Informed Saints

The podcast where you can learn about everything from polygamy to gold plates. Hosted by Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, and Jasmin Rappleye.

Informed Saints is a religion podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 51 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Informed Saints, a religion show with 51 episodes published.

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  Episode #52

  How a Dead Sea Scrolls Translator Reads Isaiah

  Sep 27, 202655 minS1

  Jesus told us to search Isaiah diligently—so why does it so often feel like a closed book? What if the passages that confuse us most are actually some of the most carefully crafted poetry in all of scripture? Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot sit down with Dr. Donald W. Parry—professor of Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls at BYU, a member of the international team of Dead Sea Scrolls translators since 1994, and one of the few scholars with his depth of expertise on the Great Isaiah Scroll (and Jasmin and Stephen's former Hebrew professor!). Drawing on his paper "Unlocking Isaiah's Closed Book," published in Steadfast in Defense of Faith: Essays in Honor of Daniel C. Peterson (Interpreter Foundation), and his new translation of Isaiah, Don walks through the three barriers that keep readers out of Isaiah—and the keys that let them in. A perfect companion for studying Isaiah in Come, Follow Me. ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye In this episode: • The 3 barriers to reading Isaiah: poetry, about 60 different speakers, and figures of speech • Hebrew parallelism 101—1,100+ examples in Isaiah (Isaiah 1:3; 65:14; 54:7) • Why Mark Twain mocked the Book of Mormon's repetition—and why it's great Hebrew • Plural amplification: why the Book of Mormon says "bloodsheds" • Lady Zion and the nursing mother (Isaiah 49:14–15) • Isaiah's rare rhymes: mishpat/mispach and tsedaqah/tse'aqah (Isaiah 5:7) • Gendered-noun patterns (Isaiah 43:16), "eat or be eaten" with the Hebrew verb 'akal (Isaiah 1:19–20), and the Lord as attorney and judge (rîb, Isaiah 3:13) • Chiasmus: 100+ in Isaiah (Isaiah 6:10; 60:1–3) and 300+ in the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 4:33–35; 15:25) • Qumi ori ("arise, shine")—and a speculative thought on the name Cumorah • 44 figures of speech: "as scarlet… white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18), "Holy, holy, holy" (Isaiah 6:3), exclamations, metonymy, personification, and rhetorical questions • Prophetic past tense in Isaiah 53—and how Abinadi explains it (Mosiah 16:6) • Why Isaiah is a Jehovah-focused book: the divine name about 450 times and 200+ direct quotations • Joseph Smith's Hebrew studies with Joshua Seixas—and how to start learning biblical Hebrew yourself Go deeper with Don's work: → A New Translation of Isaiah: Based on Ancient Scrolls and Texts (FAIR): https://fairlatterdaysaints.org/store/product/a-new-translation-of-isaiah-based-on-ancient-scrolls-and-texts/ → "Unlocking Isaiah's Closed Book" (Interpreter Foundation): https://interpreterfoundation.org/reprint-unlocking-isaiahs-closed-book → Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon (Maxwell Institute): https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/mi/61 → Learn biblical Hebrew with Don (textbook + online courses): https://hebrew.byu.edu → Jesus Christ in Scripture with Don Parry & Tammy Uzelac Hall: https://www.youtube.com/@JesusChristinScripture Study deeply, believe boldly. ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of... Chapters (00:00:00) - Introducing Dr. Don Perry and His Dead Sea Scrolls Career (00:03:18) - Barriers to Understanding Isaiah: Poetry, Speakers, Figures of Speech (00:04:26) - Synonymous and Antithetical Parallelism Examples (00:08:33) - Plural Amplification and Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon (00:10:08) - Dialogue and Emblematic Figures of Speech (00:11:43) - Similes, Metaphors, and Personification in Isaiah (00:15:32) - Grammatical and Phonological Parallelisms (00:17:53) - Gendered Nouns and Grammatical Mood Contrasts (00:19:45) - Wordplay, Progression, and Legal Language in Isaiah (00:21:50) - Chiasmus in Isaiah and the Book of Mormon (00:27:42) - Complexity of Book of Mormon Chiasmus as Evidence (00:29:25) - Why Isaiah Used Parallelisms (00:30:30) - Isaiah's 44 Literary Devices and Similes Revisited (00:34:17) - Duplication, Exclamation, and Exaltation in Isaiah (00:38:45) - Metonymy, Motive Clauses, and Prophetic Past Tense (00:42:43) - Personification and Rhetorical Questions Continued (00:44:06) - Isaiah as a Book About Jesus Christ (Jehovah) (00:48:20) - Reverence for the Name Jehovah and Sacred Space (00:50:54) - Learning Biblical Hebrew Today and Joseph Smith's Example

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  Episode #51

  Where Is the Hill Cumorah? (The Truth About Book of Mormon Geography)

  Sep 20, 202649 minS1

  Everyone knows where the Hill Cumorah is… right? Joseph Smith received the gold plates from a hill in upstate New York. But is that the same hill where Mormon hid the Nephite records and the Nephites made their last stand in Mormon 6? It's one of the most debated questions in Book of Mormon geography, and the history behind it may surprise you. In this episode of Informed Saints, Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot walk through what the Book of Mormon itself says about Cumorah, trace when the New York hill first came to be called by that name, and look at what the Church has officially said. Along the way they draw on the Joseph Smith Papers, the Church's "Book of Mormon Geography" statement, and the Hill Cumorah issue of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, including archaeologist John E. Clark's assessment of the site. Chapters: 0:00 The Hill Cumorah background 5:35 Is it in New York? 12:00 Assessing the sources 16:57 What’s from Joseph Smith? 21:21 David Whitmer sources 25:27 The Church’s position 28:00 What the BoM says? 35:15 Looking at the archeology 42:50 Another candidate in Mexico 47:00 Conclusion - Learning more ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye Further Readings: Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Hill Cumorah issue: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol13/iss1/ "Book of Mormon Geography," Gospel Topics: www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/book-of-mormon-geography Our Book of Mormon geography episode with Brant Gardner: https://youtu.be/lHEAG87wh9Y https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/hill-cumorah-site-guide/03-curators-notes https://scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book/introduction-study-book-mormon https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/MStar/id/27175/ https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/41 https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835 https://bhroberts.org/records/pWTXhj-mc2Zjf/w_w_phelps_identifies_the_hill_cumorah_as_being_in_new_york https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/9 https://bookofmormonresources.blogspot.com/2016/10/ramahcumorah.html https://bhroberts.org/records/zrSENb-yN34Vd/heber_c_kimball_recounts_the_cumorah_cave Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction: Where is the Hill Cumorah? (00:01:08) - Book of Mormon Text: Details About Cumorah (00:05:37) - Distinguishing the Plates' Location from the Battle Site (00:06:53) - Origins of the Name 'Cumorah' for the New York Hill (00:08:51) - Oliver Cowdery's Letter Seven and the Mound Builder Myth (00:11:45) - Assessing the Reliability of Cowdery and Phelps (00:16:39) - What Joseph Smith Actually Said About Cumorah (00:19:17) - Lucy Mack Smith and David Whitmer Accounts (00:24:28) - Recap of Historical Sources and Timeline (00:25:14) - The Church's Official Neutral Stance on Geography (00:27:18) - Does New York Fit the Book of Mormon's Geographic Clues? (00:31:05) - Moroni's 35 Years and the Cumorah Cave Legends (00:35:10) - Archaeological Evidence (or Lack Thereof) at the New York Hill (00:37:55) - The Arrowhead Anecdotes: Critical Evaluation (00:42:43) - A Mesoamerican Candidate: Cerro El Vigía in Veracruz (00:46:49) - Closing Thoughts and Respecting Different Views

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  Episode #50

  Most LDS Faith Crises Start in the Wrong Place. Here's Where to Begin.

  Sep 13, 20261h 9mS1

  Most people having a faith crisis are fighting on the branches — polygamy, DNA, the Book of Abraham, race and the priesthood — when the actual problem is buried somewhere underneath. What happens if you go all the way down to the roots and ask why anything exists at all? Use discount code INFORMED15 for 15% off Walker Wrights Book! https://fairlatterdaysaints.org/store/product/nourishing-the-roots/ Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot sit down with Walker Wright , author of Nourishing the Roots: Seeking the Foundations of Latter-day Saint Testimony , published by FAIR. Walker takes a faith crisis apart from the bottom up — existence, intelligibility, morality, consciousness, God, the Resurrection, and the gold plates — and closes with the story of losing his sister at 11 and the years of atheism that followed. ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye In this episode: Elder Uchtdorf's roots-and-branches metaphor, mapped onto the first three temple recommend questions Why a branch you're struggling with can sometimes just be pruned — and why you still have to face the hard issues eventually Larry Corbridge's primary vs. secondary questions, and why an organism explains it better than concentric circles Why no artifact from the ancient Near East or Mesoamerica will move a committed skeptic — and what "lucky guess" really means Why nothing can predate existence, and what that implies about something self-existent, necessary, and eternal Laws of nature, why math matches them, and Joseph Smith's revelations on the light of truth that was not created or made Where objective morality comes from, and why the Holocaust is the test case Andrew Ferguson on Thomas Nagel: why no materialist actually lives like a materialist Fine-tuning and Martin Rees's Just Six Numbers — expand slightly faster or slower and there's no you The multiverse, the inverse gambler's fallacy, and why it's fine-tuning with extra steps The hard problem of consciousness, "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?", and how Mind and Cosmos got Nagel ostracized Philosophical zombies, the China brain, and Alvin Plantinga on other minds and properly basic belief Eternal intelligence, the mind of man, and the hierarchy of intelligences in Abraham 3 Miracles, divine healings, and what an exorcism implies about a hierarchy of spirits Are Latter-day Saints materialists? Goodness, truth, beauty, and the telos of eternal progression The Resurrection as the decisive revelation — Paul's undisputed letters, the Gospels as Greco-Roman biographies, and a crucified messiah nobody expected Why the eleven witnesses come up in every Christian-atheist debate, and why William Lane Craig and Trent Horn brush past them Oliver Cowdery's hand in the printer's manuscript, Martin Harris's matter-of-fact language, and how early those sources really are What kind of person could have written the Book of Mormon — Tolkien after twenty years at Oxford, or a farmhand with a stone in a hat? John Clark's 1% problem and Matt Roper's work on anachronisms Why Moroni's promise is a targeted spiritual experience and not Pam feeling God at Chili's Walker's sister Nicole, the MTC moment that changed everything, and why a faith crisis is like a horror movie Further Readings: Use discount code INFORMED15 for 15% off! https://fairlatterdaysaints.org/store/product/nourishing-the-roots/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Nourishing the Roots: Seeking the Found (00:00:37) - Walker on James Bond and the First Vision (00:01:22) - Describing the Roots of Christianity (00:04:47) - Like an Organic Plant, Faith Needs Nourishment (00:07:49) - The Reasons for Why Does Everything Exist? (00:13:25) - Does Moral Value Exist? (00:16:16) - Materialism and the Psychopath (00:20:59) - Doctor Strange on the Multiverse (00:24:13) - On the Problem of Consciousness (00:28:41) - Bluey The Bat Is For Real (00:29:06) - What is Consciousness? (00:33:24) - Nagel: The Problem of Consciousness (00:38:15) - The Real Evidence of the Resurrection (00:42:40) - The Evidence for the Gold Plates (00:47:08) - Joseph Smith on the Book of Mormon (00:51:18) - The Book of Mormon: An Experience of Truth (00:56:54) - In the Elevator With Infinite Truth (01:00:45) - What Happened to My Faith in the Latter Day Saints (01:06:23) - Nourishing the Roots: Seeking the Foundations of Latter Day

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  Informed Saints

  What Church Looked Like Before the 3-Hour Block

  Sep 9, 202659 min

  The first sacrament meeting of the Restoration was held on a Tuesday. Latter-day Saints once drank homemade currant wine from a shared cup, sang hymns one line at a time because half the congregation couldn't read, and listened to music playing during the administration of the sacrament. Almost everything we picture when we say the word "church" is younger than we think. Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot trace nearly two centuries of change in Latter-day Saint Sabbath worship — from open-air preaching in the Nauvoo grove to the 2026 two-hour block. There is no single standard history of this subject yet, so this episode pulls the thread together from separate histories of the sacrament, the Relief Society, the Sunday School, the Aaronic Priesthood, Primary, and the Young Women — including Justin Bray's work on the early sacrament. Chapters: 0:00 Intro - Current Church Schedule Changes 6:16 Sacrament Meeting History 14:22 The Sacrament History 32:12 Relief Society & Youth Program Changes 36:36 Sunday School Changes 42:42 Young Men’s & Women’s 49:00 Age Categories 53:25 Conclusion - Inspired Direction ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye Church Changes Bibliography “https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/sacrament-meetings?lang=eng,” in Church History Topics. “https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/sunday-school?lang=eng,” in Church History Topics. “https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/young-women-organizations?lang=eng,” in Church History Topics. “https://churchhistorylibrary.churchofjesuschrist.org/guides/young-women-organization?lang=eng,” Church History Library Research Guides. “https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/relief-society?lang=eng,” in Church History Topics. Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard, “https://www.thechurchnews.com/1999/3/20/23249076/cover-story-sunday-school-grew-from-humble-start/,” Church News (March 20, 1999). Justin R. Bray, “https://rsc.byu.edu/you-shall-have-my-word/lords-supper-early-mormonism,” in You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Scott C. Esplin, Richard O. Cowan, and Rachel Cope (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 64–74. Justin R. Bray, "https://rsc.byu.edu/sacred-time/sabbath-sacrament-latter-day-saints," in Sacred Time: The Sabbath as a Perpetual Covenant, ed. Gaye Strathearn (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book), 207–42. Rachel Cope, "https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-15-no-3-2014/thoughts-reclaiming-history-relief-society," Religious Educator 15, no. 3 (2014): 91–101. William Hartley, https://byustudies.byu.edu/online-book/my-fellow-servants-essays-on-the-history-of-the-priesthood/from-men-to-boys, in My Fellow Servants: Essays on the History of the Priesthood (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2010). William Hartley, https://byustudies.byu.edu/online-book/my-fellow-servants-essays-on-the-history-of-the-priesthood/mormon-sundays, in My Fellow Servants: Essays on the History of the Priesthood (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2010). Glen M. Leonard, “https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1974/12/125-years-of-the-sunday-classroom?lang=eng,” Ensign (December 1974). Janet Peterson, “https://rsc.byu.edu/firm-foundation/young-women-zion-organizational-history,” in David J. Whittaker and Arnold K. Garr, eds., A Firm Foundation: Church Organization and Administration (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2011), 277–94. Mary Jane Woodger, “https://rsc.b... Chapters (00:00:00) - The Changes to the Church Schedule (00:01:13) - The Changes to the Church's History (00:06:05) - Wonders of the First Day (00:09:39) - Wonders of the First Division on Sunday (00:14:22) - The Sacrificial Birth (00:20:03) - The Concerns of Conservative Members About the Sacrament (00:24:43) - The Sacrament Worship of the Old Church (00:30:28) - Q&A: The Quaker (00:32:14) - The Auxiliaries of the Latter Day Church (00:37:59) - Teachers in the Aaronic Priesthood (00:44:50) - Primary and Young Women's Program in the Church (00:50:04) - The Correlation Revolution: When Everything Collapses Under the Church (00:55:13) - Wonders of the Church

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  Episode #46

  Song of Solomon: Can Uninspired Writing Be Scripture?

  Aug 9, 202626 minS1

  There's a book in your scriptures that Joseph Smith flagged as "not inspired," that Elder Bruce R. McConkie once called "biblical trash," and that the Come Follow Me manual skipped over entirely. It's also quoted three times in the Doctrine and Covenants — including in the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer. So what exactly is the Song of Solomon doing in our canon? Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot work through Dana Pike's chapter on the Song of Solomon in From Wilderness to Monarchy: The Old Testament through the Lens of the Restoration , published by the Religious Studies Center at BYU — a volume of essays walking through the Old Testament from a Latter-day Saint perspective. ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye In this episode: What Shir Hashirim asher lishlomo actually means, and why the lamed preposition ( le ) makes the authorship question harder than it looks Why biblical scholars date the Hebrew — including its Persian loanwords — well after Solomon's reign How the book traveled into the canon: the Septuagint, the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, and Rabbi Akiva's insistence that it is the holy of holies Why the Song of Solomon is one of the few Old Testament books the New Testament never quotes, alongside Judges, Esther, and Ecclesiastes The striking parallels with New Kingdom Egyptian love poetry — including calling the beloved "my sister" Dana Pike's three-point case that the song didn't originate as inspired scripture Tremper Longman III's alternative: that its place in the Bible testifies that God cares about our most intimate relationships Joseph Smith's JST notation, what it tells us about the nature of the Joseph Smith Translation, and what "not inspired" most likely meant Song of Solomon 6:10 in D&C 109:73, "Rose of Sharon" as a title for Christ in Elder Holland's teaching, and the little foxes in the Nauvoo Relief Society The bigger question: what do we do with uninspired writing inside an inspired canon — and why Leviticus raises the very same problem Read Dana Pike's chapter in From Wilderness to Monarchy: The Old Testament through the Lens of the Restoration from the BYU Religious Studies Center: https://rsc.byu.edu/book/wilderness-monarchy Joseph Smith Papers Source: www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/old-testament-revision-2/104 Subscribe for more faithful scholarship on scripture, history, and the ancient world. Study deeply, believe boldly. ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #SongOfSolomon #SongOfSongs #OldTestament #ComeFollowMe #LDS #LatterDaySaints #BibleStudy #ScriptureStudy #JosephSmith #JST #DanaPike #HebrewBible #BiblicalScholarship #DeadSeaScrolls #Septuagint #RabbiAkiva #Solomon #DoctrineAndCovenants #InformedSaints Chapters (00:00:00) - The Song of Solomon (00:01:55) - The Song of Solomon (00:06:59) - Song of Solomon (00:08:21) - Song of Songs and Egyptian Love Poetry (00:09:28) - The Song of Solomon (00:15:52) - The Song of Solomon: Not Inspired Literature (00:20:03) - The Song of Solomon and its relevance (00:23:15) - Is the Song of Solomon Less Inspired Than Leviticus?

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