Mormon Culture
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 […]
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 […]
John Hamer Interview-Part 1
In January 2010, John Dehlin Interviewed John Hamer on the Succession Crisis following Joseph Smith’s death. I posted part of this a few days ago when I posted about dissolving the First Presidency. One of the things I love was the discussion of the Presiding High Council. JD, “Today we’re going to be discussing a brief history of […]
Word of Wisdom in First Decade
For the most part, discussions of the Word of Wisdom on the Bloggernacle tire me out. While I agree that the modern church’s stress on abstinence from alcohol isn’t what the Word of Wisdom actually says, and it should be noted that saints in Nauvoo were encouraged to grow grapes for making wine in Nauvoo, […]
Mormon Heretic 