Faith Matters

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14. Can I Trust and Sustain Fallible Leaders? A Conversation with Patrick Mason Mar 07, 2019

Show notes

"Catholics teach that the Pope is infallible, but nobody believes it. Mormons teach that their prophet is fallible, but nobody believes it."

In this conversation for the Faith Matters Big Questions series, we speak with Patrick Mason (Dean of the School of Arts & Humanities and Professor of Religion at Claremont Graduate University) about the role of prophets and church leaders as divinely called yet imperfect men and women.

We cover topics like the priesthood-temple ban, Prop 8, the role members play in affecting the Church as part of the body of Christ, and a faithful but discerning approach to sustaining church leaders while following one's own conscience. We hope you enjoy this conversation! For more Patrick, check out his book Planted on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XEIeW4

The Christmas issue of Wayfare is now available to preorder! Order your copies (bulk discounts are available—it's the perfect gift!) or become a paid Wayfare subscriber by October 31 to receive them by the first Sunday of Advent, and get a look inside the issue here!

13. A New Story of Creation - A Conversation with Scholars George Handley and Jani Radebaugh Mar 02, 2019

Show notes

In this Faith Matters Big Questions conversation, Faith Matters team members Kate Hargadon and Bill Turnbull speak with BYU humanities professor George Handley and planetary scientist and BYU professor Jani Radebaugh.

They discuss, among other things, the integration of faith and science as pertaining to the earth and its creation, as well as our relationship to the earth and the responsibilities that we have to it as its stewards and as God’s children. We hope you enjoy this conversation!

12. A New Translation of The New Testament - Terryl Givens with Thom Wayment Feb 01, 2019

Show notes

Few scholars have the expertise, let alone the confidence, to embark on a new translation of the New Testament for Latter-day Saints. Fortunately, Thomas Wayment has enough of both. When Wayment sat down for this conversation with Terryl Givens, he was a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, but has recently moved to teaching classical studies at the university. His new translation was published by Deseret Book and the BYU Religious Studies Center—just in time for the church’s 2019 focus on the New Testament. This conversation focuses on his new translation and new perspectives he gained during the process, including some surprises.

11. Swimming in Deep Waters – Terryl Givens with Margaret Blair Young Dec 02, 2018

Show notes

Margaret Blair Young is an American author and filmmaker. She also taught for thirty years at Brigham Young University. She’s written with Darius Grey about early black Latter-day Saints and her latest project is a film about more recent black converts in Africa. The film is called Heart of Africa.

Young is also a swimmer. And swimming has become a powerful metaphor for her life.

Fresh off the plane after her most recent stay in DR Congo, Blair sits down with Terryl Givens to talk about the Church in Congo, faith transformation, spiritual healing, and more.

10. Surprising Angels - Terryl Givens with Brian Kershisnik Oct 03, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Terryl Givens sits down with LDS artist Brian Kershisnik.

9. Risk-taking Discipleship - Terryl Givens with Thomas Rogers Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

Risk-taking Discipleship | Thomas Rogers - Audio

8. The God Who Marvels - Terryl Givens with Steve Peck Aug 30, 2018

Show notes

The God Who Marvels | Steve Peck - Audio

7. Can Creation Heal Us? Terryl Givens with George Handley May 29, 2018

Show notes

For George Handley, both our physical and spiritual natures are inseparably connected with the natural world. An important aspect of the Restoration, according to Handley, is restoring our awareness of this connection, treasuring that connection in our hearts and minds and allowing it to heal us.

In his memoir Home Waters, Dr. Handley writes of his passion for creation this way: “Earth is an odd place to find myself, and this oddness is precisely what makes it so intoxicating. This is a onetime affair, never to be repeated again, and I want all of it.”

In this Conversation, Terryl Givens and George Handley explore how we can enrich our spiritual lives as disciples of Christ through love and care for the natural world that surrounds and supports us.

A popular Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities at Brigham Young University, George B. Handley’s creative writing, literary criticism, and civic engagement focus on the intersection between religion, literature, and the environment.

Links:

American Fork (novel by George Handley)

Home Waters: A Year of Recompenses on the Provo River (George Handley)

What do Mormons Believe about Caring for the Environment? (Mormon Newsroom)

Elder Marcus B. Nash’s address on Environmental Stewardship

6. Extraordinary Women in Mormon History - Terryl Givens with Kate Holbrook Jan 02, 2018

Show notes

Kate Holbrook is known to friends, neighbors and family first as a wonderful cook and gentle
friend. In the intellectual world, she is know as an accomplished historian and author. She
earned her master’s degree in world religions from Harvard Divinity School, and a PhD in
religion and society from Boston University. She was voted Harvard College’s Teaching Fellow
of the Year for a course she designed on global values. She now serves as managing historian
for Women’s History for the LDS church.

In this wide-ranging conversation with Terryl Givens, Kate talks about her faith and her personal story. She highlights the importance of telling the LDS story from the perspective of its women. Does discipleship look different from a woman’s perspective than from a man’s? She talks about her heroes, including Ardith Kapp. And she talks about the effect the Relief Society (“God’s quorum for women”) has had in shaping the church.

LDS church history “needs to be told in a way that integrates what men were doing with what
women were doing,” Holbrook says.

And not just what Mormon women were doing, but what they were teaching and preaching. Kate recently co-edited an extraordinary volume titled “At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women.” “At the Pulpit” features 54 speeches by LDS women over the entire history of the church, complete with important historical context provided by Holbrook and fellow co-editor Jennifer Reeder.

“After years of basso profundo comes another sound out of the Mormon tradition, the voice of
women preaching. It is a pleasure to hear…” writes Mormon scholar Kathleen Flake.

5. The Genesis of Change - Terryl Givens with Darius Gray Dec 14, 2017

Show notes

Darius Gray is an author and historian who has had a wide and varied career in television broadcasting, publishing, business management and church leadership.

Raised in a devout Christian home, Gray converted to the LDS faith during the time of the Priesthood ban for black members. His commitment to a church that for years denied him full participation is a story of testimony, hope, courage and perseverance. Working with other pioneering black Mormons and with LDS Apostles, Gray helped found the Genesis Group in Salt Lake City, the church’s official congregational unit for black Latter-day Saints. For many years, he served as its President.

As a historian and genealogist, Darius Gray headed up the massive Freedmen’s Savings and Trust research project, which yielded the records of nearly half a million individuals, mostly African Americans. These names were then made available for temple ordinance work.

Darius sits down with Terryl Givens to tell these and other remarkable stories in this conversation.

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