The Joe and Smith Podcast: Read the Book of Mormon with us
We are ex-Mormons and we’re re-reading the Book of Mormon together, but this time we know that it’s a work of fiction. We think we’re funny. In each episode we read a new chapter from the BOM and uncover how the church’s teachings affected us in our conservative, faithful days. We believe in love and acceptance, but we process some anger along the way. Expect lightmindedness, loud laughter, evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed, and taking the name of the Lord in vain.
Episodes

Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Joe and Smith discuss briefly Under the Banner of Heaven (2022), aka Garfield, available on hulu. Smith hasn’t read any books today, but he tends to have his phone read Michael Crichton books to him. He hasn’t seen Westworld (1973), which had the same MPAA rating as Smith’s previous marriage. The guys may or may not admit to a garment fetish. Smith tells about his wizard powers of summoning turtles. Smith and Joe discuss trying to unlearn some of the sexisim that was ingrained in them so deeply. Joe talks about what it’s like to raise kids who haven’t been part of the church for most of their lives. The guys hope to see a day when a Utah baby girl is named Jahndallyn. Joe and Smith do not identify as gay, but have a goal to be the first gay temple marriage. Joe and Smith talk about bonding over indie music and comedy. Smith talks about Modest Mouse and Joe tells a story about a time when the owner of Nita’s Hideaway in Tempe, AZ came to his wedding reception.
The bumper music is brought to you by Eric VanAusdal, who is an underappreciated artist. Smith has seen Joe cry listening to this music. Joe foolishly decides to have a shot every time a verse begins “and it came to pass”. Joe points out that Joseph Smith Jr lied to his first wife, Emma, about polygamy and to the rest of the world when he started a book with “I Nephi”.
Smith notices that maybe JS doth protest too much when it comes to Nephi saying that the BOM is true from the get-go.
Joe remembers morning scripture study a teenager and how he wanted to get through it quickly so he could go back to sleep. The BOM makes Joe vomit, maybe with some help from alcohol. The guys stoop to gutter humor to reinterpret verse 14. Smith has not seen Deliverance (1972). Joe is in no shape for more chit-chat.
THE DOLLOP Dave Anthony | Gareth Reynolds https://allthingscomedy.com/podcast/the-dollop Gospel Topics Essays https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/essays?lang=eng Zedekiah’s wikipedia entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zedekiah Pavement - Blue Hawaiian https://youtu.be/2IVToqYzBQo?t=34
Music Provided by Eric VanAusdal with permission from the artist.The Book of Mormon is publicly available at churchofjesuschrist.orgEmail us at joeandsmithpod@gmail.com
Remember who you are and what you stand for

Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
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
Remember who you are and what you stand for

Remember Who You Are and What You Stand For



