The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has been around for almost two centuries. It has ebbed and fluctuated in such a predictably adaptive manner throughout it's relatively short life in the religious realm. This Church has a very sordid past, which it does a very good job of teaching for itself, whether the history is slanted or not, is yours to decide. Join me on a journey through the history of the LDS Church through the eyes of the people that were actually there. We will learn about the founding members, where the practices came from, where the Book of Mormon (Mormon Bible) came from, and most importantly, we will examine Joseph Smith in every aspect possibly available to us today.

On this episode, we continue reading through our recently published article in the Journal of Psychedelics Studies titled “The Entheogenic Origins of Mormonism: A Working Hypothesis”. In this segment of the paper, we discuss many candidate entheogens Joseph Smith may have employed in the early church as well as the symptomology commonly associated with these various candidates. Also discussed is Luman Walters, an occult mentor of Joseph Smith in the 1820s. We utilize the information established in the candidate psychedelics section to inform a discussion of the first-vision experience in the early 1820s. An entheogenic-lens offers an interesting view into certain passages in the Book of Mormon including multiple instances of death and rebirth symbology, easily interpreted as the common experience of ego-dissolution when using entheogens. Further, the therapeutic effects of mitigating PTSD and depression symptoms may have provided a unique allure to these plant medicines by Joseph, the entire Smith family, and the early Mormons.

Find the paper here:
https://www.academia.edu/40786304/The_entheogenic_origins_of_Mormonism_A_working_hypothesis
https://akademiai.com/doi/pdf/10.1556/2054.2019.020

Show links:

Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com
Twitter @NakedMormonism
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism/370003839816311
Patreon http://patreon.com/nakedmormonism
Music by Jason Comeau http://aloststateofmind.com/
Show Artwork http://weirdmormonshit.com/
Legal Counsel http://patorrez.com/

Direct download: Ep_187.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT
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On this episode, we begin reading through the academic paper recently published in a special edition of the Journal of Psychedelics Studies authored by Robert Beckstead, Bryce Blankenagel, Cody Noconi, and Michael Winkelman. This segment of the paper covers the background of the Smith family, magic and 19th-century American occultism, herbalism, medicine, Indigenous medicine, Free Masonry, and the entheogenic influence in all these fields. It also discusses psychedelics in the Word of Wisdom, the Book of Mormon, and early Mormon sacramental rituals. The increased need for secrecy was realized by Joseph Smith and the entheogenic practices became closed off to non-initiates. Please send any feedback to nakedmormonism@gmail.com. We’d love to hear anything you have to say about the paper.

Find the paper here:
https://www.academia.edu/40786304/The_entheogenic_origins_of_Mormonism_A_working_hypothesis
https://akademiai.com/doi/pdf/10.1556/2054.2019.020

Show links:

Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com
Twitter @NakedMormonism
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism/370003839816311
Patreon http://patreon.com/nakedmormonism
Music by Jason Comeau http://aloststateofmind.com/
Show Artwork http://weirdmormonshit.com/
Legal Counsel http://patorrez.com/

Direct download: Ep_186_Reg.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT
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On this episode, Joseph Smith’s presidential campaign is ramping up! Jo nominates James Arlington Bennet for his Vice-Presidential candidate, White-out Willard Richards drafts a letter to Bennet, notice is printed in the Nauvoo Neighbor, and a retraction is published the following week. A special conference is called to preach to 8,000 Mormons about politics, the campaign, and the Mormon expansionist agenda. Jo picks a few of his dissenters out of the crowd and grand-stands about them being enemies, preaching about how he will “use up” those who oppose the mission of the church. Construction on the Nauvoo Temple and tithing are emphasized. Bloody Brigham Young makes a speech about not filing legal complaints when wrongs are committed against you. An exploratory group is formed and armed to the teeth to venture into the wilds of Texas and Oregon for the next Mormon settlement and staging ground. A “Hint” is sent to Missouri and the Missourians in St. Louis start to get uneasy about a President Joseph Smith.

Links: Everything we read came from the History of the Church. Pick up your set of Vogel’s “Source—and text—Critical Edition.
http://www.signaturebooks.com/product/history-of-joseph-smith/

Show links:                                                                                                                                                             

Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com
Twitter @NakedMormonism
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism/370003839816311
Patreon http://patreon.com/nakedmormonism
Music by Jason Comeau http://aloststateofmind.com/
Show Artwork http://weirdmormonshit.com/
Legal Counsel http://patorrez.com/

Direct download: NM_185_nORMIES.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT
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On this episode, we discuss the continued growing tensions between the Mormon and non-Mormon settlements in Illinois in early 1844. The Nauvoo City Council renews its effort to get an ordinance passed through the state legislature from Dec. 1843 which claimed Nauvoo to be a sovereign territory as well as the Nauvoo Legion to be a federally-recognized militia. How did they work to lobby this through the State legislature? By harping on the same persecution narrative resulting from the 1838 Missouri-Mormon conflict. This dead horse keeps on giving. Eventually, Governor Thomas Ford steps in to try and cool things down. The unsatisfied Warsaw Signal prints his letter with their commentary and Jo prints a concession in the Nauvoo Neighbor. Thomas Ford’s History of Illinois (1854) reflects on this complicated time when Jo decided to run for POTUS.

Links:

Warsaw Signal archives:
http://warsaw.advantage-preservation.com/search?t=30053&i=t&bcn=1&m=between

Thomas Ford’s letter (14 Feb 1844)
http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/IL/sign1844.htm#0214

A History of Illinois by Thomas Ford
https://archive.org/details/ahistoryillinoi00shiegoog/page/n320

Show links:                                                                                                                                                             

Website http://nakedmormonismpodcast.com
Twitter @NakedMormonism
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Mormonism/370003839816311
Patreon http://patreon.com/nakedmormonism
Music by Jason Comeau http://aloststateofmind.com/
Show Artwork http://weirdmormonshit.com/
Legal Counsel http://patorrez.com/

Direct download: 184_Reg.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT
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