Hey everyone,

I've always loved the joke of someone being on an airplane, an attendant coming on the intercom to ask "is there a doctor on board?", it it turned out the really did need someone with a doctorate in history to solve a humanities puzzle.

I've still dreamt of that happening to me.

But the closest to feeling that needed is my monthly LIVE YouTube discussion. It's honestly a highlight for me. I love being able to directly answer your questions and geek out on historiography, sources, and the complexities of the past. I do these every first Wednesday, so tonight is the night. While the theme for the AMA is the lingering issues of race within the LDS Church, and I'll kick things off by highlighting some of my favorite works of scholarship on the topic, I'll be happy to take any and all questions. (Within reason.)

Here is a link to the YouTube page, which will go live at 7pm MT:

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And now on to my bi-weekly links.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

• ​Mailbag Monday (8/3): How should we evaluate difficult historical questions about the Latter-day Saint tradition? In this first Mail Bag Monday, we tackle thoughtful questions about the Book of Abraham, the origins of the priesthood and temple restriction, Joseph Smith's practice of polygamy, evaluating historical diaries, and determining whether biographies can be trusted. Rather than relying on assumptions, this discussion focuses on historical methods, primary sources, and the way professional historians weigh evidence.
• ​What Missionary Wives Really Endured in Early Mormonism (7/31): What was life really like for the wives left behind while Mormon missionaries traveled the world in the 19th century? This video explores the newly published collection We All Must Be Crazy: The Correspondence of Sarah Peterson Lund to Her Missionary Husband, 1874–1894, revealing the emotional, financial, and spiritual realities of missionary families through the remarkable voice of Sanie Lund.
• ​Did Mormonism Influence Jordan Peterson? (7/29): Jordan Peterson recently argued that Marxism is the modern expression of the same envy that drove Cain to murder Abel—but where did that idea actually come from? This video traces the surprising intellectual history behind that claim, revealing how one influential Mormon writer, Cleon Skousen, helped popularize a theological interpretation that continues to shape conservative political thought today.
• ​Why Mexican Mormons Broke Away in the 1930s (7/27): A forgotten chapter of Mormon history changed the future of the global LDS Church. In this video, we explore the remarkable story of the Third Convention—a movement led by Mexican Latter-day Saints who sought greater autonomy, indigenous leadership, and recognition within the Church during the 1930s. At the center of the story is Margarito Bautista, whose vision combined Book of Mormon theology with Mexican nationalism during one of the country's most transformative political eras.
• ​Did Joseph Smith Really Predict the Civil War? (7/24): Did Joseph Smith really predict the American Civil War nearly 30 years before it began? In this video, we examine one of the most well-known prophecies in Latter-day Saint history by returning to the original documents, historical context, and scholarly evidence. Rather than relying on later traditions or popular retellings, we explore what Joseph Smith actually dictated on Christmas Day 1832, how the revelation evolved over time, and why it became one of the most cited examples of prophetic fulfillment within LDS history.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

• The Decline in US Evangelicalism was Foreseeable: TikTok/Instagram​
• Do Scholars Focus Too Much on Colonialism? TikTok/Instagram​
• Quotes from Mormon Pioneers as they Fled the United States: TikTok/Instagram​
• Donald Trump's Latest Attack on the Smithsonian: TikTok/Instagram​
• Five Books to Understand Pioneer Day: TikTok/Instagram​
• When Utah Used Fertility Rates to Assimilate: TikTok/Instagram​
• Rest in Peace, Carol Lynn Pearson: TikTok/Instagram​
• Carol Lynn Pearson and the Ghost of Polygamy: TikTok/Instagram​
• Carol Lynn Pearson and the September Six Saga: TikTok/Instagram​
• Carol Lynn Pearson's My Turn on Earth: TikTok/Instagram​

Well, that's all I got for now. I need to go start preparing my remarks for tonight's LIVE. I hope to see many of you there!

Until Next Time,

Benjamin Park, Historian and Nerd