Maxwell Institute Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Book of Mormon Studies Podcast: 2 Nephi with Joshua Sears Feb 04, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to the third episode of the Book of Mormon Studies Podcast, where Rosalynde Welch, Associate Director of the Maxwell Institute and Host of the podcast talks with Joshua Sears, a professor of ancient scripture at BYU.

In this episode, they discuss the text of Book of 2 Nephi, giving it context for readers of the Come, Follow Me curriculum for 2024.

Book of Mormon Studies Podcast: 1 Nephi with Jasmin Rappleye Gimenez (part 2) Jan 29, 2024

Show notes

Part 2 of the 1 Nephi episode with Jasmin Rappleye.

Welcome to the second episode of the Book of Mormon Studies Podcast, where Rosalynde Welch, Associate Director of the Maxwell Institute and Host of the podcast talks with Jasmin Rappleye Gimenez, the Communications Director of Scripture Central.

In this episode, they discuss the scholarship surrounding the Book of 1 Nephi, giving it context for readers of the Come, Follow Me curriculum for 2024.

References:

Approaching the Tree: Interpreting 1 Nephi 8. Eds. Benjamin Keogh, Joseph M. Spencer, and Jennifer Champoux. Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2023. Available at https://a.co/d/7o8VLDr

Spencer, Joseph. 1st Nephi: a brief theological introduction. Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2020. Available at https://a.co/d/8hdesoi

Glimpses of Lehi's Jerusalem. Eds. John W. Welch, David Rolph Seely, and JoAnn H. Seely. Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2004. Available at https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/glimpses-lehi%E2%80%99s-jerusalem

Reynolds, Noel B. “The Political Dimension in Nephi’s Small Plates.” BYU Studies Quarterly27:4 (1987). Available at https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/node/128

Hardy, Grant. Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2010.

Bradley, Don. The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon's Missing Stories. United States, Greg Kofford Books, 2019.

Welch, John W. “Legal Perspectives on the Slaying of Laban.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1:1 (1992). Available at https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/legal-perspectives-slaying-laban

Book of Mormon Studies Podcast: 1 Nephi with Jasmin Rappleye Gimenez (part 1) Jan 29, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, they discuss the scholarship surrounding the Book of 1 Nephi, giving it context for readers of the Come, Follow Me curriculum for 2024.

References:

Spencer, Joseph. 1st Nephi: a brief theological introduction. Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2020. Available at https://a.co/d/8hdesoi

Reynolds, Noel B. “The Political Dimension in Nephi’s Small Plates.” BYU Studies Quarterly27:4 (1987). Available at https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/node/128

Hardy, Grant. Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2010.

Bradley, Don. The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon's Missing Stories. United States, Greg Kofford Books, 2019.

Book of Mormon Studies Podcast: 1 Nephi with Kimberly Matheson Jan 14, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to the first episode of the Book of Mormon Studies Podcast, where Rosalynde Welch, Associate Director of the Maxwell Institute and Host of the podcast interviews Kimberly Matheson, a Laura F. Willes Research Fellow at the Maxwell Institute.

In this episode, they discuss the book of 1 Nephi, giving it context for readers of the Come, Follow Me curriculum for 2024.

Book of Mormon Studies Podcast: Introduction Jan 09, 2024

Show notes

Rosalynde Frandsen Welch, host of the Maxwell Institute Podcast announces a new show–the Book of Mormon Studies Podcast, which will be hosted in this feed. 2 episodes will be posted each month, one exploring the assigned text from Come, Follow Me, and the other exploring the most important books or articles relating to it.

Maxwell Institute Podcast #173: What Does it Mean to "Get Proximate"? Featuring Michalyn Steele Dec 31, 2023

Show notes

I’m talking today with Professor Michalyn Steele, a member of the faculty at the J. Reuben Clark Law School, about Bryan Stevenson and his best-selling book Just Mercy. Stevenson has spent his career assisting people in some of the worst circumstances I can imagine: those on death row or facing a life sentence. He’s also a Christian, and his faith in Jesus and love of the Bible are on full display in his book. Professor Steele helped me see what Stevenson’s work with imprisoned people can teach all of us about mercy and justice. This is something she knows firsthand from her own experience ministering to incarcerated women in her community. As she says, “we're in a web of hurt and brokenness, but we're also together in a web of healing and mercy.”

Too often, though, we look away from that web and choose not to see our brothers and sisters in their lowest moments. Or we simply don’t know how to make the connections we want to make. How to “get proximate”, as Stevenson puts it, is a question we should be asking--and it’s the topic of our conversation today. I hope you enjoy it.

Maxwell Institute Podcast #171: How Does God Grieve? Featuring Mary Eyring Dec 31, 2023

Show notes

Today on the podcast I’m talking with Dr. Mary Eyring, associate professor of English at Brigham Young University. Dr. Eyring studies early American literature, and her research has immersed her in the physical and spiritual suffering of ordinary women and men who, like the man Elder Eyring spoke of, reached their breaking point but had to go on. In our conversation, we turn to the work of theologian Sarah Bachelard, author of a short book titled Experiencing God in a Time of Crisis. We talked about how to move forward when a crisis, whether sudden or slow-motion, causes spiritual collapse, and how the pattern of the atonement can give us something to hold on to.

Mary taught me a better question for a time of crisis. As natural as it is to ask “How could this happen?”, a better question might be: “How is God grieving in this situation?” Grieving as God grieves, not as our anxious and frightened human minds want to, can lead us through the valley of the shadow of death into a larger and truer life.

Maxwell Institute Podcast #172: How Do We Protect the Innocent and Help the Repentant? Featuring Brigham Frandsen Dec 31, 2023

Show notes

On this episode of the podcast, I interview Dr. Brigham Frandsen, professor of economics at Brigham Young University. Brigham happens to be my little brother, but I’ve looked up to him almost my whole life for his intelligence and his goodness. I invited Brigham on the show because I was curious about what disciple-scholarship looks like in quantitative or technical disciplines. Most of my guests this season have been scholars of the humanities--history, philosophy, literature--things like that. It’s not hard to draw connections between those fields and the faith that we share. But are the methods and findings of economics, engineering, and mathematics equally relevant to the gospel?

I think Dr. Frandsen shows convincingly that they are. Brigham shared with me an economics paper looking at the effects of certain policies aimed at rehabilitating ex-offenders by making it easier to get jobs after they’ve served their time. But those policies turn out to have unintended consequences that may harm employment opportunities for certain groups with clean records. So how do we protect the innocent, while helping those who want to turn their lives around? It turns out that this is a question with profound implications for lived Christian discipleship, and with immediate application in religious settings like a Latter-day Saint ward.

Maxwell Institute Podcast #170: Is Higher Education a Good Investment Today? Featuring Chip Oscarson Dec 15, 2023

Show notes

Today on the podcast I’m talking with Dr. Christopher Oscarson, a scholar of environmental humanities and an associate dean of undergraduate education at BYU. Christopher, or Chip as he’s known, recently delivered an address entitled “Let Your Education Change You,” and I wanted to talk with him about another important speech he cited in his talk, President Spencer W. Kimball’s landmark address “The Second Century of Brigham Young University.”

Dr. Oscarson challenged me to ask not how learning can help me get ahead, but how it can refine my character. We talk about the challenges of faith-based higher education, whether real learning can happen outside the classroom, and why President Kimball worried about “invading ideologies.” I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Maxwell Institute Podcast #169: Where Do We Start to Build Zion? Featuring Melissa Inouye Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

Life’s resistance is the topic of my guest Melissa Inouye’s new book, Sacred Struggle: Seeking Christ on the Path of Most Resistance. Dr. Inouye works in the Church History Department, where she specializes in global Christianity and the global Latter-day Saint tradition. Her new book draws on both her professional expertise and her personal experience to think about why and how and what to do when life is just … hard. The book is divided into three sections: struggles that result from human bodies and agency, the sacredness of our fellow creatures, and the imperative to build Zion. In each case, Melissa shows how sources of resistance can transform us into beings more like our Heavenly Parents--wiser, more loving, and more aware of the entire human family. At the same time, she manages never to romanticize or minimize suffering. She’s honest about anguish, but she’s tenacious in clinging to our vision of Zion.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book is Dr. Inouye’s love of the scriptures. She turns often to scripture for truth and encouragement, and she has a way of finding new meaning in familiar words. I decided to organize our conversation around a few of the most interesting scripture discussions in the book, and I think you’ll be surprised and enlightened at what she’s found.

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