PODCAST · religion
Mormonism LIVE !
by Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon
A live streaming online audio program hosted by Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon as they share thoughts and insights on current happenings, historical issues, and theological inconsistencies within Mormonism.
Episodes
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FAIRMormon Conference Dissection! Part 1
Bill Reel and RFM take a look at the recent FAIRMormon apologetic conference that took place last August. The amazing thing is that Mormon apologetics isn’t getting better with age. If anything, Mormon apologetics is getting worse. And that’s saying something! It’s like they’re not just trying to...
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The Lost Apostles: Why Half of Mormonism’s Original Twelve Left
What happened to the apostles who helped build early Mormonism—and then walked away? When the original Quorum of the Twelve was organized in 1835, these men were not fringe figures. They preached the gospel, served missions, worked directly with Joseph Smith, participated in the movement’s...
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John Dehlin Joins Mormonism Live!: LDS Church vs. Mormon Stories — Who’s Telling the Truth?
Tonight on Mormonism LIVE, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon are joined by special guest John Dehlin for an exhaustive examination of the LDS Church’s lawsuit against Mormon Stories. Instead of arguing about the case in the abstract, we take 30 specific claims made by the Church and its attorneys…
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Ex-Mormon The Musical
On this episode of Mormonism Live, we sit down with Rachelle and John Moyer, the creators behind “Ex-Mormon: The Musical,” to talk about how the project came together, what inspired the songs, and why music can be such a powerful way to process faith, identity, loss, humor, and life after...
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Heresy Hunters On Planet Provo!
Elder Bruce R. McConkie gave one of his most famous talks in history in 1980 named “The Seven Deadly Heresies.” RFM and Bill Reel break down this talk, exposing not only what Elder McConkie says, but why he says it; together with the things Elder McConkie doesn’t say at all! This one you won’t…
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How Did Joseph Smith Know All This?
Tonight on Mormonism Live, we examine a recurring pattern in Joseph Smith’s prophetic career: when he encountered something mysterious, incomplete, inaccessible, or simply unknown, he rarely seemed content to say, “I don’t know.” Instead, he supplied an answer—and often an extraordinarily…
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Native American Legends in BOM!
RFM and Bill Reel are joined by Dr. Thomas Murphy to discuss what the presence of Native American myths, individuals, and stories in the Book of Mormon means. Are these evidence the Book of Mormon is true? Or do they give us an insight into some of the creative grist Joseph was using to compile…
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Mormonism’s Zelph – The White Lamanite
In June 1834, while marching with Zion’s Camp through Illinois, Joseph Smith and his followers came across an ancient Native American burial mound. Members of the group dug into the mound and uncovered a human skeleton—with what appeared to be an arrowhead among its ribs. According to multiple...
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Find Out What REALLY Happened At Sunstone 2026!
RFM and Bill Reel host an august panel of Sunstone Symposium presenters and attendees, as they tell us fun and fascinating stories about what goes on behind the scenes of Sunstone! Join us! Mormon Studies were never so much fun!
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Zion’s Camp: Turning Failure Into Faith
What if one of the most important events in early Mormon history never actually accomplished what it set out to do? In 1834, Joseph Smith organized nearly 200 armed men and led them almost 900 miles across the American frontier with one stated objective: redeem Zion and restore the Saints to…
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Mormon Endowment’s Earliest Historical Form !
What did the Nauvoo Temple endowment look like in its earliest form? In this episode of Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon examine one of the earliest published firsthand accounts of the Nauvoo Temple ceremony: Catherine Lewis’s 1848 narrative. Written only a few years after the…
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Black Mormons Speak Out!
RFM and Bill Reel are joined by a special panel of Black Mormons and ex-Mormons in this important episode. What is it like experiencing Mormonism through the lens of race? Especially when that race paints you as a second class citizen? Are discriminatory practices and beliefs about Black people a...
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Obviously a 19th Century Production!
We have shown in a prior podcast that the Book of Mormon answers all the important religious disputes of Joseph Smith’s day. In this episode we demonstrate that the Book of Mormon uses the language and expressions of other early 19th Century authors to do so! Using only publications from prior to...
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Joseph Smith’s Polygamy with Jeremy Hoop
For decades, the historical consensus has been that Joseph Smith introduced and practiced plural marriage in Nauvoo. But a small group of researchers has argued for a very different conclusion: that Joseph Smith was not the founder of Mormon polygamy and that the historical evidence has been...
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The William Clayton Journals – What’s In Them?
Tonight on Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon take a deep dive into one of the most talked-about Mormon history stories in recent memory: the recent leaking of the William Clayton journals. For years, the full Clayton journals have been a source of speculation, controversy, and...
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When Was the Book of Mormon Created?
Does the Book of Mormon fit better in the ancient world or in early nineteenth century America when it was created? Defenders of the book point to a handful of twisted and strained comparisons to the ancient world to make their case. Bill and RFM, on the other hand, demonstrate conclusively that...
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The Forensic Autopsy of Mormon Apologetics
What if the most revealing thing about Mormon apologetics isn’t the evidence being presented… but the behavioral patterns behind the arguments? Tonight on Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon sit down with Dawn McCarty who works in Forensic Criminology behavioral analysis. Can forensic...
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LDS Church Membership Tanks!
The Mormon Church keeps telling us it is growing. And not only is it growing, they say it is growing faster than it has ever grown in history! And yet faithful Mormon researcher Jeff Strong says the LDS Church has lost 40 % of its active membership in the last twenty-five years. How will the……
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Joseph Smith’s 1832 First Vision: Excised with a Penknife & Hidden Away?
Tonight on Mormonism Live we tackle one of the most controversial and uncomfortable documents in LDS history: Joseph Smith’s 1832 First Vision account. Not the polished 1838 version members know from the Pearl of Great Price. Not the story that has been repeated in manuals and General Conference...
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Podcaster Meggan Hayes (Generally Unquotable) Joins the Show!
Bill Reel and RFM are joined this week by Meggan Hayes, host of the “Generally Unquotable” podcast, which features a news report on things Mormon every weekday morning! How does Meggan do it? Where does she get her stories? What are the biggest stories she has covered? These are just some of the...
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Moroni As A Treasure Guardian
Tonight on Mormonism Live, we explore one of the most uncomfortable and fascinating questions in early Mormon history: Was Moroni originally understood through the same treasure-digging framework Joseph Smith had already been practicing for years? Long before the Book of Mormon was published,...
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Mormonism’s Mountain Meadows Massacre
Tonight, one of the darkest chapters in Mormon history—the Mountain Meadows Massacre. This isn’t a surface-level retelling. We walk through what led up to it, how it unfolded, and what happened afterward… and we let the historical record speak for itself. We examine the environment in southern…
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World Renowned Bible Expert Weighs In!
Mormons have turned to the Bible to prove their beliefs are true ever since the inception of the LDS Church. But are the Mormons getting the Bible right? World renowned Bible expert and prolific author Bart Ehrman joins us to get down to the bottom of the issue, and to help us answer the…
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Apostles Say The Darndest Things!
Join Bill Reel and RFM as we cue up the most scintillating and awe-inspiring moments from the April 2026 General Conference! You are sure to have a good time!
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History of Mormonism’s “Word of Wisdom” Health Code
In this episode of Mormonism Live, we walk through the full evolution of the Word of Wisdom—from its origin in 1833 to how it functions today as a requirement for temple worthiness. We start in Kirtland, where the School of the Prophets was filled with tobacco smoke, chewing, and spitting—and…
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Bruce R. McConkie Lays Down The Law
A confrontation of historic proportions happened forty-five years ago; a confrontation between an LDS apostle and a BYU professor; between Elder Bruce R. McConkie and Professor Eugene England. The subject was the nature of God. But the ramifications were more far-reaching than that. Join Bill…
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Lamanite to Self: A Native Reckoning with Mormonism
In this episode of Mormonism Live, we sit down with Ember, a Native American and former Latter-day Saint, to explore a side of Mormonism that often goes overlooked – the lived experience of Native Americans inside the Church. For many Indigenous members, Mormon doctrine didn’t just offer a...
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Sam Young: Protector of Mormon Children!
Sam Young is the legend who did amazing things almost a decade ago to protect children in the Mormon Church. Of course, the Mormon Church didn’t appreciate Sam’s efforts to protect the children, so they excommunicated him. This is Sam’s story! And for the first time, Sam will speak publicly about...
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The LDS Label Machine
Why Do People Leave the LDS Church? In this episode of Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon examine a topic that has been discussed inside Mormonism for nearly two centuries: why do people leave the Church? From early sermons by Brigham Young to modern General Conference addresses,...
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Book of Mormon DNA
Tonight on Mormonism Live, we tackle one of the most persistent and uncomfortable questions in modern Mormon scholarship: What does DNA actually say about the Book of Mormon? Our guest is Dr. Thomas W. Murphy, anthropologist, award-winning scholar, and author of Unsettling Scripture: Iroquois and...
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The Don Juan of Nauvoo
In this episode, we step into one of the most provocative and uncomfortable chapters ever written about Joseph Smith — “The Don Juan of Nauvoo,” from Dr. W. Wyl’s 1886 exposé. These are not modern critics looking backward with hindsight. These are men and women living in Utah in the late 1800s —...
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Joseph Smith & Fanny Alger: Barely Scraping By
Was Joseph Smith’s relationship with Fanny Alger an early plural marriage, a sexless sealing, or a scandalous sexual affair? Long before Nauvoo polygamy, secret sealings, or theological justifications, there was Fanny Alger; a teenage girl living in Joseph and Emma Smith’s home in Kirtland, Ohio....
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Mormonism’s God Revolution
Did Joseph Smith’s understanding of God come through divine revelation — or did it evolve alongside his education? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we examine one of the most important and least discussed developments in early Mormon history: the dramatic shift in Joseph Smith’s theology of the...
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Does Prophetic Fallibility Solve the LDS Problem?
The LDS Church teaches that its top leaders are prophets, seers, and revelators; men who speak for God and whose guidance deserves trust, obedience, and moral authority. When serious problems arise in Church history, doctrine, or policy, the most common explanation offered is simple: prophets are...
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The 2025 Brodie Awards Ceremony
Mormonism Live is honored to host the 2025 Brodie Awards, an annual event dedicated to recognizing excellence, courage, insight, and impact in the world of Mormon-related scholarship, commentary, media, and creative work. Named after historian Fawn M. Brodie, the Brodie Awards exist to spotlight...
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Interview with Joseph Smiths Father
We dig into one of the lesser-known but deeply revealing historical sources from early Mormonism: the Fayette Lapham interview with Joseph Smith Sr. Lapham’s account places Joseph Smith’s father in conversation about the earliest days of the movement — before the Church had polished narratives,...
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2025 Mormon Newscast Year in Review
Join us on New Year’s Eve for a special episode of Mormonism Live. We’ll look back at the biggest Mormon news stories of the year from The Mormon Newscast and reveal the Top 5 stories you voted for. We’ll also dig into a few late-breaking developments, including the passing of Elder Holland....
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A Radio Free Mormon Christmas Eve !
Join us this Christmas Eve for the Third Annual Radio Free Mormon Christmas Eve Party. RFM will be joined by over Mormon influencers from the Mormon and post-Mormon space, and maybe even a few surprises! Get stocked up on eggnog and gingerbread cookies! Stay up with RFM and watch the stars come...
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David Whitmer: Book of Mormon Witness Examined!
David Whitmer is one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, but his life after Mormonism raises some of the most challenging questions anyone serious about truth claims has to wrestle with. He broke with Joseph Smith. He rejected Brigham Young. He condemned polygamy, secret combinations…
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Mormonism Live 5th Anniversary !!!
Tonight on Mormonism Live we celebrate the 5th anniversary of Mormonism Live. 5 years of in depth dives into Mormon History. 5 Years of examining the theology of the LDS Church, 5 years of current events. All on a weekly live show designed to entertain you! It’s our 5th Anniversary special, and...
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Oliver Cowdery: Book of Mormon Witness
Oliver Cowdery was more than Joseph Smith’s scribe. Oliver was a co-founder of the Mormon movement, a visionary of sacred experiences with Heavenly Messengers, and one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon’s golden plates as well as an angel. But what happens when that witness walks away?…
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Will A Man Rob Adam God?
In this follow-up to “To Catch a Thief,” Radio Free Mormon and Bill Reel return with a deeper, wider investigation into the claims and credibility of Ward Radio’s Jonah Barnes. Last time, we showed clear evidence that Barnes lifted Eldon Watson’s Adam-God research and passed it off as his own.…
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Mormon Bishop Leaves LDS Church !
In this episode, we break down the story of a Latter-day Saint Bishop who when he was currently serving when he officially stepped away from the Mormon Church. We’ll walk through what led to his decision, what he saw behind the curtain as a leader, and how the gap between the Church’s public...
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Mormonism’s Adam God Doctrine Never Existed ?
Mormonism Live’s Bill Reel & RFM dive deep into a recent claim by Ward Radio that the so-called “Adam God Doctrine” never existed. They sift through the documentary history, the original speeches, journal entries, and the commentary of leading Mormon scholars to see if the claim holds up. Did the...
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What Do The Dead Sea Scrolls Mean For The Book of Mormon?
This week on Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon sit down with researcher Kolby Reddish for a fascinating deep dive into the Dead Sea Scrolls and what they reveal about the Book of Mormon’s ancient claims. Kolby walks us through the history of the Scrolls, what they actually contain,...
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Martin Harris: Book of Mormon Witness Credibility Examined
Everyone knows Martin Harris as one of the Three Witnesses. But few know how strange, conflicted, and revealing his story really is. Was he a man of unwavering faith in the Truth… or a man chasing every new revelation that came along? In this episode of Mormonism Live, we dig into the real Martin...
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Brigham Young: Matchmaker to the Stars
Lee Krahenbuhl returns to Mormonism Live for a fascinating deep dive into some of the strangest and most unusual aspects of Mormon history. Discover the surprising connections between Brigham Young, matchmaking traditions, spirit messages from Joseph Smith, and the most famous magician of the…
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Sarah Steed: Unmasking Mormonism
Tonight on Mormonism Live, Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon sit down with writer and blogger Sarah Steed, whose essays contain sharp insight, poetic honesty, and unflinching critique of LDS culture. Sarah’s work dives deep into the unspoken layers of Mormon life—gender, perfectionism, obedience…
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The Preparatory Path of LDS Prophet Dallin H. Oaks
In this special episode, we take a in-depth look at the life and ministry of Elder Dallin H. Oaks, who stands next in line to become President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Few leaders have been as controversial —from his time as President of BYU to decades in the Quorum of…...
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The Reed Smoot Hearings: When Mormon Prophets Tell The Truth
Mormonism Live uncovers the explosive history of the Reed Smoot Hearings (1904–1907)—a time when Mormon leaders, including President Joseph F. Smith, were forced to testify under oath before the United States Senate. What happens when prophets, seers, and revelators can no longer hide behind the...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A live streaming online audio program hosted by Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon as they share thoughts and insights on current happenings, historical issues, and theological inconsistencies within Mormonism.
HOSTED BY
Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Mormonism LIVE ! have?
Mormonism LIVE ! currently has 307 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Mormonism LIVE ! about?
A live streaming online audio program hosted by Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon as they share thoughts and insights on current happenings, historical issues, and theological inconsistencies within Mormonism.
How often does Mormonism LIVE ! release new episodes?
Mormonism LIVE ! publishes regularly with 307 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Mormonism LIVE !?
You can listen to Mormonism LIVE ! on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Mormonism LIVE !?
Mormonism LIVE ! is created and hosted by Bill Reel and Radio Free Mormon.
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