Glass Box Podcast

$100 billion (yes… with a “B”) is a lot of money for the church to be hoarding. Unfortunately, the media coverage has been inaccurate in many regards and has missed some of the larger issues contained in the expose “Letter to an IRS Director” by Lars Neilsen. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has become so wealthy and powerful it seems to simply operate by its own set of rules. The size of Ensign Peak Advisors (EPA) is larger than the media has discussed and the alleged violations regarding its disbursements to City Creek Center and Beneficial Financial Group (totally $2 billion) could threaten its tax-exempt status. Also included in the expose is the whistleblower discussing with EPA director, Roger Clarke, “worst practices” which included “deleting receivables” and opening the way for “dark money” payouts EPA made to unknown entities. The actual portfolio by Nov 2019 is estimated to be closer to $124 billion. We discuss a bit of the media coverage and wrap up with talking about how the church

Wheeew what a doozey! We cover Mormon Money from the 1930s to the 1980s. When this much money gets involved and a church grows to have a significant international presence, money begets politics and politics feed money. Once Franklin S. Richards died another needed to carry the Mormon Money torch; here enters Henry Dinwoodey Moyle, a man with grand ideas and exponential growth intentions. He rolls out new missionary programs, local “baseball baptisms” sports leagues, carbon copy chapels, the new 28-story Church Office Building, and a litany of other aggressive expansion programs. After bankrupting many companies and chewing through untold resources, Moyle died leaving the church $32 million in debt but on a good path toward global expansion. N. Eldon Tanner, with the help of Marion Romney, takes the helm of Mormon Money and rights the sinking ship by filling leadership with more businessmen and lawyers than ever before. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also began to gain a national political fo

We finally broach a subject that’s taken the back-burner for far too long. Mormon money is one of the most complicated subjects associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we decided it requires a multi-part series to understand with some level of depth and context. Join us for part one where we start at the beginning with Joseph Smith, get into Brigham Young and the Mormon exodus to Utah in 1847, and tie together financial strands all the way into the Great Depression. Some topics of discussion: Joseph Smith as an entrepreneur, Brigham Young as a theocrat and tyrant, polygamy and the first manifesto under President Wilford Woodruff, complicated finances with intermingling the prophet’s personal with the church’s corporate assets, Joseph F. Smith and the church in near-bankruptcy he inherited in 1901, Franklin S. Richards and his rehabilitation program, the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (COP), The Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of

Joe Geisner returns to spend 2 hours on one of the most iconic and influential characters in recent Mormon history, Boyd K. Packer. We discuss his inauguration into the Quorum of Apostles and how he molded and shaped the church from the highest leadership body from that time forward. We cover the internal issues between Packer and the church’s history department, discuss the shroud of secrecy he helped to foster, and then get into the outward expressions he declared from the pulpit which directly influenced members and national politics. We wrap with discussing what kind of a legacy was left behind when Packer died in 2015. Hugo Olaiz’s Sunstone Presentationhttps://www.sunstonemagazine.com/sl10212-sacred-secrecy-in-the-teachings-of-president-boyd-k-packer/ Show links:Website http://www.glassboxpodcast.com/index.html Find us on Facebook and Twitter @Glass Box Podcast

From Evergreen to North Star, gay-conversion therapy runs deep through Mormon tradition. October headlines blazed with the LDS church opposing a ban on conversion therapy for minors which was defended, misrepresented, and misunderstood by much of the media. We deep dive on conversion therapy in Mormonism and discuss some of the names associated with this abusive and anti-science practice. After that Braden talks about a climate change movie and some YouTubers getting together to plant some trees!   Sources for conversion therapy stuff: Evergreen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_International North Star https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Star_(organization) A. Dean Byrd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Dean_Byrd NARTH https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_for_Research_%26_Therapy_of_Homosexuality https://psychology.wikia.org/wiki/National_Association_for_Research_%26_Therapy_of_Homosexuality Joseph Nicolosi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_NicolosiEvergreen expose https://truthwin

I watched it so you don’t have to. We go through every talk given during General Conference of October 2019 from Oaks to Oaks and back to Oaks again, we try to identify what slipped through the cracks of media reporting on this semiannual GC. It’s a long one! Hopefully the length makes up for the month hiatus as Braden moved and I was on a 3-week road trip. Patrons of the show get an extra hour of podcast about the General Women’s session. Please get us to our next Patreon goal to make Braden suffer through the April 2020 Conference with me!!!   https://www.patreon.com/GlassBoxPod   Show links: Website http://www.glassboxpodcast.com/index.html Find us on Facebook and Twitter @Glass Box Podcast

Gaddy is suing the Mormon church for tithing and personal damages. We go through the case and discuss how likely it is to prevail as well as the class-action nature of the suit. Then, after much ado, we finally crack open The Case for the Book of Mormon by Tad R. Callister. We wrap up with some happy news of cannabis convictions being expunged by some smart computer stuffs!   A bunch more reading on Kay Burningham and Gaddy v. LDS https://www.kayburningham.com/ https://www.federalrulesofcivilprocedure.org/frcp/title-iv-parties/rule-23-class-actions/ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NuthcL9L-MZhnDRKcwp1E49Sx2472Dud https://mormonfraud.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-gaddy-lawsuit-against-mormonchurch.html https://www.courthousenews.com/scathing-lawsuit-seeks-punitive-damages-from-mormon-church/ http://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/72112-rico-act-proposed-class-action-against-the-church-it-is-filed/page/7/ http://religionclause.blogspot.com/2019/08/suit-charges-mormon-church-with.html http://www.mormonthi

It’s a long episode today! Don’t let the long timestamp scare you away. We invite a guest to tell us his story of joining the church, working for the church, and eventually leaving it. His story reveals a side of Mormonism most of us know is there, but aren’t privy to. Part 2 of the conversation comes after the C segment where Michael tells a bit about his personal story. Braden and I also talk about a new documentary and discuss The Teachings of Don Juan. Then we round out the episode with a climate initiative in India.   Links: Light of Gazalem: https://www.thestatesman.com/india/climate-emergency-india-offers-financial-and-technical-support-to-developing-nations-1502794652.html Show links: Website http://www.glassboxpodcast.com/index.html Find us on Facebook and Twitter @Glass Box Podcast

We finally wrap up the first Armstrong Lecture! We learn all about hell, the different degrees of the Celestial Kingdom, and Mormon trickle-down heaven! After that we talk about “The Good Place,” a sitcom about heaven and hell. Then we wrap with good news about cow farts!   Show links: Light of Gazelem: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-15/seaweed-for-cows-could-be-mass-farmed-reduce-methane/11414724 Show links: Website http://www.glassboxpodcast.com/index.html Find us on Facebook and Twitter @Glass Box Podcast

Now we’ve had the introduction to how heaven is structured, let’s find out how we actually get to each of the degrees. Part 2 of this Armstrong lecture describes the different degrees and who is deserving of them. Plus, Mormon reincarnation is totally a thing! After that we have Ryan McKnight of the Truth and Transparency Foundation to discuss a recent story broke by the organization.   Truth & Transparency storyhttps://truthandtransparency.org/news/2019/7/24/court-documents-show-local-mormon-leaders-failed-to-report-the-manufacturing-of-child-pornography-following-confession Links mentioned by Ryan@the_ttf https://truthandtransparency.org/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEnp6o4S974&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3CUns_MADCRfe-U_HFfbRA087ogQburkwObdss88w4kEcyG7lGpIQGL8g Show links: Website http://www.glassboxpodcast.com/index.html Find us on Facebook and Twitter @Glass Box Podcast

We’re doing something a little different for this episode! We start with a little background on how Braden and Bryce met and use that as a launch point to discuss the main topic today. We read a lecture… Yeah… I lecture. But don’t worry! It’s a lot more fun than it sounds and we’d really like to get some feedback on it to hear what you think! After that, Braden tells us about The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and then we talk about a couple who planted 2,000,000 trees in 20 years! We round out the show with some listener feedback that is absolutely amazing. Apostle John replaced in Temple video:https://wheatandtares.org/2011/01/30/temple-john-where-do-the-fallen-go/ Show links: Website http://www.glassboxpodcast.com/index.html Find us on Facebook and Twitter @Glass Box Podcast

Missions! Braden did his, Bryce left the Mormon church before he could do one. After Braden gives us an overview of his mission experience, we discuss the history of the “Preach My Gospel” program, the impetus behind it, how it came to be, who was involved, and how it was implemented into the field. Hopefully it will be as interesting to listen to as it was to research the topic! After that Braden talks about some media that passes the Bechdel test and we talk about a school in Iowa that’s giving out P.E. credits for service projects. History of Preach My Gospelhttps://rsc.byu.edu/archived/volume-14-number-1-2013/history-preach-my-gospel?fbclid=IwAR0BZUafYGnNOhs-PlVj7tmZRgeCe3hhH-qD9-V1pxqHCWqSdUTKJtQAWVs Ballard: https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-06-26/president-ballard-baptize-2019-mission-leadership-seminar-50222 Mission cost increase in 2020: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900077168/church-announces-mormon-mission-lds-cost-increase.html Light of Gazalemhttps://www.wthr.com/art

It's been one year since the Be One Celebration; Mormonism isn’t racist anymore!!! We know the high-level overview of what the Priesthood ban included, now we take a foray into the human element. We talk about the tough paradoxes introduced when institutionalized theological racism comes into conflict with an ever-expanding global religion. An oft-forgotten aspect of Mormon conversion, Patriarchal Blessings, become the litmus test for African ancestry. Patriarchs fight with the First Presidency. The church takes no official position. Chaos and pandemonium rule doctrinal racism throughout the entire 20th century.   Links: Mormons and Lineage: The Complicated History of Blacks and Patriarchal Blessings by Matt Harrishttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1erugEZ1LYvyMwMfFiQD1H_y0bZP16pFBNnjy-8ScP0E/edit?usp=sharing   Black, White, or Brown? Racial Perceptions and the Priesthood Policy in Latin America by Jeremy Talmage and Clinton D. Christensenhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1FqDep89418UPnrN2r5wFg0GAJn7Mx_Li6o1

World tour time! Rusty and his apostle friend travel the world and meet Pacific Island dignitaries to bless the masses with their presence. Also, when a religion creates new political operatives as “specialists” and opposes a bill with ‘Equality’ in the name, it’s never a good sign. After that, Braden and I both bring books to the table for our Media of Great Price. We round out the episode with a company that froze CEO wages to pay the bottom-line workers more and Costa Rica progressing on Abortion restrictions.   Links: Mormon policital ‘specialists’https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/05/14/lds-church-is-assigning/   Rusty world tourhttps://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/president-nelson-pacific-ministry-2019-samoa   Light of Gazalem https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/15/executive-pay-salaries-carecentrix-senior-team-employees https://ticotimes.net/2019/05/18/morning-after-pill-legal-without-prescription-costa-rica?fbclid=IwAR1jJcOdoBj9G8tC5sLsutIx5by6ADHSHCaH5QXu3NqEDXjXE23ejNCjLfM

We finally discuss the Temple Endowment Ceremony changes as of January 2019! But not so fast! Before that we get into the Strengthening Church Members Committee (SCMC) and the awkward phone call between Elder Timothy Dyches and Radio Free Mormon. Lesley, Colleen, and Bryce call the number and debrief over on Mormon Happy Hour (links below). Then, Braden and I finally get into how the endowment ceremony was slightly altered with “massive implications” in order to remove some of the overtly sexist theology. We give you a play by play so you don’t have to watch it and go through exactly what the changes mean, along with a little history where applicable. The changes simply don’t go far enough.   Links:   Mormon Happy Hour SCMChttp://angelsonfire.org/mhh73-part-1-call-to-elder-dyches-of-the-strengthening-church-members-committee/   Radio Free Mormon SCMChttps://radiofreemormon.org/2019/05/radio-free-mormon-064-spying-for-the-lord/   Temple Endowment Stuffs SLC Live secret camhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8sbYt

Just as the title states, Braden and I go through the Sunday April 2019 General Conference talks. We [I] watched it so you don’t have to! Plus Media of Great Price about Abducted in Plain Sight and a Light of Gazalem about Morgan Freeman single handedly saving the planet! We wrap with a short listener mail segment.   Show links: Website http://www.glassboxpodcast.com/index.html Find us on Facebook and Twitter @Glass Box Podcast  

Just as the title states, Braden and I go through the Saturday April 2019 General Conference talks. We [I] watched it so you don’t have to!   Show links: Website http://www.glassboxpodcast.com/index.html Find us on Facebook and Twitter @Glass Box Podcast

November 2015 exclusion policy? What November 2015 exclusion policy? Today is an historic day! The Mormon church ceased to be bigoted against LGBTQ+ people! Oh, wait… no. It didn’t. Not included in the show, but maybe this has something to do with the recent anti-hate crime bill that passed in Utah this week. In November 2015, while Thomas Monson was president of the church, a policy from the Mormon church leaked stating that children in a home with homosexual parents couldn’t be baptized. A few months later, Russell Nelson stated it was actually “revelation” born by 15 witnesses. This was before he was called as president of the church. Now the church announced this policy has been reversed. Why was this policy put in effect in the first place? Why didn’t they apologize? https://bycommonconsent.com/2019/04/05/let-love-be-love How do active members see this? Was this only to stop the bleeding? https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900063943/church-lgbt-gay-lesbian-policy-mormon-baptisms-blessings-apostasy.h

What’s the deal with cannabis in Utah? We resurrect this old headline to see if any new developments have occurred. We also invite Andrew Torrez from Opening Arguments Podcast to help us understand the law behind Utah legislature overturning the cannabis bill ballot initiative. Elections have consequences… After that Braden talks about The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and we discuss a new U.N. proposal to help get African countries closer to green energy!   Check out these episodes of OA to hear Andrew’s amazing legal takedown of big headlines!https://openargs.com/oa13-hillary-clintons-damned-emails/ https://openargs.com/oa2-the-2000-election-neverforget-part-1/ https://openargs.com/oa12-tax-protesters-sovereign-citizens-wackiness/ https://openargs.com/oa21-second-amendment-masterclass-part-1/ https://openargs.com/oa154-stormy-daniels-is-a-legal-genius/   Prop 2 headlines https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/02/08/its-commerce-bill/ https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/12/06/medical-cannabis/ ht

Something slipped through the cracks and it smells fishy. We go through some of the quality control mechanisms used in Mormon genealogy research at the ward level. The Church collects and digitizes a lot of information and history, what do they do with it? We tie a few stories together to figure out what the church is planning with a recent $2 million investment into the International African American Museum in South Carolina. After that we bring on Weird Alma to talk about the recent Masonry and Mormonism essay published by the Church. Then we talk about the uptick in EV sales in America and what it might mean.   Headlines:   Temple and Family History Consultantshttps://www.lds.org/family-history/temple-family-history-consultant?lang=eng Family Search blog posthttps://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/elder-dale-g-renlund-2019-temple-and-family-history-leadership-instruction/ Church donates $2mn to IAAMhttps://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-donation-2-million-international-african-american-museum-center-fa