In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Zach take us through the history of folk magic through post-biblical times. Throughout this 6 part series, Me, My Shelf, & I will tackle and refute claims about the seer stones head-on using facts from the historical narrative.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction
(03:40) The fall of Rome and why it changed culture
(06:12) The Beginning of the Dark Ages–A totally different world
(11:59) The Cunning Folk in Britain
(22:49) The Crusades
(26:47) The Inquisition
(29:14) The Renaissance
(24:05) WitchTrials
(39:59) Enlightenment 1637-1815 and 1st Great Awakening
(50:00) Joseph Smith’s time and culture
(59:32) Conclusion

Sarah Allen is a senior researcher with FAIR, and the 2022 recipient of the John Taylor: Defender of the Faith Award. By profession, she works in mortgage compliance and is a freelance copyeditor. An avid reader, she loves studying the Gospel and the history of the restored Church. After watching some of her friends lose their testimonies, she became interested in helping others through their faith crises. That’s when she began sharing what she’d learned through her studies. She is a co-moderator the LDS subreddit on Reddit and the author of a multi-part series rebutting the CES Letter. She’s grateful to those at FAIR who have given her the opportunity to share her testimony with a wider audience.

Jennifer Roach earned a Master of Divinity from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, and a Master of Counseling from Argosy University. Before her conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she was an ordained minister in the Anglican church. Her own experience of sexual abuse from a pastor during her teen years led her to care deeply about issues of abuse in faith communities.

Zachary Wright was born in American Fork, UT.  He served his mission speaking Spanish in North Carolina and the Dominican Republic.  He currently attends BYU studying psychology, but loves writing, and studying LDS theology and history.  His biggest desire is to help other people bring them closer to each other, and ultimately bring people closer to God.

The post Me, My Shelf, & I – Episode 3 – Seer Stones: Post-Biblical Folk Magic appeared first on FAIR.