BOMcast!

In this episode Gonzo, Ben, and Bronze read and react to the first book in the Book of Mormon called The First Book of Nephi (Pages 5-9). Who is this Nephi character? Is he an opportunist, does he really come to believe his father, and is his father well (I mean mentally)?

Gonzo talks to Mike (Mormons on Mushrooms) about Lehi's Tree of Life dream. Mike is our first, and hopefully, not last expert on BOMcast. His background in depth psychology, dream analysis, his penchant for the absurd, and his delightful laugh serve him very well as he helps us explicate this crazy dream.
We cover it all:

• Party mansion on the hill? Check!
• Smiter in the sex dungeon? Check!
• Iron rod as a phallic symbol? Check!
• Tree of life and magic fruit? Check!

But we go into new territory too! Mists of darkness in the valley; could they be a vaginal reference and/or a nod to the divine feminine? Is Lehi projecting and placing a bunch of negative self-image onto his eldest son, Laman? Is this dream actually a beautiful metaphor of self-love and masturbation? Cum-on! you know it is!

Mike and Cousin Sterling help us put a nail in The Book of Jacob Chapter iii and not a moment too soon. This has to be the worst parable ever. It's like a Martha Stewart had a breakdown and started maiming olive trees to get back at an ex kind of vibe. Also, did you know that Avatar blue is the bitterest color in the universe? Of course, you did.
But also, that might make it even more brilliant. Joseph writes this sad sack, street dwelling, chronic masturbater in Jacob, and Jacob gives us the worst parable. If you think about it even a little bit, it messes with you 'cause that's what a genius would do!

Oil wrestling or mud wrestling? That's really all we need to figure out. I mean, there's an obvious choice, but Bronze skips over that and gets dirty.
Look, we know it can't be easy to make brass plates in pre-columbian Panama but it feels like Jacob's lack of initiative has been passed on to every one of his descendants. Nephi must have known this and wanted the sweetest gigs for his kids. Be king, young man. Younger brother, uh, how about "Prophet"?
I really want to see these plates. You know the last few pages of Nephi's "small" plates must have had tiny little characters scribbled in the margins, barely legible. I mean I get it. Enos had to choose be hunting, fishing, mud wrestling, or keeping a journal. We all know which of these hobbies had to be tossed aside. Thankfully, like a million people give it absolutely no effort in this book.
From a narrative perspective, this is genius, if a little lazy. I mean, we went from 122 pages of Nephi to less than a quarter of that for Jacob. Enos can only manage to go for a page before bidding adieu! But this ain't nothing compared to what's next. Get ready for some "I was here, now fuck off" in the book of Jarom.

In this pilot episode recorded to test our audio equipment Gonzo & Ben read and react to the title page, the trademark page, and the preface. We were delighted with the tone and content of the preface; we are pretty sure than neither of us had ever read it before and it's quite the experience to see this book through new eyes.