Episodios

  • 172. Matthew Harris on Ezra Taft Benson (Part 2/2)

    172. Matthew Harris on Ezra Taft Benson (Part 2/2)
    Sep 11 2025
    In this episode, we conclude our interview with Dr. Matthew Harris about his book Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right. Who was President Ezra Taft Benson, what were some of his teachings, and why do they matter today? From the White Horse Prophecy to the John Birch Society, from almost being on two Presidential tickets to his conflict with fellow Elder Hugh B. Brown – Dr. Harris takes us through some of the highlights, teachings, impact, and then the “remaking” of this controversial LDS Apostle who became the thirteenth Prophet-President of the LDS Church. Ezra Taft Benson was an author and speaker, firmly believing in “secret combinations” (that is, conspiracies) - and who frequently mixed his devotion to both Joseph Smith and Adam Smith. Listen in as Dr. Harris takes us through how to best understand and distinguish between Benson’s authoritative influence, and his broader influence today all along the Mormon corridor.Book: Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon RightRelated resource: Thunder From the Right: Ezra Taft Benson in Mormonism and PoliticsSome other resources by Dr. Harris:Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial EqualityThe Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary History (edited with Newell Bringhurst)Zebulon Pike, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (edited with Jay Buckley)“Joseph Fielding Smith’s Evolving Views on Race: The Odyssey of a Mormon Apostle-President”“Mormons and Lineage: The Complicated History of Blacks and Patriarchal Blessings, 1830-2018”Some resources from Ezra Taft Benson (et al):Sample: D&C 98; 101.77-80; 134 and Ether 8Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson“The LDS Church and Politics”“The American Heritage of Freedom”“A Race Against Time”“Be Not Deceived”“Not Commanded in All Things”“Trust Not in the Arm of Flesh”“The Book of Mormon Warns America”“The Proper Role of Government”“Life is Eternal”“Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints” (audio)“Prepare Ye”“The Constitution: A Glorious Standard”“Our Priceless Heritage”“Freedom and Free Enterprise”“Fourteen Fundamentals of Following the Prophet”“Prepare Yourselves for the Great Day of the Lord”As President of the Church:“The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner”“Our Divine Constitution”“I Testify”“Beware of Pride”The Moral Basis of a Free Society; The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil; Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen; The Book of Mormon and the Constitution by H. Verlan AndersenStand Fast By Our Constitution by J. Reuben ClarkThe Naked Communist; The Naked Capitalist; Prophecy and Modern Times by Cleon SkousenOther resources:Mosiah Lyman Hancock AutobiographyPresident Brigham Young: JD 2.182; 7:13, 8.321; 12.121, 12.204President John Taylor: JD 21.8, 21.31; 22.143-44; 23.63; 26.38-39Elder George Q. Cannon: JD 23.104; 23.122President Joseph F. Smith; Elder Joseph Fielding Smith (Oct. 1918 General Conference)President George Albert Smith“The Profile of a Prophet”; “God is the Gardener” by Elder Hugh B. Brown“Overcome the World and Find Rest” by President Russell M. Nelson“Church Statement on White Horse Prophecy and Political Neutrality”Elder Statesman: A Biography of J. Reuben Clark; “Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts” by D. Michael Quinn“Edwin Rushton as the Source of the White Horse Prophecy” by Don L. PenrodThe Lie That Will Not Die: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion by Hadassa Ben-IttoThe Pope and Mussolini; The Pope at War by David Kertzer
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    1 h y 25 m
  • 171. Matthew Harris on Ezra Taft Benson (Part 1/2)

    171. Matthew Harris on Ezra Taft Benson (Part 1/2)
    Sep 8 2025
    In this episode, we welcome Dr. Matthew Harris to discuss his book Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right. Who was President Ezra Taft Benson, what were some of his teachings, and why do they matter today? From the White Horse Prophecy to the John Birch Society, from almost being on two Presidential tickets to his conflict with fellow Elder Hugh B. Brown – Dr. Harris takes us through some of the highlights, teachings, impact, and then the “remaking” of this controversial LDS Apostle who became the thirteenth Prophet-President of the LDS Church. Ezra Taft Benson was an author and speaker, firmly believing in “secret combinations” (that is, conspiracies) - and who frequently mixed his devotion to both Joseph Smith and Adam Smith. Listen in as Dr. Harris takes us through how to best understand and distinguish between Benson’s authoritative influence, and his broader influence today all along the Mormon corridor.Book: Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon RightRelated resource: Thunder From the Right: Ezra Taft Benson in Mormonism and PoliticsSome other resources by Dr. Harris:Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial EqualityThe Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary History (edited with Newell Bringhurst)Zebulon Pike, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (edited with Jay Buckley)“Joseph Fielding Smith’s Evolving Views on Race: The Odyssey of a Mormon Apostle-President”“Mormons and Lineage: The Complicated History of Blacks and Patriarchal Blessings, 1830-2018”Some resources from Ezra Taft Benson (et al):Sample: D&C 98; 101.77-80; 134 and Ether 8Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson“The LDS Church and Politics”“The American Heritage of Freedom”“A Race Against Time”“Be Not Deceived”“Not Commanded in All Things”“Trust Not in the Arm of Flesh”“The Book of Mormon Warns America”“The Proper Role of Government”“Life is Eternal”“Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints” (audio)“Prepare Ye”“The Constitution: A Glorious Standard”“Our Priceless Heritage”“Freedom and Free Enterprise”“Fourteen Fundamentals of Following the Prophet”“Prepare Yourselves for the Great Day of the Lord”As President of the Church:“The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner”“Our Divine Constitution”“I Testify”“Beware of Pride”The Moral Basis of a Free Society; The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil; Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen; The Book of Mormon and the Constitution by H. Verlan AndersenStand Fast By Our Constitution by J. Reuben ClarkThe Naked Communist; The Naked Capitalist; Prophecy and Modern Times by Cleon SkousenOther resources:Mosiah Lyman Hancock AutobiographyPresident Brigham Young: JD 2.182; 7:13, 8.321; 12.121, 12.204President John Taylor: JD 21.8, 21.31; 22.143-44; 23.63; 26.38-39Elder George Q. Cannon: JD 23.104; 23.122President Joseph F. Smith; Elder Joseph Fielding Smith (Oct. 1918 General Conference)President George Albert Smith“The Profile of a Prophet”; “God is the Gardener” by Elder Hugh B. Brown“Overcome the World and Find Rest” by President Russell M. Nelson“Church Statement on White Horse Prophecy and Political Neutrality”Elder Statesman: A Biography of J. Reuben Clark; “Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts” by D. Michael Quinn“Edwin Rushton as the Source of the White Horse Prophecy” by Don L. PenrodThe Lie That Will Not Die: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion by Hadassa Ben-IttoThe Pope and Mussolini; The Pope at War by David Kertzer
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    1 h y 25 m
  • 170. Stanley Payne on The Spanish Civil War

    170. Stanley Payne on The Spanish Civil War
    Sep 1 2025
    In this episode, we welcome Dr. Stanley G. Payne to discuss his book The Spanish Civil War. What is the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), and why does it matter? In a war often still wrongly characterized as liberal/republican vs. nationalist/fascist – how do we understand the incredibly violent and extensive worker revolution and the murder of nearly 7,000 clergy on one side, and the Roman Catholic identity of the Nationalists while uniting with the Falange (Fascists) and being supported by Muslim troops on the other? When most international attention was on a defunct Republican state, how has “the grand camouflage” led to a prominent narrative which overlooks and sanitizes one half of a bloody revolutionary civil war? How does communism and fascism fit into the story? General Francisco Franco was the youngest general in Europe in 1926. How did he end up being the central figure in a national dynamic of revolution and counter-revolution, bathed in religious rhetoric (on both sides) – and his eventual reaffirmation of Spanish Roman Catholic identity. Dr. Payne identifies the Spanish Civil War as War of Religion with many paradoxes – including Franco’s international relations, his relationship with the Vatican, and what would slowly lead to a decline of his counter-revolution following the war. How did Franco view Protestants? Indeed, how should Protestants view Franco? That last question is more engaged than answered as we have the opportunity to learn from one of the great historians of Spain.Book: The Spanish Civil WarOther resources by Dr. Payne:- Franco: A Personal and Political Biography- Franco and Hitler: Spain, Germany, and World War II- The Franco Regime, 1936-1975- The Collapse of the Spanish Republic, 1933-1936: Origins of the Civil War- Fascism: Comparison and Definition- Fascism in Spain, 1923-1977- A History of Fascism, 1914-1945- En Defensa De Espana: Desmontando Mitos y Leyendas Negras- Spain: A Unique History- Spanish Catholicism: An Historical OverviewSee also the article: “The Road to Revolution”Other resources:Granada (Documentary); BBC In Our TimeThe Spanish Civil War by Hugh ThomasFascism: The Career of a Concept by Paul GottfriedLenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror by Victor Sebestyen
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    1 h y 41 m
  • 169. Jeremy Kimble on the Efficacy of Scripture

    169. Jeremy Kimble on the Efficacy of Scripture
    Aug 25 2025

    In this episode, we welcome Dr. Jeremy Kimble to discuss his book Behold and Become: Reading Scripture for Transformation. What is Scripture, and how do Christians understand it’s place in the Christian life? In today’s episode, Dr. Kimble takes us through not only the character of Scripture, but it’s efficacy and authority – as well as some more practical advice for Christians to be more “word-saturated”. What does it mean to pray Scripture, and even to meditate on Scripture? Is the Bible truly one story – rooted and revealing of Jesus Christ? Moreover, we ask Jeremy about the connection between Scripture and the Beatific Vision in a Protestant context that truly honors the place of Scripture as uniquely inspired of and for the Christian Faith.


    Book: Behold and Become: Reading Scripture for Transformation


    Other books by Dr. Kimble:

    How Can I Get More Out of My Bible Reading?

    40 Questions about Church Membership and Discipline

    That His Spirit May Be Saved: Church Discipline as a Means to Repentance and Perseverence


    Other resources:

    We Become What We Worship by G.K. Beale

    Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life; Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney

    What It Means to be Protestant by Gavin Ortlund (also see here)

    The Courage to Be Protestant; No Place for Truth; God in the Whirlwind by David Wells

    Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J. I. Packer

    “The Protestant Doctrine of the Perspicuity of Scripture: A Reformulation on the Basis of Biblical Teaching” by Gregg Allison
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    1 h y 1 m
  • 168. Retractiones: Retractions and Review

    168. Retractiones: Retractions and Review
    Aug 21 2025

    In this episode, Skyler and Casey discuss past mistakes made on the show (the silly, the bad, and the ugly), check-in with the audience, and partially review the introduction to a biography of Elder Orson F. Whitney (1855-1931).
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    1 h y 45 m
  • 167. Henri Blocher on Original Sin

    167. Henri Blocher on Original Sin
    Aug 18 2025

    In this episode, we welcome Dr. Henri Blocher to discuss his book Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle. What is the doctrine of Original Sin, and is it essential to the Christian Faith? Is the doctrine Augustine’s invention, or is it Biblical truth? Is it taught in both Old and New Testaments – as well as by Christ Jesus, himself? Dr. Blocher takes us through the contours and complexities of original sin, as well as some pitfalls some have fallen into relative to the genre of Genesis 1-3, Paul’s teaching about Law and guilt – as well as the dangers of compromising our view of the integrity of Creation, itself. Distinguishing humanity as created and humanity as sinful – how does Original Sin make sense of the evil within the human heart, as well as in families, societies, and even the church? Distinguishing originated original sin that is the “tendency to sinfulness with which we are born” and the originating original sin that is “the transgression Adam perpetrated in the Garden and through which sin and death invaded our world”, how do we understand collective guilt relative to the Justice of God? Henri takes us through this and more – as we hear how, in its depth, we understand even David’s psalm of repentance and pleading for mercy in Psalm 51 along with Jesus’ clear teaching to Nicodemus that all of us must be “born again” or we will not “enter the kingdom of God”.


    Book: Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle


    Other books by Dr. Henri Blocher:

    Faith and Reason

    Evil and the Cross: An Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain

    Songs of the Servant: Isaiah’s Good News

    In the Beginning: The Opening Chapters of Genesis
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    1 h y 11 m
  • 166. G. K. Beale on Colossians

    166. G. K. Beale on Colossians
    Aug 11 2025
    In this episode, we welcome Dr. G.K. Beale to discuss his commentary on Colossians (BECNT). From a defense of the Pauline authorship of this epistle, to the identity of the Colossian-heresy based on both internal and external evidence, to Paul’s use of Old Testament allusions in this epistle (contrary to what many scholars have thought) – Dr. Beale helps us think through the brilliant theology being taught to us, even today, in this epistle. Paul argues against a heresy that mingles and attempts to synthesize Old Testament terminology with what is at it’s core still Hellenistic theology: a Jesus+local mystery religion - all with the goal of making one’s self worthy of experiencing heavenly temple worship. The correcting epistle argues against this based upon Christ being “the full expression of God’s presence in the end-time temple”, and the Christian church being “part of the latter-day temple, residing in the midst of the divine tabernacling presence”. Listen in as Dr. Beale gives us a sample of the doctrinal insights we can receive in Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians.Book: Colossians and Philemon (BECNT)Also: G.K. Beale’s Website“The Temple and the Anti-Temple at Colossae”“The Old Testament in Colossians: A Response to Paul Foster”Check out: CSB Connecting Scripture New Testament as well as the conference here.Other books and resources by Dr. Beale:The Temple and the Church’s Mission- God Dwells Among UsUnion with the Resurrected ChristWe Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of IdolatryThe Book of Revelation (NIGTC)A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the NewHandbook on the New Testament Use of the Old TestamentOther resources:The Colossian Syncretism: The Interface between Christianity and Folk Belief at Colossae; Power and Magic: The Concept of Power in Ephesians by Clinton ArnoldA couple of examples of LDS sources:“Necessity of Building Temples – The Endowment” by President Brigham Young“The Building of Temples – The Keys of the Apostleship”; “The New Birth – Baptisms for the Dead – Temples” by Elder George Q. CannonThe Holy Temple by Elder Boyd K. Packer (also here)Temple and Cosmos; When the Lights Went Out; “Treasures in the Heavens” by Hugh Nibley
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    1 h y 4 m
  • 165. T. C. Schmidt on Josephus and Jesus

    165. T. C. Schmidt on Josephus and Jesus
    Aug 4 2025

    In this episode, we welcome Dr. T. C. Schmidt about his book Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ. Who was Josephus and why does he matter? Why are his writings so important for our understanding of first-century history? Dr. Schmidt takes us through the “Testimonium Flavianum”, whether it is a genuine passage about Jesus – and how we get at what Josephus originally wrote and originally meant. What does this hostile account of Jesus, his life and reference to his followers aid us in understanding the historical Jesus and the early “tribe” of Christians? Tom also takes us through Josephus’ account of James “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ" – and what insight we get from early sources about him and his importance.


    Book: Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (also here)


    Website: JosephusandJesus.com

    Also check out: Institute for Christian Reflection


    Other work by Dr. Schmidt:

    - The Book of Revelation and its Eastern Commentators

    - Revelation 1-3 in Christian Arabic Commentary

    - “Calculating December 25 as the Birth of Jesus in Hippolytus’ Canon and Chronicon” (also here)
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    1 h y 31 m