Mormon Stories Podcast

In Part Five of The Brigham Young Podcast series where we cover John Turner’s book Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, we sit down with John Turner to discuss Chapter Five, “Prophets and Pretenders,” and explore Brigham Young’s leadership during the final months in Nauvoo. 

We examine Young’s violent rhetoric, the growing tensions surrounding the Saints, and the infamous “Bogus Brigham” incident. We also explore the completion of the Nauvoo Temple and the development of the endowment, including how temple rituals evolved, what Joseph Smith may have passed on to Young, and how these practices shaped early Mormon theology. 

The conversation also considers the role of women in the developing theology of exaltation, the expansion of polygamy, and the ways priesthood authority and the doctrine of living prophets allowed Mormon teachings and practices to change. How did Brigham Young navigate the transition from Joseph Smith’s leadership, and what does this period reveal about the evolution of the Mormon endowment? 

Join us as we explore these questions with historian John Turner and take a closer look at one of the most consequential periods in early Mormon history.
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YouTube

At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  

Our overall mission is to: 
1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
⁠One-time or recurring donations⁠
⁠Patreon⁠
⁠Venmo ⁠
⁠PayPal ⁠

Our Platforms:
🌐⁠Mormon Stories Blog ⁠
🎙️⁠Patreon ⁠
✳️⁠Spotify⁠
🍎⁠Apple Podcasts⁠
🖼️⁠Instagram ⁠
📱⁠TikTok ⁠
🎮⁠Discord ⁠

Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

How do you tell your spouse you've lost your faith–and what comes next?

Today we sit down with Sophie Allen, a Mormon convert who found a sense of belonging and community in the LDS Church after a difficult childhood and becoming a single mother at a young age. Sophie embraced Mormonism and eventually married in the temple, hoping to build the kind of traditional family she hadn't experienced growing up.

But after years of being deeply committed to the church, questions about its teachings on LGBTQ+ issues led Sophie down a path of questioning that changed everything. As she began learning more about church history and exploring the ex-Mormon community, she eventually reached a point where she could no longer continue believing. She shares what it was like to tell her husband she had lost her faith, stop wearing her temple garments, and begin figuring out what life outside the church would look like.

Sophie and her husband also discuss the challenges and unexpected opportunities of navigating a mixed-faith marriage. They reflect on learning to respect each other's beliefs, finding new ways to connect, maintaining intimacy, and building a relationship that allows them to remain individuals without growing apart.

This is a conversation about faith, marriage, family, and what it takes to choose each other even when you no longer see the world in the same way.
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YouTube

At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  

Our overall mission is to: 
1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
⁠One-time or recurring donations⁠
⁠Patreon⁠
⁠Venmo ⁠
⁠PayPal ⁠

Our Platforms:
🌐⁠Mormon Stories Blog ⁠
🎙️⁠Patreon ⁠
✳️⁠Spotify⁠
🍎⁠Apple Podcasts⁠
🖼️⁠Instagram ⁠
📱⁠TikTok ⁠
🎮⁠Discord ⁠

Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

What happens when questioning your faith could cost you your identity, your community, your relationships, and your livelihood?

In this episode of Exvangelical Stories, Dr. Todd Phillips sits down with entrepreneur, speaker, and Great Men founder Shane Sams for the first full public telling of Shane’s deconstruction story.

Shane grew up Southern Baptist in small-town Kentucky and eventually became a successful entrepreneur speaking to thousands on major evangelical stages about faith, business, and building the Kingdom of God. But privately, he was beginning to question biblical inerrancy, evangelical certainty, religious shame, and whether the system he had spent years defending was actually true.

A turning point came after conversations with former Mormons in Utah. From there, Shane began reexamining Christianity, rewriting his talks, stepping away from evangelical speaking, and facing the financial, relational, and emotional cost of changing his beliefs.

He also shares what helped him rebuild: therapy, ketamine and psychedelic experiences, learning to live with uncertainty, rethinking Jesus outside traditional evangelicalism, and finding community with others going through religious deconstruction.

If you are questioning Christianity, leaving evangelicalism, deconstructing your faith, wrestling with biblical inerrancy, recovering from religious fear or shame, or wondering what life can look like after certainty, this conversation is for you.

CONNECT WITH SHANE SAMS

Great Men
A community for driven men navigating midlife, relationships, health, purpose, business, identity, and the challenges they were never meant to carry alone.
https://greatmen.org

Shane Sams on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@shanesams

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/shanesamscreates

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/shanesamscreates

CONNECT WITH DR. TODD PHILLIPS

Decon/Recon
Questioning Christianity can cost you the community you need most. Decon/Recon is a private, protected community for people who are done pretending, with honest conversation, live support, shared resources, and genuine connection without evangelizing, debating, pressure, or judgment.

Join Decon/Recon:
https://www.skool.com/deconrecon/about

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@drtoddphillips

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/drtoddphillips/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Drtoddphillips/

TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@drtoddphillips

Exvangelical Stories is produced in partnership with Mormon Stories and explores the real experiences of people whose lives were shaped by evangelical Christianity, what happened when they began questioning it, what deconstruction cost them, and how they are rebuilding afterward.
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YouTube

At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  

Our overall mission is to: 
1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
⁠One-time or recurring donations⁠
⁠Patreon⁠
⁠Venmo ⁠
⁠PayPal ⁠

Our Platforms:
🌐⁠Mormon Stories Blog ⁠
🎙️⁠Patreon ⁠
✳️⁠Spotify⁠
🍎⁠Apple Podcasts⁠
🖼️⁠Instagram ⁠
📱⁠TikTok ⁠
🎮⁠Discord ⁠

Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Today on Mormon Stories News, John Dehlin and Meggan Hayes investigate an unexpected LDS connection to Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos fraud scandal, plus a returned missionary’s sentencing, Ronald Rasband’s claims, modern polygamy, BYU controversies, Ted Bundy, gambling, and a Deseret Industries closure.

ELIZABETH HOLMES’ MORMON DEFENDER
Before Holmes was sentenced, her partner’s mother, Susan Evans, wrote to the judge in her defense, citing her LDS faith and BYU education.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23303975-elizabeth-holmes-supporting-documents/

RETURNED MISSIONARY SENTENCED
Krew Zaugg receives a sentence in an Idaho assault case involving a 15-year-old; the victim’s family speaks about harassment.
https://www.eastidahonews.com/2026/10/idaho-falls-man-who-sexually-assaulted-a-15-year-old-in-his-tesla-gets-a-rider/

RASBAND’S BIG CLAIMS
Ronald Rasband discusses missionary work and Church growth in a BYU devotional.
https://youtu.be/jzHI5-Gh2wc

AN OHIO PASTOR AND POLYGAMY
A pastor’s embrace of a second wife raises questions about religious justifications for plural marriage.
https://religionunplugged.com/news/2026/10/27/ohio-pastor-second-wife-embraces-polygamy

BYU FOOTBALL AND RELIGION
UCF is fined after anti-Mormon chants, while a Deseret News essay explores faith and football.
https://apnews.com/article/ucf-byu-fine-mormon-church-2cae3a9aa8e195e99175cb523d306bf6
https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2026/10/26/getting-off-the-rollercoaster/

TED BUNDY’S LDS CONNECTION
New DNA evidence connects Bundy, baptized LDS in 1975, to a Utah cold case.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-bundy-utah-teenager-cold-case-murder-dna/

BYU’S RELIGIOUS LIBERTY CONTRAST
BYU Law announces a religious liberty clinic amid disputes over Indigenous braids and Black students’ locs.
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/utah/utdce/2%3A2026cv00226/163094

KALSHI, GAMBLING AND BYU
Utah sues prediction-market company Kalshi; an advertisement allegedly filmed at BYU adds another dimension.
https://www.deseret.com/utah/2026/10/20/utah-sues-kalshi-prediction-market-sports-betting-online-gambling/

PRESTON DESERET INDUSTRIES CLOSES
The Church plans to close its Preston, Idaho, location after 48 years, citing facility and investment concerns.
https://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/preston-s-deseret-industries-to-close-after-48-years/article_695aeac5-63ee-4550-8d07-834e89c21327.html

Join John and Meggan for reporting and discussion of the week’s Mormon news.
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Show Notes
YouTube

At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  

Our overall mission is to: 
1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
⁠One-time or recurring donations⁠
⁠Patreon⁠
⁠Venmo ⁠
⁠PayPal ⁠

Our Platforms:
🌐⁠Mormon Stories Blog ⁠
🎙️⁠Patreon ⁠
✳️⁠Spotify⁠
🍎⁠Apple Podcasts⁠
🖼️⁠Instagram ⁠
📱⁠TikTok ⁠
🎮⁠Discord ⁠

Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

In Episode 86 of LDS Discussions on Mormon Stories, we examine historical accounts of Joseph Smith’s treasure-digging activities and the reported use of animal sacrifice in attempts to locate buried treasure. From roosters and black sheep to black dogs and white sheep, these accounts raise questions about the folk magic practices associated with Joseph Smith and the people who participated in treasure seeking in the early 19th century. 

We begin with the account of Abner Cole and explore reported connections to Luman Walters, a magician and conjurer who was said to have influenced Joseph Smith’s treasure-seeking activities. We then examine accounts from William Stafford, Hiel Lewis, and others, including reports of animal sacrifices intended to appease supernatural beings and keep treasure from disappearing. We also discuss the historical context of peepers, treasure digging, and the idea that certain words, circles, and ceremonies were necessary to locate hidden treasure. 

The discussion also explores interviews collected by Frederick Mather, reports involving the earth of Oliver Harper, and additional accounts attributed to Alfred Trumble, Emily Austin, Ellen Dickinson, and Nan Hill Stratton. We consider whether Joseph Smith sincerely believed in his ability to find treasure and how these stories fit into the broader history of early Mormonism. 

We also discuss parallels between animal sacrifice in folk magic and sacrificial imagery in Christianity, along with the importance of examining historical figures within the full context of their lives. 

A note on historical claims: This episode brings together accounts of animal sacrifice associated with Joseph Smith and early treasure digging. Our goal is to collect and discuss these claims in one place, not to independently establish the accuracy of every account. 
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Show Notes
YouTube

At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  

Our overall mission is to: 
1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
⁠One-time or recurring donations⁠
⁠Patreon⁠
⁠Venmo ⁠
⁠PayPal ⁠

Our Platforms:
🌐⁠Mormon Stories Blog ⁠
🎙️⁠Patreon ⁠
✳️⁠Spotify⁠
🍎⁠Apple Podcasts⁠
🖼️⁠Instagram ⁠
📱⁠TikTok ⁠
🎮⁠Discord ⁠

Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117