Mormon Theories

Have you ever wondered where we are in the allegory of the olive trees in Jacob 5? Have you ever struggled to understand what this, the longest chapter in the Book of Mormon, is talking about? In this podcast, I offer a compelling explanation for the allegory that you won't find anywhere else. Not only is this interpretation consistent with the prophecies in the Book of Mormon, but also the D&C and Mormon Church History. You'll learn which verses of the allegory we've been in since 1837, and which verses we'll soon transition into as we get closer to the Second Coming. If you've ever wanted to understand Jacob 5, this episode is for you.

Devon DowDell joins me on the Mormon Theories podcast to discuss the South American model for Book of Mormon geography. Devon's father, the late Del DowDell, devoted the last years of his life to studying this fascinating theory. Del wrote several books and around 4,000 blog posts on the subject. Devon talks about his dad's model, how it fits the evidence, conforms to the words of the Book of Mormon, and shares his thoughts on the Mesoamerican and Heartland models as well.

Most historians you ask will tell you that Joseph Smith was definitely a polygamist, and that the practice started with him. But there is a growing resistance to those claims. Did Joseph actually practice polygamy? Mark Curtis had the same question, and his search led him to the primary source documents about Joseph's alleged polygamy. He found that some accounts appear decades after the fact, are secondhand (or more), and may not be as reliable as they seem. In this fascinating discussion, I ask Mark about Fanny Alger (Joseph's first plural wife), the provenance of D&C 132, what Jacob 2 was really saying, and how polygamy, if wrong, could have been justified in the scriptures.

Mark Curtis runs the website and YouTube channel called Hemlock Knots, where he delves into topics of Church history, including polygamy. Find links to his work in the show notes!

Modern scientists claim that dinosaurs went extinct some 65 million years ago after an asteroid impact. Jeremy Michel has done research which may suggest otherwise. His theory about dinosaurs being a younger creation draws on scriptures from the Bible and the Book of Mormon, legends of dragons, ancient art depicting dinosaur-like creatures, modern testimonials and pictures, and current paleontological discoveries of dinosaur soft tissue. We had a fascinating discussion about all of these topics, including a possible discovery of Noah's ark. Please check out the show notes for some of the photos Jeremy shared.

Ed Goble's views on the Book of Abraham are different than those of the mainstream LDS apologists. Despite Egyptologists not finding the text of the Book of Abraham anywhere on the extant papyri, Ed has found numerous examples of Joseph Smith getting things right in his translations of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers. It seems that an inspired Joseph was somehow correctly pairing words with Egyptian symbols in valid ways that one merely looking at the literal Egyptian translation wouldn't expect. It's some really fascinating stuff, and he can definitely explain it better than I can! While the Book of Abraham controversy tends to be a leading factor of why people lose faith in the restored gospel, Ed's theory can help explain a lot about how Joseph translated Abraham. And I think his theory can help a lot of people struggling with this issue.

Ed also shares a bit about his theory on Book of Mormon geography, and his history researching that topic. He's written books about it! We also go into his interesting thoughts on human origins and evolution. Such an awesome discussion.