World History: A Gospel Perspective

My own likely clumsy attempt, despite my best efforts, to begin to scratch the surface of the history of Christ's life--its significance and impact on all of world history, and on so much more than that.

Beware the Ides of March! This is the story of how whatever true remnants of democracy that were still alive in the Roman Republic were fully purged away. Listen to the episode--come, see, and conquer its knowledge for yourself. (I know...a bit of a stretch, but hey. Gotta have a Caesar quote somewhere here!)

The first half of Roman history--the story of a Republic, its successes, and its failrues. Elder Oaks has taught much about what we can do to secure our own democracies today--tune in to learn more!

Sorry for the delay...but here you go. Might have been better to separate it out into three episodes...but it didn't seem right. Welcome to the special triple feature for this podcast--the Ancient Americas, featuring the Book of Mormon.

The Kingdom of Kush--one of the many vibrant, accomplished civilizations in African history--has a story that won't fit neatly into just "one" box. Listen to discover the history your teachers--if they were like mine, at least--never taught you.

What does it look like when an emperor is actually compassionate when they lead their people? Tune in and learn about Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka of India to find out!

Perhaps one of the major world religions Latter-Day Saints could afford to learn from the most! I hope you guys enjoy learning about Buddhism as much as I do.

Enter Alexander the Great...a story complete with war elephants, an after party that burned a town down, and the tantalizing lead-up to some of the events *just* prior to the Savior's birth.

A brief overview of Greece's Golden Age--with a focus on Socrates, and the side of him you may *not* have learned in school.

How democracy began (with several asterisks!!). Find out why Greek homes were locked from the outside and why childhood in Sparta was an oxymoron.

From the ancient world's most insane thrill seekers to merchants who made it to the big time by mashing up snails, we take a closer look at the beginnings of civilization in the Greek peninsula and its surroundings.

A brief overview of perhaps one of the most foundational periods of Chinese history, with an introduction and commentary of China's three key belief systems from this time. Important sources: https://www.taskeasy.com/company/newsroom/taskeasy-cares/taskeasy-cares-voa https://kslnewsradio.com/1963225/help-the-homeless-in-utah-by-shattering-myths/

Hinduism comes to the stage! And we look at some of the perhaps overlooked commonalities between Latter-Day Saints and Hindus that we can celebrate. Study about zip codes (leads to a number of other helpful links): https://www.bluezones.com/2020/02/zip-code-effect-your-neighborhood-determines-your-lifespan/#:~:text=Overall%2C%20any%20two%20census%20tracts,families%2C%20communities%2C%20and%20workplaces.

Ever wonder how Joseph and Moses of Egypt fit in to Egyptian history? Here I'll share with you what we know. Some further reading about Moses: https://www.equip.org/articles/making-a-case-for-the-historicity-of-moses/

There were other people besides the Jews who believed in a creation, fall, and eventual redemption of mankind--get ready to learn about this beautiful ancient Persian faith, Zoroastrianism!

A tale of two civilizations, both featured heavily in the Bible, but both featured VERY differently.

Both were conquerors and both were mentioned in the Bible--but they leave *very* different legacies. Race and the Priesthood https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng

You would be surprised to hear just how similar Ancient China was to Book of Mormon peoples! Tune in to learn more! Easy way to share this podcast with your friends--give them this URL! https://sites.google.com/view/whgp/home

How advanced were the Harrapan people? Actually, probably more advanced than us in several respects. Tune in to find out! The show's website (share with friends!): https://sites.google.com/view/whgp/home One source about sanitation in this civilization: https://humanprogress.org/centers-of-progress-pt-3-mohenjo-daro-2/

A brief look at some of the Egyptian religious practices of unique interest to Latter-Day Saints. Sources https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Osiris , Sauneron, S. (2000). The priests of Ancient Egypt. (D. Lorton, Trans.) Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. (Original work published 1957) Budge, E. A.W. (1960). The Book of the Dead. (Originally published 1895). New York, NY: Gramercy https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2848&context=byusq&httpsredir=1&referer= (BYU excavation) https://youtu.be/8u0l13wX57E?si=FIm3UVmmXOYdJ9IT (Jeff Roundy's video)

A brief overview of Mesopotamian history, from its rival city states, the reign of Sargon, and to the early Babylonian Empire.

You would be surprised at how good cavepeople had it. Funny how modern revelation seems to have so much support about healthy living from what we know of this era. Join me as we take a closer look at this Old Stone Age from perhaps a different light than you are used to. Some helpful sources for further learning: https://www.history.com/news/going-paleo-what-prehistoric-man-actually-ate https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/farmers-have-less-leisure-time-than-hunter-gatherers-study-suggests https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9829664/ https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/eternal-marriage-student-manual/equality-of-men-and-women?lang=eng#title1

War, plagues, crime, corruption in politics--it can all be traced back to the Neolithic Revolution. Was the invention of systematic agriculture the worst mistake ever? What can the gospel teach us about how we navigate these challenges?

Let's unpack the very full, sometimes scary can of worms that is the topic of evolution--and see if we can defuse much of the very uneeded contention that surrounds the issue. Want to learn more about the basic science behind evolution? Visit this link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6428117/ A very helpful resource from the church: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/organic-evolution?lang=eng#title1

Get to know the basics about World History: A Gospel Perspective!