Listen Now

Another episode “from the hip”, as we discuss a variety of (somewhat) recent church news, focusing the bulk of our conversation on the issues tied to Huntsman’s law suit against the church for misrepresenting its use of tithing funds.

In our first “From the Hip” episode, we talk about the church news that we stumbled upon while surfing the web during the April, 2021 church conference. One of the gems we found was Rusty’s Easter Message.

Over the years, a unique culture developed within and around Mormonism and its adherents, from unique foods (like green Jell-o with carrot shavings) to peculiar behaviors and figures of speech. We take some time in this episode to address some of our favorite “Mormonisms”, while simultaneously poking fun at ourselves for having been a part of it.

The leaders of the LDS church – and thus, most of the members – claim their savior is Jesus. However, a little low-effort, surface digging (like Joseph’s treasure hunting) reveals that that sneaky little Joseph Smith secured a bit of glory for himself before he passed on. He just may have a bit more of a “savior” status in the church than you might expect.

We’ve all heard the arguments, usually from evangelical Christian churches, that the Mormon church isn’t “Christian”. As former members, we pressed back heavily on such claims, thinking of them as ridiculous. “After all, look at the fetchin’ NAME OF THE CHURCH! Gosh!”, we’d say, along with other clever quips. But when you dissect it a little, what does it mean for a church to be “Christian”, and does the Mormon church really qualify? Jump into the episode to join us in the shenanigans.

After a VERY long publishing delay (read: COVID-19 experiences and other fun stuff), we’re back at it adding episodes. Here’s another Threesomes segment, this time with Dave’s friend, Cindy. Join us as we talk through Cindy’s journey, which ended with her making the decision to leave the church – all costs included – and discover that there may just be some light at the end of the tunnel.

Before his death, one of the gifts Joseph Smith Jr. left behind is the mysterious role of “patriarch” in the church. Evidently, these men are able to channel god’s personal crystal ball(s) and disseminate his will to recipients under their divinely guided hands, providing details about their pre-mortal life, offering promises and guidance for this life, and peering into the life beyond. Termed a “patriarchal blessing”, these personalized revelations from god become little “liahonas” for the members, and serve to exacerbate feelings of elitism and pride coupled with inadequacy, unworthiness, and confusion.

Borrowing from the movie titled How to Train Your Dragon, in this episode we pay homage to beloved Pavlovian techniques as we discuss the methods used in Mormonism to “train” people to be good, obedient members. Ring that bell!

One of the dreaded labels for a discerning member of the LDS church to wield against a malcontent is the term “anti-Mormon”. But what does that really mean? Is something anti-Mormon because it contradicts the doctrine or history of the church, or does it perhaps have something more to do with one’s level of loyalty to the current leadership?

Over the decades, the church has employed different styles of apologetics in their efforts to “defend” their truth claims. We give the history of apologetics a quick review in this episode, ending with a discussion about how it’s evolved and where we sit today.

This is our (much delayed) response to the second part of Rusty Nel’s effervescent offering. That piece, of course, was his surgeon-sponsored prescription to pray. Do you feel relieved of gaseous build-up?

In case you missed it, Rusty Nel gave an earth-shaking, glorious, revelatory message to the world back in November. In this two-part episode, we address the two core messages of his presentation — gratitude and prayer — and how they’re about as unique and helpful for solving problems at a personal and global level as taking a couple of effervescent lozenges.

We admit the title of this episode is an insensitive play on words, but we address the infamous Branch Davidians sect, led by David Koresh, and some of the similarities between Koresh and Lil’ Joe. A few of the parallels between the Davidian and Mormon cult leaders may surprise you!

Part 2 of our exploration around how the concept of suffering is addressed by LDS church teachings.

The LDS church teaches that suffering is an integral part of our existence on earth and necessary for several reasons, including honing our character, proving our obedience, and strengthening our faith. We address this harmful teaching in a two-part conversation.

In the United States, there are five key qualifications that a religious organization has to meet in order to be given tax exempt status. In this episode, we take a peek at those 5 qualifications and do our best to judge whether or not the LDS church meets the criteria.

The church makes many promises to its members. Of course, no promises are as well-known as the infamous promise from Moroni in the Book of Mormon. Check in as we chat about that promise and the philosophy of the church in general about promises based on the behaviors and obedience of its members.

We take a break from our recent string of Threesomes episodes to publish a previously recorded conclusion to our "First Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel" theme. We couldn't wrap things up without discussing the fourth and final piece of that celestial pie -- the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Join us as we jump into a frivolous-yet-serious discussion about the church's doctrine behind this strange and very important concept!

Moving on through our discussion of the "first principles and ordinances" of the Mormon faith brings us to the ordinance of baptism. Where did this practice come from, and what does the church teach about it? Is the Mormon church's version of baptism similar to other churches, or are there significant differences? Do you think Dave and Mike can find ways to make fun of the church's teachings around it (i.e. is water a combination of hydrogen and oxygen)?

It may sound like a spell from the Harry Potter movies, but it's just a fancy way of saying "pathological lying". We take a side-step for a moment from discussing the next "principle and ordinance of the gospel" (baptism) to chat a little about how Joe Jr. was a mythomaniac (another word for compulsive liar) and used a combination of the familiar, intriguing, and mysterious to build the foundation of what would later become the Mormon church.