Radio Free Mormon: 251: Meet the New Church Historian! 

Let's get ready to rewrite some history!!!

Brilliant! Historians find things. Lawyers hide things. Bingo. Well done, RFM!

As much as I love RFM and Bill reel on Wednesday evenings, I still want these podcasts from RFM, these are great too!! By the way, RFM, I hope you recover from the pain in your left knee!!

Glad to see you are back at it!

The Q15's direction of late can be summed up: The Philosophy of Men, Mingled With a Faithful Presentation of Mormon History...

I'm reminded of my Mission President. His profession in "real life" was hospital administrator. He was not a physician/M.D. but he did have an awareness of medical practice. Perhaps this is akin to what Elder McKay will be doing. When my companion got sick I remember Pres. Goates sent us to a doctor who practiced at the hospital Pres. Goates administered. The doctor told my companion and I that Goates was inclined to administer over the private (read: sexual practices) morality of the hospital staff as well as their medical practice, and apparently resented it. I appreciate your perspective.

RFM you chose integrity over position and wealth!

Great episode! Thank you for your opinions, commentary and the entertainment.

excellent

Always brilliant content, RFM. Sorry to hear about the recent woes. Best wishes.

Interview with Richard Dutcher! Yeah! Now the magic trick I would love to see would be an interview with your first mission companion. Try pulling that out of a hat.

President Nelson should be inspired to rename the "History Department" the "Protecting the Youth and Members Department."

The Old Violin Love it!

My opinion of good old Boyd continues to decrease. I didn't realize he couldn't tell the difference between a historian and a lawyer (which incidentally sounds like the setup for a joke).

Excellent, as always! I feel about this episode as I used to feel sometimes in sacrament meeting… wishing that so many people who aren’t going to listen to this would listen to this. I want to shout it from the rooftops.

President Howard W. Hunter was a Lawyer. He never served a mission. He worked on a cruise ship in a band he and friends created in High school. He moved to California and went to law school. Married and was a Stake President there. He moved to Utah at least by 1968. He was a Church Historian 3 yrs. Then President of Q of 12. Then President of Church. His second wife was a divorced lady from his stake in California yrs earlier. Not much is said about him. Although, super kind man from what I know.

"History, English, lawyers.... they all have to do with words. Close enough." Says the church.

Does anyone get a serious 1984 vibe about the motto on the wall behind him?

Ps I love your comment lawyers hide things,.while historians find things

Love me some RFM. Got me though the pandemic with those rapid fire episodes.

Fire up the memory hole 📝 🔥 🕳

I’ve heard this poem many times before.

RFM re: knee. Get yourself a tube of Voltaren Gel. It’s now sold over the counter. It might help until your injection.

It’s very telling that this cult has a tendency to hire a lawyer to be its official historian, especially without any experience in the field. It shows that they are not at all interested in telling the truth about history, but rather to present a narrative that is not necessarily truthful. I don’t think most active Mormons are even aware of this practice by the church.

So , if he has taken this job , then he is willing to lie for the Lord?

I'm guessing he has signed his life away for the church to be in this position 🤔 Sad

You sir are wicked awesome

History has its eyes on Elder McKay and knows it will stay hidden. 👀🫣

I hope RFM feels better soon, and that his hard drive gets fixed promptly! By the way, wouldn't it be a dream it RFM interviewed Elder McKay?

The Mormon church, including its history & historian, will necessarily and more and more retrench to the Boyd K. Packer school. What choice do they have? Honesty in Mormon history would damage if not destroy the Mormon church.

Why does your first story of him in Japan sound like it comes directly from an anime?

Meet the new boss...same as the old boss

This is a threat to RFM if I’ve ever seen one. They’re literally calling him out to interview this historian and create publicity for Mormons.

The new “ Keeper of the Secret Crypt “..…🤫

McKay appears in the photo wearing the stereotypical LDS smile that is the LDS corporate business logo. When the awkward questions arise about Joseph Smith, McKay will appear wearing the LDS smile and declare 'I know the church is true. I know Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. I bear my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.' There is nothing more that McKay can say with regard to LDS church history. Any LDS church member can do the job. McKay will be responsible for reiterating the same LDS church history that his predecessors have delivered under the direction of the first presidency. The new appointment of the LDS church historian is simply a case of 'same crap - different shovel.'

At the Mormon D&D board, poster Tacenda asked why the Church Historian is not a historian. I think that is because historians like to blab and tell what happened.

Looking forward to you guys talking to Richard. Sure miss his quality of movies. No one makes good movies about Mormons. Lol. Just rewatched Saturday s warrior.. lol

His title shouldn't be Church Historian, Chief of Propaganda would be more accurate. His job is to keep the historians under him in line and I am sure that they know it.

Interesting that you do magic shows...kind of like Matt Dillahunty does.

News outlets and NASA do the same narration trick, very effective .

From Boyd K. Packer's talk at a symposium on church history (Brigham Young Univ. 1981): "Your objective should be that they will see the hand of the Lord in every hour and every moment of the Church from its beginning till now." ("The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect" by Boyd K. Packer) That's quite a challenge for church historians. Think about it. Every hour! And not just every hour, but also "every moment of the Church from it's beginning till now." We're talking about the "hand of the Lord" which, by extension, would mean every Apostle and Prophet of the Lord, since nobody can actually see the Lord's hand doing stuff. It's not like you go to General Conference and the disembodied hand of the Lord is floating around the podium pointing at people, snapping its fingers and writing stuff for the Apostles and Prophets to say. It's invisible. The hand is invisible and can't be seen with physical eyes. At least, you just have to assume that it's invisible and every little thing that the Lord's anointed, appointed and never disjointed "General Authorities" are doing are things that the invisible hand of the Lord made them do. So the historians of the church have to either hide tons of stuff or figure out ways to make it sound like it all came from the "hand of the Lord". Fanny Alger? Was the hand of the Lord in that barn or was it just the prophet Joseph Smith? Was the hand trying to get in the barn to stop what was going on? Did Joseph Smith stuff the hand in the hat with the peepstone and nail the hat to a wall so that the hand couldn't get out? What about the whole denial of the priesthood to black people thing that was implemented as doctrine for 125 years or so and is now referred to as a disavowed policy of mysterious origin? Was the hand of the Lord involved at all or was the hand just busy doing other things? But the priesthood ban was clearly stuff relating to "the Church" so if a historian is to make sure that the members will "see the hand of the Lord in every hour and every moment of the Church from its beginning till now," they've really got their work cut out for them on that issue and they better get busy. Is hiding it an option? Or can they spin it as some kind of 125-year-long "test-o-faith" religious product?

Sheesh. Mormonism knows no bounds. Even corrupted your hard drive RFM!!

LDS "Church" - The closed mind society.

This makes me sad , liars & white washers 🙈🙉🙊!

it's clear that all these trials and tribulations you are experiencing are because you hardened your heart and your sinful ways. A family member has prayed that god would humble you and bring you low so that you would repent. Oh wait...no, it's because you are super righteous like job and nephi, and it is testing your faith and refining you.

You don't sound like you liked him very much.

About 11 minutes wasted in “magic” . Note that.

Typically I prefer to not judge a book by its proverbial cover, but the face this lawyer/attorney posing as a historian presents in the photo is nauseatingly corporate/disingenuous, right out of the gate. Snake Oil, anyone?

I never heard such a boring man in my life, except maybe Joe Biden! Do everyone a favor and try hard not to make public talk! It is not only what you said that is boring but you talk in a monotone that makes me want to scream! I could not listen for the sake of my sanity for more than three minutes! My best