Glass Box Podcast

Continuing our media episodes, this time we’re taking aim at Mormon movies! Specific Mormon movies though! Movies made by Mormons for the purpose of gaining converts. These are just a small handful of the movies that missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints show in the homes of investigators in order to teach certain aspects of doctrine or articles of Mormon faith. After that we wrap with some good news that's HUGE in the realm of climate and green energy!   Show Notes:    Hard to FInd Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@HardtoFindMormonVideos/videos    Vincenzo Di Francesca: https://archive.org/details/improvementera7105unse/page/n8/mode/1up    Happy News:  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/in-a-first-wind-and-solar-generated-more-power-than-coal-in-u-s/    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=PLXJ4dsU0oGMKf

Just as the title states! After two motherlode history episodes, we’re doing an all media episode! Shannon walks us through the history of feminist literature from the earliest surviving scraps of parchment to a recent 2022 best-seller about women turning into dragons! Join us to learn about everything in between! After that we discuss a dam removal project that’s showing great promise as an environmental remediation project. Show notes:    https://phys.org/news/2023-06-shattering-myth-men-hunters-women.html    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protofeminism  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_movement    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_literature https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_feminist_literature    Sappho:  https://www.charlottemuseum.co.nz/post/who-was-sappho  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sappho    Giovanni Boccaccio:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Mulieribus_Claris     Christine de Pisan:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_de_Pizan  https://en.wikipedia.org/w

The conclusion of the Missouri-Mormon war of 1838! Two events which are incredibly infamous in Mormon history, the Haun’s Mill Massacre, and the Liberty Jail stint, feature throughout this episode. But we discuss the context that led to the circumstances and the criminal proceedings that resulted from the war once Joseph Smith and the Mormons had surrendered. While certain figures are vilified for turning against the prophet, we spend a bit more time with those individuals to see what they had to say for themselves. The section ends with the Mormon resettlement in Quincy, Illinois and Joseph escaping prison to live the rest of his days a fugitive of murder, arson, robbery, larceny, and treason. Then we wrap with some good news about consumption, or TB!   Show notes:  https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-from-thomas-b-marsh-15-february-1838/2 https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835/95 https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-12-

This episode is basically a standalone Saints episode! Why? You may ask. Because the book covers a massive and controversial time of early Mormonism, when Joseph Smith incited a civil war and lost. We compare the Saints book to the documents of the time and see how it shakes out with the following issues: excommunications of Oliver Cowdery, David and John Whitmer, and William W. Phelps, land disputes, The Salt Sermon, the Danites, the Army of Israel, the July 4th Oration, the Gallatin election day brawl, the siege of De Witt, the Mormon depredations and raiding of militia supply depots and stealing a cannon, the Battle of Crooked River, David W. Patten (Captian Fearnought) and his glorious blaze, Thomas B. Marsh and milk strippings, and the Mormon Extermination Order, along with some of the militia movements along the way. There’s more to the story but that’s a little teaser for this reading of Saints: The Standard of Truth, the official history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then we wr

Happy PRIDE month, y’all! The main segment for today breaks down the history of the Children’s Primary Program and its first president, Louie “Ma” Felt and her lifelong partner, May Anderson. Then we discuss a sex scandal in the form of a gay witch hunt in the 1890s spearheaded by Rudger Clawson. The case is far more complicated than first blush would indicate and it serves as a case study for how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has always had fucked up priorities when it comes to sex, gender, and relationships. After that we talk about To Won Foo, Thanks for Everything, a drag queen movie featuring Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes. Then we wrap with a story from Uruguay about proper use for N*zi memorabilia.   Show notes:    https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/f8f0d3d6-8a5d-405a-b8b1-049808d50452/0/40 http://www.connellodonovan.com/abom.html#BM34 http://www.connellodonovan.com/hunsaker.html https://lattergaystories.org/   MOGP:  To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Juli

Another installment of cult mind control and Saints: The Standard of Truth! We start with discussing Thought control in Hassan’s BITE model of undue influence. That springs us into the period of 1836-1838 of early Mormon history from the church’s new “history” book. The Kirtland Safety Society, the uprising of Warren Parrish, a heist in Salem, Fanny Alger, so many controversies it’s hard to keep them all straight! Speaking of not keeping things straight, happy PRIDE month! Our happy news covers a LGBTQIAP+ play that was shut down by bigots but made a triumphant return in spite of the bigots!   Saints Links: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letterbook-2/69 https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/account-of-hearing-between-circa-3-and-9-june-1837-state-of-ohio-v-js-for-threatening-to-take-life/1    Live hangout 6/12 at 6 p.m. Mountain Time!!! Find it on the Naked Mormonism YouTube channel: youtube.com/@bryceblankenagel7707/streams   Happy News: https://webcache.googleusercon

The Plan of Salvation, Plan of Happiness, MORMON HEAVEN! We take a look at the doctrine and teachings compared to the text of Doctrine & Covenants 76. This revelation was given in the early years of Joseph Smith’s religious movement and the theology evolved significantly over time. Rusty’s heaven looks a bit different. After that we chat about Noah, a unique take on the Biblical flood story. We wrap with talking about a superhero compendium book!   Happy News: https://www.them.us/story/the-dc-book-of-pride-jadzia-axelrod-interview    Other Appearances:    Check out Joseph Smith vs Joseph’s Myth, where Aron and Bryce discuss the Joseph Smith story: https://youtu.be/oD2Xhg6F-Js   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://

Behavior control from Steven Hassan’s BITE model of cult mind control. We discuss how Mormonism controls our behavior today and historically. That leads us into our next installment of Saints: The Standard of Truth review. The book covers 1832-1836 from the tarring and feathering of Joseph Smith to the Kirtland Temple Dedication ceremony. Then we wrap with some happy news about organizations fighting against book bans in schools and public libraries!   Show Notes:    Steven Hassan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Hassan  Freedom of Mind Resource Center: https://freedomofmind.com/  BITE Model: https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model/    What to Know About the Psychology of Cults:   https://www.onlinepsychologydegree.info/what-to-know-about-the-psychology-of-cults/    Happy News:  https://www.bklynlibrary.org/books-unbanned https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/freedomreadstatement   Mormon, Magic and Psychedelic Symposium in SLC 5/20/2023!!! https://www.eventbrite

EXMO LEX WahOOOOO!!! We finally find a proper excuse to invite Exmo Lex onto the show to discuss ExMormon tiktok and social media. She shares a bit of her story and experiences online while discussing the future of Mormon-related social media. After that we chat about a whole bunch of media in aggregate for Media of Great Price segment. We wrap the show with some happy news about innovation in the space of battery-density and how it bodes well for slowing climate change.   Happy News:  https://thedriven.io/2023/04/21/worlds-largest-battery-maker-announces-major-breakthrough-in-battery-density/   Mormon, Magic and Psychedelic Symposium in SLC 5/20/2023!!! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/symposium-on-the-psychedelic-history-of-mormonism-tickets-622985204517?aff=ebdssbdestsearch   Other Appearances:    Mormons on Mushrooms: https://www.mormonsonmushrooms.com/podcast/episode/7dc1c6bf/roughly-stoned-bryce-blankenagel-part-1-naked-mormonism-the-glass-box   Check out Joseph Smith vs Joseph’s Myth, whe

Yes, it’s that time of year again. We discuss General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in granular detail. Every single talk, every slur, every logical fallacy, all contained herewith. Enjoy! If you can, that is.   Other Appearances:    Mormons on Mushrooms: https://www.mormonsonmushrooms.com/podcast/episode/7dc1c6bf/roughly-stoned-bryce-blankenagel-part-1-naked-mormonism-the-glass-box   Check out Joseph Smith vs Joseph’s Myth, where Aron and Bryce discuss the Joseph Smith story: https://youtu.be/oD2Xhg6F-Js   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 st

With a new year under the control of Revision Rusty M. Nailz we have a new Temple Endowment for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! What’s new? What’s not new?! Why did they make the changes?!?! We dive deep into the new endowment with comparisons from older versions to see what’s slipped through the cracks about the new Mormon ritual. After that we review a movie with another secret combination as its center, Angels and Demons, based on the Dan Brown novel. Then we wrap with happy news about the Bible possibly being banned in Utah public schools.   Happy news: https://www.standard.net/news/education/2023/mar/24/davis-county-critic-seeks-bible-ban-in-swipe-at-utah-school-library-policy/ https://www.davis.k12.ut.us/academics/library/library   Other Appearances:    Check out Joseph Smith vs Joseph’s Myth, where Aron and Bryce discuss the Joseph Smith story: https://youtu.be/oD2Xhg6F-Js   Come see us on Aron Ra’s YouTube channel! He’s doing a series titled Reading Joseph’s Myth BoM. T

Next on the block is the “Emotion” component of Steven Hassan’s BITE model of cult mind control. This launches us into the next installment of Saints: The Standard of Truth, covering the visionary era of the early Mormon movement and the move from New York to Ohio. Sidney Rigdon and Parley P. Pratt are introduced, as are the Partridge family, including 7 and 11 year-old Emily and Eliza. The book casually introduces the subject of polygamy, presumably to smooth over the subject in the coming chapters when the practice becomes more controversial and widespread. We end the segment discussing Ezra Booth and his expose letters after he was excommunicated from the church for speaking out against Joseph Smith. The episode ends with some good news from Minnesota about transgender health care!   Show Notes:    6 Highly Effective Tactics Cult leaders Use to Build a Raving Audience:    https://bettermarketing.pub/6-highly-effective-tactics-cult-leaders-use-to-build-a-raving-audience-ff3111c4bbf3  Steven Hassan

This is kind of an unusual episode. Shannon’s still in recovery so Bryce is making a solo run for better or worse (definitely the latter). We run through the stories of some early African-American members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their stories are remarkable, their struggles real, their histories vague but inspiring. We try to place their stories within the larger context of slavery in Utah and what life might have been like at the time. Thank you to Century of Black Mormons project at the University of Utah for creating a wonderful resource with biographies of these historical figures. After that, we go through the 2000 movie, Remember the Titans (mighty, mighty, ti-tans!) and discuss how this football movie isn’t really a football movie at all, but a movie about racism. Then we wrap with happy news about the recent SEC filing which charged the Mormon church with hiding assets and unfair investment practices.   Show Notes:  Century of Black Mormons https://exhibits.lib.utah

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:   

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. 

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 h

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_E

Guess what! This is the end of our deep dive into The Millennial Messiah, by Bruce R McConkie! It’s party time!  We go over the last 4 chapters and then discuss our conclusion. Then, we will watch the 2010 movie Legion, with a mormon lens because it works WAY too well with that. Then we’ll finish off the episode with some good news about a BYU protest!   MOGP: Legion (2010) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1038686/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3  FInd where it’s streaming: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/legion    Happy News:  https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/12/stanford-marching-band-mocks-byu-gay-wedding-skit-football-game/   Other Appearances:    LIVE SHOW! Mon, Dec 26, 2022 — We will talk about media. All things media — books, movies, music, etc.    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

What even is the Law of Consecration?! Well it’s a covenant that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make during the temple endowment ceremony, but what actually is it? We go through a deep dive of the Law of Consecration, discuss a bit of its history, and pontificate about it’s impact and possible future use in Mormon culture today. After that we review Gate to Women’s Country by Sheri S. Tepper, a wonderful dystopian fantasy novel with some hard-hitting social commentary we interpret through a Mormon lens. We round out the episode by congratulating LeVar Burton receiving long-deserved recognition. Patrons: we debrief/deconstruct the recent debate between Bryce and a certain litigious individual. Show Notes:   All Things are the Lord’s: The Law of Consecration in the Doctrine and Covenants by Steven Harper https://rsc.byu.edu/doctrine-covenants-revelations-context/all-things-are-lords-law-consecration-doctrine-covenants List of codenames in D&C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lis

Our long-awaited deep-dive deconstruction of Adam-God Doctrine, or theory, depending on who you ask. What is it? Who taught it? Why is it controversial? How is it treated by the corporate Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today? ‘As we are, god once was, as god is we may someday become’ is a tried-and-true Mormon doctrine and the Adam-Eve-Gods Doctrine fits perfectly within this logical loop. As the title of the doctrine alludes to, Heavenly Father took the form of Adam with one of his wives, Heavenly Mother Eve, to create and populate the earth, after which he went to Adam-ondi-Ahman, in Missouri, where he ascended back to godhood to continue his charge from Elohim to create worlds without end. Then we dive into the nearly-final segment of Bruce R. McConkie’s Millennial Messiah. McCranky loves the idea of fire burning the sinners and his charged language justifies the physical suffering and burning of anybody who isn’t Mormon or living its dictates. Further, when Jesus returns to reign in the mille