1806: M.I.T. or Mormon Mission? - James Camacho
Mormon Stories Podcast
Dr. John Dehlin
4.6 • 5.2K Ratings
🗓️ 4 September 2023
⏱️ 207 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Join us on a fascinating journey with hosts John & Margi Dehlin as we delve into the captivating life of our guest, James Camacho. From his upbringing in a devout Mormon family to becoming an atheist, James shares his struggles with belief, questioning authority, and seeking personal happiness. We explore how his perspective was shaped by his academic achievements and love for mathematics. Discover the eye-opening discussions about the Mormon bubble, doubts about serving a mission, and the profound impact of rationality camps. This interview is a thought-provoking exploration of informed consent, the quest for truth, and the pursuit of authenticity, sure to resonate with those who have grappled with doubt, sought rationality in belief systems, or navigated challenging conversations about faith with loved ones.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone and welcome to another additional Mormon stories podcast. I'm your host John |
| 0:03.8 | Delin. It's July 24th, 2023, pioneer day in Utah. And today we are going to be talking |
| 0:10.6 | about what I think is really interesting Mormon story. What happens when you are an adolescent |
| 0:17.6 | and young adult who loves math and you're kind of in the math competitions, you're raised |
| 0:23.3 | to devout Mormon. And as you start advancing into high school, you end up being faced |
| 0:29.3 | with the choice. Do I serve a Mormon mission or do I go to MIT? The Massachusetts Institute |
| 0:34.9 | of Technology, not that it's always a zero-sum game. Some people do both. But that's going |
| 0:40.2 | to be kind of the teaser for today's interview. We're going to be interviewing James Camacho |
| 0:45.0 | is that he pronounced it James? Yep. And James is not to give it away, but he's currently |
| 0:49.4 | at MIT, is that right? That's right. So I guess we'll find out whether we served a mission |
| 0:54.1 | or not. But I was particularly interested in this story because I worked for MIT for several |
| 1:00.2 | years as a part of the open courseware consortium. Yeah, MIT obviously is one of the world's most |
| 1:07.2 | well-known and well-respected science, technology, and engineering universities. So James, I'm |
| 1:15.7 | super excited to have you on Mormon stories today. Thanks. Thanks for joining us. Also joining |
| 1:20.9 | us in studio is my brilliant and wise partner in truth and righteousness, Margie. Hey, Margie. |
| 1:27.2 | Hi. Thanks for joining us. So happy to be here. Yeah, happy, happy pioneer day. Thanks so much. |
| 1:33.2 | For all the different types of pioneers. That's right. All the different pioneering going on in |
| 1:38.0 | the world right now. Yeah. All right. So let's just dive right in, James. Are there any disclaimers you |
| 1:44.4 | want to first provide about why you wanted to do this interview? Kind of what your intentions are |
| 1:49.2 | or are not? No, I don't really think I have a disclaimer. Okay. Yeah. Maybe part of why I want to do |
| 1:57.4 | it is I felt very alone growing up. I had like a twin brother who was similarly into math and stuff |
| 2:05.2 | other than him. Like none of my peers really cared about math. And then when I began questioning |
... |
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