Radio Free Mormon

This week, Radio Free Mormon gathers an all-star panel of Mormon influencers to respond to President Dallin H. Oaks’ recent devotional address delivered at Brigham Young University on Tuesday, February 10. Front and center is Oaks’ warning about “speculation and false information in podcasts and on social media” — and his counsel to avoid being persuaded by those voices. Instead, he urges members to seek out “faithful, well-informed friends,” renew covenants weekly, attend the temple regularly, and stay firmly on the covenant path. So what does it mean when Church leadership cautions members about podcasts… in a media landscape where podcasts are one of the primary spaces for discussion, nuance, and historical transparency? Is this about protecting faith? Controlling narrative? Reducing doubt? Or something more complicated? Our panel dives deep into the psychology behind information control, authority, and epistemic trust. Who gets to define “well-informed”? Why are certain conversations labeled speculation while others are framed as revelation? And what happens when members are told to avoid sources that challenge official claims? Expect thoughtful analysis, sharp humor, and candid reflection as we explore what this devotional signals about the Church’s current moment — and what it means for creators, critics, and everyday members trying to navigate faith in the digital age. If you care about truth, trust, and who controls the story, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

THEY NEVER DESTROYED THE HELPLINE RECORDS! Did RFM just catch the LDS Church lying about its CSA Helpline records? In order to avoid turning over Helpline records, the Church has previously sworn all the records are destroyed at the end of each day. Now suddenly, in order to defend itself against the allegations of Beau Oyler, a former bishop, the LDS Church miraculously goes back to August of 2013 and . . . finds the Helpline records for one particular phone call! How is that possible if those records were destroyed at the end of the day? How indeed? Watch this eleven-minute clip from the February 6, 2026 Mormonism After Dark show for details!

RFM and esteemed co-counsel Kolby Reddish dissect Chapter 12 of Austin Fife’s “Lite on Truth Letter.” They completely decimate the apologetic attempt to make excuses for why Mormon prophets have a historically disastrous record of making failed prophecies and disavowed doctrinal pronouncements. Astonishingly, some new apologists such as Austin Fife and Jacob Hansen are trying to stake out the position that it’s okay for prophets to get doctrinal pronouncements wrong . . . but you can totally trust everything else they say! You can imagine the fun we have with this! Join RFM and Kolby for a fun romp through the ridiculousness that has become Mormon apologetics!

Was Joseph Smith’s relationship with Fanny Alger an early plural marriage, a sexless sealing, or a scandalous sexual affair? Long before Nauvoo polygamy, secret sealings, or theological justifications, there was Fanny Alger; a teenage girl living in Joseph and Emma Smith’s home in Kirtland, Ohio. When the relationship was discovered, it triggered scandal, apostasy, and one of the earliest crises in Mormon leadership. In this episode, we start by taking a look into the life of Fanny Alger sharing details of her life that are little known even to those familiar with Mormon history. We then examine every major historical source connected to the Fanny Alger story including letters, later reminiscences, church disciplinary records. Then onto the Apologetics and what they are trying to resolve. And lastly we share something that hasn’t been used by either side in this discussion and this you won’t want to miss. We ask the uncomfortable questions: • Why did Oliver Cowdery call the incident a “dirty, nasty, filthy scrape”? • Why did church leaders discipline Cowdery for accusing Joseph of adultery — without denying the accusation itself? • Why does Fanny Alger quietly disappear from official church records for decades? • And do apologetic claims that “we can’t know what happened” actually hold up? We also follow Fanny’s life after Mormonism; her marriage, property ownership, and long, stable adulthood and ask what her silence might tell us about power, authority, and who controls the narrative. This is not folklore. This is not anti-Mormon spin. This is history read carefully. RESOURCES: https://mormondiscussionpodcast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Fanny-Alger-Episode-Sources-1.pdf

Did Joseph Smith’s understanding of God come through divine revelation — or did it evolve alongside his education? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we examine one of the most important and least discussed developments in early Mormon history: the dramatic shift in Joseph Smith’s theology of the Godhead. Using early Mormon scriptures, historical documents, and Joseph’s own study journals, we walk through how the earliest teachings portrayed God as a single divine being, closely resembling early Christian modalism. We then trace a clear timeline showing how those teachings changed over time — especially following Joseph Smith’s intensive study of Hebrew in Kirtland, Ohio. As Joseph learned Hebrew grammar, biblical structure, and concepts such as Elohim as a plural noun, Mormon theology began to change with it. The singular God of the Book of Mormon and Book of Moses gradually gave way to a plurality of Gods, divine councils, embodied deities, and ultimately the revolutionary teachings found in the King Follett Discourse.This episode explores: Why early Book of Mormon passages describe Jesus as both Father and Son How later scripture reverses earlier creation accounts The connection between Hebrew study and the emergence of the “Council of the Gods” Why Joseph’s First Vision accounts evolve alongside his theology And what this means for claims of unchanging revelation and restored truth Rather than attacking belief, this conversation asks a deeper question: If revelation reveals eternal truth, why does the nature of God change so dramatically over time? Whether you are believing, doubting, or long past Mormonism, this episode offers a thoughtful, historically grounded look at how doctrine develops — and why that development still matters today.

What does it say when you have to lie to defend your religion? Time to get a new religion? Not if you’re Jacob Hansen! For Jacob, lying is all in a day’s work for a Mormon apologist. Radio Free Mormon was an apologist for ten years back in the 1980s. RFM got to the same point as Jacob Hansen; where he realized he was actively misleading his audience to convince them Mormonism was true. That’s when RFM gave up apologetics. When Jacob Hansen got to that same point, however, that’s when he doubled down. In this podcast, RFM exposes how Jacob Hansen misrepresents fundamental teachings of the LDS Church in order to win an argument. Talk about selling your birthright for a mess of pottage! What this shows us incontrovertibly is that the Mormon Church cannot be defended as it is; it must first be changed into something else. And even then it isn’t defensible. Check this one out and share it with your friends whenever the subject of Jacob Hansen’s credibility comes up!

This is it! The final episode! Words cannot express how happy Kolby and RFM are to finally be finishing their two-man demolition of this piece of apologetic dreck presented to the world by Austin Fife as “The Light and Truth Letter.” But after 58-hours of commentary from these two post-Mormon attorneys, spanning over an entire year, we can see quite clearly why it will be known forever after as “The Lite on Truth Letter.” And thank YOU so much for following us all the way through this adventure! It has been one helluva ride! We hope you will enjoy us for the after-party in a few weeks. And Austin? You’re invited too! Love you, man! We couldn’t have done it without you!

The LDS Church teaches that its top leaders are prophets, seers, and revelators; men who speak for God and whose guidance deserves trust, obedience, and moral authority. When serious problems arise in Church history, doctrine, or policy, the most common explanation offered is simple: prophets are fallible. But does that explanation actually resolve the issue? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we take a step back and examine what prophetic fallibility is being asked to accomplish, and whether it truly holds up under scrutiny. We walk through multiple categories where prophetic authority is expected to function reliably and where the Church and its apologists claim fallibility resolves the concerns, including: Foundational integrity Doctrinal and theological accuracy Moral judgment Prophetic discernment Revelation in real time Ethical leadership Institutional accountability Pastoral care and protection of the vulnerable Using clear historical examples including Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, modern prophets, and recent institutional decisions, we show how the same explanation is repeatedly used to absorb contradiction, reverse teachings, and excuse harm. Along the way, we ask the question that often goes unspoken: If prophets can confidently teach error, attribute it to God, and only later have it reclassified as opinion or mistake… how is anyone supposed to know when God is actually speaking? Fallibility may explain why mistakes happen — but it does not explain how members are meant to trust leaders in real time. Rather than attacking belief, this episode carefully examines whether the prophetic model itself functions as advertised — and what it means when authority becomes clear only in hindsight. This is not about expecting perfection. It’s about whether divine authority can be trusted to guide human lives safely, honestly, and consistently.

Beginning with the classic fringe belief that “aliens built the pyramids,” Radio Free Mormon teaches you the simple but powerful technique that can defuse and destroy virtually any apologetic argument in favor of Mormonism. This silver bullet works every time! Apologists, beware!

Mormonism Live is honored to host the 2025 Brodie Awards, an annual event dedicated to recognizing excellence, courage, insight, and impact in the world of Mormon-related scholarship, commentary, media, and creative work. Named after historian Fawn M. Brodie, the Brodie Awards exist to spotlight voices—both established and emerging—who meaningfully contribute to public understanding of Mormonism. These awards are about acknowledging thoughtful analysis, original research, compelling storytelling, and principled engagement with a complex tradition. The 2025 Brodie Awards Ceremony will feature the 2025 award categories and nominees, an announcement of the 2025 winner in each category, and shining a light on the impact of the winner’s work. Our goal is simple: to elevate quality creators around the topic of Mormonism and raise awareness of creators who are contributing something genuinely valuable to the broader discussion around Mormonism. For those interested in the history of these awards please check out the Sunstone presentation about history of the Brodie Awards found here: https://mainstreetplaza.com/2024/08/08/post-mormon-media-past-present-and-future/ The Brodie Awards were founded and are operated by Main Street Plaza, A Community for Anyone Interested in Mormonism. This year’s ceremony Hosted by Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon on Mormonism Live!Links to all Brodie Awards Nominations https://mainstreetplaza.com/2025/12/03/collecting-nominations-for-the-2025-brodie-awards/