gets asked troublesome questions about Mormonism? In this episode of Mormonism Live, RFM and Bill Reel sit down with someone who had questions —hard questions — for the LDS Apostle about Mormonism. As the conversation unfolds, we witness a fascinating dynamic: a man taking a closer look at belief, truth claims, and the stories the Church tells its members. It’s a rare opportunity to see what happens when one presses for clarity—and Elder Renlund finds himself on the receiving end of uncomfortable but essential inquiries. Don’t miss this unique episode that blends sha...