Radio Free Mormon

Radio Free Mormon with 50 episodes in the rear view mirror initiates a conversation about the ground that has been covered in the first 50 episodes and where the potential is for things to talk about going forward. He also uses this moment to share an update on the Mckenna Denson case.

RFM and Bill Reel take on the recent Temple changes and dissect the historical context of these changes, why these changes indicate regardless of how Leaders want them portrayed, and tackle the blatant lying in the First Presidency Statement. RESOURCES: 2019 Temple ChangesHistorical Overview of Temple ChangesOath to Avenge the Blood of the ProphetTemple Cursings of Government Leaders (Start on Page 15)First Presidency Statement

Today we explore the Book of Abraham in Radio Free Mormon Style.  Bill Reel once again joins us and we proceed to lay out the following.– Brief overview of the History of the Book of Abraham– Why the critics say it is problematic– What workarounds apologists have created to deal with those criticisms– Why those workarounds are dead ends– Evidences Apologists share– Why those evidences have little credibility– How the Church is adapting to the Problems REASONS THE MISSING SCROLL THEORY DOES NOT WORK: – We know because of Abraham 1:12 and 1:14 itself points to Facsimile 1 and the very text in the papyri following it as the source text of the book of Abraham – We know from the Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar document that if we choose to be rational and logical the most reasonable interpretation of that document is that it represents Joseph Smith’s translation of The Book of Abraham. – An early Egyptologist named Gustavus Seyffarth viewed the missing papyrus in 1856 and described only the Hor text and Facsimile 3. He gave no indication of another text on the scroll, and in fact explicitly denied that the scroll contained a record of Abraham. – Klaus Baer predicted that the missing portion of the Hor text would be around sixty centimeters. Others who have attempted the estimate of the missing length agreed almost exactly with Baer’s estimate. In the end a Missing Scroll theory is simply a Red Herring.  Why we know that a missing scroll does not matter?  We know where Joseph was translating and it was on the existing papyri. There is a set of documents that the church has always had in its possession commonly referred to as the “Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar” by Joseph Smith. Most of us remember hearing a little bit about it growing up in the church but not really knowing what it was. It was only briefly and rarely mentioned in church. With the discovery of the missing papyri in 1966, critics claim that these documents show a definite link between the papyri and the actual text of the Book of Abraham. The manuscript is in the handwriting of William W. Phelps and Warren Parrish, scribes to Joseph Smith, Jr. It is a bound book with handwriting on 34 pages with about 184 blank pages remaining throughout the book. There are characters in a left hand column with English explanations to the right. Original in LDS archives. There are 4 pages in Joseph Smith’s handwriting. REASONS THE CATALYST THEORY DOES NOT WORK:  – The Times and Seasons with Joseph Smith as Editor along with Mormonism’s heading to the Pearl of Great Price in the past claimed the papyri was the writings of Abraham. – The Times and Seasons with Joseph Smith as Editor along with Mormonism’s heading to the Pearl of Great Price in the past claimed it was written by Abraham’s  own hand.  If the Catalyst Theory is correct, then God must be responsible for misleading Smith about the identity of the author of the papyri characters. – Joseph and his scribes wrote down the very symbols from the papyri we have along with a proposed meaning of those hieroglyphics and symbols in a document named Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar indicating strongly a literal translation. –  Joseph Smith‘s translation and restoration of the facsimiles was incorrect. If the Catalyst Theory is correct, then God must be responsible for instructing Smith to incorrectly translate and restore the facsimiles. –  The text of the Book of Abraham itself (1:12 and 1:14) declares that the source of the Book of Abraham has the Facsimile 1 fragment at its commencement, which is the Breathing Permit of Hor. If the Catalyst Theory is correct, then God must be responsible for instructing Smith to record verses in the Book of Abraham that incorrectly refer to the Facsimile 1 fragment. –  The Small Sensen (Breathing Permit of Hor) characters are copied in order into the manuscripts where they are translated into the Book of Abraham. Therefore, Smith‘s own manuscripts indicate that the source of the Book of Abraham is the Small Sensen. If the Catalyst Theory is correct, then God must be responsible for misleading Smith to believe that the source of the Book of Abraham was the Small Sensen. –  The Egyptian Alphabets end with two characters which appear in the manuscripts as the beginning of the Small Sensen and which translate into Abraham 1:1. Therefore, the Egyptian Alphabets indicate that the source of the Book of Abraham is the Small Sensen.  If the Catalyst Theory is correct, then God must be responsible for misleading Smith to believe that the source of the Book of Abraham was the Small Sensen. RESOURCES:Book Of Abraham conundrum simplified – https://mormondiscussionpodcast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/My-Concerns-Book-of-Abraham-1.pdf Brian Hauglid on Mormon Discussion – https://mormondiscussionpodcast.org/2015/01/brian-hauglid-the-book-of-abraham/ MormonThink Translation and Historicity Issues – http://www.mormonthink.com/essays-book-of-abraham.htm MormonThink Book of Abraham – http://www.mormonthink.com/book-of-abraham-issues.htm Episode Links:Muhlestein lying about Abraham on the Lion Couch – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLbFpWlVLx8 John Gee acknowledging he will hold back facts if they could hurt faith – https://www.fairmormon.org/blog/2018/11/06/fairmormon-conference-podcast-17-john-gee-selling-our-birthright-for-a-mess-of-pottage-the-historical-authenticity-of-the-book-of-abraham Brian Hauglid commenting about his shifted view – https://www.facebook.com/dan.vogel.35/posts/1398006876998582?hc_location=ufi Robin Scott Jensen on the Book of Abraham – http://www.ldsperspectives.com/2018/11/07/book-of-abraham/The Best Evidence for the Book of Abraham: Abraham in the Prayer Position – https://archive.org/details/egyptianhierogly01budguoft/page/n103 Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtJT_xjIgdM Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 2 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcuCf5R7rF4 Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 3 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEVSEL3K5OE Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 4 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64_kNhrwZfA Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 5 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CySUdq2fNdQ Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 6 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I47ibkJ4QrE Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 7 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_7haq-PdjU

Today we explore the Book of Abraham in Radio Free Mormon Style.  Bill Reel once again joins us and we proceed to lay out the following. – Brief overview of the History of the Book of Abraham – Why the critics say it is problematic – What workarounds apologists have created to deal with those criticisms – Why those workarounds are dead ends – Evidences Apologists share – Why those evidences have little credibility – How the Church is adapting to the Problems REASONS THE MISSING SCROLL THEORY DOES NOT WORK: – We know because of Abraham 1:12 and 1:14 itself points to Facsimile 1 and the very text in the papyri following it as the source text of the book of Abraham – We know from the Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar document that if we choose to be rational and logical the most reasonable interpretation of that document is that it represents Joseph Smith’s translation of The Book of Abraham. – An early Egyptologist named Gustavus Seyffarth viewed the missing papyrus in 1856 and described only the Hor text and Facsimile 3. He gave no indication of another text on the scroll, and in fact explicitly denied that the scroll contained a record of Abraham. – Klaus Baer predicted that the missing portion of the Hor text would be around sixty centimeters. Others who have attempted the estimate of the missing length agreed almost exactly with Baer’s estimate. In the end a Missing Scroll theory is simply a Red Herring.  Why we know that a missing scroll does not matter?  We know where Joseph was translating and it was on the existing papyri. There is a set of documents that the church has always had in its possession commonly referred to as the “Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar” by Joseph Smith. Most of us remember hearing a little bit about it growing up in the church but not really knowing what it was. It was only briefly and rarely mentioned in church. With the discovery of the missing papyri in 1966, critics claim that these documents show a definite link between the papyri and the actual text of the Book of Abraham. The manuscript is in the handwriting of William W. Phelps and Warren Parrish, scribes to Joseph Smith, Jr. It is a bound book with handwriting on 34 pages with about 184 blank pages remaining throughout the book. There are characters in a left hand column with English explanations to the right. Original in LDS archives. There are 4 pages in Joseph Smith’s handwriting. REASONS THE CATALYST THEORY DOES NOT WORK:  – The Times and Seasons with Joseph Smith as Editor along with Mormonism’s heading to the Pearl of Great Price in the past claimed the papyri was the writings of Abraham. – The Times and Seasons with Joseph Smith as Editor along with Mormonism’s heading to the Pearl of Great Price in the past claimed it was written by Abraham’s  own hand.  If the Catalyst Theory is correct, then God must be responsible for misleading Smith about the identity of the author of the papyri characters. – Joseph and his scribes wrote down the very symbols from the papyri we have along with a proposed meaning of those hieroglyphics and symbols in a document named Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar indicating strongly a literal translation. –  Joseph Smith‘s translation and restoration of the facsimiles was incorrect. If the Catalyst Theory is correct, then God must be responsible for instructing Smith to incorrectly translate and restore the facsimiles. –  The text of the Book of Abraham itself (1:12 and 1:14) declares that the source of the Book of Abraham has the Facsimile 1 fragment at its commencement, which is the Breathing Permit of Hor. If the Catalyst Theory is correct, then God must be responsible for instructing Smith to record verses in the Book of Abraham that incorrectly refer to the Facsimile 1 fragment. –  The Small Sensen (Breathing Permit of Hor) characters are copied in order into the manuscripts where they are translated into the Book of Abraham. Therefore, Smith‘s own manuscripts indicate that the source of the Book of Abraham is the Small Sensen. If the Catalyst Theory is correct, then God must be responsible for misleading Smith to believe that the source of the Book of Abraham was the Small Sensen. –  The Egyptian Alphabets end with two characters which appear in the manuscripts as the beginning of the Small Sensen and which translate into Abraham 1:1. Therefore, the Egyptian Alphabets indicate that the source of the Book of Abraham is the Small Sensen.  If the Catalyst Theory is correct, then God must be responsible for misleading Smith to believe that the source of the Book of Abraham was the Small Sensen. RESOURCES: Book Of Abraham conundrum simplified – https://mormondiscussionpodcast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/My-Concerns-Book-of-Abraham-1.pdf Brian Hauglid on Mormon Discussion – https://mormondiscussionpodcast.org/2015/01/brian-hauglid-the-book-of-abraham/ MormonThink Translation and Historicity Issues – http://www.mormonthink.com/essays-book-of-abraham.htm MormonThink Book of Abraham – http://www.mormonthink Episode Links: Muhlestein lying about Abraham on the Lion Couch – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLbFpWlVLx8 John Gee acknowledging he will hold back facts if they could hurt faith – https://www.fairmormon.org/blog/2018/11/06/fairmormon-conference-podcast-17-john-gee-selling-our-birthright-for-a-mess-of-pottage-the-historical-authenticity-of-the-book-of-abraham Brian Hauglid commenting about his shifted view – https://www.facebook.com/dan.vogel.35/posts/1398006876998582?hc_location=ufi Robin Scott Jensen on the Book of Abraham – http://www.ldsperspectives.com/2018/11/07/book-of-abraham/ The Best Evidence for the Book of Abraham: Abraham in the Prayer Position – https://archive.org/details/egyptianhierogly01budguoft/page/n103 Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtJT_xjIgdM Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 2 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcuCf5R7rF4 Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 3 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEVSEL3K5OE Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 4 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64_kNhrwZfA Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 5 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CySUdq2fNdQ Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 6 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I47ibkJ4QrE Dan Vogel’s Videos on the Book of Abraham Pt 7 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_7haq-PdjU

President Eyring…. No Not the LDS Apostle but his son Henry J Eyring, recently gave an address at BYUI titled “Gaining and Strengthening a Testimony” where he lays out logical fallacy after logical fallacy in order to justify belief in the Book of Abraham specifically and to deal with the criticisms of the Church collectively.  Combine that with his having seemingly developed the same habit of reeling you in with his tears as he cries at the drop of a hat like his father and you can sense why Grandpa Eyring the Scientist is almost assuredly shaking his head in the grave. Resources: Audio of the Eyring Talk Transcript Video

President Eyring…. No Not the LDS Apostle but his son Henry J Eyring, recently gave an address at BYUI titled “Gaining and Strengthening a Testimony” where he lays out logical fallacy after logical fallacy in order to justify belief in the Book of Abraham specifically and to deal with the criticisms of the Church collectively.  Combine that with his having seemingly developed the same habit of reeling you in with his tears as he cries at the drop of a hat like his father and you can sense why Grandpa Eyring the Scientist is almost assuredly shaking his head in the grave. Resources: Audio of the Eyring Talk Transcript Video

EXCLUSIVE  –  EXCLUSIVE  –  Bill Reel’s Disciplinary Council The Recording – EXCLUSIVE  –  EXCLUSIVE Radio Free Mormon shares that he has received the audio recording of Bill Reel’s Disciplinary Council.  The audio quality has issues but a transcript has been included HERE to make it easier to know what is being said. If anyone can improve this transcript please email those improvements along with a time stamp to MormonDicussionsPodcasts@gmail.com and to the attention of Radio Free Mormon Resources: links on website Transcript of Bill Reel’s Disciplinary Council Outline of the presentation Bill made at the Council Timeline Run Through of Proceedings

RFM takes on a Radio Free Mormon After Dark interview with Bill Reel regarding his upcoming Disciplinary Council.  The interview dissects all of Bill’s interactions with Leaders from Stake Presidents to Church Historians to Prophets, Seers, and Revelators.   RFM also asks Bill to give a run through of his correspondence and conversations that have led up to these Disciplinary Proceedings.  Sit back and enjoy as this Episode does more than read a few good books and go to a pretty good school!

In the spirit of Halloween, Radio Free Mormon today sheds light on Joseph Smith’s treasure Digging by setting the details of Joseph Smith’s Treasure Digging next to the eerie Treasure Digging of John Steinbeck’s Tortilla Flat.  RFM takes on the dramatized telling of this John Steinbeck classic.  See how many similarities between the treasure digging of Joseph Smith and John Steinbeck literary classic!

Today On Radio Free Mormon, RFM and Bill Reel dissect Elder Oaks October 2018 General Conference talk from Saturday Morning.  In this talk Elder Oaks uses logical fallacy after logical fallacy and bad argument after bad argument in defending his Anti-Science prejudice and his Anti-LGBT bigotry.  This 15 minute minute talk was a brilliant attempt to entrench the Church in stances that simply don’t hold up to the data and facts.   Elder Oaks arguments are full of holes and unlike Ensign Blair’s ship, this vessel of a talk sinks faster by the minute.