2.10 The Columbian Exchange, Wilford Woodruff, and #BlackLivesMatter

“Bioshock Infinite can make you feel uncomfortable.” - Kevin VanOrd.  So will 2020.  We talk about civic religion in the video game Bioshock Infinite and how it relates to the apotheosis of Christopher Columbus and racism in the church. We end with a discussion of the current nationwide protests and affirm that #BlackLivesMatter.

We thank @BenjaminEPark for two twitter threads that inspired this episode and we cite him extensively.  See https://twitter.com/benjaminepark/status/1164696231634976768 and https://twitter.com/BenjaminEPark/status/1267489043840827392.

Bioshock infinite trailer: https://youtu.be/EsJ55BzIvkE

Bioshock infinite review by Kevin VanOrd review from GameSpot: https://youtu.be/jSA9AsdBh00

The Apotheosis of Washington vs. Bioshock Infinite’s Garden of New Eden

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

https://bioshock.fandom.com/wiki/Garden_of_New_Eden (see the Entryway to Eden)

Benjamin Park’s thread

https://twitter.com/benjaminepark/status/1164696231634976768

Land of Promise in The Book of Mormon, by Tyler Livingston (note, on the show I said Orson Hyde added the footnote to 1 Ne 13:12, but it was Orson Pratt)

https://www.fairmormon.org/blog/2010/09/16/land-of-promise-in-the-book-of-mormon

Christopher Coloumbus

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

Visit of eminent spirits to Wilford Woodruff (include Ezra Taft Benson quote)

https://josephsmithfoundation.org/wiki/eminent-spirits-appear-to-wilford-woodruff

References for Book of Mormon commentary by George Reynolds

https://gospeldoctrine.com/book-mormon/1-nephi/1-nephi-13

George Reynolds: Loyal Friend of the Book of Mormon, by Bruce A. Van Orden

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1986/08/george-reynolds-loyal-friend-of-the-book-of-mormon

Columbian Exchange

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

Americapox: The Missing Plague, by CGP Grey

https://www.cgpgrey.com/blog/americapox

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond Ph.D.

https://amzn.to/36YaHLB

Protests thread by Benjamin Park

https://twitter.com/BenjaminEPark/status/1267489043840827392

David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and Wm. Robert Wright

https://amzn.to/36S59Ch

Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War Paperback, by Nathaniel Philbrick

https://amzn.to/3dnDsE0

The Book of Mormon for the Least of These, Volume 1, by Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming

https://amzn.to/2Mmetow

The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon's Missing