Insights Episode 11: What were the Voree Plates?
In 1845, former member of the Church James Strang claimed to have found ancient metal plates. What were the Voree Plates?...
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Insights Episode 12: Who were the Danites?
In 1838, in reaction to persecution, some members of the Church formed a vigilante group known as the Danites. Much has been made of this group in folklore and anti-LDS propaganda. What do we actually know about this group? ...
read moreInsights Episode 10: What were the Kinderhook Plates?
In 1843, six men claimed to have unearthed ancient metal plates from a burial mound. They were eventually brought to Joseph Smith. Critics have claimed Joseph was fooled by what was eventually revealed to be a fraud. What is the truth of this claim?...
read moreInsights Episode 9: Is the Spaulding Argument Valid?
Through the years, much has been made of the argument that a man by the name of Solomon Spaulding wrote a manuscript which was used by Joseph Smith as his source for the Book of Mormon. Is there any validity to these claims?...
read moreInsights Episode 8: What was the Cost of Being a Witness?
What price did the witnesses pay for being witnesses—and for never denying their testimonies of the Book of Mormon?...
read moreInsights Episode 7: Did the Witnesses Ever Deny their Testimonies?
Critics of the Church have claimed through the years that one or more of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon—and of the Gold Plates—eventually denied their testimonies. Is there any truth to these claims?...
read moreInsights Episode 6: Sidney Rigdon and the Witnesses
Sidney Rigdon was a fiery orator, a defender of the faith, and Joseph’s Smith’s right hand for many years, who also experienced shared revelations with the prophet. And yet, after the death of Joseph, he left the Church, founding one of his own. Who was this former minister from Ohio?...
read moreInsights Episode 5: Blessings of Kirtland
Some of the Church’s darkest hours happened in Kirtland, with financial failures and large-scale apostasy. But this was also one of the greatest periods in early Church history for outpourings of revelation and miracles....
read moreInsights Episode 4: Joseph Smith: Man, Prophet–or Both?
As an uneducated farm boy claiming to see God the Father, Jesus Christ, and various angels, Joseph Smith also claimed to translate an ancient record and receive modern revelation. Experiencing sorrow and failure as well as joy and success in his abbreviated life, he was eventually killed by a mob for his beliefs. Can someone be both very human and also a mouthpiece for God?...
read moreInsights Episode 3: David Whitmer, Witness
David Whitmer was one of the Three Witnesses, from a whole family of witnesses of the Gold Plates. Yet after falling out with Joseph Smith, David left the Church and never returned. But he also never denied his testimony of the Book of Mormon—and, in fact, emphatically repeated that witness countless times through the remainder of his life....
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