Jonathan Pageau
Jonathan Pageau
@jonathanpageau·287K subscribers·583 videos

Universal History: The American Religion: Making Way for Mormonism

Posted

March 2, 2026

Views

34,327

Likes

1,163

Comments

558

Engagement

5.01%

Search the Record

Indexed

Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.

Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.

Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line

Chapters

YouTube Description

as posted by the channel

Magical beginnings, secular endings. In this episode of Universal History, Deacon Seraphim Rohlin and I start a discussion about early Mormonism (or rather, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) within the broader context of American religious history.

We look at the enchanted religious world of early America — folk magic, treasure seeking, restorationism, the Melchizedek priesthood — and how these patterns shaped movements like Mormonism. We also reflect on the recurring American impulse to “restore” a lost spiritual authority, and the impulse to, on the other hand, make all things respectably secular.

Watch this episode on your preferred podcast platform (Please remember to review the podcast, it helps.):

Apple podcasts

This is episode 4 of our Universal History series on the American religion. Watch it here on YouTube:

===

Join us for the Symbolic World Summit 2026! Speakers include Fr. Josiah Trenham, Mary Harrington, Dn. Seraphim Rohlin, myself, and others.

Date: May 14-16

Place: Broadview Heights, OH

Buy your tickets now and get $50 off with the early bird sale through March 12th. Don't miss out! Hope to see you there

===

NEW COURSE: The Art of Imitating Heaven: Structure and Meaning in Ancient Cosmology By Joshua Sturgill

What is heaven? Where is it? For ancient people, the answer was obvious: simply look up at the night sky. For them, to see the stars and planets was to see the face of the divine. Christianity, too, understood the visible sky as the realm of unfallen creation. What does this belief mean, and why was it lost?

🗓 Live classes are on Sundays at 5-6:30pm Eastern Time, starting February 1st through March 8th, 2026.

💰 Price: $150 USD (Involved patrons qualify for a 10% discount)

⏰ Register now

===

Timestamps:

🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content

💻 Website and blog

🔗 Linktree

🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:

Apple podcasts

Our website designers

My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson

Guests & Subjects Covered

Universal HistoryThe ChurchJesus ChristLatter-day SaintsMormonism WeSpotify ThisSymbolic World SummitDate May

Sentinel Indexing in Progress

Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.

All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.