Libsyn Directory

Ep 171 — Death Penalty pt. 2 Mormon Violence, Religion and DP, Ethics and Morals

Release Date: 03/10/2025

Ep 179 — Great Leaders | Crucible of Doubt pt. 2

Glass Box Podcast

Let’s talk leaders. What qualities does a great leader have? What’s the difference between a good and great leader? And we talk about three leaders in history. In our Sword of Laman segment, we cover the next few chapters of the Givens’ book. And to clear your palette, we share a news article about a charitable move Bill Gates is making. Enjoy! Show Notes: What is Ethical Leadership and Why is it Important?: What Great Leaders do that Good Leaders Don’t: Elizabeth I: Queen Elizabeth I: The controversies and accomplishments:...

Ep 178 — Nov ‘15 Policy 10-yr Retrospective | Rafiki (2018)

Glass Box Podcast

Not only is it Pride month but it’s also been almost 10 years since the Mormon church issued their policy against the children of LGBTQIA+ parents. We take a look at the effects that policy had, the increasingly draconian measures the government is taking, and we read between the lines of Mormon church policies. We also look at the measures people are taking to improve the lives of LGBTQIA+. For Media of Great Price, we watched the lovely 2018 movie Rafiki about two lesbian women in Kenya. And we end with good news out of Paris about a new monument. Happy Pride Month! Show...

Ep 177 — Doubts | The Crucible of Doubt

Glass Box Podcast

We’re talking about the bane of the Q15’s existence! Doubts of the members. We discuss the terrible way they are dealt with which leads into the second installment of the Givens’ trilogy — The Crucible of Doubt — Reflections on the Quest for Faith. Following that we have some good news out of El Paso where the Consulate General of Mexico gave out free measles vaccines to children and adults in El Paso, Texas. Show Notes: Jana Riess: Who is leaving the LDS church? Eight key survey findings: When Doubts and Questions Arise by Adam...

Ep 176 — Mormon fasting vs other religions | South Park

Glass Box Podcast

Fasting! In all its forms and purposes. We take a wander through world religions to see how fasting plays a part in almost all of them. Mormon fasting is far less peculiar than we thought. Then a few episodes of South Park that provide wonderful commentary on fasting, the economy, and witch hunts. We round out with happy news about land being returned to Indigenous people and burn through listener mail that’s been piling up. Show notes: Fasting: Fasting: Religious Fasting: Fasting in Islam: Ramadan: Native Teachings are...

Ep 175 — The God Who Weeps Wrap-Up | The Meaning of Life

Glass Box Podcast

We’re finishing The God Who Weeps by Terryl Givens and Fiona Givens. This is the first book in a trilogy of Mormon theology and we want to leave room in the year to get through it all. What does today hold for us? We start with a long discussion on the pre-mortal existence, transitioning into existence, then ascending to perfection thanks to Mormon beliefs. We didn’t realize until pretty late in the project that the 5 chapters of the book are structured around the different stages of the Mormon Plan of Salvation (PoS), but it become clear pretty early on in our discussion. All told, the...

Ep 174.4 — Sun Afternoon Apr 2025 GenCon

Glass Box Podcast

April 2025 General Conference Sunday Afternoon session. Patrons of the show get the appendix of Saturday Evening session at the end of the record. Ulisses Soares – Reverence; Moses and the burning bush; you-damn-kids talk; pray for guidance from the Holy Ghost for AI, don’t weaken your connection to God with AI!!! Michael Strong Q70 – Killed a kid on a bike during his mission, was really sad that he had to spend the night in jail until a ‘compassionate’ fellow missionary stayed with him Scott Whiting Q70 – Hazed as a deacon and sat on a cactus; Garden...

Ep 174.3 — Sun Morning Apr 2025 GenCon

Glass Box Podcast

April 2025 General Conference Sunday Morning session. David A Bednar – Joseph Smith totally restored the one true church; and other sundry sacrament meeting talking points Steven Shumway Q70 – Do your callings, no matter how demanding they may be Tamara Runia FC YW GP – Cry for repentance; Jesus is excited every time he sees us on our knees Gerald Causse PB – Dude who controls the church’s wealth is moved by seeing people suffering in poverty Gerrit Gong – Jesus Wept; Easter, Palm Sunday, holy week; mortal and moral agency and...

Ep 174.2 — Sat Afternoon Apr 2025 GenCon

Glass Box Podcast

April 2025 General Conference Saturday Afternoon session. Niel Anderson – Heinous abortion is evil diatribe, the church is extreme Conservative Steven Lund YM GP – Priesthood is awesome, men run everything in the church S Mark Palmer Q70 – Willow tree, cut up the fallen ones Sandino Roman Q70 – Drowning story Dale Renlund – A dumb 6-year-old thought the second coming was real Hans T Boom Q70 – Poor people donated their washing machine money to build a temple; Armies of Helaman Dieter Uchtdorf – The Church isn’t...

Ep 174.1 — Sat Morning Apr 2025 GenCon

Glass Box Podcast

April 2025 General Conference Saturday Morning session. Jeffrey R. Holland – Little boy bites a little girl, better teach her to forgive! Camille Johnson RS GP – Waiting to be healed filling spiritual holes Ronald Rasband – Church is DOING GREAT! Don’t check our numbers… Quentin L. Cook – Handcart companies and tragedy Ricardo Gemenez Q70 – Checklist Mormonism Henry Eyring – Zombie Jesus Other appearances: Chris Shelton interviewed us in the beginning of a series on Mormonism. Here’s the most recent episode on...

Ep 173 — Joseph Smith Wasn’t a Polygamist | O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Glass Box Podcast

It’s time to examine Joseph-Smith-polygamy skepticism. After the recent Journal of Mormon Polygamy conference, we decided to seriously consider the evidences used by this cohort of Mormon studies, leading us to understand that polygamy was a creation of Brigham Young and the Utah Mormon movement. After that we discuss O Brother, Where Art Thou? An Oddessy movie interweaving many storytelling archetypes and tropes. Then some good news about automotive subsidies coming in the form of tariffs. Show notes: Joseph Smith Wasn’t a Polygamist video playlist Journal of...

More Episodes

It’s time for part 2 of our Death Penalty series! Since this is a Mormon podcast, we first look into the history of Mormons and the death penalty. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young both ordered assassinations and fostered environments where random acts of violence became inevitable. The State of Deseret, Utah, has a comparatively bloody, theocratic history. Then we take a broader view of religion and capital punishment. After that, we look into the ethics/morals of capital punishment and give you a look at the Innocence project. We wrap by discussing your responses from Survey #1 as well as our own viewpoints on the subject.

Survey #2: After listening to these episodes, we’d like to hear if your insights or opinions have changed and how. https://forms.gle/Vjn48xzWgCWcJR8r8

Show Notes:

Trump v United States: Oral argument on the former president’s immunity claim: https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/trump-v-united-states-oral-argument-on-the-former-presidents-immunity-claim/640481

23-939 Trump v United States (7/1/2024) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf

Account of hearing between circa 3 and 9 June 1837 state of Ohio v Joseph Smith for threatening to take life: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/account-of-hearing-between-circa-3-and-9-june-1837-state-of-ohio-v-js-for-threatening-to-take-life/1#facts

Joseph, in the Elder’s Journal, discusses the Kirtland Bank and Warren Parrish and Grandison Newell’s charges against hi: https://bhroberts.org/records/5tcqZf-vSQSfc/joseph_in_the_elders_journal_discusses_the_kirtland_bank_and_warren_parrish_and_grandison_newells_charges_against_him

Orson Hyde, Life lessons learned: https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-3-no-2-2002/orson-hyde-life-lessons-learned

Danites: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/topic/danites

Danite Manifesto: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Danite_Manifesto

The Danite Constitution and Theories of Democratic Justice in Frontier America: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5074&context=byusq

Journal of Mormon History Vol 30, No. 2, 2004: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1043&context=mormonhistory

General Smith’s views of the powers and policy of the government of the United States circa 26 January - 7 February 1844: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/general-smiths-views-of-the-powers-and-policy-of-the-government-of-the-united-states-circa-26-january-7-february-1844/12#full-transcript

Journal of Mormon History Vol 33, No 1, 2007: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=mormonhistory

The Coming Storm: The murder of Jesse Thompson Hartley: https://user.xmission.com/~research/mormonpdf/storm.pdf

The wound the never healed: https://www.prestopreservation.com/uploads/5/2/5/3/52533793/morrisite_story_small.pdf

Official position on capital punishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/capital-punishment

The Movement to Abolish Capital Punishment in America 1787-1861: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1847110?read-now=1&seq=8

“Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caedite_eos._Novit_enim_Dominus_qui_sunt_eius.

The convict's visitor: or, Penitential offices, (in the ancient way of liturgy) consisting of prayers, lessons, and meditations; with suitable devotions before, and at the time of execution. : [Four lines from Luke] / By William Smith, A.M. Rector of Trinity Church in Newport: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=evans;cc=evans;rgn=main;view=text;idno=N18328.0001.001

Arguments for and against the death penalty

“Under sentence of death”: The movement to abolish capital punishment in Massachusetts: https://www.jstor.org/stable/366478?read-now=1&seq=7

The 2% death penalty: Press Release: https://www.jstor.org/stable/366478?read-now=1&seq=7

10 facts about the death penalty in the U.S.: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/07/19/10-facts-about-the-death-penalty-in-the-u-s/

The Death Penalty — Your questions answered: https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/the-death-penalty-your-questions-answered/

Death penalty issues: https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/Death_Penalty/Issues

10 reasons why the death penalty is wrong: https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/why-death-penalty-is-wrong/

Arguments for and against the death penalty: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/resources/high-school/about-the-death-penalty/arguments-for-and-against-the-death-penalty

Death penalty debate: https://www.britannica.com/procon/death-penalty-debate

John Brown:

John Brown: The First American to Hang for Treason: https://werehistory.org/john-brown/

John Brown (abolitionist): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)

John Brown a Biography: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/john-brown

A Look Back at John Brown: https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2011/spring/brown.html

Bleeding Kansas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas

Pottawatomie Massacre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottawatomie_massacre

John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown%27s_raid_on_Harpers_Ferry

John Brown’s Provisional Constitution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown%27s_Provisional_Constitution

The Rosenberg’s

Historical Federal Executions:

https://www.usmarshals.gov/who-we-are/history/historical-reading-room/historical-federal-executions

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg

Atom Spy Case/Rosenbergs: https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/atom-spy-caserosenbergs

The Rosenberg Trial: teacher handout: chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/trials/Rosenberg%20Teacher%20Handout.pdf

Espionage Act of 1917: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage_Act_of_1917

The Origins of the Espionage Act of 1917: Was Judge Learned Hand’s Understanding of the Act Defensible? By Geoffrey R Stone: chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=13818&context=journal_articles

Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918 (1917-1918):https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/espionage-act-of-1917-and-sedition-act-of-1918-1917-1918

The Espionage Act’s constitutional legacy: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-espionage-acts-constitutional-legacy

Hi-Fi Murders

Hi-Fi Murders: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-Fi_murders

How the Hi-Fi Murders changed life in Ogden: https://www.abc4.com/news/top-stories/how-the-hi-fi-murders-changed-life-in-ogden/

Innocence Project: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/policy/innocence

Public Officials and Advocates Respod to SCOTUS’ Decision to Overturn Richard Glossip’s Conviction: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/public-officials-and-advocates-respond-to-scotus-decision-to-overturn-richard-glossips-conviction

RIchard Glossip: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Glossip

Other appearances: Chris Shelton interviewed us in the beginning of a series on Mormonism: Speaking of Cults … Mormonism is a Compliance Culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCeW3jvP-RE&t=2973s

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