• Give me access to SECRET EPISODES
  • Episodes
  • Watch
  • Listen
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Episodes
  • Watch
  • Listen
  • Subscribe
  • Give me access to SECRET EPISODES
PrevPrevious EpisodeSealing to GA’s Through Law of Adoption
Next Expisode1st International Temple was almost a Temple Ship!Next

Ouija boards, Spiritualism, Manifesto, & Endowments for the Dead

You’ve probably heard lots of ghost stories, Ouija boards, and other supernatural phenomenon.  I was surprised to hear Dr. Richard Bennett, a BYU professor of Church History tell us that Spiritualism, the idea of communing with the dead, may have had some impact on the LDS endowment.  Some quotes from Dr. Bennett:

YouTube player

Spiritualism, the practice of communing with the dead, adulterated today by Ouija boards and things like this and telekinesis and paranormal, but Spiritualism is well-known in American history as flowering after the Civil War with so many dead and lost and the great desire of many families to know what happened to their sons or their fathers or their brothers.

…

In the 1870s there’s a lot of comment by general authorities, leaders of the church, particularly Orson Pratt about this is a counterfeit, but it has its place.  We understand why people are seeking the dead.  Was that a factor in the beginning of endowments for the dead for the church in 1877?  I claim that it may have been one of the factors to begin to address how we really think about them.  There is redemption for the dead but it’s not that way.  So was it a factor?  I argue that it probably was one of the factors.

We also talked about the start of the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper!

There were a small number of astute, intellectual Latter-day Saints who broke with Brigham Young in the 1870s, who thought they knew the gospel a little bit better than Brigham Young did.  But they thought that they knew economics better than Brigham Young did and they broke with the church over that.  The Salt Lake Tribune starts with the Godbeite movement which was very negative,of course against the church.  It still tends to be a little bit on that side, but that’s its history.

There’s also a discussion about the revelation that preceded the Manifesto.  Check it out!

https://gospeltangents.com/shop/transcripts/ouija-boards-spiritualism-the-manifesto-and-endowments-for-the-dead/

 

 

 

https://media.blubrry.com/gospeltangents/p/content.blubrry.com/gospeltangents/25-SpiritualismManifestoEndow.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:26 — 14.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Email | RSS | More

No related products found.

More Podcasts with these Guests

  • Evolution of Temple Work Available!
  • 1st International Temple was almost a Temple Ship!
  • Sealing to GA's Through Law of Adoption
  • Evolution of Temple Worship: From Speaking in Tongues to Masonry
  • Selling LDS Temples!!!!

Get more information on the people and things discussed in this episode:

  • Guest: Richard E. Bennett
  • Theology: Polygamy, Temple Ordinances
  • LDS Temples
  • Historical Mentions David O. McKay, greg prince, Mormon History
  • Tags: best Mormon history podcast, Church History, Dr Richard Bennett, endowments, GT Podcast, iTunes, LDS, LDS Church, Manifesto, Mormon, Mormon Church, Ouija boards, Spiritualism

Tell me when the next episode drops!

PrevPrevious EpisodeSealing to GA’s Through Law of Adoption
Next Expisode1st International Temple was almost a Temple Ship!Next
  • Date: April 16, 2017
  • Guest: Richard E. Bennett
  • Theology: Polygamy, Temple Ordinances
  • LDS Temples
  • Historical Mentions David O. McKay, greg prince, Mormon History
  • Tags: best Mormon history podcast, Church History, Dr Richard Bennett, endowments, GT Podcast, iTunes, LDS, LDS Church, Manifesto, Mormon, Mormon Church, Ouija boards, Spiritualism
  • Posted By: RickB

Rick Bennett, Host

Rick Bennett is the friendly host of Gospel Tangents LDS Podcast: The Best Source for Mormon History, Science, and Theology. Book Rick for your fireside or conference.

More Interviews

  • Ben Spackman
  • David Ostler
  • Denver Snuffer
  • Lachlan McKay
  • Lindsay Hansen Park
  • Margaret Toscano
  • Richard Bushman
  • Sally Gordon
  • Terryl Givens
  • Ugo Perego...
View all 100+ Interviewees

Proud to be an Amazon Associate

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Subscribe

Subscribe to Gospel Tangents LDS Podcast and go ad-free!

Go Ad-Free

$ 5 Month
  • View all Podcasts with NO ADS
Don't Show Me Ads!

Show Me Videos First!

$ 8 Month
  • No Ads
  • Full-length Videos
  • GT Insiders Community Access
Make Me an Insider!

Email Me Transcripts

$ 10 Month
  • No Ads
  • Full-length Videos
  • GT Insiders Community Access
  • Receive PDF Transcripts of every episode by email
Send Me Transcripts!
best value

Grow My Collection

$ 20 Month
  • No Ads
  • Full-length Videos
  • GT Insiders Community Access
  • Receive PDF Transcripts of every episode by email
  • Collect every Gospel Tangents episode with a printed transcript delivered by mail
Build My Collection!

Give Me
One-On-One Access

$ 100 Month
  • No Ads
  • Full-length Videos
  • GT Insiders Community Access
  • Receive PDF Transcripts of every episode by email
  • Collect every Gospel Tangents episode with a printed transcript delivered by mail
  • Meet with Rick personally, one-on-one, for an hour each month!
Sign Me Up!
Have educated, non-judgmental discussions with the most personable LDS podcaster in the business.

Subscribe

Go ad-free, get written transcripts, and talk to Rick one-on-one!
Stop Seeing Ads

Rick Bennett, Host of Gospel Tangents

Rick Bennett is the friendly, independent historian at the heart of Gospel Tangents LDS Podcast: The Best Source for Mormon History, Science, and Theology. When he isn't interviewing Mormon scholars, prophets, and others, he is teaching math and statistics at Utah Valley University. He also freelances as a research biostatistician in the fields of Dermatology and Traumatic Brian Injuries, as well as in the network television/cable T.V. industries as a sports statistician. Rick holds a Master of Statistics Degree from the University of Utah.

Contact Rick
Book Rick for your Event
0 +
Podcast Episodes
0
People Interviewed
  • Home
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Subscribe
  • Fan Shop
  • Book Rick
  • Contact Us
Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Subscribe
  • Fan Shop
  • Book Rick
  • Contact Us
Copyright 2022, Gospel Tangents. All Rights Reserved.