Prompt Cast
The Mormon Church's Crisis with Doubt and the Internet
TLDR The Mormon church is facing a crisis as doubts and questions about its history and practices are being brought to light through the internet. Former devout Mormon, John Dillon, starts a podcast called Mormon Stories to share his doubts and experiences, leading to a wave of support and eventually causing the church to address these concerns.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The Mormon church is experiencing a crisis related to the internet, and reporter Karen Duffin has gathered emails, documents, and interviews to investigate the situation.
03:45
John Dillon, a former devout Mormon, discovers historical documents that challenge the standard church story and reveal troubling details about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith's practice of polygamy.
07:12
John Dillon, after realizing the potential consequences of publicly disagreeing or doubting the Mormon church, starts a podcast called Mormon Stories where he shares his doubts and experiences, and begins to receive an outpouring of support from others who have also been silent about their doubts.
11:31
John Dillon starts a podcast called Mormon Stories where he shares his doubts and experiences, and after receiving an outpouring of support, church leaders start to take notice and send the church historian to Sweden to have an open conversation about these questions.
15:21
In a secret meeting, the church historian answers questions from a group of people who want the church to explain their doubts and concerns, but he also emphasizes that they have to choose a side between Jesus and God or Satan.
19:16
The church historian admits that in the past, they were selective in presenting the best things about the church, but now they are working on evolving and addressing doubts, which leads Hans to want to explore a new option and seek help from someone else.
23:16
After conducting a survey that revealed people who left the church felt lied to and that the church was hiding things, Hans does an interview with the New York Times, causing a major explosion and leading to a top leader of the church publicly acknowledging that doubters are not sinful, lazy people, and eventually the church starts publishing essays on their website addressing the doubts and questions of doubters.
27:00
The church excommunicates John for his doubts and his internet presence, and later issues a policy that leads to a mass resignation of 2000 people, causing some members to have a more open conversation about their doubts and disagreements with the church.
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Technology
Society & Culture
