AuthorCast
Authorcast #128: Blake T. Ostler, Exploring Mormon Thought, Vol 4 God's Plan to Heal Evil November 05 2020
Show description: In this episode, we talk with Blake T. Oster about Exploring Mormon Thought, Vol 4: God's Plan to Heal Evil. We begin by giving an overview of the first three volumes in the Exploring Mormon Thought series, then move into the fourth volume, discussing the problem of evil. Blake gives us an overview of the problem, solutions proposed by Christian theologians throughout the centuries, and what Latter-day Saint teachings add to the discussion.
Exploring Mormon Thought, Vol 4: God's Plan to Heal Evil is available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook.
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Authorcast #127: Samantha Richardson, Miracles Among the Rubble September 16 2020
Show description: In this episode, we talk with Samantha Richardson, co-editor of Miracles Among the Rubble, by Carol R. Gray. Samantha is the second of Carol Gray’s seven children and accompanied he rmother on her first humanitarian aid trips to Bosnia in 1992–93. We discuss Samantha's personal experiences and memories of her humanitarian convoys to former Yugoslavia as well as her mother's legacy and how this book came about. This is a heartfelt and insipring discussion on faith and courage that you won't want to miss.
Miracles Among the Rubble is available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook.
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Authorcast #126: Oliver Olney, Nauvoo's Dissident Mormon Prophet June 12 2020
Show description: In this Kofford Lecture Series livestream event, we will be talking with Richard G. Moore about Oliver H. Olney, a little-known figure in Mormon history. Despite his falling out from the Church, and subsequent excommunication, Oliver remained part of the Nauvoo community, writing down the events he witnessed and publishing booklet criticisms against church leadership and "spiritual wifery." Additionally, Oliver claimed to receive his own visions, revelations, and other-worldly visitations. Oliver Olney's writings are not only entertaining (and bizarre), but also informative for historians of the Nauvoo period.
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The Writings of Oliver H. Olney: April 1842 to February 1843 — Nauvoo, Illinois “Such a rare collection of documents . . . is crucial to gain an understanding of Nauvoo during the time of Joseph Smith.” —Steven L. Shields |
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Authorcast #125: Michael Austin, Revisting Re-reading Job May 29 2020
Show description: Michael Austin, author of Re-Reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World's Greatest Poem, discusses common misperceptions about the story of Job, how it fits into the Persian poetry tradition, what the story was trying to teach, and how we can relate the story to our modern times.
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Re-reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World's Greatest Poem “Austin’s focus on the big picture serves as a helpful introduction to deeper study of Job.” — Jason Kerr, Studies in the Bible and Antiquity |
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Authorcast #124: Richard Moore, editor of The Writings of Oliver H. Olney May 21 2020
Show description: In this episode, we chat with Richard G. Moore, editor of The Writings of Oliver H. Olney: April 1842 to February 1843—Nauvoo, Illinois. We discuss this lesser-known figure in Mormon history and what makes him important to the Nauvoo era, his falling out with church leadership, his own reports of visions and revelations, and some of the bigger takeaways from his writings.
Authorcast #123: Neylan McBaine, Women at Church at Home May 15 2020
Show description: Neylan McBaine discusses progress towards greater visibility and voice for women in the LDS Church since the publication of Women at Church in 2014, the effects of the pandemic and "house church" on women, and recent research published by BYU regarding women's voices in predominantly male group settings.
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Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women's Local Impact “Helps LDS women have broader impact, less frustration and a fuller personification of the expansive LDS doctrine of women’s potential.” — Wendy Ulrich, Mormon Times |
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Authorcast #122: Kofford Lecture Series - Charles R. Harrell and the Development of Mormon Theology, Part 4 May 01 2020
Show description: Part 4 of our lecture series with Charles R. Harrell, author of This is My Doctrine: The Development of Mormon Theology. In this final installment, we discuss the developing theology of premortal existence within Mormonism examining early Christian and Second Great Awakening thought and Joseph Smith's teachings of spirit creation and spirit birth.
Part 1 - What is Doctrine?
Part 2 - Joseph Smith and Restoration
Part 3 - The Godhead
Part 4 - Premortal Existence
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This is My Doctrine: The Development of Mormon Theology “Succeeds in providing a non-apologetic yet sympathetic interpretation of Mormon doctrine, warts and all.” —James McLachlan, Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Western Carolina University |
Now available through Spotify!
Authorcast #121: Kofford Lecture Series - Charles R. Harrell and the Development of Mormon Theology, Part 3 April 24 2020
Show description: Part 3 of our lecture series with Charles R. Harrell, author of This is My Doctrine: The Development of Mormon Theology. In this installment, we discuss the developing theology of Godhead within Mormonism examining shifts through Joseph Smith's scriptural output as well as later developments in Utah under Brigham Young.
Part 1 - What is Doctrine?
Part 2 - Joseph Smith and Restoration
Part 3 - The Godhead
Part 4 - Premortal Existence
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This is My Doctrine: The Development of Mormon Theology “Succeeds in providing a non-apologetic yet sympathetic interpretation of Mormon doctrine, warts and all.” —James McLachlan, Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Western Carolina University |
Now available through Spotify!
Authorcast #120: Kofford Lecture Series - Charles R. Harrell and the Development of Mormon Theology, Part 2 April 17 2020
Show description: Part 2 of our lecture series with Charles R. Harrell, author of This is My Doctrine: The Development of Mormon Theology. In this installment, we discuss Joseph Smith's theology of restoration, examine the use of restoration in the Old and New Testaments, and compare how restoration was understood among evangelical, Universalist, and Christian Primitivist movements during the Second Great Awakening.
Part 1 - What is Doctrine?
Part 2 - Joseph Smith and Restoration
Part 3 - The Godhead
Part 4 - Premortal Existence
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This is My Doctrine: The Development of Mormon Theology “Succeeds in providing a non-apologetic yet sympathetic interpretation of Mormon doctrine, warts and all.” —James McLachlan, Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Western Carolina University |
Now available through Spotify!
Authorcast #119: Kofford Lecture Series - Charles R. Harrell and the Development of Mormon Theology, Part 1 April 10 2020
Show description: Coming to you via Facebook Live! We are pleased to bring you a lecture series with Charles R. Harrell, author of This is My Doctrine: The Development of Mormon Theology. In this four-part live series, we'll be discussing the nature of doctrine as well as Joseph Smith's theology of restoration, the Godhead, and premortal existence.
Part 1 - What is Doctrine?
Part 2 - Joseph Smith and Restoration
Part 3 - The Godhead
Part 4 - Premortal Existence
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This is My Doctrine: The Development of Mormon Theology “Succeeds in providing a non-apologetic yet sympathetic interpretation of Mormon doctrine, warts and all.” —James McLachlan, Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Western Carolina University |
Now available through Spotify!
Authorcast #118: Joseph Spencer: 1st Nephi, Isaiah, and a Message of Hope March 30 2020
Show description: In this episode, we chat with Joseph M. Spencer about his newest book, 1st Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction (Maxwell Institute) and how this new work ties into his previous work on Nephi's use of Isaiah: The Vision of All: Twenty-five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi's Record. We then switch gears and analyze a few passages in Isaiah that discuss despair and hope and relate them to current events.
Through Easter, you can get 30% off all Book of Mormon-related titles. Also, be sure to check out our massive ebook sale also running through Easter where you can pick up Joseph Spencer's first book, For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope for only $1.99!
The Greg Kofford Books Authorcast is now available through Spotify
Authorcast #117: The Book of Mormon with Brant Gardner, Part 5 of 5 February 26 2020
Show description: We are pleased to bring you part five of our five-part conversation with Brant Gardner about the Book of Mormon. In this final episode, we discuss the purpose of the Book of Mormon. Topics discussed in this series include anthropology, Joseph Smith's translation process, authorship of the Book of Mormon, historicity and anachronisms, archaeology, geographic models, and more. Brant Gardner is the award-winning author of the Second Witness commentary series, The Gift and Power: Translating the Book of Mormon, and Traditions of the Father: The Book of Mormon as History. We are grateful to the staff of Book of Mormon Central for hosting this series and allowing us to use their recording facilities.
Brant A. Gardner earned his M.S. in anthropology (specializing in Mesoamerican ethnohistory) from the State University of New York at Albany. He is the author of the six-volume Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon and The Gift and Power: Translating the Book of Mormon. He has presented papers at the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR), the Book of Mormon Archaeological Symposium, and Sunstone. His other published works include chapters in Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl and Symbol and Meaning beyond the Closed Community: Essays in Mesoamerican Ideas, and articles in the FARMS Review, Sunstone, and Meridian Magazine. Brant and his wife, Valerie, have four children and eleven grandchildren. |
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