Church History Matters

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Church History Matters Podcast

The Church History Matters Podcast features in-depth conversations between Scott and Casey inviting you to dive deeper into both the challenges and beauty of Latter-day Saint Church History

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    082 A Deep-Dive Into the LDS Strangite Movement (w/ Dr. Kyle Beshears)

    Who was James J. Strang? And why were his claims so appealing to so many of those Latter-day Saints who did not follow Brigham Young and Twelve after the succession crisis of 1844? Why did his movement experience so much initial success but then dissipate so quickly? Some have made strong comparisons between James Strang and Joseph Smith, but how accurate are these comparisons really?  On this episode of Church History Matters, we sit down with Dr. Kyle Beshears, a friend and expert researcher on the Strangite branch of the Restoration, to take a deep dive into the details of this movement. For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/

    1h 1m

  2. 17 SEPT

    081 Who Are the Strangites, the Josephites, and the Bickertonites?

    After the succession crisis of 1844, not every member of the Church chose to sustain and follow Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. And many of these members eventually formed or joined alternative restoration movements which became separate, distinct, and independent churches from one another. In fact, over the last 180 years there have actually been hundreds of Churches that have branched off from the same Joseph Smith-era restoration trunk.  Today on Church History Matters, for reasons we will explain, Casey and I have chosen to consider three such Restoration branches—namely, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints (or Strangites); the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints (or Josephites), today known as the Community of Christ; and the Church of Jesus Christ (or Bickertonites). Our focus will be primarily on the question of how succession has developed and works today in each of these movements.  For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/

    1h 14m

  3. 10 SEPT

    080 What If All the Apostles Died At Once? Succession Q&R with Dr. Daniel C. Peterson

    In the unlikely event that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve all died simultaneously, how would that affect succession? In this hypothetical worst-case scenario, would the keys of the kingdom be lost? And, if an apostle came down with a debilitating health problem, is there any precedent for making him an emeritus apostle?  And speaking of apostles, is there a set procedure in calling them, or does the method vary from Church president to president? Also, sometimes in the Church people speak of a special requirement for a man to become an apostle—the phrase “sure” or “special” witness of Christ comes up a lot. What’s true? Must a man have personally seen Jesus Christ in order to be fully considered an apostle? On this episode of Church History Matters Casey and I are joined by a special guest, Dr. Daniel C. Peterson, to help us answer these and other great questions related to succession.  For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/

    56 min

  4. 3 SEPT

    079 What If the Church President Can't Serve Due to Poor Health?

    Between the presidencies of Lorenzo Snow in 1898 and Russell M. Nelson today, there have been a few key clarifications relative to the inner workings of Church government at the level of the Church presidency. And on today’s episode of Church History Matters we want to talk about them! The first of these clarifications deals with the confusion introduced during Joseph F. Smith’s presidency surrounding the role and position of the presiding Church Patriarch within the Church’s hierarchy. The second is regarding the important question about who can serve in the First Presidency? Is it entirely the prerogative of the President of the Church to choose who serves as his counselors, or are there constraints in place which he must abide by when doing so? And the third clarification deals with what happens when you have a Church president who is incapacitated due to poor health, and therefore cannot actively lead the Church? To what degree can his counselors lead the Church without him? And what, if any, restraints are there to their authority in this circumstance?   For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/

    58 min

  5. 27 AUG

    078 A Young Apostle Questions Succession By Seniority

    From the history we’ve covered in this series so far, we know that the succession plan of having the most senior apostle become the next Church president took time to develop and wasn’t fully fleshed out in Joseph Smith’s lifetime. In fact, it was during the decades of President Brigham Young’s presidency that this plan was ultimately finalized … well, mostly. It turns out that prior to President John Taylor’s death, there was one young apostle who challenged this plan of succession one last time.  In this episode of Church History Matters we walk through this history and talk about how apostle Wilford Woodruff settled this issue once and for all. We’ll also talk about the sacred experience Lorenzo Snow had after Wilford Woodruff’s passing which established the pattern we follow today of reorganizing the First Presidency immediately after a Church president’s death. For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/

    1h 7m

  6. 20 AUG

    077 The Two Orsons and the Question of Succession

    Who is next in line to become the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Today this is not a difficult question. It is well understood that whoever is the next most senior apostle to the current Church president will be the next president, should he live long enough. The singular issue is seniority. It all boils down to seniority. So, what determines seniority among the apostles? Again, today there is a ready answer to this question. But it was not always so.  In fact, in this episode of Church History Matters, we walk through the winding path of how criteria for seniority in the apostleship has changed significantly from Joseph Smith’s day to our own. And we’ll talk about how Church presidents have responded to difficult seniority questions, such as, If two men are ordained apostles on the same day, who is the senior apostle? And, if a man is ordained an apostle but  never becomes a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, how is his seniority determined? Or say two men were ordained apostles, the one sometime before the other, but then the man ordained second becomes a member of the Quorum of the Twelve ahead of the man ordained before him. Which of the two men has seniority over the other? Or how, if at all, is a man’s seniority affected if he is an apostle who leaves the Church or is excommunicated for a time, but is then reinstated back into the Quorum of the Twelve?  While these may seem like very technical questions, they have come from real-life circumstances. And the decisions made about each scenario have determined, more than once, who has become president of the Church.  For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/

    1h 10m

  7. 13 AUG

    076 The Contested Reorganization of the First Presidency in 1847

    Shortly after the Nauvoo Saints voted on August 8, 1844 to sustain the Twelve Apostles as the new leaders of Church, Sidney Rigdon was excommunicated (for reasons we will discuss in this episode). Then for more than three years, between 1844 and 1847, Brigham Young and the Twelve led the Church as a group of equals. Together they oversaw the completion of the Nauvoo temple and organized an exodus out of the United States.  Yet after leading a vanguard company to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, Brigham Young became concerned about the Twelve collectively leading the Church and became persuaded (for reasons we will discuss) that it was time to reorganize the First Presidency. But his proposal was not uncontested by the Twelve. And so, in a spirited series of debates, with Orson Pratt leading the opposition, Brigham Young ultimately persuaded the majority of the Twelve to reestablish the First Presidency, which officially took place on 27 December 1847 at the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In this episode of Church History Matters, we dig into the intriguing details of all of this.  For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/

    1h 17m

  8. 6 AUG

    075 Six Days in August

    Aside from a small handful of events, like the First Vision, the translation of the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of priesthood keys, it is possible that what happened in Nauvoo on August 8th, 1844 was the most critical, pivotal moment in our history forever shaping the trajectory of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was the day Church members in Nauvoo voted on who would lead the Church following the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. And the stakes could not have been higher as they decided between Joseph’s first counselor, Sidney Rigdon, on the one hand, and the Twelve Apostles led by Brigham Young on the other, because the choice at hand was not just about who would lead the Church, but ultimately about what kind of Church that would be. Would the Church hold onto and perpetuate the Nauvoo doctrines and practices, or abandon them in favor of returning to a more Kirtland or even Fayette-era type church? With this vote, the future of the Church hung in the balance.   On this episode of Church History Matters, we walk through the six days in August leading up to and including this meeting of August 8th. And we weigh into the controversy about whether or not God actually transfigured Brigham Young in front of the crowd to make him look and sound like Joseph Smith. For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/

    1h 16m
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The Church History Matters Podcast features in-depth conversations between Scott and Casey inviting you to dive deeper into both the challenges and beauty of Latter-day Saint Church History

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  • Creator
    Scripture Central
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    82
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2023 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Church History Matters

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