On January 1, I posted my 1000th episode at Gospel Tangents, going back 9 years. I know W&T used to give out the Wheaties Awards, and I thought I would give some of my own personal awards for most popular interviews and best books of 2024.

Top 10 Interviews of 2024

1. Matt Harris’s segment on Hugh B. Brown being dropped from the First Presidency and the 1978 revelation. His book “Second Class Saints” sold out in a month and was amazing.
2. Visit to Fundamentalist temple in Bountiful, Missouri. I was surprised how popular this was.
3. Dave Butler on temple theology in the Book of Mormon. He disputes the idea that temple theology is absent from the Book of Mormon.
4. Mark Scherer on Emma Smith’s second marriage to Lewis Bidamon. This was a 2023 interview but got an unexpected boost in 2024
5. 2018 interview with Matt Harris on President Kimball persuading the apostles to lift the ban. Matt Harris was so popular, people were looking back at my previous interviews.
6. David Boice on his personal faith crisis and his Youtube channel called “52 Churches in 52 Weeks.” Surprisingly, David joined the LDS Church about 6 months ago.
7. Ryan Cragun on Utah’s demographic changes and the decline in Mormon population.
8. Rob Lauer discusses Reform Mormonism and his previous conversion to LDS Church after reading Fawn Brodie & Sandra Tanner!
9. My presentation on How Kirtland Temple Sale Affects Visitors. It’s still tough for the Community of Christ.
10. Paul Reeve & Christopher Rich interview where I asked if Brigham Young was wrong for instituting the race ban.

Best Book Awards for 2024

This is my first ever Best Book Awards for 2024. I hope to do it again. I can’t read every book in 2024, but I read these and they were amazing. In my mind these were very noteworthy.

1. Best Book Award: Matt Harris’s “Second Class Saints” is a groundbreaking book on the race ban in the 20th century. Somehow Matt got diaries of Pres Kimball and Marion Hanks (a Seventy) to get never before access to internal workings of Church Leaders. This is as groundbreaking as Lester Bush’s 1973 article pinning the ban in Brigham rather than Joseph. This book was amazing and deserves to win all the awards!
2. Best Polygamy Book. I gave an award to “Secret Covenants” edited by Cheryl Bruno. The anthology has cutting edge history and includes many authors such as Don Bradley, Chris Smith, Mary Ann Clements, Todd Compton, Cheryl Bruno, Mark Tensmeyer, and many others. If you thought you knew everything, this book still breaks new ground.
3. Best Utah History: “This Abominable Slavery” by Paul Reeve, Christopher Rich, & LaJean Carruth. It as a standout book on racism and slavery in Utah.
4. “Come Hither to Zion” by Cheryl Bruno and John Dinger is the best biography of 2024. It’s the story of William Marks, who was Emma Smith’s choice to take over the Church after Joseph’s death.
5. Best Book on Mormon Feminism: “Sonia Johnson: A Mormon Feminist” by Dr Chris Talbot. Chris teaches history and gender studies at University of Northern Colorado and will my next interview as we discuss this book and Sonia Johnson.
6. Best Fundamentalist Book: “Joseph White Musser: A Mormon Fundamentalist” by Dr Cristina Rosetti. (She got married in 2024 to an Anglican priest and her last name is not Gagliano.) It’s a great understanding of unique fundamentalist theology.

Your Favorites?

Did I miss anything? What books do you think were award-worthy or at least good Mormon history books in 2024? What are your favorite topics to discuss in Mormon history?