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PODCAST

Church History Matters

Scripture Central

The Church History Matters Podcast features in-depth conversations between Scott and Casey where they dive deep into both the challenges and beauty of Latter-day Saint Church History

religion & spirituality christianity

All Episodes

56:20

The Book of Abraham: Origins and Controversies

Church History Matters ·

2023/10/03

The book of Abraham, Joseph Smith’s final translation project, is easily one of the most controversial books of scripture in the Latter-day Saint canon. And we want to talk about it. In this episode of Church History Matters, we dig into the fascinating story of how the exploits of a 19th century grave robber in Egypt ended up expanding our scriptural canon! We look at where in Egypt the papyri from which the Book of Abraham was purportedly translated came from and how Joseph Smith came to possess

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01:02:01

How Has Canonizing/De-Canonizing Happened in the...

Church History Matters ·

2023/09/26

Because of our location in time and good record keeping, we are privileged to have an up close and personal view of the production of modern scriptural canon. And it’s a bit of a rollercoaster! From its first publication in 1835 to its current version today the Doctrine and Covenants has undergone major additions, deletions, rearrangement, and textual changes to its contents. In this episode of Church History Matters we’ll take a ride through the history of this iterative production of the Doctrine

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54:12

Exploring the Divine-Human Partnership in Scripture...

Church History Matters ·

2023/09/19

One of the biggest criticisms of scripture generally is the extent to which humans were involved in its production. On the one hand, we can’t really expect scripture to be effortlessly beamed down from heaven to flawed and imperfect humans and then interpreted flawlessly and recorded perfectly, can we? But on the other hand, how “divine” and trustworthy can scripture be if flawed humans were involved in writing it, compiling it, editing it, and publishing it? In this episode of Church History

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50:00

Q&R! Tough JST Questions with Kent Jackson

Church History Matters ·

2023/09/12

Did Joseph Smith ever consider his Bible translation work finished? Will the JST ever be canonized and replace the King James Version as the official Latter-day Saint Bible? Why haven’t any other of our prophets since Joseph Smith engaged in similar translation work? How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s Bible revision work with Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:19 which actually warn against adding to the Bible? Is there any evidence whatsoever that Joseph Smith consulted any outside sources in his

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59:56

Did Joseph Smith Plagiarize Part of the JST?

Church History Matters ·

2023/09/05

In his Bible translation project did Joseph Smith plagiarize the work of a prominent British scholar named Adam Clarke? Or, if you don’t want to call it plagiarism, did Joseph Smith “borrow” or appropriate phrases and ideas from Adam Clarke’s Bible commentary (without attribution) which are found in our JST footnotes today? This is the question at the heart of the biggest modern controversy surrounding Joseph Smith’s Bible Translation. In this episode of Church History Matters, we trace the origins

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54:37

The JST as Revelatory Springboard?

Church History Matters ·

2023/08/29

Because there are no explicitly stated purposes of Joseph Smith’s Bible translation project—either by him or in any of his revelations—all explanations offered about or criticisms leveled at his Bible translation are based on assumptions and best guesses at best. But then, there’s nothing wrong with educated best guesses so long as we are not overly dogmatic and we humbly recognize the tentativeness of our position. The current best evidence from the best scholarship on the topic proposes that the

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58:11

What Do We ACTUALLY Know About the JST?

Church History Matters ·

2023/08/22

Aside from his Book of Mormon translation project, Joseph Smith engaged in at least three other scripture production projects that we know of. The first was his ambitious Bible translation project we now know as the Joseph Smith Translation, the second was the printing of his own revelations which we now know as the Doctrine and Covenants, and the third was his project of translation which commenced after he acquired papyrus scrolls from Egypt which we now know as the Book of Abraham. Throughout

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01:13:34

Q&R! Tough Questions with Paul Reeve

Church History Matters ·

2023/08/15

Some people see a connection between the Church’s past restrictive policy towared blacks in the Church and the Church’s current restrictive policy toward gays in the Church—specifically prohibiting gay temple marriage. In what ways are these two issues similar and in what ways are they different? How can church members reconcile (a) the teaching that the prophet / president won't ever lead the church astray with (b) the fact that church presidents for over a century taught false doctrine about

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56:35

The 1978 Revelation of Reversion and Repair

Church History Matters ·

2023/08/08

Paul Reeve recently wrote: In June 1978, President Spencer W. Kimball received a revelation which returned the Church to its universal roots and restored what was lost, priesthood and temple admission to people of African descent. This … did not mark something new as much as it reestablished a commitment to the founding principles of the Restoration. [It] reconfirmed the Church’s original universalism, that the human family in all of its diversity is equal in God’s sight, that Jesus Christ claims

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42:31

Was the Racial Ban Church Policy or Doctrine? Setting...

Church History Matters ·

2023/08/01

In 1907, the First Presidency codified the Church’s official policy about black African participation in both priesthood and temple declaring that, “No one known to have in his veins negro blood, (it matters not how remote a degree) can either have the Priesthood in any degree or the blessings of the Temple of God; no matter how otherwise worthy he may be.” By contrast, in 2020 Church President Russell M. Nelson reminded all church members that, “Your standing before God is not determined by the

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52:15

How the Priesthood-Temple Ban Became Fully Entrenched...

Church History Matters ·

2023/07/25

Once people come to terms with the uncomfortable idea that Brigham Young committed an error in endorsing a priesthood ban on church members with black African ancestry, a puzzling question naturally follows: “If the ban was an error, then why didn’t it get corrected earlier than 1978?! There were nine Church presidents between Brigham Young and Spencer W. Kimball and 101 years between President Young’s death in 1877 and President Kimball’s revelation in 1978. So why did it take so long to correct

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01:02:37

1852 and The Beginnings of the Priesthood-Temple Ban...

Church History Matters ·

2023/07/18

The historical record shows that Joseph Smith did not implement or endorse any practices or policies which specifically prevented Church members with black African ancestry from fully participating in priesthood offices or temple worship. But in 1847, only three years after Joseph’s death, attitudes and teachings of some church leaders began to shift away from full inclusion of blacks, to partial exclusion—until only five years later, in 1852, President Brigham Young first publicly articulated a

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48:05

Joseph Smith and Black Africans

Church History Matters ·

2023/07/11

In the broader American culture in which Joseph Smith lived and led the growing Church of Jesus Christ, white attitudes and beliefs about the inferiority of black Africans dominated the scene. In this pre-Civil War context, exactly half of the states in the Union had legalized slavery and built their economies on it, while the other half did not. Yet fears were shared on both sides about what might happen to the country (and to the purity of the white race) if all slaves were set free and allowed to

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49:25

The Racist American Context the Church was Born Into

Church History Matters ·

2023/07/04

There was a season in our Church’s history when members with black African ancestry were unevenly barred from both priesthood and temple privileges. This overtly discriminatory practice is one of the most challenging aspects of our history and, for many, is one of the most difficult to understand. How could something like this happen in a Church led by living prophets and apostles? It’s a fair question. And the truth is, the answer is impossible to really get at without understanding the prevailing

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58:35

Q&R! Tough Polygamy Questions with Dr. Brian Hales

Church History Matters ·

2023/06/27

Did Joseph Smith have any regrets about plural marriage? Like, with full hindsight, if he could go back and change anything about the way he implemented plural marriage, what might he do differently? Also, more and more people are denying that Joseph Smith ever practiced polygamy or that he lied about doing so. Is there even a shred of truth to either of these claims? Did Joseph ever send men on missions and marry their wives while they were gone? Were there any women who denied Joseph’s proposals

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01:01:16

The Rocky End to Plural Marriage in the Church

Church History Matters ·

2023/06/20

In 1852, only eight years after Joseph Smith’s death, Church leaders in Utah publicly announced to the astonished world what some had suspected—that Latter-day Saints did indeed practice the principle of plural marriage. But now that it was out there in the open, it could be openly challenged and attacked. And it was. Relentlessly. For decades. In today’s episode of Church History Matters we’ll walk you through the history of how plural marriage came to a rocky end under the draconian legislation

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43:27

Plural Marriage Troubles (part 2): Emma’s Fury and...

Church History Matters ·

2023/06/13

In June and July of 1843 tensions ran high in the marriage of Joseph and Emma Smith. After she had tried but failed to embrace the principle of plural marriage earlier that May, and after Hyrum Smith had tried but failed to convince her of the rightness of plural marriage even with a copy of Doctrine and Covenants 132 in hand, records indicate that Emma became for a time rebellious, bitter, resentful, and angry. In fact from July through September of 1843 Emma became confrontational to Joseph’s

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48:15

Plural Marriage Troubles (part 1): John C. Bennett,...

Church History Matters ·

2023/06/06

As Joseph Smith quietly practiced plural marriage in Nauvoo in 1842 and 43, all was not well. Three people in particular complicated things for Joseph. The first was John C. Bennett, a highly gifted convert who’s meteoric rise to civic and church leadership in Nauvoo abruptly ended when he was exposed for his secret practice of “spiritual wifery,” which was nothing more or less than illicit serial adultery. Bennett’s defamatory opposition to Joseph after his excommunication was fierce and directly

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59:05

Joseph Smith’s Trial and Error Approach to Plural...

Church History Matters ·

2023/05/30

Did you know that Joseph Smith’s first attempt to obey the Lord’s command to him to practice plural marriage ended quite badly and ended up straining his relationships both with his first wife Emma and with his close friend Oliver Cowdery? And have you ever heard that Joseph was sealed to several women who already had living husbands? Was this a scandalous practice, or was something else going on? And have you heard that Joseph was also sealed to Helen Kimball, who was only 14 years old at the time

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41:33

Why Did Plural Marriage Begin in the Church?

Church History Matters ·

2023/05/23

Plural marriage—a form of religious polygamy (or polygyny to be technical)—is one of the most controversial and faith-challenging aspects of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was difficult when it was first introduced in the early Church and, although it was discontinued over 130 years ago, it is still a difficult issue for many both within and outside of the Church to reckon with. So why was it introduced into the Church in the first place? When did Joseph Smith

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