In Their Own Words: John Larsen/Carah Burrell @JohnLarsen1 @nuancehoe | Ep. 1706

When John Larsen sits down with Carah Burrell on the Mormon Stories Podcast, the conversation quickly turns to a subversive act: reading the actual documents. In Episode 1706, recorded in December 2022, the former host of Mormon Expressions argues that understanding Mormonism requires bypassing the church’s official curriculum entirely. Instead, he points listeners toward the raw, unfiltered records that the institution has spent decades burying under expensive bindings and restricted access.

The episode raises a question that haunts every faith transition. If the church is true, why does it hide the sources?

Background: The Camelot Period and the Document Wars

Larsen’s obsession with primary sources began while he was still a believing member. He noticed the gap between what leaders said and what the documents showed. This led him to a personal rule: read only source materials. No correlated lesson manuals. No sanitized Sunday school summaries.

The church has not made this easy. During the 1960s and 1970s, historian Leonard Arrington presided over what scholars call the "Camelot period," when graduate students accessed archives freely. That openness died in the 1980s. For thirty years, researchers relied on secondhand accounts while the church restricted original documents. Even now, when the institution publishes materials like the Joseph Smith Papers, critics note the presentation. Glossy oversized volumes cost over one hundred dollars. Limited print runs of sensitive documents sell for three hundred dollars per copy. The message is clear: history is available, but only to those who can afford the admission price.

Key Evidence: Three Books That Change Everything