All six podcast episodes of The Priesthood Restored: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast are now published! I hope my Latter-day Saint friends, and anyone else interested in early Latter-day Saint history will listen. Follow the link HERE or find the podcast on the web or your favorite podcast platform.
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This podcast was the result of hundreds of hours of work by a lot of different people. The production team of Benjamin Godfrey,Β Jenny Rollins Nelson,Β Matthew McBride, and Curt Dahl was essential, as was the work of Matthew Mangum at the Latter-day Saint Channel. Each of them made creating a narrative podcast amidst a pandemic possible. And the production process received tremendous support from the leadership of the Joseph Smith Papers Project and the Church History Department.
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The podcast features smart commentary from many smart guests. They includeΒ Christopher Jones, Rachel Cope,Β Mark Lyman Staker, Sharalyn Howcroft, Michael HubbardΒ MacKay,Β Matt Godfrey, Paul Reeve,Β Lisa Olsen Tait,Β Robin Jensen, and Marcus Martins. And I was particularly thrilled to interview Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles about the role of this history in the lives and devotion of Latter-day Saints today.
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I have been excited, nervous, anxious (and a mix of other emotions) to finally share this with the public after so many months of work. I hope you like it, and if you do, that you will recommend it to your friends. Happy listening!
The Priesthood Restored: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast
Available On:
Episodes
Episode 0: βSeries Introductionβ
Listeners will hear the story of the Restoration of the Priesthood in a way that reveals how that restoration was a prolonged process and not simply a series of angelic visitations.
With:Β Spencer McBride
Episode 1: βThe Great Strife and Noiseβ
This episode examines the religious landscape of the United States in 1829 and how debates among Americans over priesthood may have shaped the way that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery considered their own questions about religious authority.
Guests:Β Rachel Cope, Christopher Jones
Episode 2: βDays Never to Be Forgottenβ
This episode tells the story of John the Baptistβs conferral of the Aaronic priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829, in Harmony, Pennsylvania. It also considers what else was happening on that day that helps shape our understanding of the Josephβs experience.
Guests:Β Rachel Cope, Matthew Godfrey, Sharalyn Howcroft, Robin Jensen, Michael MacKay, Mark Staker
Episode 3: βThe Voice of Peter, James, and Johnβ
This episode explores what we knowβand what we donβt knowβabout the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood and the establishment of the church. We glean what we can from historical documents to learn more about the timing and location of the visitation of Peter, James, and John to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
Guests:Β Matthew Godfrey, Michael MacKay, Mark Staker
Episode 4: βThe Fulness of the Priesthoodβ
In this episode we examine the ways that Joseph Smithβs understanding of the priesthood and its role in the lives of Latter-day Saints expanded with time, experience, and additional revelation.
Guests:Β Matthew Godfrey, Christopher Jones, Michael MacKay, Paul Reeve, Lisa Olsen Tait
Episode 5: βThe Priesthood Organizationβ
After Joseph Smithβs death in 1844, church leaders continued to develop priesthood organization in response to the needs of a growing church. This episode also explains how the temple and priesthood restrictions based on race came to be and how church leaders eventually ended those restrictions.
Guests:Β Marcus Martins, Matthew McBride, Paul Reeve
Episode 6: βSacred Sites and Ongoing Restorationsβ
In this episode we discover how the Priesthood Restoration Site became a destination for thousands of people to visit each year and consider how the history of the priesthood restoration influences the religious devotion of Latter-day Saints today.
Guests:Β Elder Dale G. Renlund, Mark Staker
Additional Resources
- Priesthood RestorationΒ – links to the earliest records describing the restoration of authority and priesthood
- Priesthood Licenses Signed by Joseph Smith or the First PresidencyΒ – a list of known licenses signed by Joseph Smith
- Race and the PriesthoodΒ – an essay from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
About
The Priesthood RestoredΒ podcast is produced in cooperation with theΒ Latter-day Saint Channel.
Host:Β Spencer McBride
Audio Engineer: Curt Dahl
Executive Producer:Β Ben Ellis Godfrey
Producer:Β Jenny Rollins
Research Assistant:Β Nathan Jones
Production Coordinators: Ammon Collingwood, Matthew Mangum, Kamille Bone
Cover Art: βSusquehanna Riverβ by Francis R. Magleby (Church History Museum, Salt Lake City).
Editors: Britta Adams,Β Mckinsey Kemeny
Web Team: Christopher Clark, Jim McKenna, Michael Smith, Lonnie McGill, Jeffrey McFarlane, Matt Carson, Kyler Rosquist, Steve Hales, Dave Totten, Ben Cassani, Jon Thorup, Jason Mortensen
Social Media: Madison Parks