I was nervous that you belonged to the catalyst crowd and relieved to hear your developed belief, or non belief. In these two episodes we discuss: The aftermath of the Mark Hofmann bombings, and Brent's excommunication for his research into the Book of Mormon, and Brent's review of challenges to traditional approaches to the Book of Mormon. This is what led me here! I always enjoyed our discussions years ago about your love for the Indians in your mission and then your experience doing research with their culture and you feelings towards the Book of Mormon. How was Christensen reimbursed or rewarded by the Church for his document ventures? I do remember after my baptismal interview having a strong feeling of love and admiration for him because someone so respected thought I was special too. Please let us know. Anyone know what that is and where I can find out more? Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. He also talks about his early forays into Mormon studies. I have been thinking nonstop about that analogy, because it is so illustrative of the disorder. Ack! And much was going on. Now, alas, Im left to figure out why I dont personally do more to address the real-life hell that is meanwhile breaking loose in the world, now that I understand also that no gods exist to help us. I., **My question is if Brent could provide a copy of the parallels between Elias Snow and Joseph Smith that Wilford Paulson (former BYU professor)inserted into the book. I also appreciate your parting words. Arent we to try to gain understanding about life and spirituality? It is better thought of by non-Catholics (generally), but this has not translated into conversions or retention of cradle Catholics. But such intellectual issues didnt play a role in my failure of faith. It was stillbecause it all drove from the incredibility of the whole thing. Thanks for the clarification, Brent. Now that the new Netflix documentary Murder Among the Mormons has come out, it also validates the important witness that Brent was in this event. Unintended consequences here we come! The problems he discovered lay at Josephs feet, but he threw out the baby with the bath water as if the success of Christianity rode on the success of Joseph Smith. That was fascinating, thank you. Doxey denied asking about Metcalfe. Metcalfe is on the editorial board of the John Whitmer Historical Association. Brent Metcalf Resides in Modesto, CA Includes Address (1) Phone (1) See Results Statistics for all 3 Brent Metcalf results: 50 yrs AVERAGE AGE 100% are in their 50s, while the average age is 50. Hearing Brent break down the Hoffman timeline and story was amazing. Yes! Thomas, I can assure you Im living on the same planet you are. It all depends on the depth of study one does. But once Mormonism got involved, it turned everything upside down. "Mark deceived everyone," Co-director Jared Hess told Deseret News. Is there going to be a part 3? Thanks for the great podcast. Thanks again Brent for sharing a sketch of your life with us. We should also mention that he has since been a key speaker at a conference hosted by Ex-Mormon Foundation and has given several interviews where he has detailed his lifes ups and downs. Hinckley never responded, but was shortly thereafter offered the job by Christensen, which Metcalfe felt was orchestrated by Hinckley. Since unit growth of the church is now in decline and growing slower than U.S. and world population growth, how do you see the future of the church and its doctrines? This is one that definately left me wanting more. Why didnt the church just pay for their own documents? You know, guilt by association. The irony is, I wasnt an activist for anything, I simply wanted to write. But I have a question for Brent. For the listeners who are curious, a portion of the book describes a first vision, copied below: https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&output=reader&id=XH0rAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PA54, The Lamb once slain appeared to my understanding, and while viewing him, I felt such love to him as I never felt to anything earthly. Thank you John and Brent. It is not possible for me to tell how long I remained in that situation, as everything earthly was gone from me for some time. Thanks to the both of you! Like I said they were casting that net as wide as they could get it. January 15, 2015. https://egyptianalphabetandgrammar.blogspot.com/. Before Mark Hoffman was exposed as a forger, was there anything that made you wonder how he managed to make so many great finds? But Brent seems to do just the opposite. :( Will re-record hopefully soon! :-) I really R E A L L Y loved the podcast, and will listen to it all again today. The triplet Egyptian Alphabet manuscripts and the bound Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language also elaborate the Katumin narrative. Regardless of what one takes to be the truth of things, the evidence is not in favor of liberal religiosity as a recipe for church growth- those churches and communities which move away from their traditional truth claims tend to atrophy relatively speedily. What is not to love about Johns revelation of your worthy biceps? [9] When it became rumored that Metcalfe had lost his belief in the historical claims of the LDS Church, Christensen terminated the project and fired Metcalfe. The Gift of the Mormon Faith Crisis Podcast. It seems there is some serious self deception that is required to work around these problems that are creating riffs in families, as well as individual conflicts of spiritual dissonance for good members and leaders of the church. Brent, are you still working on a Book of Abraham book? My faith failed me and that led to crisis. This was interesting all around. Copyright 2005 - 2023 | Mormon Stories. If you hadnt been excommunicated would you still be a member today? Unresolved: Release in which this issue/RFE will be addressed. You didnt elaborate on that interpretation. His contributions, reflections, thoughts and insights represent some of the most important contributions in the history of not just Mormon Stories, but Mormonism in general. Charles, I dont think I threw the baby out with the bathwater since my examination of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures resulted in the same intellectual concerns that I had with LDS scriptural extensions. fireside chat september 3, 1939 summary . During my 7779 mission I served in two London areas, living first in Kilburn Park and later in Wimbledon. And I went through a very long phase of just wishing that I had never been born.. After returning from Iraq after the 2nd deployment as a citizen soldier, I had the same epiphany as Brent; I learned that we are really on our own, there is no God. John in wonderfully rare form in this oneI love it! Is having spiritual experiences while doing what some may view as critical research on the Book, when you know there may be opposing views to your work, grounds for also having these feelings? :). Although he refused to read her book, a respected Mormon scholar named J. Reuben Clark asked the Deseret News to publish his long review of No Man Knows My History. Iowa's Brent Metcalf wrestles with Iowa State's Mitch Mueller during their 149 pound match Friday, March 19, 2010 in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships at . On the term translation, JS promoted his ancient texts as translations in the traditional sense. He has already saved her from choking on several occasions. What an amazing life Brent! As a teenager and still TBM I read some books on the Hoffman Salamander Letter and events surrounding it. The view of the Lamb on mount Sion gave me joy unspeakable and full of glory. Heres a link to the Deseret News write up on the presentation: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865608559/BYU-professor-speaks-on-unnoticed-assumptions-about-the-Book-of-Abraham.html. And you are an example. Why do you think it is that the church is so fearful of discoveries such as the letters by Mark H ? Coming! Since you worked for Steven Christensen, could you shed any light on the main reason why Steven purchased documents from Hoffman was it just to donate documents to the church? In Part 2, Brent describes working for and with Steve Christensen and Mark Hofmann, the Salamander Letter episode, and the bombings that took the lives of Steve and Kathy Sheets. Brent, thank you so much for doing this interview! When we taught the Book of Mormon story, it was part of our presentation. It also struck me that Brent in some ways represents the inverse of Sandra Tanner. I shared this source with Mike Quinn when he was writing _Early Mormonism and the Magic World View_. Quote: More recent studies conducted by Professor of Anthropology Richard B. Stamps, of the Michigan Historical Museum, indicate that the artifacts were made with contemporary tools. Its likely that our paths could have crossed. This unleashed a veritable deluge of Catholic contributions to modern biblical scholarship. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Our interview continues tonight!!! [] author and editor of numerous articles and two Signature Books titles, was interviewed by John Dehlin for the Mormon Stories podcast recently. It was soul-crushing, Brent said. Growing up I only had positive interactions with his beautiful wife and kids. Again, Im not sure that you would disagree with any of this. I discovered New Approaches to the Book of Mormon back in 2002-03. Thank you, I didnt know about that info. Honestly, incredible work. Reply. He has also served in the United States Air Force (Air National Guard) since 2004. But before Brent could truly move on, he had to deal with the emotional turmoil of knowing that he was associated with Mark Hofmann. Brent H Metcalf, 71 Resides in Salt Lake City, UT Lived In Sandy UT Related To Kyle Metcalf, Molly Metcalf, Kristy Metcalf, Nicole Metcalf Includes Address (3) Phone (4) Email (3) See Results Brent Charles Metcalf, 55 Resides in Lowell, AR Lived In Modesto CA, Oroville CA, Bonney Lake WA Also known as Gary Brent, Metcalf Brent Tom, have you considered allowing John to interview you? I happen to believe so. Brent's review of challenges to traditional approaches to the Book of Mormon. Wrestling for coach Roy Hall at Davison High School in Michigan, Metcalf finished as arguably the #1 overall recruit with a career record of 228-0 with . What advice does Brent have for aspiring Mormon historians? He told the story of writing at least a few letters to Hofmann in prison asking for an interview. But before Brent could truly move on, he had to deal with the emotional turmoil of knowing that he was associated with Mark Hofmann. Hoffman was Laffertys cell mate. This is a rumor I heard. A scene from John Dehlin's upcoming disciplinary council, probably.