The Priesthood Restored: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast
The Priesthood Restored: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast is a six-part miniseries from the Joseph Smith Papers Project that explores the events and circumstances that played a role in the restoration of the priesthood. Series host Spencer W. McBride interviews historians, researchers, General Authorities, and others in a documentary-style podcast about this defining topic in Latter-day Saint history.Available On:
Episodes
Episode 0: “Series Introduction”
Listeners will hear the story of the restoration of the priesthood in a way that reveals how that restoration was a prolonged process and not simply a series of angelic visitations.
With: Spencer McBride
Episode 1: “The Great Strife and Noise”
This episode examines the religious landscape of the United States in 1829 and how debates among Americans over priesthood may have shaped the way that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery considered their own questions about religious authority.
Guests: Rachel Cope, Christopher Jones
Episode 2: “Days Never to Be Forgotten”
This episode tells the story of John the Baptist’s conferral of the Aaronic Priesthood on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829, in Harmony, Pennsylvania. It also considers what else was happening on that day that helps shape our understanding of the Joseph’s experience.
Guests: Rachel Cope, Matthew Godfrey, Sharalyn Howcroft, Robin Jensen, Michael MacKay, Mark Staker
Episode 3: “The Voice of Peter, James, and John”
This episode explores what we know—and what we don’t know—about the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood and the establishment of the church. We glean what we can from historical documents to learn more about the timing and location of the visitation of Peter, James, and John to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
Guests: Matthew Godfrey, Michael MacKay, Mark Staker
Episode 4: “The Fulness of the Priesthood”
In this episode we examine the ways that Joseph Smith’s understanding of the priesthood and its role in the lives of Latter-day Saints expanded with time, experience, and additional revelation.
Guests: Matthew Godfrey, Christopher Jones, Michael MacKay, Paul Reeve, Lisa Olsen Tait
Episode 5: “The Priesthood Organization”
After Joseph Smith’s death in 1844, church leaders continued to develop priesthood organization in response to the needs of a growing church. This episode also explains how the temple and priesthood restrictions based on race came to be and how church leaders eventually ended those restrictions.
Guests: Marcus Martins, Matthew McBride, Paul Reeve
Episode 6: “Sacred Sites and Ongoing Restorations”
In this episode we discover how the Priesthood Restoration Site became a destination for thousands of people to visit each year and consider how the history of the priesthood restoration influences the religious devotion of Latter-day Saints today.
Guests: Elder Dale G. Renlund, Mark Staker
Additional Resources
- Priesthood Restoration—links to the earliest records describing the restoration of authority and priesthood
- Priesthood Licenses Signed by Joseph Smith or the First Presidency—a list of known licenses signed by Joseph Smith
- Race and the Priesthood—an essay from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
About
Host: Spencer McBride
Audio Engineer: Curt Dahl
Executive Producer: Ben Ellis Godfrey
Producer: Jenny Rollins
Research Assistant: Nathan Jones
Production Coordinators: Ammon Collingwood, Matthew Mangum, Kamille Bone
Cover Art: “Susquehanna River” by Francis R. Magleby (Church History Museum, Salt Lake City)
Editors: Britta Adams, McKinsey Kemeny
Web Team: Christopher Clark, Jim McKenna, Michael Smith, Lonnie McGill, Jeffrey McFarlane, Matt Carson, Kyler Rosquist, Steve Hales, Dave Totten, Ben Cassani, Jon Thorup, Jason Mortensen
Social Media: Madison Parks