CULTS! Well, one specifically. We start this episode with a brief rundown of Steven Hassan’s BITE model of cult mind control. We hone in on the element of “Information” control within the larger BITE model to discuss how important controlling information is to the longevity of any cult. That leads us into our longer segment where we finally begin our review of Saints: The Standard of Truth, the new authoritative history book of early Mormonism published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Part 1 discusses the early history of the Joseph Smith family, the supernatural visitations, the acquisition of the Gold Plates, and the authorship process of the Book of Mormon. Does this book cross the threshold of being New Mormon History, or is it simply a more sophisticated treatment of the same Old Mormon History? Yes, this segment is long, but mining mountains for minute morsels is a tedious task. We wrap with some happy news about repurposing defunct oil wells for green energy.
Show Notes:
Steven Hassan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Hassan
Robert Jay Lifton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jay_Lifton
Freedom of Mind Resource Center: https://freedomofmind.com/
BITE Model: https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model/
Books:
Combating Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults, by Steven Hassan
Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs, by Steven Hassan
Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves, by Steven Hassan
The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control, by Steven Hassan
Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of 'brainwashing' in China by Robert Jay Lifton
Saints links:
https://archive.org/details/originriseprogre00tuck/page/n39/mode/2up?q=beer
http://www.fullerconsideration.com/sources.php?cat=GP-T26
https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/august-2002/the-1826-trial-of-joseph-smith
http://www.mormonthink.com/witnessesweb.htm#harris
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/37b7b91c-4148-45d6-8f32-df4acf06fe99/0/7
https://www.jstor.org/stable/45225502?seq=12
https://archive.org/details/mormonismunvaile00howe/page/270/mode/2up?q=anthon
https://archive.org/details/LucysBook/page/n439/mode/2up
http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/sermons_talks_interviews/harrisinterviewtiffanysmonthly.htm
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1376&context=jbms
Happy news: Researchers successfully turn abandoned oil well into giant geothermal battery https://skymagzines.com/researchers-successfully-turn-abandoned-oil-well-into-giant-geothermal-battery/
Other Appearances:
Come see us on Aron Ra’s YouTube channel! He’s doing a series titled Reading Joseph’s Myth BoM. This link is for the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXJ4dsU0oGMKfJKvEMeRn5ebpAggkoVHf
Email: glassboxpodcast@gmail.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GlassBoxPod
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/glassboxpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlassBoxPod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glassboxpodcast/
Merch store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/exmoapparel/shop
Or find the merch store by clicking on “Store” here: https://glassboxpodcast.com/index.html
One time Paypal donation: bryceblankenagel@gmail.com
Who even is Lavina Fielding Anderson?! In this classic deep dive we examine the life of Lavina Fielding Anderson and her contributions to the Mormon academic field. Her story serves as a case study of how far individuals can pressure the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the inside before the institution’s immune system responds. She’s a powerhouse of a scholar, a pioneer in feminist Mormon studies, and an advocate for those who’ve survived ecclesiastical abuse. The Mormon Alliance was the organization Lavina formed with Janice Allred to collect and publish survivor’s stories and advocate on their behalf. Both suffered gruelling and abusive disciplinary processes for their advocacy attempting to reform Mormon practices and policies. History repeats itself and the timeline of Protect LDS Children and Sam Young was telegraphed by the experiences of Anderson, Allred, and the Mormon Alliance. We finish the episode with a review of Erin Brockovich and a happy environmental news item from Liverpool.
Correction: At about an hour and a half in, Shannon referenced Victor Frankl when she meant Elie Wiesel.
Show Notes:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/45228305?seq=10#metadata_info_tab_contents
https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/issues/130.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20120215064851/https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/pdf/092-65-79.pdf
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/issues/spring-1993/
https://web.archive.org/web/20080123061329/http://mormonalliance.org/casereports/casereports.htm
https://mormon-alliance.org/SiteMap.htm
https://mormon-alliance.org/definitions.htm
MOGP: Erin Brockovich: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195685/?ref_=tttr_tr_tt
Hinkley Groundwater Contamination: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinkley_groundwater_contamination
Erin Brockovich: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Brockovich
Happy news:
Other Appearances:
Come see us on Aron Ra’s YouTube channel! He’s doing a series titled Reading Joseph’s Myth BoM. This link is for the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXJ4dsU0oGMKfJKvEMeRn5ebpAggkoVHf
Email: glassboxpodcast@gmail.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GlassBoxPod
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/glassboxpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlassBoxPod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glassboxpodcast/
Merch store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/exmoapparel/shop
Or find the merch store by clicking on “Store” here: https://glassboxpodcast.com/index.html
One time Paypal donation: bryceblankenagel@gmail.com
It’s finally time for our long-awaited deep dive into New Mormon History. Put simply, NMH was a movement within the history department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to confront controversial history and turn away from the apologetic and polemical Old Mormon History. The leading figure, Leonard Arrington, was the right person for the job. But, he didn’t have the business chops to fight forces much larger than him in the form of Mark E. Petersen, Ezra Taft Benson, and Boyd K. Packer. The main segment is long as we chronicle the rise, fall, and resurrection of the New Mormon History movement and how the Joseph Smith Papers Project, as well as Saints: The Standard of Truth, are both the results of this movement pushing the church for academic legitimacy. In retrospect, Arrington is vindicated as an intellectual fighting for intellectual integrity while Packer spins in his grave. Then we discuss Finding Forrester as another example of the never-ending fight for academic honesty. We wrap with happy news of an invention set to tackle microplastics in our oceans.
New Mormon History:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mormon_history#CITEREFQuinn1992
https://www.jstor.org/stable/45228326?seq=19#metadata_info_tab_contents
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=mormonhistory
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/issues/fall-1983/
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/4836228f-48c3-447f-bcb9-9c2a35496898/0/56
https://www.librarything.com/work/7542838
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1724&context=byusq
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Morgan
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V09N01_36.pdf
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2055&context=byusq
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V16N03_11.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawn_M._Brodie
https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/034-32-37.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_R._Dyer
http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no115.htm
Extra thanks to Brian Buchanan for helping piece together the main segment. Find him here: https://www.benchmarkbooks.com/
https://sunstone.org/sunstone-history-podcast/
MOGP: Finding Forrester https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181536/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_lk
Where it is streaming: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/finding-forrester
Happy news: Princeton engineers developed new way to remove microplastics from water: https://scitechdaily.com/99-efficiency-princeton-engineers-have-developed-a-new-way-to-remove-microplastics-from-water/
Other Appearances:
Come see us on Aron Ra’s YouTube channel! He’s doing a series titled Reading Joseph’s Myth BoM. This link is for the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXJ4dsU0oGMKfJKvEMeRn5ebpAggkoVHf
Email: glassboxpodcast@gmail.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GlassBoxPod
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/glassboxpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlassBoxPod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glassboxpodcast/
Merch store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/exmoapparel/shop
Or find the merch store by clicking on “Store” here: https://glassboxpodcast.com/index.html
One time Paypal donation: bryceblankenagel@gmail.com
Education is a battleground for the hearts and minds of the future. The Church Education System of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded in 1980, but the history of education in Mormonism is far more complex. We do a deep dive into how the CES started and the sordid pasts of the various educational institutions attached to the Church at some point. There’s also a tangential deep dive into seminary and the legal sphere of “released time” classes carving out exemptions where religion can be taught in public schools. Then we discuss the modern battlefield of public education by reviewing the 2012 documentary, The Revisionaries, focused on public school text books and the fight at the Texas Board of Education. We round out with a quick overview of the best news of our lifetime, recommendations by the Jan 6th Committee to criminally indict the former POTUS for the violent insurrection at the federal capitol building in January 2021.
CES history links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Educational_System#cite_ref-E2014_3-2
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2184&context=etd&httpsredir=1&referer=
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church-education/about/ces-administration?lang=eng
https://www.mormonwiki.com/Church_Educational_System
https://mormonfaq.com/mormon-culture/about-education
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/the-founding-of-the-l-d-s-institutes-of-religion/
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED606970.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Mann
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_T._Kingsbury#cite_note-10
https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/8306/aaup-1915-declaration-of-principles
https://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/files/University%20of%20Utah%20-%20December%201915.pdf
http://ldspioneerarchitecture.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html
https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/EoM/id/5597
https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/435/everson-v-board-of-education
CES Purges:
https://www.deseret.com/1995/3/30/19167147/feminist-club-at-byu-loses-its-voice-for-now
https://universe.byu.edu/1996/03/14/voice-leader-chats/
https://universe.byu.edu/2001/06/01/feminist-voice-active-at-byu/
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2022/11/28/byu-i-instructors-fired-failing/
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/ecclesiastical-leader-questions-new-ces-hires
MOGP: Revisionaries (2012): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2091398/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1
FInd where it’s streaming: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-revisionaries
Happy news: Jan 6th committee filed report https://www.npr.org/2022/12/21/1144489935/january-6-committee-full-report-release
https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=23515535-jan-6-select-committee-final-r
Other Appearances:
Come see us on Aron Ra’s YouTube channel! He’s doing a series titled Reading Joseph’s Myth BoM. This link is for the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXJ4dsU0oGMKfJKvEMeRn5ebpAggkoVHf
Email: glassboxpodcast@gmail.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GlassBoxPod
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/glassboxpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlassBoxPod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glassboxpodcast/
Merch store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/exmoapparel/shop
Or find the merch store by clicking on “Store” here: https://glassboxpodcast.com/index.html
One time Paypal donation: bryceblankenagel@gmail.com