Face in Hat

Aaron Brewster & Eric Jepson
  • 4.5 (18)
  • RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

LDS Miscellany through a Berkeley Lens

  1. 12/30/2025

    7.10 Year end loose ends (martyrdom, polygamy, and the drawn sword)

    End of the year show!  We cover topics from the tail end of the Doctrine and Covenants that have been kicking around in our heads.  We’ll be back next year continuing with more of American Zion! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park https://www.amazon.com/American-Zion-New-History-Mormonism/dp/1631498657 Berkeley Ward Centennial https://berkeleyward.org/100/ D&C 135 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/135?lang=eng Praise to the Man, Hymn 27 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/music/songs/praise-to-the-man?lang=eng Original lyrics of Praise to the Man https://bhroberts.org/records/6kQ26b-UhyHjb/lyrics_to_joseph_smith_praise_to_the_man_originally_published_in_1844 More on the conspiracy against Joseph being infiltrated in the book Saints: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/saints-v1/43-a-public-nuisance?lang=eng#p21 Joseph and Emma Grow Old Together, by Eric Jepson https://lit.mormonartist.net/2018/06/joseph-and-emma-grow-old-together-by-eric-jepson/ Culprit (single) by LOYAL WIFE.  Check this out, it’s awesome! https://sunsetalliance.bandcamp.com/album/culprit-single Official Declaration 1 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/od/1?lang=eng The Messenger and the Manifesto, by Jed Woodworth https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/revelations-in-context/the-messenger-and-the-manifesto?lang=eng Episode 1.8, Polygamy’s Ghost https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/episode-8-polygamy-s-ghost/ Seminary manual, Doctrine and Covenants 132:1–2, 34–66, Plural Marriage https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-seminary-teacher-manual-2025/453-doctrine-and-covenants-132-1-2-34-66?lang=eng Polygamy google search https://www.google.com/search?q=was+polygamy+a+commandment+lds Newsroom link: Polygamy: Latter-day Saints and the Practice of Plural Marriage https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/polygamy-latter-day-saints-and-the-practice-of-plural-marriage Fanny Alger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Alger Lots of details on Fanny Alger on fairlatterdaysaints.org: https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Plural_wives/Fanny_Alger/Discovered_in_a_barn Encouraging Joseph Smith to Practice Plural Marriage: The Accounts of the Angel with a Drawn Sword, by Brian C. Hales https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Encouraging-Joseph-Smith-to-Practice-Plural-Marriage-The-Accounts-of-the-Angel-with-a-Drawn-Sword.pdf Statement on Polygamy by Brian C. Hales https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/testimonies/scholars/brian-c-hales Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Elizabeth_Rollins_Lightner A note about “Father, Mother, Mother, and Mom”, Orson Scott Card’s musical about polygamy, is on his wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card_bibliography#Plays A pdf version is available! https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/006-f1-f16.pdf Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree, a podcast dedicated to discussing pop culture from a Latter-day Saint perspective https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/

    1h 1m

  2. 12/20/2025

    7.9 History is Fascinating

    Back to American Zion!  Today we look at the chapter “One Family Under God”, 1945-70.  Themes of civil rights, womanhood, and intellectualism are brought together as we look deeper at the post-WWII world of Mormonism! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park https://www.amazon.com/American-Zion-New-History-Mormonism/dp/1631498657 Berkeley Ward Centennial https://berkeleyward.org/100/ Sterling McMurrin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_M._McMurrin Joseph Fielding Smith https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Fielding_Smith Man, His Origin and Destiny, by Joseph Fielding Smith, is discussed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_views_on_evolution#Joseph_Fielding_Smith J. Edward Johnson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edward_Johnson Free Speech Movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Speech_Movement Hugh Nibley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Nibley No Man Knows My History, by Fawn M. Brodie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Man_Knows_My_History No, Ma'am, That's Not History, by Hugh Nibley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No,_Ma%27am,_That%27s_Not_History The Mountain Meadows Massacre (1950) by Juanita Brooks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mountain_Meadows_Massacre_(book) Mormon Doctrine (book), by Bruce R. McConkie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Doctrine_(book) The Giant Joshua, by Maurine Whipple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giant_Joshua Too sacred for public consumption -or- Disgusting the prophet’s wife, by Eric Jepson https://motleyvision.org/2009/07/09/too-sacred-for-public-consumption-or-disgusting-the-prophets-wife/ Eugene England https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_England Truman G. Madsen (includes note he directed the Berkeley LDS Institute of Religion) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_G._Madsen Preliminary work from the author of the dissertation mentioned https://latterdatasaints.org/author/elena/ Example, A Timeline of LDS Sunday School Manuals: 1972-Present, by Elena H. Call: https://latterdatasaints.org/a-timeline-of-lds-sunday-school-manuals-1972-present/#more-1260 Elias: An Epic of the Ages, by Orson F. Whitney https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias:_An_Epic_of_the_Ages Short Creek raid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Creek_raid The big article on the priesthood ban in Dialog, by Lester E. Bush https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V08N01_13.pdf Truth & Treason (2025 movie) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_%26_Treason Zelophehad’s Daughters https://zelophehadsdaughters.com/ Helen Andelin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Andelin Fascinating Womanhood, by Helen Andelin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascinating_Womanhood The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Feminine_Mystique The Stepford Wives (2004 film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stepford_Wives_(2004_film) Indian Placement Program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Placement_Program The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Watchman_(novel) (atonement poem), by Theric Jepson https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/atonement-poem/

    1h 7m

  3. 10/18/2025

    7.8 Interregnum hot takes

    With the rest of the church we mourn the passing of President Nelson.  In this show we look back on his life and we talk about the future, including chatting about President Oak’s October 2025 conference talk.  The decision to focus on birthrates was interesting, so that prompted a deep dive, from Saturday’s Warrior to South Korea.  Would love to hear your own takes! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ President Russel M. Nelson wiki https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_M._Nelson President Russell M. Nelson on the Healing Power of Gratitude​ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i51gcWCs-Ho An Interview With Gordon Hinckley by Mike Wallace https://www.cbsnews.com/news/an-interview-with-gordon-hinckley/ President Dallin H. Oaks wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallin_H._Oaks Carthage Conspiracy,  by Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage_Conspiracy Legal Eagle https://www.youtube.com/legaleagle Truth & Treason (2025 movie) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_%26_Treason The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ, by President Dallin H. Oaks, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10/58oaks The End of Children, by Gideon Lewis-Kraus https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/03/03/the-population-implosion Sex Without Women, What happens when men prefer porn?  By Caitlin Flanagan https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/03/sex-without-women/682064/?gift=7Dmgya6WfQQSjX_hzD7e6JS-14VnM4BwMPCcn3UgkUM&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share What Women Wish They’d Known Before Trying to Get Pregnant. Many Americans lack basic fertility knowledge. More robust sex ed could help.  By Olga Khazan https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/09/sex-ed-school-fertility/684079/?gift=7Dmgya6WfQQSjX_hzD7e6N-IKckFrqX-zdDLAPsolPM&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share Zero Population https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZHlEYgiM08 Saturday's Warrior https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday%27s_Warrior The Population Bomb,  by Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb 2.1 Millennial musings: this is our early take on overpopulation, and cites the first Kurzgesagt video https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/21-millennial-musings/ Overpopulation – The Human Explosion Explained, Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsBT5EQt348 Why Humans Are Vanishing, Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBudghsdByQ SOUTH KOREA IS OVER, Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufmu1WD2TSk

    52 min

  4. 10/02/2025

    7.7 Modernity vs. retrenchment

    We’re back from summer and let's keep this season going!  Today we focus on Chapter 6, The Perils of Reform: 1920-1945, from Benjamin Park’s book: American Zion.  Many threads connect the topics, but the contest between the modernity of the early part of the 20th century and resistance to change mark the struggle for the LDS church at this time.  Join us! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park https://www.amazon.com/American-Zion-New-History-Mormonism/dp/1631498657 Amy B. Lyman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_B._Lyman D&C 29:34,”Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/29#34 J. Reuben Clark https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Reuben_Clark Our David O’McKay season was actually season 3!  Here’s an example episode, with topics on politics and such.  3.4 David O. McKay and the confrontation with communism https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/34-david-o-mckay-and-the-confrontation-with-communism/ John Birch Society https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_Society No wiki on Nephi Johnson, but lots of articles out there on him :) Juanita Brooks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita_Brooks The Mountain Meadows Massacre (book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mountain_Meadows_Massacre_(book) 3.13 Close to home: the Church Building Program https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/313-close-to-home-the-church-building-program/ 3.11 Poetry, Spies, and the Church Education System https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/311-poetry-spies-and-the-church-education-system/ B. H. Roberts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._H._Roberts Studies of the Book of Mormon, by B. H. Roberts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studies_of_the_Book_of_Mormon “Now, if you mean it-I am not going to give any command, but I will ask it as a personal, individual favor to me, to let coca-cola alone. There are plenty of other things you can get at the soda fountains without drinking that which is injurious. The Lord does not want you to use any drug that creates an appetite for itself.” -Heber J Grant, April 1921 https://ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=8061 Heber J Grant: stories of baseball and penmanship are here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heber_J._Grant Welfare and Self Reliance https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/topic/welfare-and-self-reliance Fawn M. Brodie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawn_M._Brodie 3.7 Tolerance: this might be the episode where we talked about David O’Mckay and Fawn Brodie https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/37-tolerance/ “$32 million deficit in 1962” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finances_of_the_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints Saints, Volume 3, Boldly, Nobly, and Independent, 1893–1955 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/saints-v3 The Mormon Typology: Mapping a Changing Faith https://mormonmetrics.substack.com/p/the-mormon-typology-mapping-a-changing Another Data Source Confirms Typology Findings https://mormonmetrics.substack.com/p/multiple-data-sources-confirm-typology Thubrina, by Theric Jepson https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/thubrina/f0c86c78-3b42-35b0-afdf-40d6b81d25db.html

    1 hr

  5. 05/18/2025

    7.6 Progress and compromise

    1890-1920 was a period of great progress among the LDS Saints but came with key compromises that began the assimilation of LDS culture and into the broader American people.   Join us as we look at this era, continuing our trip through American Zion by Benjamin Park!   Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park https://www.amazon.com/American-Zion-New-History-Mormonism/dp/1631498657 Letter to the Editor: Reconciliation and Truth, by Robert A. Rees https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-reconciliation-and-truth/ Jesus the Christ, by James E. Talmage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_the_Christ_(book) https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/jesus-the-christ?lang=eng Articles of Faith, by James E. Talmage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articles_of_Faith_(Talmage_book) The Great Apostasy, by James E. Talmage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Apostasy_(book) The House of the Lord, by James E. Talmage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_the_Lord Ten Thousand, xkcd http://xkcd.com/1053/ Jane Manning James (wiki article) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Manning_James Jane Elizabeth Manning James (LDS article) https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/jane-elizabeth-manning-james Jane and Emma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_and_Emma They stole Yogi Berra’s World Series rings. Then they did something really crazy, by Ariel Sabar https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/02/sports-memorabilia-heist-yogi-berra-world-series-rings/681093/ On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by Timothy Snyder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Tyranny Ephesians 2:19 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/eph/2?lang=eng&id=p19#p19 Seer stone (Latter Day Saints) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seer_stone_(Latter_Day_Saints) D&C 138 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/138 The Truth of a Dream: A Conversation with Theric Jepson, on the Dialogue Out Loud podcast https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/the-truth-of-a-dream-a-conversation-with-theric-jepson/ I Dreamed of Oil, by Theric Jepson https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/i-dreamed-of-oil/

    1h 10m

  6. 03/22/2025

    7.5 Straight to jail

    Run and hide!  Today we jump into the 1870s and 80s to see what made our beloved ancestors be so eager to ditch the law and go underground.  (Spoilers, it’s more polygamy!).  Part of our ongoing series covering American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park https://www.amazon.com/American-Zion-New-History-Mormonism/dp/1631498657 A Mormon Maid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Mormon_Maid Emmeline B. Wells https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmeline_B._Wells Episode 1.8 Polygamy’s Ghost https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/episode-8-polygamy-s-ghost/ Polygamy (Polygyny, Polyandry), by Miriam Koktvedgaard Zeitzen https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1377 Find Randy Astle on the AML Discord server!  Eric can spot you an invite.  AML: https://www.associationmormonletters.org/

    1h 4m

  7. 02/21/2025

    7.4 The Big 3 in 1850

    Polygamy, Racism and Indian affairs.  These stories dominated Chapter 3 of American Zion by Benjamin E. Park, “Of empires and wars, 1846-69”.  Come for the historical controversy but stay for the good vibes at the end! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park https://www.amazon.com/American-Zion-New-History-Mormonism/dp/1631498657 Pioneer Children sang as they walk, words and music by: Elizabeth Fetzer Bates https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/music/songs/pioneer-children-sang-as-they-walked Legacy (1993) https://youtu.be/TZALT-fK9Ao?si=vN-6uAZMRRW485dD Walker Lewis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_Lewis Chief Walkara https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkara The Angel (2024), directed by Barrett Burgin, Jess Burgin https://letterboxd.com/film/the-angel-2024/ Episode 1.8 Polygamy’s Ghost https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/episode-8-polygamy-s-ghost/ Commentary: New LDS curriculum flops in teaching eternal polygamy to children, by Carol Lynn Pearson https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/01/13/new-lds-curriculum-flops-teaching/ Emmeline B. Wells https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmeline_B._Wells (Aaron) Note the comment on Emmeline changing her mind was actually in relation to Emily Dow Partridge (note the redirects if you click on this link) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily%20Dow%20Partridge?redirect=no Phoebe Pendleton Woodbury: not a lot of her online. Dr. Park is citing letters to her children Into the Headwinds: Why Belief Has Always Been Hard―and Still Is, by Terryl Givens and Nathaniel Givens https://a.co/d/59qRjS1 (Aaron) Couldn’t find the tiger roar/rattlesnake article :) You are Two, by CGP Grey https://youtu.be/wfYbgdo8e-8?si=Z1qkIrKNMLMJL3K_ Episode 5.4 Agency and its opposition https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/54-agency-and-its-opposition/ Moroni: a brief theological introduction (The Book of Mormon: Brief Theological Introductions 12), by David F Holland https://a.co/d/7lkNflh After transcribing 1.2 million of his words, this researcher has something to say about Brigham Young, by Jacob Hess, about LaJean Purcell Carruth https://www.deseret.com/faith/2024/10/10/new-discoveries-about-brigham-young/ Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-brigham-young Latest issue of Dialogue (Volume 57, No. 3) which includes works by Eric Jepson and William Morris (former guest of the show) https://www.dialoguejournal.com/issues/fall-2024/

    1h 9m

  8. 12/23/2024

    7.3 Zion (not the Matrix one), Part 2

    “O My Father”, and the Council of Fifty! Let’s wrap up chapter 2 of “American Zion” in a quick show for the end of the year! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park https://www.amazon.com/American-Zion-New-History-Mormonism/dp/1631498657 Eliza R. Snow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_R._Snow “Invocation, or The Eternal Father and Mother” or “O my father” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_My_Father Testimony in Art: John Hafen's Illustrations for “O My Father”, by Dawn Pheysey https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol36/iss1/5/ John Hafen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hafen A Little Lower than the Angels, by Virginia Sorensen https://www.amazon.com/Little-Angels-Signature-Morman-Classics/dp/1560851031 Episode 1.8 Polygamy’s Ghost https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/episode-8-polygamy-s-ghost/ Hosea Stout https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosea_Stout Council of Fifty, Church History topic https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/council-of-fifty Council of Fifty on wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Fifty Latest issue of Dialogue (Volume 57, No. 3) which includes works by Eric Jepson and William Morris (former guest of the show) https://www.dialoguejournal.com/issues/fall-2024/

    31 min
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About

LDS Miscellany through a Berkeley Lens

Information

  • Creator
    Aaron Brewster & Eric Jepson
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2025
  • Episodes
    73
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2018 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Face in Hat

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