Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones

What if the face you've seen your entire life isn't what Joseph Smith actually looked like?When forensic artist Joseph Brickey first saw a disputed photograph believed by some to show Joseph Smith, he expected to prove it wrong. Instead, what he discovered challenged everything he thought he knew about Joseph's appearance including his own artwork.What he thought would take a few weeks became a four-year investigation that tested his expertise, his livelihood, and his faith.In this episode of Let's Get Real, Stephen Jones sits down with Joseph Brickey to investigate one of the most intriguing questions in Latter-day Saint history: What did Joseph Smith really look like?Together, they examine the Smith–Larsen daguerreotype, Joseph Smith's death mask, conflicting historical portraits, the skull photographs from the 1928 exhumation of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and the 3D forensic reconstruction Brickey believes reveals a compelling anatomical match.But the most surprising part of this conversation isn't just what Brickey believes he discovered about Joseph Smith.It's what the search revealed about himself.Brickey opens up about the pressure of being wrong, the personal sacrifices he made, the moments he wanted to give up, and why the experience ultimately changed the way he understands Joseph Smith, truth, restoration, and Jesus Christ.Could this photograph really show Joseph Smith? What does the forensic evidence tell us, and what questions remain unanswered?And what happens when the pursuit of truth challenges everything we thought we knew?This is a conversation about discovering the man behind the image, the courage to question our assumptions, and what it really means to know *Brother Joseph*.If this conversation helps you see something differently, share your biggest takeaway in the comments.Subscribe to *Let's Get Real* for honest, thoughtful conversations about faith, history, difficult questions, and following Jesus Christ.

This Temple Pattern Is Hiding in Plain Sight Throughout Scripture | Dr. John Thompson | EP63Most Latter-day Saints have seen the Plan of Salvation drawn as circles and lines.Egyptologist Dr. John Thompson argues this may be why we’ve missed something much bigger.In this episode, he reveals a temple pattern that appears again and again throughout scripture—from Exodus and Isaiah to the teachings of Jesus—and explains why the Plan of Salvation may be less about a diagram of where we go after death and more about the Christ-centered journey God is taking us through right now.But there’s an obvious objection:Are we really discovering a pattern in scripture, or simply reading one into the text?John puts the idea to the test.We explore the Exodus from Egypt, Mount Sinai, the Promised Land, Isaiah, the Sermon on the Mount, the Book of Mormon, and the temple, and ask whether these seemingly different stories actually repeat the same journey back into God's presence.And eventually the conversation becomes much more personal:Where am I on that journey?What is God asking me to do next?If you’ve ever struggled to understand Isaiah, wondered how the temple connects to scripture, or wanted your scripture study to feel less fragmented and more meaningful, this episode may change the way you read.Watch the full conversation and test the pattern for yourself.

What does it actually take for a person to change?Joseph Grenny has spent decades studying human behavior, influence, and transformation. But some of his deepest lessons came when those ideas collided with his own family, including his son’s struggle with heroin addiction and Joseph’s painful realization that knowing how change works did not give him the power to change someone he loved.In this conversation, Joseph explores why repentance is about more than simply wanting to be better or trying harder. He explains the six sources of influence that shape our behavior and connects them to the way God works throughout scripture, through relationships, environments, consequences, truth, accountability, and grace.Drawing from his work with the Other Side Academy, Joseph shares stories of people with long histories of addiction, crime, homelessness, and broken relationships who became dramatically different people. Their experiences reveal why pain is not always the enemy, why agency has to be preserved, and why lasting change often begins with two simple realizations: “I have a problem” and “I need help.”The conversation also explores what this means for families, wards, and the Church. If discipleship is meant to transform us, then Zion cannot just be a place where people hear good advice. It has to be a community where people are known, loved, challenged, supported, and given room to become something new.Joseph’s work ultimately points to a deeply Christian idea: God does not simply command us to change and leave us alone to figure it out. He places us in relationships, covenants, communities, and experiences that can help shape us into the people He knows we can become.

Why did Joseph Smith receive the gold plates on September 22, 1827?Historian Don Bradley began asking that question while reconstructing the timeline surrounding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. What he found was a striking sequence connecting the events that followed to the Jewish fall festival season.The first aligned with the Feast of Trumpets. The next with the Day of Atonement. Then came the Feast of Tabernacles.Three festivals. Three events. Three for three.As far as Bradley could determine, the pattern had been sitting unnoticed for nearly 200 years.But then the festivals ran out.Bradley kept counting.In this episode of Let’s Get Real, Don Bradley walks Stephen Jones through the historical sources, ancient Israelite traditions, and chronology that led him to one more unexpected connection hiding in the timeline.

Everyone knows the story: Joseph Smith went to a hill and found the gold plates. But historian Don Bradley believes we may have misunderstood what he actually found.In this episode, Don takes a closer look at the objects associated with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and places them alongside the sacred patterns of ancient Israel.What begins as a familiar story about gold plates starts to look like something much older.From King Josiah to Moses, from the Nephites to Joseph Smith, Don traces a recurring pattern of lost scripture, sacred objects, covenant renewal, and restoration. And the deeper the parallels go, the harder they are to ignore.Was Joseph Smith simply recovering an ancient record?Or was the coming forth of the Book of Mormon part of a much older covenant story happening again?