Early Mormon History
FAIR 2012 Review
In past years, it seems that the Sunstone Symposium and FAIR (Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research) have overlapped, so it was difficult to attend both. Â However, this year they were not the same week. Â I was able to attend my first FAIR conference, though my time was limited to just 2 speakers. Â Since this […]
Sunstone 2012
Sunstone began on Wednesday, but unfortunately, I could only attend Friday. I thought I would give some initial impressions of the sessions so far.
The Bushman Interviews
As a recap, here is a recap of all of my posts transcribing the Richard Bushman interview.
Bushman’s Testimony of Joseph Smith
It took more than a month, but I’m finally finished. This is the conclusion of John Dehlin’s 5 part interview with Richard Bushman. (I will post an index tomorrow of the interviews.) JD, “Well if I can ever help, I’m just one small little voice but I’d love to help to that end. Well Brother […]
Stung by the Bees; Why it’s hard to help the Disaffected
Following up on John Dehlin’s feelings on how the Bushman interview has progressed so far, Bushman discusses why it’s hard to help the disaffected. Dehlin, “Now, about this episode, after four hours of interviews with me, it was clear that Dr. Bushman felt as though, in his words, I’d gotten the best out of him. […]
John Dehlin's Thoughts on Bushman and the Role of Church in Disaffection
I can’t believe Richard Bushman has dominated the month of June on my blog. (I actually started this at the end of May.) Anyway, I’m finally on to Part 5 of the Richard Bushman Interview. At this point, John Dehlin takes a short break an explains that the interview will not cover all the topics […]
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 […]
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 […]
Mormon Heretic 