Inside Out with Jim Bennett and Ian Wilks

Latest Episodes:

Idaho's Abortion Initiative Sep 19, 2026

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In this episode of Inside Out, Ian and Jim tackle one of the most difficult and divisive issues in American politics: abortion—and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ decision to oppose Idaho’s Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act.

Ian and Jim examine the Church’s official position on abortion, including its stated exceptions for rape, incest, serious threats to the life or health of the mother, and severe fetal defects, and ask how those principles fit with existing abortion restrictions and the proposed Idaho initiative.

The conversation broadens into a deeper question: If the goal is to reduce the number of abortions, what actually works? Jim argues that criminalizing abortion and preventing abortion aren’t necessarily the same thing, while Ian wrestles with the competing moral claims of a woman’s autonomy and the developing fetus—particularly later in pregnancy.

Inside Out Livestream: Meet Your New Bishop Sep 19, 2026

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There’s been a disturbance in the Force—and apparently he’s been called to preside over the Alcatraz First Ward.

The livestream kick things off with an unexpected visit from Bishop Darth Vader before turning to a surprisingly substantive question: What is happening to the LDS Sunday meeting schedule, and what do shorter meetings mean for the future of Mormon community?

Ian and Jim discuss experiments with shorter classes, the move from three-hour to two-hour church, the unintended consequences of “home-centered, church-supported” worship during COVID, and whether efficiency has come at the expense of one of church’s most important functions: giving people a place to form friendships and actually enjoy being together. They compare the very different realities of compact Utah wards and geographically enormous stakes and branches elsewhere, drawing on their own experiences in Utah, Canada, Scotland, and the mission field.

Along the way, they talk about church culture, spiritual autonomy, what makes people actually want to show up on Sunday—and why sometimes the most valuable part of church happens in the hallway rather than the chapel.

Greg Prince and the Temple - Part IV Sep 12, 2026

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Greg Prince returns to Inside Out for the fourth installment of our deep dive into the LDS temple recommend interview—and this time, some of the most consequential questions take center stage.

Ian, Jim, and Greg tackle tithing: What exactly constitutes a “full tithe”? Gross? Net? Increase? Should someone struggling financially be denied temple attendance because they can’t afford ten percent? And what happens when individual bishops and stake presidents interpret the requirement differently?

From there, the conversation turns to financial obligations to former spouses and children, followed by a wide-ranging discussion of temple garments—the history of how they’ve been worn, changing Church instructions, stories about garments providing physical protection, and the larger question of what the garment is actually intended to represent.

Ultimately, the discussion returns to the purpose of the recommend interview itself. Is it primarily a worthiness test administered by Church leaders, or could it become something more pastoral—a conversation designed to help people draw closer to God?

Inside Out Livestream: Lying Exmos, Big Tents, and Community-Noted Catholicism Sep 11, 2026

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What happens when defending the Church turns into deciding who belongs in it?

Kolby Reddish joins Jim Bennett and Ian Wilks for a lively Inside Out conversation sparked by three recent online controversies involving Jacob Hansen: labeling faithful Latter-day Saint Jeff Strong as an “exmo,” arguing that the Church isn’t really a “big tent,” and getting community-noted over claims about Catholicism.
They also wrestle with a larger question: Do combative apologetics actually defend the Church—or does outrage, tribalism, and “rage bait” drive away the very people a Christian community ought to be trying to reach?
This is the audio version of a livestream from August 25, 2026.

Inside Out Livestream: Greg Prince and Ganesh Cherian Sep 08, 2026

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What will it take for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to thrive in the decades ahead?

Greg Prince and Ganesh Cherian join Ian and Jim for a wide-ranging conversation about two of the biggest challenges facing the modern Church: growth and retention.

Why are record numbers of convert baptisms not necessarily translating into comparable growth in active membership? Why are younger Latter-day Saints increasingly willing to walk away? And what could the Church learn from other religious traditions about creating worship that is vibrant, meaningful, inclusive—and actually worth showing up for?

The Next Big Thing? Sep 04, 2026

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Jim’s cryptic social media post about potentially “revolutionary” Church news sparked plenty of speculation—but no, this isn’t about coffee, one-hour church, or a dramatic change in doctrine.

In this episode of Inside Out, Ian and Jim unpack what they’ve been hearing about the Church’s new Faith and Learning Center planned near the Preston England Temple—and why they believe it could represent something much bigger.

Could this be a pilot for a new approach to investing in young people, supporting higher education, opening Church resources to the broader community, and collaborating more closely with other faiths and organizations? Jim and Ian separate what’s publicly known from what they’ve heard and what they hope may be coming, while exploring the enormous potential—and possible pitfalls—of such a shift.

Greg Prince and the Temple - Part III Aug 29, 2026

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In the third installment of our conversation with historian Greg Prince about the LDS temple recommend interview, we turn to two of its most consequential—and complicated—questions: the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom.

Jim, Ian, and Greg examine how the wording of these questions has changed, what those changes may reveal, and whether simple yes-or-no worthiness standards can adequately address complex questions of sexuality, morality, health, personal conscience, and religious commitment.

Discussing the Temple with Greg Prince - Part II Aug 22, 2026

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This second installment of the Inside Out conversation with historian and author Greg Prince about the temple dives into the LDS temple recommend questions—what they ask, how they’ve changed, and what those changes reveal about the Church’s evolving ideas of worthiness.

A Live Discussion with Jeff Strong Aug 15, 2026

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In this special Inside Out livestream, Jim Bennett and Ian Wilks sit down with Jeff Strong, author of TORN: Why People We Love Are Leaving the Church and What We Can Learn From Them, for a candid and wide-ranging conversation about one of the most difficult issues facing Latter-day Saint families today.

Jeff discusses the remarkable response to TORN, the criticism of his research, and what his data suggests about why people leave the Church—and the role Church culture can play in pushing people away. Together, Jim, Ian, and Jeff explore belonging, orthodoxy, agency, leadership, safe spaces for difficult questions, and what faithful Latter-day Saints can do to better understand and love those whose relationship with the Church has changed.

Changes in the Temple - with Greg Prince Aug 08, 2026

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What has changed about the LDS temple—and what do those changes tell us about the Church itself?

Historian Greg Prince joins Jim Bennett and Ian Wilks for a wide-ranging conversation about the history and evolution of Latter-day Saint temple worship. Greg reveals that he has spent fifty years researching a comprehensive history of the temple endowment, tracing the idea of being “endowed with power from on high” back to the earliest days of the Church.

The conversation explores the difference between priesthood authority and spiritual power, the development of the temple recommend process, changes to recommend questions and the endowment itself, and the sometimes complicated experience members have when encountering the temple for the first time.