Mormon Heretic
Examining Book of Mormon Witnesses
This post is a continuation from the previous post where Richard Bushman discussed skeptical theories on the composition of the Book of Mormon. Â Now John Dehlin (JD) turns to ask about the reliability of the Book of Mormon witnesses. Â The audio can be found on Part 4 of the Bushman interview at Mormon Stories. JD, […]
Skeptical Theories on Composition of the Book of Mormon
Continuing with Richard Bushman’s interview at Mormon Stories, in Part 4 John Dehlin (JD) asks Richard Bushman about various skeptical theories on how the Book of Mormon was composed, and Bushman addresses them. What do you think of Bushman’s answers? JD, “There are theories that go around that Joseph Smith was the author of the […]
Better Depictions of the Translation Process of the Book of Mormon
I’ve finally finished the transcription of Part 3 of the Mormon Stories interview between John Dehlin and Richard Bushman (There’s a part 4 and part 5 still to go!)  In this discussion, John Dehlin questions Richard Bushman about whether the translation story should be depicted differently, and Bushman agrees that traditional paintings and tellings of the story should […]
The Religious Test and Cleanflix
I thought I would take a quick break from the Bushman interview for this little post. I attended the Ogden Film Festival last week (officially known as the Foursite Film Festival) and saw 2 films: The Religious Test and Cleanflix: the Documentary. I thought I would give my impressions.
Emma, Martin Harris, and the Translation Process
Once again, I’ve continued Part 3 of the Mormon Stories interview between John Dehlin and Richard Bushman.  They discuss the actual translation process, as well as Martin Harris and Emma Smith’s role in translating the Book of Mormon.  There are some interesting dynamics as Bushman discusses Joseph’s strained relationship with Emma’s parents due to Joseph and Emma’s […]
Moroni's Visit
In Part 3 of the Mormon Stories interview, John Dehlin gets more details from Richard Bushman about the Angel Moroni’s visit and the environment of Joseph’s Smith’s day between about 1823-1827. This part of the interview continues after Part 2 of the interview. John is a bit ambitious in this, and doesn’t cover the Kinderhook […]
Treasure Digging in the 1800s
One of the problems that some people might have with Joseph Smith is that Joseph was involved in treasure digging and using seer stones. Â Richard Bushman and John Dehlin discuss these issues in Part 2 of John’s interview with Richard Bushman. Â This transcript continues immediately after their discussion of the Multiple First Vision accounts. JD, […]
Multiple First Vision Accounts
One topic I have not discussed in my 4 years of blogging is discrepancies in the First Vision accounts. Basically, there are 4 accounts of the First Vision. The account in the Pearl of Great Price is the last account, and comes from 1838. John Dehlin and Richard Bushman discuss these variations in Part 2 […]
Bushman Talks About "The Facts" of History
This is a continuation from my previous post where John Dehlin interviews Richard Bushman. While some people talk about “objective” history, Bushman states that such a notion is impossible. I thought this was a valuable discussion, and Bushman shows that there can be a lot of interpretations of “The facts”. JD, “Right, ok, yeah. So […]
Acknowledging Tough Church History
John Dehlin of Mormon Stories interviewed Richard Bushman for 4 1/2 hours back in 2007. Â I’ve posted transcripts of the first 50 minutes of this interview (Part 1) in 3 separate posts because it was so long. Growing Up as Richard Bushman How he chose to become a Historian The Church Should Stay Out of […]
Mormon Heretic 