My name is Bill Reel. I joined the Church as a teenager and from day one I took the Church very seriously. I strived to be a good member of the Church and wanting to know all there was to know about my new faith, I read every Mormon History or Doctrinal book I could get my hands on. I encountered critical thinking early on and weaved my way through difficult issues in the Church. Then while serving as a Bishop in my early 30’s I hit a major crisis of faith. I woke one day and nothing fit anymore. I almost left the Church and my faith community. Instead, I dove further into the issues, opened myself up to changing my beliefs, assumptions, and expectations….. what I found was a renewed faith. A real Faith. But one based in our ability to grow past binary thinking and develop our own authority and to develop mast Ethno-centricity as our center ground. This woke me up to a beautiful and expansive faith that was once again new and open to reconstruction. I created this podcast to help others like you to find their way to the other side of that fracture. My main piece of advice is to stop forcing the facts to fit your assumptions and instead allow your assumptions to change. Question everything and be willing to adopt new information and paradigms even if it compels you to throw off old paradigms that were deeply comfortable. Many of us were taught a MORMONISM that simply is unrealistic, too simplistic, and too black and white. Open up to all the possibilities and leave room for a new you to come forth.
Podcast episodes or articles featuring my story!
https://mormonstories.org/mormon-bishop-bill-reel/
http://www.theculturalhallpodcast.com/2014/02/bill-reelfair-mormon-ep-116-the-cultural-hall/
http://leadinglds.com/my-blog/2014/04/helping-others-through-a-faith-crisis-understanding-the-leaders-role.html
http://www.radiogoldproductions.com/thegoodword/bill-reel-interview-episode-150/
http://reasonstostaylds.blogspot.com/2014/01/23-bill-reel.html
http://www.americanfreethought.com/wordpress/2014/12/13/podcast-215-bill-reel-mormon-discussion-podcast/
http://leadinglds.com/my-blog/2014/05/how-i-lead-bishop-bill-reel.html
http://leadinglds.com/my-blog/2014/11/tithing-settlement-help-for-bishoprics.html
http://www.anothermormonpodcast.com/episode-26-interviewing-bill-reel/
http://faithtransitions.com/faith-transitions-ep-014-bill-reel/
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If I can be of any help to any of you, please don’t hesitate to email me – ReelMormon At Gmail Dot Com
Episodes
Apr 17 2025
The Wacky World of Polygamy Deniers[Mormonism Live: 227] Welcome to the alternate reality where Joseph Smith never practiced polygamy, the angels with swords were just metaphors, and dozens of wives—including teenagers and already-married women—somehow just… didn’t exist. In this week’s episode of Mormonism L...Show more
3:04:21
Apr 10 2025
Mormonism & The Charles Anthon Affair🔍 Mormonism & The Charles Anthon Affair The Strange Meeting That Shaped a Scripture In this episode, we unravel one of the most curious and consequential moments in early Mormon history: the mysterious encounter between Martin Harris and Professor Charles Anthon. Was it a miraculous fulfi...Show more
3:31:41
Apr 03 2025
Cracking The Code: Tracing Book of Mormon Origins[Mormonism Live 225] What if one of the most foundational parts of the Book of Mormon wasn’t ancient at all—but lifted from a 19th-century Methodist Bible commentary? In this episode, Mormonism Live dives into what may be the most significant academic finding in Mormon studies in decades:...Show more
3:16:22
Apr 01 2025
Inside the Closet: How Mormon Conversion Therapy Tried to ‘Fix’ MeWhat happens when your faith tells you that your identity is a flaw to be corrected? In this episode, we sit down with Sam Nieves, a conversion therapy survivor, board member of the Conversion Therapy Survivor Network, and a clinically trained therapist with a background in Cognitive Psychology. Sam...Show more
2:29:19
Mar 22 2025
The Religion BusinessHow do U.S. churches take advantage of tax exemptions, and should this be allowed? These and other issues are investigated by filmmaker Nathan Apffel in his upcoming documentary series, “The Religion Business.” And why does Nathan consider the LDS Church to be “the most terrifying&...Show more
2:06:24
Mar 13 2025
Joseph Smith’s Bank of Faith: The Rise and Fall of Mormonism’s Kirtland Safety Society[Mormonism Live 222] 💰 Faith, Finances, and Fraud? Buckle up, because this episode dives into one of the wildest financial moments in Mormon history! (And that’s saying a lot) What happens when a prophet ventures into banking? In the 1830s, Joseph Smith and other early Mormon leaders la...Show more
3:13:47
Mar 06 2025
Latter-day Saint Insider Exposes Secret Surveillance!INSIDE THE LDS CHURCH: CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS & THE SCMC EXPOSED! 🚨 In this bombshell episode, a former Mormon Church employee who worked with confidential records and the Strengthening Church Members Committee (SCMC) comes forward to expose the behind-the-scenes machinations of the LDS Chu...Show more
3:15:01
Mar 04 2025
“Goodbye Magic Undies” with Carrie Sweet[Mormonism Live 220] Bill Reel and RFM sit down with LDS Author Carrie Sweet to discuss her new book “Goodbye Magic Undies” and the journey that brought her to writing it. Book on Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Magic-Undies-High-Control-Relationships/dp/B0DV7GPKH3/ref=sr_1...Show more
2:22:18
Feb 24 2025
Mormon Hate Watch Theatre[Mormonism Live 219] Join RFM and Bill Reel in this riff-filled episode of Mormonism Live as they dive into the world of Ward Radio’s recent rhetoric, with special guest “Cultch” from The Cultural Hall Podcast tagging along for the ride. Channeling the playful yet biting tone of Mys...Show more
1:48:16
Feb 19 2025
Safeguarding the Saints from The LDS Church[Mormonism Live 218] Is the Latter-day Saint community a safe community? We take a look at that very question and investigate what it would mean and what would it look like if the LDS Church took seriously the Safeguarding of the Latter-day Saints. What can Mormonism learn from accepted Safeguarding...Show more