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🔗 Sources & More Material

Estimated time to read: 21 minutes

Primary Sources

I'll have links here to sites that I'm pretty confident are owned and maintained by the LDS church itself.

 

LDS sites

When I first load up and select the search bar, this popup appears:

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Collection Policy

The Church History Library collects materials by or about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members. These materials come from a wide spectrum of sources and represent numerous points of view. Users of the catalog should not assume that the Church or the Library endorses every item in the collection.

lol. lmao.

 

Joseph Smith Papers Project

As its inception, Official LDS Newsroom proudly announces:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced today the establishment of The Church Historian’s Press, a new imprint for publishing works related to the Church’s origin and growth.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/ is part of this domain. Both The Church Historian’s Press and Joseph Smith Papers appear to be legitimate, LDS leadership-owned sources of information.

JSPP has lots of cool documents, including an 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, and spicy notes on polygamous sealing

 

Deseret Management Corporation

Deseret Management Corporation (DMC) is a for-profit company affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

— Deseret Management, Careers

One could argue that "affiliated with" doesn't mean "owned by." Although, in the interest of simplicity, Deseret News outright stated that DMC is owned by the church, so... Take that how you choose to?

Go check out their page on "our companies."

 

Deseret Digital Media

Owns KSL and its subsidiaries

Owns Utah.com, tourism site

 

Deseret News

The Deseret News is a subsidiary of the Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

— About Us, Deseret News

 

So what?

Disregarding all the times I'd been assured that Deseret News / Book was not owned by the church, the idea that a religion has a for-profit branch doesn't sit well with me. I thought religions were meant to operate by donation? I've certainly been told this explicitly about the LDS church. I was told that with such confidence that I perpetuated that explanation while on a mission for the church.

Being owned by the church itself carries some heavy connotations. I'm not going to imply that every KSL article is screened & approved by the 12 apostles, nor that Utah.com's tourist excursions are somehow prophetic, but the connection is close enough for us common folk to read a level of complicity in what Deseret Book publishes. I don't presently know anything about their quality control process, but Deseret wouldn't publish things the Church would vehemently disagree with, would it? It's not an independent business, it's owned by the corporate office of the LDS Church.

 

Journal of Discourses

The official topic essays remind us that the Journal of Discourses is not an official publication, but it does have doctrinal teachings of early church leaders. The essay itself has lots of non-committal language, and seems to be trying to downplay the significance of the documents.

The Journal of Discourses is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a compilation of sermons and other materials from the early years of the Church, which were transcribed and then published. It included some doctrinal instruction but also practical teaching, some of which is speculative in nature and some of which is only of historical interest.

The content of the Journal of Discourses was transcribed, sometimes inaccurately, and published between 1854 and 1886 in England. The compilation contains some statements of doctrine as well as other materials of interest to Latter-day Saints who lived far from the center of the Church, including speeches given for a variety of occasions, funeral addresses, reports from returning missionaries, prayers, and the proceedings of a trial.

So... Philosophies of men mingled with scripture?

 

Questions have been raised about the accuracy of some transcriptions. Modern technology and processes were not available for verifying the accuracy of transcriptions, and some significant mistakes have been documented. The Journal of Discourses includes interesting and insightful teachings by early Church leaders; however, by itself it is not an authoritative source of Church doctrine.

And yet church leaders sure do like to quote it to establish ethos. More on that after a short ramble.

Please, point out the documented "significant mistakes." Where are they? If it isn't authoritative "by itself," what accompanying document makes it authoritative? Are they records of sustained prophets of God, or not? Do we have better documented sources of John Taylor's sermons?

 

This is like saying we stand by the Bible, but only as far as it's translated correctly. Church leadership has had 200 years to sit on this conundrum, and has yet to delineate what parts of the bible are inaccurate, and which are solid translations to hang your hat on. Same issue here with the Journal of Discourses. You can't pick and choose parts of it, and say that Brigham Young's uncomfortable sermons were "transcribed inaccurately". Get the fuck out of here with that.

But here we are, with the assurance that the Journal of Discourses exists and you could go find it if you wanted to. Some of it is legitimate, some of it is not, and there is no way for you to know which is which—so the church has plausible deniability when something uncomfortable get quoted. I've found three or four sites online that have JoD published, but elected to reference Byu’s scriptural library. BYU is both owned and funded by the LDS church's corporate office, so I feel pretty comfortable calling this a primary source.

 

Modern usage

The Journal of Discourses is a "primary source" (with air quotes) for Brigham Young's Teachings of the Presidents of the Church manual, just with some extra steps for obfuscation. More info in that link.

It's used plenty of times in General Conference, as well. Pop this query into your search engine of choice:

site:www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference journal of discourses

Alternatively, here's a link to Google if you're feeling lazy: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=site%3Awww.churchofjesuschrist.org%2Fstudy%2Fgeneral-conference+journal+of+discourses

 

Is Google a tool of the Devil meant to tarnish the LDS church? ... Well, it is a tool of the devil, but for different reasons. If you would prefer to trust the LDS church's official site instead, here's a link to that search query: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/search?facet=general-conference&lang=eng&page=1&query=%22journal+of+discourses%22

My point in all of this is that these journals have been used extensively as sources in general conferences. The presiding general authorities use it. I defy you to explain why I cannot use it as a source. You can't say it's unreliable only when it says something you're uncomfortable with.

 

Miracle of Forgiveness

Is this doctrinal? Kind of. Maybe. Only when it's convenient. Yes, it was written and published by a prophet of God and sold for filthy lucre profit, but the church will still try to weasel out of calling this book a source of foundational doctrine. You can find an archived text intended for accessible braille reading, if you'd like to read it for yourself.

I remember distinctly as an impressionable teenager confessing to my bishop the awful sin of having hormones (only one step away from being a serial killer!) and being advised to purchase and read this book to guilt me into changing my evil ways. My seminary teachers vouched for it. It got mentioned in General Conference. Cited in Sacrament Meeting talks. Used to supplement Sunday School lessons.

Count how many times that title appears in General Conference, in BYU speeches, in the Liahona, and then you look me in the eyes and tell me that it's a repudiated source.

I'd like to add more specific citations and endorsements here, but I will direct you to Mormonism Research Ministry's A Closer Look at Spencer W. Kimball’s the Miracle of Forgiveness, which features numerous quotes and endorsements by church leadership.

 

In the Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball manual is Chapter 4: The Miracle of Forgiveness. If you're accessing it via web, open up the Related Content menu to see the sources cited. I count twenty-two (22) citations of the 1969 publication from Bookcraft of President Kimball's book. I'll take this opportunity to remind you that those Teachings of the Presidents of the Church manuals were the primary source for lessons in the 2000's.

Wikipedia has an enumeration of the sins outlined in this book that you need to repent of, you filthy heathen. Have you ever been guilty of "lack of understanding?" Have you ever disobeyed your parents? Um... "fleshliness?" Well, you might as well be spitting in the face of God. The worst thing anyone can do in mortality is denying the Holy Ghost, ranked among things like "inhospitality."

Buy this book to amp up that guilt trip. Do it now.

 

Secondary Sources

Favorable sites

Apologetics is a fancy word for "speaking in defense," irrespective of context for religious claims. It isn't saying "sorry" for anything, but explaining a belief. These sites seem inclined toward promoting faith and shutting down harmful accusations.

  • fairlatterdaysaints.org: FAIR, Faithful Answers & Informed Responses, is an unofficial apologetics site; attempts to address difficult questions and controversies. Provides primary sources for problematic documents. Appears to be one of two de facto standard for defending The Truth ™️ from those evildoers; subjectively, FAIR feels targeted toward career-aged adults, leaving the young whippersnappers with...

  • scripturecentral.org: The other of what I'd call de facto apologetic sites. To me, subjectively, it feels more lively, colorful, interactive, and geared toward a demographic of teenagers or young adults. They've got videos and podcasts, including short-form videos for those with modern attention spans.

I've encountered the claim that both of these sites run independently of the LDS church. I've also encountered claims that writers for these sites are paid by the church, but I haven't dug very deep to verify either side of those claims. Maybe?

  • Ask Gramps: I don't think I'd call it an apologetic site, but certainly presents itself as favorable toward the LDS church. The content is organized by question and answers, presumably handled by the titular gramps. In my perusal, I don't see citations to back up the answers given, but the responses do align with what I was taught as a practicing Mormon. It sounds and feels familiar and approachable.

 

Critical sites

  • Utah Lighthouse Ministry, abbreviated to UTLM. Looks to be the official site of Jerald & Sandra Tanner, two notorious critics of the LDS church's truth claims.

  • LDS Discussions: Fantastic, well-researched dives into a variety of topics. Those pages are awfully long, so get comfy before reading.

  • CES Letter: An approachable list of concerns with LDS teachings, history, practices, etc. Sent to a Church Education System (CES) (1, 2) director seeking answers, thus the name. There's also plenty of material that claims to debunk the CES Letter.

  • Letter for my Wife: Feels very reminiscent of CES letter, but directed to a more familial audience. To me, it feels more approachable with the attitude of "I don't want these findings to harm our relationship." The site has a PDF, which I find easier to navigate than the site's pages.

  • Mormonism Research Ministry: Well-researched and cited examinations of doctrinal topics.

 

Honorable Mentions

 

Podcasts & Shows

Mormon.ish Podcast

I've picked up several one-off episodes from this show. Good stuff. I first encountered them in early 2024, and I appreciated that their assessments felt not-so-harsh. Like many things in the LDS faith, there's good to be found, but there's also some shady business going on behind the curtains.

I've begun listening to their playlist on the Gospel Topics Essays, but haven't gotten through all of them yet. Each installment is close to two hours long, and yet they're not exhaustive. I'd call them approachable, and satisfying one's want for commiserating after you've already settled on a conclusion. YMMV. 4/5 stars? Good stuff, give them a listen, and find some other areas of interest in their catalog.

Update in June 2025: This show has a nice backlog, and keeps making new episodes faster than I can get through my playlists. That's not a bad thing—I bring it up to preface this absolute goldmine in their episodes featuring Dr. John Lundwall. I'd really like to try and distill the information in that subseries here in my notes, but good god, those lengthy episodes add up to a duration of like fifteen hours. Lundwall describes how the Book of Mormon being contained in a book is a problem in itself, given our modern understanding of Ancient America's textual literacy. It really is a fascinating listen.

 

Mormon Stories Podcast

I think in mid-2018, when my shelf was creaking under the weight of unanswered questions, I saw a highway billboard in Salt Lake advertising the show. Not knowing much at the time, I found their webpage, and got intimidated by the click-bait style episode titles initially.

My experience with this show has been quite positive—at the time of writing this, they've got just under 1900 episodes. Many of them that I've listened to are exactly what the show's name implies—they're interviews with folks' experience in Mormonism, both in and out, both for and against. Between my wife and I, we've found Mormon Stories to be therapeutic, validating, and cathartic. I've inclined more toward their doctrinal episodes, particularly the subseries with LDS Discussions. Good stuff. Absolutely worth the time to dive in and listen to. There's something for everyone in their vast catalog of episodes, just search up some keywords.

 

John Larsen / Mormon Expression

Looks like this show formally ended in 2014. Larsen has been a semi-frequent guest on Mormon Stories. What I like most about Larsen is that he 'retires' more than once. His Mormon Expression show came to a close, and in Larsen's later episodes of hosting it, he comments something along the lines of "there's a great, big, beautiful world out there. Get out of here and enjoy it." I imagine myself having that same sentiment at some future point in my deconstruction. Mormonism is this never-ending, deep well of nonsense and shenanigans to marvel over. At some point, Larsen appears to have drawn the line, having said what he feels needs to have been said, and now focuses on gardening and homesteading. Good on you, buddy.

That is, until he comes back, as if to say "and one more thing...!" by appearing on John Dehlin's Mormon Stories show. Still with some hot takes and compelling insights. I like how Larsen will get really fired up over a given topic, but still has the emotional capacity to empathize with actively practicing LDS folks. Hearing this particular tirade really shaped my respect for him, where he becomes emotional while telling the audience to have compassion and patience with LDS folks. He has the sentiment of "they're trying their best, and legitimately believe something even if you don't." Shoutout to Larsen, he's a real keeper. He infrequently appears once in a while, and it's always a treat to listen to.

 

RFM / Mormon Discussion Inc.

Radio Free Mormon (RFM) is also a regular guest in John Dehlin's show. He's got lots of career experience in law, and offers critical insights into the church's history and current practices. I can only handle so much RFM at a given time, given the cadence and rhythm of his speech—to me, it's reminiscent of Captain Kirk's dramatic pauses amid sentences, making each statement sound like a sentence fragment. If you can look past that, or set your podcast player to x1.4 speed, he's still a great listen.

Bill Reel, also part of Mormonism Live (a show within Mormon Discussion?) is a former apologist. He hosts shows with RFM on a given topic, take some callers, and shares insights from his time serving in church leadership. I find that when Bill and RFM co-host a show, they are both more palatable, riffing off of each other with a nice balance of being goofy and informative. Good stuff.

 

Honorable Mentions

  • Alyssa Grenfell: Feels more like an introduction to Mormonism, highlighting weird cultural phenomenon and practices. I'll also plug for Alyssa's book, How to Leave the Mormon Church, since I bought a copy and liked it 👍
  • Carah Burrell, aka NuanceHoe: Spicy takes on Mormonism. Sometimes co-hosts with John Dehlin. Also runs her own show.
  • Data over Dogma: Two Dan's, two mics, one show. One Dan is a biblical scholar, and the other is a goofball. They examine biblical records from which modern translations are derived. Very insightful. For what it's worth, Dan McClellan is an active Mormon last I checked.
  • Drunk Mormon Podcast: An ex-Mormon shares the religion with a never-Mormon, which underscores just how absurd some of this sounds from the outside. Normally, the first half (or so) of each episode is describing and consuming an alcoholic drink. I fast forward through that part. Good stuff is once they're mildly inebriated.
  • Great and Spacious Podcast (GASP): The few episodes I've listened to felt like the four post-Mormon hosts were seeking their own catharsis by re-reading some scriptures while enjoying some alcohol. No shade—that's kind of what I'm doing here on this site, sans the expensive drinks. Search through their episodes for something that tickles your fancy, they've got lots of content.
  • Heaven's Helpline: A short series of six episodes, examining the suspiciously opaque church in America from the perspective of New Zealand. Documents a journalist who was unfamiliar with the LDS church, and each discovery was worse than the last. Great exploration of the Bishop's hotline for legal advice.
  • How-to Heretic: The first podcast I delved into amid deconstruction. Extraordinarily helpful in softening the blows of existential dread. Former Mormon folks evaluating Christianity at large, sharing some goofiness and laughs along the way.
  • Last Podcast on the Left: Mormonism: The show normally focuses on "true crime," and examining historical shenanigans. Their six-part examination of Mormonism is both informative and entertaining. They're not a religious criticism show, which I find adds to their gravitas—they're just some dorks with microphones who stumbled upon Mormonism, approached it without a lot of prior context or preconceived notions, and bantered about what they found.
  • MEGA: Clearly presented as a comedy satire of large churches. However. I queued up one of their episodes satirizing Mormonism, and forgot about it for weeks. Once my playlist reached it, I had forgotten the pretext that it was satire. It is, and it is very well performed.
  • Nemo the Mormon: Critical evaluation of the church, from "across the pond." Nemo is somewhere around Oxford England, has a delightful accent, and thoughtful insights. At the time of writing this, he's anticipating a "membership counsel" where the likely outcome is excommunication for speaking up against authority. (Update: he got ex'd. We'll hang out in perdition together!)
  • Not So Molly Mormon: Former Mormon women deconstructing beliefs. I am not a woman, so I'll occasionally check in on this show for another perspective.
  • Rameumptom Ruminations: At the time of writing, their last episode was October 2023. Approaches topics critically, but fairly. Feels more philosophical and introspective, without much harshness.
  • Secular Buddhism: My first intentional dive into another philosophy. Non-judgmental, approachable, and practical. This show is what helped me recreate the feelings of what Mormons call "the Spirit" while doing something mundane and non-spiritual. Unintentionally, this show contributed to my religious deconstruction, and I highly recommend it. Coincidentally hosted by a former Mormon, though that is scarcely the focus of this show.
  • Some Place Under Neith: Mormonism: In the same network as the Last Podcast on the Left, this show examines institutional prejudices and "true crime" stories that victimize women. In late 2024, they started looking into the LDS church, and as of Summer 2025, they're still on that kick. The religion is not their primary focus, but it looks like there's lots of content for them to go over.
  • Sunstone Mormon History Podcast: Lindsay Hansen Park and Bryan Buchanan do an excellent job of stepping through Mormonism's early days and history, sharing things in a more objective way; they're not tearing anyone's faith down, nor are they biasing it toward divine inspiration. Feels like "here are the journal entries and contemporary sources about what happened."
  • TheraminTrees: More somber and introspective. This is among the first channels I indulged in when deconstructing religion. He mentions Mormonism only a time or two in passing, and focuses more broadly on Christianity. These videos are long, but cathartic in their composed, collected calmness.
  • Was I in a Cult?: No one knowingly and willingly joins a cult. They get swept up in elevation emotion, rationalize how an organization demands more and more of them, until they reach a breaking point, and have a realization that this group is culty. This show interviews folks who have left culty MLM's, fitness clubs, acting classes, hippie refuges, and even religions.

 

Community

/r/exmormon subreddit: Pretty active hub for former Mormon folks to banter, vent, and interact. If you can believe that on reddit, of all places, folks can get fired up and have strong opinions.

They also have a Discord server. Bantering in their General Conference thread is my favorite way to participate in that semi-annual event.

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