On September 22, 1827--202 years ago (+ 2 days at the time of writing this because I'm a procrastinator)--Joseph Smith Jr. took the golden plates from their hiding place to be translated by the power of God.

On September 22, 1827--202 years ago (+ 2 days at the time of writing this because I'm a procrastinator)--Joseph Smith Jr. took the golden plates from their hiding place to be translated by the power of God.
So there is this podcast that I absolutely love listening to. It called Timesuck by comedian, Dan Cummins. He discusses conspiracy theories, true crime, the paranormal, etc. from a more logical stand point than most others. I have been a loyal Timesuck fan for several months now. Yesterday, Dan Cummins released an episode all about “Mormonism.” Since I happen to have some expertise in this field, with writing an entire book and all, I took notes and decided to give it my honest review, and add a few historical corrections or further explanations.
Overall, I think Cummins did such an amazing job and I really appreciate all his hard work and research! I always feel like Dan Cummins puts a lot of time and energy into each episode so we get the best information. I am not a “sanitizer” of church history (as Dan referred to some of the Church apologists) so I am not offended at all with his presentations. Although, some listeners who are members of the church may find it difficult to listen too. Cummins states that he believes most Mormons misunderstand some of their own doctrine. I think he could be right to some degree, depending on how much effort that member puts into increasing their knowledge on the subject. I think that is a big reason why so many people eventually leave; because of the “sanitizers,” or the people who choose to hide the history. Then once the truth does come to light, people feel betrayed. That is not what I’m about so Dan’s well-researched and unbiased podcast episode was appreciated. But of course, there are some things I need to clarify or further explain since it is pretty much my job. (:
Again, I think Dan Cummins did a fantastic job overall but there are just a few historical errors or further explanations that I wanted to add. I have been a huge fan of Dan Cummins work and comedy since I was in high school (I listened to him on Pandora before seminary everyday, believe it or not!). I am a loyal fan of his podcast so I feel honored to have the opportunity to write this review.
Links to sources:
Evidence for the BOM (using a source you even quoted in the podcast): https://bookofmormoncentral.org/blog/five-compelling-archeological-evidences-for-the-book-of-mormon
Book of Mormon original manuscript: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/book-of-mormon-manuscript-excerpt-circa-june-1829-1-nephi-22b-318a/2 (some of it was destroyed after years of wear and tear but what’s left is on display here)
Reformed Egyptian Characters legitimacy:
Further research on Joseph Smith:
https://www.josephsmithpapers.org
No, I'm not blissfully just ignorant. Yes, I do experience "cognitive dissonance"--a phrase that so many who have left the church despise. No, it's not just that the Kool-Aid tastes that good (yes, somebody has asked me this exact question before).
POSSIBLY TMI BUT HOPEFULLY UPLIFTING STORY AHEAD:
This was taken the night we found out we were expecting 🤰! We made this shirt and ran over to all three sets of parents to make the announcement immediately. We are so thrilled for obvious reasons (BABY…duh!👶) but there is a lot more to those smiles than meets the eye. When we first got married, we wanted to wait to start a family and therefore weren’t trying. However, two months later—on our honeymoon 🏖 to be exact—something happened. I started experiencing interesting symptoms and I was about 10 DAYS LATE! 😬 On our first day in Florida I took the very first pregnancy test I had ever taken. I didn’t read the instructions because I thought “is there a wrong way to pee on a stick?” Turns out, yes there is. The test came up “invalid,” which I assumed (BECAUSE I DIDN’T READ THE DIRECTIONS) meant I wasn’t pregnant 🍼. We continued our trip despite these continued symptoms. Eventually, I started what I thought was my cycle, but it was very different and a little concerning. To avoid spoiling the honeymoon, I waited until we got home to see the doctor. Since I had waited so long to be tested by the doctor, they couldn’t officially confirm for sure but they believed that an early miscarriage was a likely explanation for my symptoms. We were shocked 😳 and confused 🤷♀️. After praying about it, we felt it was time to start trying. This was January 2016. We were excited to start this new chapter and hopefully soon receive great news. It really seemed promising. I started getting nauseous all the time, exhausted constantly, couldn’t keep anything down…textbook pregnancy symptoms. But I wasn’t pregnant. I was sick. 🤢 VERY SICK. It was a time of major darkness, sadness, confusion. Not only did we wonder if I would ever be healthy enough to take care of a baby or even get pregnant, sometimes we even wondered if I would live to see the next few months. We looked into adoption and foster care, but nothing felt right yet and being sick would still be an issue even with those options. We decided to put our trust in God and His timing. If it was meant to be, it would be…in God’s time. After 2.5 years of awful pain and anguish, doctors, hospitals, tests, procedures, restless nights, and a chemical pregnancy (basically another miscarriage, google it if you want)…my illnesses finally started getting a little better. And better, and better. Then summer of 2018 rolled around. I went to the doctor and he said it was time for Dalyn and I to be tested for fertility issues. We reluctantly agreed. We wanted answers but figured the answers wouldn’t be great. We were starting to think that maybe we were meant to be one of those couples who never has kids. We had to wait until my next cycle started for my fertility test so we were just waiting patiently for that. Instead, I was experiencing what I thought was a flare up. I was nauseous, exhausted, emotional…textbook flare symptoms. I was talking to my mother-in-law about it and I found her demeanor to be very odd this time.❓She kept asking strangely specific questions that night like, “are you able to sit in the hot tub 🛁 with us tonight?,” “why do you think you’re so tired 💤 recently?,” “next time you go to Disneyland, will you be able to ride all the rides?”🎢 I could tell it was her sneaky, more polite way of asking me if I was pregnant. Recently I asked her about it and she said she could “just tell.” I was supposed to start my cycle that day so while it was possible, I was sure it was not the case. On the drive home from that family get-together though, I told Dalyn, “I swear your mom thinks I’m pregnant..” then I jokingly said, “maybe she’s right, should I take a test?” 🤣 He laughed but insisted that we don’t get our hopes up and wait for my cycle to start. Then I said, “nahh, I’m gonna take a test.” So when we got home, I peed on another stick—the correct way this time (I had taken a lot more tests by this point so I was a pro but I still read the directions EVERY TIME). We kept talking while waiting for the allotted time to pass and completely expected the usual negative result. I randomly glanced down and saw two very prominent pink lines. That couldn’t be right. Long story short, I took about four more tests from several different brands. All read “positive.” ➕ No more tests, doctors, procedures needed…not for this at least. Fast forward 🔜 to today: I am almost 34 weeks along which means we will be meeting our sweet boy 👦 in about 6-7ish weeks. He is healthy and strong. 💪 My pregnancy is considered ‘extremely low-risk’ and my chronic illness 🤒 symptoms are almost completely gone (“almost” is the key word here, but I’ll take it!). I like to think about this in relation to when Joseph Smith was praying in the Sacred Grove. 🌳 Just before God showed up, there was intense darkness and he was seized upon by the adversary in a way that was literally incapacitating. He wrote that he was about to give up his soul to “eternal despair,” similar to how we thought we might not ever have a normal life or have kids…that’s when God shows up with the light. We all know how it feels to spend what feels like eternity in dark times. BUT! The light ALWAYS. COMES. It really does. Whether it takes a few moments, days, or even years…God always brings the light. That doesn’t mean darkness won’t come back or that it won’t be extremely difficult. However, the light always comes in the end. Just keep trusting. Keep going. Trust in God. Literal “POSITIVE”-ity ➕ is coming, even if (like us) you got exactly what you hoped and dreamed for…or if you got positive blessings that were not in your original plan (for us, that probably would have been adoption/foster care/etc.). Heavenly Father is there and has a perfect plan. I promise! Don’t believe me? Ask Him yourself. 💕
WORST DATE I EVER WENT ON STORYTIME: He looked at me across the dinner table with a straight face and said, “you’d be so much prettier with blue eyes.” 👀 My whole life I wished I had light eyes. I always thought I would stand out ✨ more with light eyes. It was weird to be called out on an insecurity I already had. Oddly, I wasn’t offended though, just in shock.😱 And I knew there wouldn’t be a second date, obviously…even though *throwing some shade here* he did ask for one (I know. I ALSO thought “what the heck dude?!”)🙄 The other day, I got curious and started playing around with photoshop. I even edited my eye color on pictures of me with both hair colors I’ve done in my life. Is it weird for me to believe his opinion was actually WRONG? (No, I’m not asking for YOUR opinion…please don’t give it to me).
As we go into this new year, with hopes of a new sense of self, can we please try not to impress OTHER people with our bodies, workout routines, financial status, relationships, followers, or anything of the sort…and focus instead on keeping ourselves happy/healthy? Now I can look at these pictures and say to myself, “Wow! I love the way Heavenly Father made me, and that makes me happy.” I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a bit ashamed that it took me this long to feel that way, though. Learn from me on this one! Whether it’s your appearance, body type, health (or even the lack thereof), relationship status, sexuality, etc. Heavenly Father made you, and He never makes mistakes. No, I’m not saying that I think I’m some hot chick that has no insecurities. However, I think if I had let that comment from 4-ish years ago get me down, I may have tried to change myself in ways that wouldn’t actually make ME happy.
I’m sad to say that I had to edit my eye color in photoshop before I realized it but…I’m happy with brown eyes! Also, I would later learn after meeting my husband, that he apparently always ‘preferred’ brown eyes anyways. That’s an opinion that matters to me, but even then, how I feel about myself is the most important. One of my favorite sayings goes as follows, “The people who mind, don’t matter. The people who matter, don’t mind.” Surround yourself with love this next year. & love yourself, too. 💕
If you have been following me for a while, or read my blog, you know that my favorite scripture is in D&C121-122. When God tells the Prophet Joseph Smith, “ My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.” I have to admit that the first time this scripture really resonated with me about 4.5 years ago, I assumed “small moment” really meant “SMALL MOMENT” but apparently Heavenly Father and I have different definitions of the phrase. Here I am, years later, and this “small moment” just seems to continue. Yes, there are always happy times, but overall life is hard! I just expected “small moment” to be much…I don’t know…SMALLER.
Anyway, I was thinking about it the other day and thought about this part in the next chapter: “…know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.“
When you apply for a new job, you’re more likely to be hired if you have A LOT of experience in that field. In fact, sometimes if you have little to no experience, the employers won’t even glance at your application. Heavenly Father has big plans for you, which include BIG assignments and ‘jobs’ that He needs you (AND ONLY YOU) to accomplish.
My mom has an interesting passage written in her Patriarchal Blessing that has really proven to be true in her life, it says something along the lines of “you will experience trials so you can help those who eventually have to go through similar things.” Her trials are unique, especially for a member of the church.
She has been married in the temple, then divorced, that sealing was cancelled, and now she is remarried in the temple to her new husband of 8 years. She has a son who identifies with the LGBTQ+ community. She was also a witness in a murder trial that took about seven years to finally end, she is the sole reason this evil killer was found and put behind bars for the rest of his life. All of these situations are rare and difficult occurrences, especially for those in the church.
However, my mom has had the opportunity to help dozens of people because of her ‘work experience.’ She has helped a few women out of hard, abusive relationships (no my dad is not at all abusive, my parents were just a disaster couple lol but her experience helped other women in disastrous marriages of all sorts realize they could do perfectly fine without their husbands, that’s all I’m saying!). She has helped bring to light a better understanding of what it is like to be a LGBT Mormon, or to have a friend/relative going through it. She has saved several lives with her self-defense classes that she has taught for over 20 years.
Even though she likely didn’t ‘apply’ for these jobs and trials, Heavenly Father gave her the job training required to qualify for what He needed her to do. Heavenly Father is training you for His plan, designed specially for you and you only. If it feels much longer than a “small moment,” then your job must be more important than you could ever imagine. “Hold on thy way…for God shall be with you forever and ever.” 💜
This is Martin Harris. Most Latter Day Saints remember him as the man sorta responsible for the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon. Because of that, he doesn’t always have the best reputation. The truth is, though, he was loved so dearly by Joseph Smith and his family, regardless of his mistake. Martin Harris defended the church and Joseph Smith several times, even sometimes under oath in a court of law, against his own wife. Joseph Smith spoke so many times about his love for Martin and God’s love for Martin as well. I know so many people who believe they are no longer worth living or even worthy of God’s love because of something they’ve done, the way they think and question things, struggling with their testimony in the past/present, being LGBTQ+, or literally ANY OTHER REASON. That’s just not true. Seriously, it’s not. You are so loved, especially by your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. NO MATTER WHAT. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING will ever make you or any other person immune to God’s love. Please know that. If you take nothing else from any of my posts/books/blogs/etc. Please know this at least: God’s love is infinite, eternal, and unconditional. SERIOUSLY! 💕 I promise. 🤝 I’ve felt it, and you can too. Just trust Him. 🙏 You can learn more about Martin Harris’ story in my book “1,001 Facts about the Prophet Joseph Smith” in my bio if you want.