The title says it all, this is 2018 in review! 2018 was an eventful year for the Mormon church and we review some of the most important headlines with the help of an astute redditor. Be sure to read the post at the link below! After that Braden tells us about the new Pixar movie, Small Foot. Then we take on a happy headline about the cost of coal energy vs. renewable sources.

Reddit post

https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/aa0ii7/2018_year_in_review_a_look_back_at_tsccs_year/

Light of Gazalem

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/its-now-cheaper-to-build-a-new-wind-farm-than-to-keep-a-coal-plant-running/?ftag=COS-05-10aaa0h&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=5bf0114b00bd4700016eb39a&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2XKE4MO6ldUM7JugS2lhLzT4dV1fV-rrerWpmE0y6x4osJRNW762RY0H8

What do current membership numbers of the Mormon church reveal about overall trends in membership? Is the dip in membership due to the secularization of America, or are Mormons leaving religion at a higher rate than the baseline? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is lying about its membership numbers. Why? After that, Braden tells us about Holy Hell, a documentary about a cult leader…. Apropos, right? Then we talk about a toy maker who’s making Christmas better for thousands of people out of the goodness of their hearts.

Church Membership Numbers:

http://cumorah.com/index.php?target=view_other_articles&story_id=590&cat_id=35

http://cumorah.com/index.php?target=view_other_articles&story_id=610&cat_id=35

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-number-of-americans-with-no-religious-affiliation-is-rising/

https://kutv.com/news/local/losing-their-religion-millennials-including-utahns-leaving-church

http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=2886596&itype=NGPSID

http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/utah-population/

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/12/09/salt-lake-county-is-now/

Light of Gazalem:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2018/12/11/this-toy-factory-is-run-by-volunteers-who-give-away-all-toys-free/?noredirect=on&utm_source=reddit.com&utm_term=.0ea961b44f46

https://www.mormon.org/christmas/giving-machines

From the September Six to Bill Reel, we go through a highlight reel of some of the more prominent excommunications by the Mormon church. The takeaway? If you speak out publicly against the leadership, even if the criticism is true, it’s only a matter of time before you’re on the chopping block. After that Braden tells us about the new Leah Remini series “Scientology: The Aftermath”. We wrap up with Patagonia taking climate change seriously and actually doing something about it.

Excommunication links
http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=3791111&itype=CMSID

http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=2163720&itype=CMSID

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Kelly_(feminist)

http://mormon-alliance.org/about.htm

http://www.lds-mormon.com/whytemplechanges.shtml

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1991/11/news-of-the-church/statement-on-symposia?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/04/alternate-voices?lang=eng

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunstone_(magazine)

https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/19/us/mormons-penalize-dissident-members.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKjASwbutsE

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/476161/SCHOLAR-REBAPTIZED-INTO-LDS-CHURCH.html

http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=58060420&itype=CMSID

https://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=35648

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Alliance

http://signaturebookslibrary.org/840/

Light of Gazalem

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-28/patagonia-donates-10-million-trump-tax-savings-to-green-groups?srnd=premium

Show links:

Website http://www.glassboxpodcast.com/index.html

Find us on Facebook and Twitter @Glass Box Podcast

Cody Noconi joins us to discuss drugs in early Mormonism. We get into the recent developments with Prop 2 in Utah (medical cannabis bill) and the Mormon church’s baseless opposition to it. Voting = democracy, but Utah never was a true democracy.

How to find Cody:

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/psilly-rabbits-podcast/e/52487120?autoplay=true

Show links:

Website http://www.glassboxpodcast.com/index.html

Find us on Facebook and Twitter @Glass Box Podcast