Introduction

Joe and Smith introduce each other and their podcast. The guys discuss some early LDS lore and invent a new early saint called W.W. Wphelps, who may have had a hand in inventing the World Wide Web. Joe notices his tendency to want definitive truth when learning something new. The guys are going to use swear words and sometimes offend, but not for the sake of being offensive. Joe and Smith are pretty convinced that they are the worst people, self-esteem is not their strong suit, but they’re working on it. The guys bring up how they still hang on to some doctrines from the church, like Brian Regan. Smith says that he wants the podcast to help people who feel like they’re on the outside who may be dealing with some trauma and sadness from their families and from the church. The guys started watching Under the Banner of Heaven (2022), aka Garfield, on Hulu. Joe feels like he has only ever won one fight with the church and that it was deciding not to go anymore. The guys give an overview of the process of having one’s name removed from the church’s records. The BOM has 239 chapters. Goddammit. Smith denies being a Star Wars fanboy, but he really is. The guys bare their testimony that the BOM was written by a fraud (JS) and written for purposes such as gaining power and money. It’s a secret combination. They devolve into some righteous indignation toward JS, but they steer out of it by singing a hymn. Smith feels like the overwhelming pressure for perfection in the church conditioned him to lie, while Joe feels like he told the truth and was just “less than”. The guys notice that it may be easier to stay in the church if you don’t take the church very seriously. 

Smith reads us the title page, which is super confusing. The guys try to piece together some of the details but give up and refer the listener to people like Jeremy Runnells and John Dehlin, aka Jahndalyn. Smith points out how easy it is to get distracted by the levels of details and minutia in the BOM, but that it’s all made up. 

The guys read the introduction to the BOM, which essentially positions itself as Bible fanfiction. Smith tells about getting duped by fake Harry Potter fanfiction before book 5. Russel M Nelson is a bastard. The guys take some issue with the church adding the word “among” to the intro page. Smith knows a lot about the temple, but he’ll get into that later. Smith talks about how he tried to “make up” for the church's sexism by elevating women to a higher level. 

Mormon Stories Podcast 480-482: JEREMY RUNNELLS AND HIS LETTER TO A CES DIRECTOR JUNE 18, 2014 https://mormonstories.org/podcast/jeremy-runnells-and-his-letter-to-a-ces-director/ 

CES Letter My Search for Answers to my Mormon Doubts BY JEREMY RUNNELLS

https://cesletter.org/ 

THE DOLLOP Dave Anthony | Gareth Reynolds https://allthingscomedy.com/podcast/the-dollop 

Music Provided by Eric VanAusdal with permission from the artist. 

The Book of Mormon is publicly available at churchofjesuschrist.org

Email us at joeandsmithpod@gmail.com

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