LDS Uncorrelated

Mormon Folk Magic, Joseph Smith’s Occult Reputation & Dave Butler’s Cunning Man The hosts discuss ongoing interest in Joseph Smith’s seer stones, treasure digging, and whether these practices should be labeled “occult,” referencing questions from the FAIR Conference and Mark Ashurst-McGee’s work on Joseph as a “village seer.” Dave Butler introduces his novel series Cunning Man, co-written with Aaron Ritchie, about Hiram Woolley, a very Mormon sugar beet farmer in 1935 Utah who battles literal and figurative demons of the Great Depression using his Grandma Hetty’s documentable folk-prayer lore, alongside his adopted Navajo son Michael. They explore definitions of magic and “occult” as “hidden,” Christian grimoires like Hohman’s The Long Lost Friend, Catholic folk practices (including burying St. Joseph statues), sympathetic magic, and LDS garment folklore as both symbolic and protective, including how such beliefs appear in Mormon history and culture.

00:00 Occult Joseph Smith

02:02 FAIR Conference Questions

04:26 Cunning Man Series

06:20 Mormon Indiana Jones

10:59 American Paladin Hiram

16:23 Grimoires and Psalm Magic

17:37 Catholic Folk Practices

21:36 Defining Magic and Occult

27:40 Saint Joseph House Spell

31:44 Sympathetic Magic Explained

33:32 Magic Underwear Folklore

38:30 Garment Protection Lore

40:06 Carthage Jail Accounts

42:21 Charm Versus Blessing

43:46 Chi Rho Stand In

46:59 Decline of Magic

50:26 Cunning Man Trilogy

10:59 Bautista and Mexico

58:23 AUB and Fundamentalists

01:01:20 Future Books Ideas

01:04:29 Hofmann and Folk Magic

01:06:43 Wrap Up and Recommendations

The hosts of LDS Uncorrelated celebrate strong early podcast numbers, then Arantza reports back from Florida girls camp, describing extreme heat, mosquitoes, ticks, and an alligator in the lake while she ran Book of Mormon Jeopardy and discussed camp traditions like songs, including “Mormon Boy,” and how these events build friendships and spiritual formation. The conversation turns to chastity teaching, rejecting the “chewed gum” metaphor and arguing for repentance through Christ and healthier attitudes toward sexuality. They discuss pranks like snipe hunting, compare boys’ and girls’ camp culture, and share a Boy Scout story. The episode then pivots to a current event: Shane Baldwin publicly claiming to be the “Davidic servant,” with Dave performing a satirical song and the hosts arguing the concept is a fringe construct, criticizing Baldwin’s claims, apps, and history, and emphasizing staying centered on Christ.

00:00 Cold Open Chaos

00:54 Show Welcome Back

01:44 Florida Girls Camp Gators

03:26 Book of Mormon Jeopardy

07:21 Mormon Boy Song

10:39 Flirts Modesty Chastity

17:06 Snipe Hunting Prank

24:08 Boy Scout Survival Prank

28:49 Relief Society Mysteries

30:54 Dave Song Teaser

31:47 Badger Hat Banter

32:21 Messiah Claim Emerges

34:00 Go Tell Abraham Song

38:30 What Is Davidic Servant

42:22 Shane Baldwin Deep Dive

48:08 Apps Fraud and Correlation

51:29 How People Get Pulled In

52:24 Meeting Shane at Church HQ

01:01:34 Folklore Lost Tribes Under Ice

01:07:06 Myth Points to Christ

01:08:04 Wrap Up and Next Episode

LDS Uncorrelated: Mormon Cinema, Acting Origins & the Java Jive Coffee Date (with Brad Whitt) On LDS Uncorrelated, the hosts welcome guest Brad Whitt (Ward Radio, Escape from Germany, BYU Physical Science course videos) and discuss acting backgrounds, LDS culture, and LDS “homegrown” cinema. Arantxa shares starting acting at seven through auditions and agents, while Brad traces his start to school improv and studying acting at BYU, plus his mission in New York. The group debates key LDS films like God’s Army, Brigham City, and Singles Ward, and talks about Mormon-adjacent films like Napoleon Dynamite and Gentlemen Broncos. They highlight Brett and Jessica Bergen’s short film Java Jive, about an awkward first date at a coffee shop and the pressure around the Word of Wisdom, then digress into stories about schismatic figure Phil Davis and other Mormon folklore. They close by encouraging more LDS-coded filmmaking and teasing a future episode analyzing Hollywood depictions of the temple endowment.

00:00 Cold Open Banter

00:35 Show Intro Guest Brad

10:56 Arantxa Acting Origins

12:14 Stage Names Bits

13:29 Three Nephites Sitcom Pitch

14:06 Ages And Generations

15:24 LDS Cinema Beginnings

17:51 Gods Army And Dutcher

22:06 Singles Ward And Stars

24:51 Broadway Will Swenson Story

25:43 Acting as Service

26:39 Brad Acting Origins

28:58 Loving the Character

30:39 Napoleon Dynamite Mormon Cinema

32:10 Gentlemen Broncos Deep Cut

35:12 Java Jive Spotlight

36:29 Word of Wisdom Comedy

39:48 Chocolatier Prophet Lore

45:18 Tin Pot Messiahs Folklore

47:52 Make the Movies

49:56 Utah Storytelling Call

52:36 Wrap and Next Episode Tease