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PrevPrevious EpisodeUnexpected Book of Mormon & Revolutionary War Link (Thomas Murphy 3 of 4)

Thomas Murphy’s Real Answer — Coming in Part 4

Table of Contents: Thomas Murphy’s Real Answer — Coming in Part 4

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Over the past three segments, Dr. Thomas Murphy, author of Unsettling Scripture: Iroquois and the Book of Mormon, has walked us through his research connecting Haudenosaunee history to the origins of the Book of Mormon — from the Dartmouth/Moor’s Charity School connection, to the prophet Handsome Lake, to overlooked ties between Native nations and the Revolutionary War era. But all of it has been building toward one question we haven’t asked him directly yet: can the Book of Mormon be both fiction and scripture at the same time?

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Thomas Murphy’s Answer!

In our final segment, Murphy finally answers it. He also doesn’t shy away from the harder conversations his research raises — including the ethics of archaeology and the handling of indigenous remains in the search for Book of Mormon evidence, and where he actually lands on the long-running Heartland versus Mesoamerica debate.

This is the conversation this whole series has been leading up to, and it’s one of the most personal, thoughtful answers we’ve heard on this show.

Newsletter subscribers get early access to the full segment — sign up free at gospeltangents.com/newsletter to hear Murphy’s complete answer before it goes public.

Listen to the rest of the series wherever you get your podcasts.

Don’t miss our other conversations with Thomas: https://gospeltangents.com/people/thomas-murphy/

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Check out a transcript of the interview on Amazon.

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  • BoM: South America, Heartland, Meso (Part 3 of 6)
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Get more information on the people and things discussed in this episode:

  • Guest: Thomas Murphy
  • Theology: Book of Mormon
  • Science Topics Covered: Geography, Great Lakes/NY, Heartland, Mesoamerica
  • Tags: best Mormon history podcast, Gospel Tangents, GT Podcast, Joseph Smith, Rick Bennett

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PrevPrevious EpisodeUnexpected Book of Mormon & Revolutionary War Link (Thomas Murphy 3 of 4)

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Dr. Thomas Murphy, author of Unsettling Scripture: Iroquois and the Book of Mormon — about to give his real answer in Part 4.
  • Date: September 16, 2026
  • Guest: Thomas Murphy
  • Theology: Book of Mormon
  • Science Topics Covered: Geography, Great Lakes/NY, Heartland, Mesoamerica
  • Tags: best Mormon history podcast, Gospel Tangents, GT Podcast, Joseph Smith, Rick Bennett
  • Posted By: RickB

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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.

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