Mormon Land

Final 'Saints' volume covers key moments in LDS history | Episode 366 Nov 20, 2024

Six years after the first volume in the “Saints” series hit the stands, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is out with its fourth and final installment in the faith’s latest official history.

Titled “Saints: Sounded in Every Ear,” the text documents the years of 1955 to 2020 and covers a range of milestones, including the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the end of the priesthood/temple ban against Black members, the struggles over LGBTQ rights, and the church’s opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment.

On this week’s show, Jed Woodworth, the managing historian of the series, and Tesia Tsai, a writer for the volume, discuss the memorable experiences of top church leaders and everyday members from this period in the quickly globalizing faith.

The Atlantic's McKay Coppins on the LDS Church and a second Trump term | Episode 365 Nov 14, 2024

Like most Americans in the buildup to the 2024 election, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints found themselves caught up in the polarizing tug-of-war over who should be the next president of the United States.

Four years ago, a number of Latter-day Saints, for decades a reliably Republican voting bloc, had bucked Donald Trump and backed Joe Biden, helping to deliver a crucial battleground state, Arizona, for the Democrat.

Those forces were at play again this time around in Arizona and neighboring Nevada for Kamala Harris, with the Trump campaign courting Latter-day Saints as well.

In the end, the nail-biter results pundits had predicted for months never materialized. Trump won the Electoral College count by a comfortable margin and even captured the popular vote.

Early exit polls have shown Latter-day Saints again overwhelmingly stuck with Trump, though his support among these voters may have slipped since 2020. That could be significant, given that the former president’s margins improved among many other constituencies.

So, what happened? What does the election say about the partisan breakdown among Latter-day Saints in the pews? And what might a second Trump administration mean for the church and its members?

On this week’s podcast, McKay Coppins, an award-winning Latter-day Saint journalist who covers national politics for The Atlantic, helps to answer those questions and more.

Coppins is the author of “The Wilderness,” exploring the GOP’s post-2012 drive to win back the White House, and, more recently, “Romney: A Reckoning,” a biography of Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, the Latter-day Saint politician who famously became one of the most visible and vocal anti-Trump Republicans.

Tribune religion reporter, film critic give their take on ‘Heretic’ | Episode 364 Nov 06, 2024

Listener alert • Be advised that while we strived to keep spoilers to a minimum, the discussion reveals some elements from the film. So, if you plan to see “Heretic,” you may want to view the movie first, and then go to our podcast.

Two female missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enter the home of “Mr. Reed,” apparently a welcoming seeker with, it turns out, his own marked-up copy of the Book of Mormon, the faith’s foundational scripture.

Could this be a heaven-sent “golden contact” eager to embrace the Latter-day Saint gospel? Hardly. The young proselytizers have instead begun a hellish descent into the dungeonous world of a bright but demented psychopath determined to test their religion — and all religions — in a terrorizing contest between belief and disbelief.

Therein lies the heart of “Heretic,” the new psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant and due out in theaters nationwide this week.

The film already has earned praise from some reviewers, drawn criticism from the church, and spurred flashbacks to real-life frightening moments among former missionaries.

The week’s show focuses on the merits and demerits of “Heretic” as both a movie, with our longtime film critic Sean P. Means, and as an argument for and against religion, with our award-winning faith reporter Peggy Fletcher Stack.

President Nelson is betting big that more LDS temples will keep more members in the church | Episode 363 Oct 30, 2024

The ever-expanding tally of temples under President Russell M. Nelson is truly staggering.

Since taking the helm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he has announced 185 — more than half — of the faith’s global total of 367 planned or existing temples.

At the recently completed General Conference, the 100-year-old religious leader explained the reason for the building blitz rather succinctly: God commanded it, he declared, because “the Savior is coming again.”

Historian Benjamin Park sees other forces at play as well. In a recent piece for The Salt Lake Tribune, titled “Russell Nelson’s billion-dollar gamble,” he points to the millions spent on each temple as among the faith’s justifications for the billions it has in its financial reserves.

Even more, top church leaders view these relatively lavish buildings, with their promises of eternal blessings, as a way to cement Latter-day Saints in the faith. “If we build them,” the thinking goes, “they will stick.”

On this week’s show, Park, author of “American Zion: A New History of Mormonism,” discusses the church’s temple frenzy — how it compares to the past, what it means in the present, and what it may portend for the faith’s future.

Do new sleeveless options show LDS garments aren’t about modesty? | Episode 362 Oct 23, 2024

The biggest recent news for members, especially women, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the introduction in some hot, humid regions of “sleeveless” temple garments.

Faithful Latter-day Saints wear temple garments underneath their clothing as a reminder of sacred covenants. They are not meant to be seen, but the style and cut of them have been difficult to conceal under ever-evolving fashions. That is why so many women were delighted by one of the redesign options — labeled “open sleeve” — because it looks more like a tank top than the current capped sleeve alternatives. They also liked the new “full slip” and “half-slip” designs meant to be worn under dresses.

For now, these new garments are available in the Philippines and parts of Africa. But the church website shows they will be sold in the U.S. by the end of next year.

Discussing the new garments on this week’s show are Laura Brignone, a Latter-day Saint research analyst at Sacramento State University who has assessed current garment cuts and how they work — or don’t work — with popular fashion, and Emily Jensen, a writer and web editor for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought.

Parenting challenges and choices from which schools to attend and whether to stick with the church | Episode 361 Oct 16, 2024

By following an unconventional parenting path, Latter-day Saints Gabrielle and Ben Blair have learned to buck conventional parenting wisdom — and, along the way, remove a lot of the stress that comes with raising kids.

On this week’s show, Gabrielle Blair, founder of Design Mom and The New York Times bestselling author of “Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion,” and Ben Blair, co-founder and president of Newlane University, discuss what they have discovered on their parental journey.

They spell all that out and more in their new book, “The Kids Are All Right: Parenting With Confidence in an Uncertain World.”

How the Tabernacle Choir wows crowds and spreads global goodwill for the LDS Church | Episode 360 Oct 09, 2024

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir was launched on Aug. 22, 1847, just 29 days after the pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley.

After the Tabernacle on Temple Square in the heart of Salt Lake City was completed, the choir performed there for more than a hundred years. Millions have heard the group’s music via a weekly devotional radio program, “Music and the Spoken Word,” which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started in 1929, making it the longest continuously running network broadcast in history.

The show is inspiring to insiders and outsiders but never dogmatic. Ronald Reagan called the troupe “America’s Choir.” The famed choir has sung at six U.S. presidential inaugurations, 13 World Fairs, as well as the 2002 Winter Olympics, and toured in dozens of countries.

In 2018, the choir changed its name to The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, and, in 2020, it was sidelined by the global pandemic.

On this week’s show, former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, former Health and Human Services secretary and the choir’s current president, talks about how the choir navigated those changes and challenges, the group’s mission, and what’s in the future for the church’s most visible goodwill ambassadors.

If you’re Christian, BYU ecologist says, you’ll work for the Earth and against climate change | Episode 359 Oct 03, 2024

More than three-fourths of Latter-day Saints say they revere nature and feel a responsibility to protect it. Classes on Earth stewardship at Brigham Young University are filling up as young members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrestle with the dangers caused by climate change and feel inexorably prompted to act — to do something.

What if the church went all-in on protecting the planet, proposing concrete plans to be adopted in every region? Would being involved in an urgent global effort — much as the food storage mandates prepared members for lean times — give more young people a reason to stay in the fold?

On this week’s show, Ben Abbott, professor of ecology at church-owned BYU, discuss environmental issues, his faith, and the activism and idealism he sees in his students. He also makes the case that safeguarding the Earth and fighting climate change are part of Christian discipleship.

Everything you need to know about the tithing lawsuits against the LDS Church | Episode 358 Oct 01, 2024

Two federal appellate courts. Two historic hearings. Two tithing lawsuits. One overarching allegation: namely, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days has misled its members — whether about its finances or its history.

In one case, prominent former Latter-day Saint James Huntsman insists top church leaders misrepresented how they spent $1.4 billion of the faith’s funds to build the for-profit City Creek Center shopping mall in downtown Salt Lake City. Topics ranging from religious autonomy and the U.S. Constitution to outright fraud and even a Beatles classic surfaced last week before a full panel of judges in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In the other, ex-members accuse church authorities of hiding important details of Mormonism’s beginnings in order to persuade the faithful to pay their tithes. Oddly enough, founder Joseph Smith, his “seer stone” and translation of the faith’s signature scripture, the Book of Mormon, were openly discussed before a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

So where do these lawsuits go from here? What are their prospects? And how do they fit into the continued media attention on the church’s wealth and a potentially expansive and expensive class-action case?

On this week’s show, Salt Lake Tribune reporter Tony Semerad, who has reported on these lawsuits from the get-go and brought to light other aspects of the faith’s financial empire, helps us wind through this legal maze.

Utah rabbi talks about forgiveness and atonement while Middle East fighting rages | Episode 357 Sep 26, 2024

Next week, Jewish adherents across the globe will begin the annual 10-day examination of their lives and deeds.

It starts with Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) on the evening of Oct. 2 and concludes with Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) on the evening of Oct. 11. It is a time for self-reflection, for commemoration, for celebration and for recommitment. It is a chance to think about forgiveness and to make amends to those they have harmed.

This year’s High Holy Days are especially fraught for the world’s Jewry with so many eyes are on Israel and its ongoing battles against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. There’s also a war in Ukraine and deep divisions in the United States during this election season.

On this week’s show, Rabbi Samuel Spector, leader of Salt Lake City’s Congregation Kol Ami, discusses the importance of these holidays at this particular time.

On base, she leads the congregation. In her LDS ward, she sits in the pews. | Episode 356 Sep 18, 2024

Latter-day Saint Jenna Carson, who became the first member ever to serve as a chaplain in the federal prison system, was a student at Harvard Divinity School when, she said, God called her to become a military chaplain. That was 2015. And although Carson did not yet know it, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not at that time grant women the all-important endorsement required by the Defense Department. Female Latter-day Saints could obtain endorsements to serve as chaplains in hospitals, education, hospice care and prisons — but not, it turned out, the military. Nevertheless, the feeling persisted. And so did she. Setbacks followed, but, in 2021, she won Salt Lake City’s go-ahead. The next year, she was on her way to boot camp. Two years into being an Air Force chaplain, Carson has more than a little to say about what it’s like to be a female spiritual authority operating if not within the LDS Church, then with its approval.

Can Latter-day Saint women find a place in the patriarchy? | Episode 355 Sep 11, 2024

In 2014, Neylan McBaine wrote a groundbreaking book, “Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women’s Local Impact.” Even given the patriarchal structure of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, McBaine argued that there was much more the global faith could do to see, hear and include women. “At that time, there were many who felt discussing these facts was unfaithful or dangerous,” McBaine told an audience of 4,000 at last week’s Restore conference. “We swim so entirely in the waters of patriarchy that many of us do not see the extent to which our organizational structure, the language we use, our understanding of God, our quoting of spiritual authorities, our visual representations in our meetings, and the stories of our scriptures center the experiences and viewpoints of men.” Now McBaine hopes Latter-day Saints will call out “patriarchy” and acknowledge how different its goals and rules are from other systems that exist in the U.S. On this week’s show, she discuss where women in the church are now and how it has — or has not — changed in the decade since she published her book.

Why this Republican LDS mayor hopes Trump’s GOP ‘fails miserably’ | Episode 354 Sep 04, 2024

Like Salt Lake City’s mayor, he oversees a major Western municipality founded by 19th-century Mormon pioneers. Like Salt Lake City’s mayor, the heart of his diverse, dynamic and growing city features a historic temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint bounded by a sparkling mixed-use development built by the Utah-based faith. And like Salt Lake City’s mayor, he supports Kamala Harris for president. But unlike Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Mesa Mayor John Giles is a Republican and a Latter-day Saint — and that’s why his support of the Democratic ticket is grabbing national headlines. A graduate of Brigham Young University, Giles is a lawyer serving his 10th and final year leading Arizona’s third-largest city. He also has run dozens of marathons, but it’s his stance in 2024′s presidential race — in a swing state that could determine who wins the White House — that catapulted this moderate Mormon mayor into a prime-time speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention. On this week’s show, Giles discusses his decision to buck Donald Trump and instead back Harris, along with his desire to see the reemergence of a more-centrist Republican Party and a less-polarized political climate.

A conference to help questioning Latter-day Saints stay in the church | Episode 353 Aug 28, 2024

In 2017, a Utah family began discussing some of the challenging questions facing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From those modest beginnings, a multidimensional platform emerged called Faith Matters, which defines itself as a “space in which an expansive, radiant approach to the restored gospel can be considered.” The effort now includes a popular podcast, book publishing, online courses, and, coming next week, its third in-person “Restore” conference. The giant gathering at the Mountain West Expo Center in Sandy has attracted more than 3,000 paid registrants and will feature speakers, poets, musicians and artists — including Astrid Tuminez, Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, Jennifer Walker Thomas, Terryl and Fiona Givens, Mauli Bonner, Neylan McBaine, Allison Dayton and Eboo Patel. It is, organizers say, meant to “inspire, enlighten and nourish faith.” On this week’s show, Zachary Davis, executive director of Faith Matters, editor of its Wayfare magazine and co-director of the conference, discusses this organization, the upcoming conference and how they appeal to, help and inspire a range of Latter-day Saints.

How new church policies make trans members invisible and could push them to leave | Episode 352 Aug 21, 2024

The occasional updates to the online General Handbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often routine, addressing relatively mundane policies, practices and procedures within the global faith of 17.2 million members. Not so this week. The new guidelines spelled out for local lay leaders and their approach to transgender individuals have created a firestorm among LGBTQ members and their allies not seen, perhaps, since the hotly disputed — and now-discarded — exclusion policy of November 2015 against same-sex couples. The new rules state, for instance, that members who have transitioned in any way — whether surgically, medically or socially — cannot receive a temple recommend, work with children, serve as teachers in their congregations or fill any gender-specific assignments, such as president of the women’s Relief Society. They cannot stay at most youth camps overnight. And they are urged to use single-occupancy restrooms at church meetinghouses or station a “trusted person” outside to keep others from entering when they use a restroom that aligns with their personal gender identity. Discussing these new policies and their potential impact on members are religion scholar Taylor Petrey, editor-in-chief of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought and author of “Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism,” and Michael Soto, a transgender and queer man who grew up in the church and now serves as president of Equality Arizona.

Utah’s LDS sometimes discriminate — and are sometimes discriminated against | Episode 351 Aug 15, 2024

A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wants to invite her daughter’s friend to join them for their congregation’s annual Halloween trunk-or-treat. But it’s being held in the parking lot of the church, and she worries the parents will think the invitation carries ulterior motives. Across the street, a couple plan a neighborhood dinner party. They want to throw the invite open to everyone, but there will be alcohol, and they fear offending their teetotaling Latter-day Saint neighbors. In the end, they opt to play it safe and invite only a few (non-Latter-day Saint) couples. The Salt Lake Tribune heard stories like this and more when, nearly a quarter century ago, it undertook no small task: an in-depth exploration of Utah’s religious divide. And we heard them again when, this year, we solicited feedback from readers about how the dynamic shapes their neighborhoods. On this week’s show, Latter-day Saint LaShawn Williams, a licensed clinical social worker with a doctorate in education, and Bob Goldberg, a U.S. historian, member of Utah’s Jewish community and former director of the Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah, discuss this “unspoken divide.”

Latter-day Saints and body image | Episode 350 Aug 07, 2024

Religion, in general, has prompted believers to have a more positive view of their bodies, and Mormonism specifically teaches that Heavenly Parents are embodied, that humans are created in their divine image, and that the body is a temple. Why, then, do some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints struggle with their body image? Why do many turn to cosmetic surgery to “improve” their bodies? Two researchers from Brigham Young University have just completed what they say is the largest study ever done of how Latter-day Saint doctrine and culture may affect body image. On this week’s show, study co-author Lauren Barnes, a licensed therapist and professor in BYU’s School of Family Life, discuss the findings — and suggestions for improving body image.

Big change for church’s young single adults could bring big benefits | Episode 349 Jul 31, 2024

Last August, nearly 20,000 Latter-day Saint young single adults came together to sing, dance, play, pray, run and worship over three weekends. By all accounts, it was a smashing success. They’re back again this weekend for a three-day festival to celebrate their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to strengthen their faith, and to feel a sense of belonging. And, they say, to try to break a mark recognized by the Guinness World Records for “the most contributions to a birthday card” — for President Russell M. Nelson, who turns 100 in September. Earlier this month, the Utah-based faith raised the age limit for “young single adults” from 30 to 35, while the term “single adults” now describes unmarried members ages 36 and older. Here to talk about the coming event and the changing demographics is Sara Sumsion, a young single adult who is working on a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy at Northwestern University, and Richard Ostler, who has served as a bishop over a YSA ward, or congregation.

Church can be painful for some Latter-day Saints. So what’s the answer? | Episode 438 Jul 23, 2024

For many Latter-day Saints, church is a place of solace, service and spirituality. Some folks, though, find their participation in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be painful, a source of inner conflict. These days some members, especially younger ones, feel betrayed to discover that the faith’s history is not as pure as the simplistic narrative they were taught as children. Or they wonder about men called to be prophetic who have said hurtful things about people of color or LGBTQ believers. They challenge the church’s vast wealth and what they see as its ethical failings. They have a hard time seeing any value in organized religion, which leads some to question the existence of God, who seems absent rather than consistently present in their lives. Tyler Johnson, an oncologist at Stanford who has served as a bishop in a young single adult congregation, has heard and wrestled with all of these issues. On this week’s show, Johnson, author of “When Church Is Hard,” offers a road map to developing a more nuanced, understanding, empathetic approach to the questions of today.

After 50 years, feminist voice still rings out in the pages of Exponent II | Episode 437 Jul 17, 2024

Claudia Bushman was 40 years old, a mother of six and working on an advanced history degree when she, essentially, was volunteered to become the first editor-in-chief of Exponent II, an independent feminist magazine for Latter-day Saint women. That was 1974. Rachel Rueckert, a 30-something novelist, career woman and the magazine’s current top editor, wasn’t even born then. Despite the age difference, the two share an important passion: giving voice to women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the magazine celebrates its 50th anniversary, Bushman and Rueckert discuss their feelings about the magazine, the personal stories it has shared, how it has changed over the decades, what it has accomplished, and why they believe it remains relevant — and crucial — today and will stay that way well the future.

A look at LDS missionary folklore and what it says about the faith | Episode 436 Jul 12, 2024

Few groups exist in the world like missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They may be assigned to different countries or speak different languages, but for 18 months to two years, tens of thousands of these mostly young proselytizers share the same strict schedule, routine, identity and purpose: namely, to share the good news of — and seek converts to — their religion. More than a million have served in the church’s history, so missionary stories are practically as ubiquitous in the 194-year-old global faith as are soaring steeples, crying babies and tiny sacrament cups. Some stories are inspiring. Some are scary (with odes to devilish humans and even Satan himself). Some are funny. And some are, well, tall on tale and short on truth. Talking about these narratives, some of which are cataloged at church-owned Brigham Young University, on this week’s show are folklorist Christine Blythe, executive director of the Mormon History Association, and her husband and fellow folklorist, Christopher Blythe, author of “Terrible Revolution: Latter-day Saints and the American Apocalypse.” Together, they host the Latter-day Saint podcast “Angels and Seerstones.”

Did Joseph Smith practice polygamy? | Episode 345 Jul 03, 2024

In 2014, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published an official essay detailing Joseph Smith’s marriages to multiple women. After decades of insisting otherwise, the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has since conceded that the faith founder did participate in polygamy. Highly regarded scholarly works have documented Smith had at least 33 wives, and most historians widely accept that the church leader preached — albeit privately — and practiced plural marriage. So why is this issue gaining increased attention in various Mormon circles and why are so-called polygamy deniers arguing that Smith had but one wife, Emma, while pinning the practice instead on perhaps the Western world’s most famous polygamist, Brigham Young, and his associates? What does the evidence really show? Why is this debate springing up now? And what do the competing factions stand to win or lose? Answering those questions and more on this week’s show are Brooke LeFevre, a doctoral candidate at Baylor University who has written about the experiences of 19th-century Latter-day Saint women in plural marriages, and Matthew Bowman, chair of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University who penned a recent Salt Lake Tribune column on the topic.

”Leadership roulette” for same-sex LDS couples | Episode 344 Jun 26, 2024

Janette Petersen, a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had been attending Sunday services with her wife, Tammy, as faithfully as her job would allow for nearly five years when her membership was withdrawn. Although the letter she received informing her of the decision did not state a reason, Janette told The Tribune her local lay leader, known as a stake president, had pinned it on her marriage. The church teaches that while being attracted to individuals of the same sex is not a sin, physical intimacy is and that marriage ought to be between a man and a woman. Ryan and Liz Giles, on the other hand, have been faithful members of two congregations — one in Houston and their current ward in Washington state — since the two women tied the knot in 2021. They have yet to have their membership challenged. All three women join us today to talk about their church experience as individuals in same-sex marriages, and what they believe is behind the inconsistency playing out when it comes to treatment of couples like them.

The case for a group dedicated to protecting Latter-day Saint civil rights | Episode 343 Jun 18, 2024

For 115 years, the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, has been advancing the cause of justice for Black Americans. For 111 years, the Anti-Defamation League has been doing much the same for Jewish Americans. And for 104 years, the American Civil Liberties Union has been safeguarding the constitutional rights of everyone in the United States. So which group is protecting, advocating and advancing the rights of Latter-day Saints? While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints certainly looks out for its own interests and apologetic groups defend church teachings, no independent organization is dedicated to civil rights for members. It’s time to change that, argues Public Square Magazine. In a recent staff editorial, the online publication written from a Latter-day Saint perspective, called for the establishment of a civil rights organization to advocate for the rights of members in “political, legal and cultural spaces.” On this week’s show, Public Square Managing Editor C.D. Cunningham and Associate Editor Brianna Holmes discuss why such a group is needed, how it could operate and whom it could benefit.

Why a pastor is teaching evangelicals about the LDS Church | Episode 342 Jun 12, 2024

Jeff McCullough took a trip to Utah in 2020, and it changed his life. No, the evangelical pastor didn’t convert to the state’s predominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he didn’t launch a virulent campaign to explore what some have seen as Mormonism’s heresies. Instead, he felt a divine call to launch a YouTube channel, titled Hello Saints, to, as he put it, “fight criticism with curiosity.” “Most of my Christian friends didn’t say very nice things about the people from the LDS Church,” McCullough says in his introduction, “and I don’t really like that.” So the 43-year-old Hope Chapel minister from the Bible Belt, who calls himself a “recovering Mormon basher,” set about exploring the beliefs and practices of the Utah-based faith, eager to build bridges between that church and evangelical Christians. McCullough now lives in the Beehive State and has produced more than 90 short videos comparing and contrasting “the lifestyle, culture and beliefs of Mormons and mainstream Christianity,” including questions like these: Are Mormons Christians? What do Christians and Latter-day Saints agree and disagree about? On his journey to familiarize himself and his audience with this unfamiliar faith, he has viewed General Conference, attended Sunday services, read the Book of Mormon and toured a Latter-day Saint temple. His Hello Saints channel, which operates as a nonprofit, has 60,000 subscribers and nearly 7 million views. He is currently hosting a virtual summit with interviews and presentations by Latter-day Saints and evangelicals on topics ranging from Jesus and marriage to politics and heaven. On this week’s show, McCullough discusses his online efforts, his approach and what he hopes to accomplish.

What happened behind the scenes before and after the Black priesthood ban ended | Episode 341 Jun 05, 2024

Forty-six years ago this month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, under then-President Spencer W. Kimball, lifted its prohibition preventing Black men from entering the all-male priesthood and Black women and men from participating in temple rites. This historic shift, the most significant since the faith stopped practicing polygamy, abruptly ended this racist ban, but it hardly ended racism within the church. After all, 126 years of theological justifications for the ban remained, including influential works such as “Mormon Doctrine” by apostle Bruce R. McConkie. Cleanup still needed — and needs — to be done. Building on President Gordon B. Hinckley’s outreach efforts, current church leader Russell M. Nelson has called on members to lead out against racism and has cemented ties with the NAACP. Matthew Harris’ new book, “Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality,” explores the history of the priesthood/temple ban, from its racist roots under Brigham Young to its removal and its aftermath, with an eye especially on its effects on Black Latter-day Saints. With unprecedented access to the papers of Kimball, McConkie, Hugh B. Brown and Joseph Fielding Smith, Harris offers an insider view of the decision-making process among the church hierarchy regarding issues of race and this momentous move. Join us for this conversation.

The surprising news about LDS Church growth | Episode 340 May 29, 2024

For The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is much to celebrate in its latest statistical report: The worldwide growth rate in the 17.2 million-member faith is growing. The expansion of congregations is expanding. And the number of U.S. states with declining membership is, well, declining. East Africa, meanwhile, is booming, the U.S. is rebounding, and many growth measures have met or surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Still, there are causes for concern: West Africa, unlike the continent’s eastern and central regions, has seen its Latter-day Saint growth slow. While the U.S. enjoyed an increase in net membership, it once again had the largest net decrease in wards and branches. California continues to bleed Latter-day Saints and growth rates in Utah, home to the global faith’s headquarters, remain near historic lows. On this week’s show, Matt Martinich, an independent researcher who tracks church movements for the websites cumorah.com and ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com, dissects all this data and deciphers what the numbers say about the state of the church.

What was lost when the LDS Church started emphasizing covenants over community | Episode 339 May 22, 2024

Since shortening its Sunday services and refocusing its curriculum more than five years ago, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has trumpeted a home-centered, church-supported approach with an emphasis on covenant-making and covenant-keeping. This shift has some members worried about a loss of community. Gone are roadshows, pageants, sports leagues, cultural celebrations and more. While there has been an explosion of temple building, there has been a slowdown in chapel building. The church meetinghouse of today has become just that — a house for staid and stiff meetings, mainly on Sunday — and not the buzzing and bustling community centers of yesteryear. Would a return to some of that past help not only the church’s present but also its future? Candice Wendt, a staff member of McGill University’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and a contributing editor at Wayfare magazine, wrote about the church’s evolution from community to covenants in a recent blog post for Exponent II. She joined us for this week’s episode of “Mormon Land” to talk about what she feels is lost in the church’s efforts to emphasize individual covenants over community building. As she put it “I find when community connection and belonging get weak, motivation to be engaged in the faith tradition falters and religious life actually becomes a lot less relevant to people.”

The LDS Church isn’t dying in Germany, but it is changing | Episode 338 May 15, 2024

Born in West Germany, Ralf Grünke has been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for most of his life. But it was complicated. And, among his Catholic and Lutheran peers, that meant he sometimes keenly felt his “otherness.” Still, being “an ugly duckling between the swans,” Grunke has written, was a “blessing in disguise.” He studied his own faith deeply, reading everything he could find, pro or con, as well as other faiths, and developed a strong foundation spiritually and scholarly. He now enjoys a spectrum of friends and contacts among all religions, while representing the Utah-based church. Grunke is the church’s assistant communication director for Central Europe, headquartered in Frankfurt. He joined “Mormon Land” for a special on-location podcast in Hamburg about the faith’s status on the Continent.

Why leaders’ efforts to keep women in the faith could backfire — and what could work | Episode 337 May 08, 2024

Without a doubt, says writer and scholar Caroline Kline, Latter-day Saint leader President Camille Johnson would have heard former church presidents telling working mothers to “come home” and focus on their families. Instead, she pursued a 30-year career as a corporate lawyer. In this episode of “Mormon Land,” Kline, assistant director of the Center for Global Mormon Studies at Southern California’s Claremont Graduate University, explains just how radical it is that the top brass of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are lauding her as a role model — and why their decision to do so may be a tough pill to swallow for some. The author of “Mormon Women at the Crossroads: Global Narratives and the Power of Connectedness” also breaks down what she sees as an increased anxiety by church leadership over female members’ activity and level of devotion, why their current efforts to reverse worrisome trends could backfire and what they could do instead to make women feel more at home.

Will a top LDS women’s leader ever again be seen as a ‘13th apostle’? | Episode 336 May 01, 2024

The role of women in any patriarchal faith is always fraught. It is especially confusing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which celebrated women who led the charge for suffrage while also practicing polygamy. Past Latter-day Saint women like Eliza Snow and Emmeline Wells held high-profile positions in the hierarchy almost until their deaths — Susa Young Gates, an influential daughter of church prophet Brigham Young, was even dubbed a “13th apostle” — while today’s top female leaders are in and out in just five years. Earlier general presidents of the women’s Relief Society were well known to members and wielded wide personal power, but, like the current high-level female leaders, they never held offices as “general authorities.” Now comes word that, unlike yesteryear, today’s General Relief Society Presidencies don’t even meet weekly with an apostle “liaison” to the governing First Presidency. On this week’s show, April Young Bennett, a blogger and essayist for Exponent II who has seen the evolving changes for Latter-day Saint women, discusses where top female leaders stand in today’s church, what could or should be done to elevate their status, and whether women’s ordination is the only way to truly balance the gender scales in the global faith.

How near-death accounts became apocalyptic and why they attract Latter-day Saints | Episode 335 Apr 24, 2024

All kinds of believers and nonbelievers have described brushes with death in which they briefly left their bodies to see and feel otherworldly elements. While most scientists say these “near-death experiences” are the product of neurons firing in particular ways under particular stress, many who are religious view them as objective encounters, occurring in space and time. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seem particularly intrigued by the way such experiences affirm their teachings of the afterlife and have rushed to buy the many books on the topic, including Betty Eadie’s 1992 bestseller, “Embraced by the Light,” and, more recently, John Pontius’ “Visions of Glory: One Man’s Astonishing Account of the Last Days.” While Eadie’s book tapped into New Age Mormonism popular in the 1980s and ‘90s, “Visions of Glory” — and the writings of Chad Daybell, a Latter-day Saint writer in Idaho who has been accused of murder — seems to draw on apocalyptic and political speculations. On this week’s show., historian Matthew Bowman, director of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California and author of “The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill: Alien Encounters, Civil Rights, and the New Age in America,” discusses this genre and its implications in Latter-day Saint culture.

What happens inside LDS families when a loved one leaves the faith | Episode 334 Apr 17, 2024

Few conversations are as fraught as those among family members who disagree about ideas they hold dear, and none more so than religion. Such exchanges can be especially painful for believers in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a faith that can be all encompassing with strong teachings about here and the hereafter, especially about family relationships, and practices that reflect those teachings. So what happens in families when some hold firm to the faith and others walk away? How do parents, children and siblings respond to those who have chosen a different path? Can they still love one another or does judgment make that impossible? Do they talk about it or do they slink away in silent agony? Utah Valley University’s Kimberly Abunuwara, director of the humanities program, came up with an unusual way to explore these questions. She enlisted a group of students to interview various families about how their attachment to — or distance from — Mormonism affected their connections and communications. The team then staged a performance, titled “In Good Faith,” in which student actors used those firsthand accounts from members and former members to reveal these wrenching experiences. In a special “Mormon Land” episode, recorded live at Orem’s UVU, Abunuwara and two of the student performers — Brielle Szendre and Caleb Voss — are discuss what they discovered, how the experience affected them and what others can learn from this effort.

A conversation about General Conference | Episode 333 Apr 10, 2024

The recently completed 194th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may merit no more than a mere mention in the history books of Mormonism. There were no theological breakthroughs, no major policy changes, no sweeping shake-ups among the top echelons. But the sessions did feature significant speeches, memorable moments and notable nuances. A British church leader delivered his debut conference sermon as an apostle. A longtime apostle returned to the conference pulpit after an extended absence. A Black general authority rose in the ranks to a historic level. Speakers publicly addressed the private wearing of so-called temple garments by the faithful. And the church’s aging senior leadership, led by a prophet-president inching ever closer to the century mark, made conspicuous accommodations to conference procedures. On this week’s show, Emily Jensen, web editor for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, and Patrick Mason, head of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University, look back at the conference and what it may mean to the church and its 17.2 million members moving forward.

Who should decide when, where and how often Latter-day Saints wear temple garments? | Episode 332 Apr 03, 2024

Latter-day Saint leaders seem to be concerned about what they believe is the causal, even “cavalier” wearing of religious underclothing by devout members. Indeed, in a recent speech, a general authority Seventy reportedly condemned women who wear temple garments only on Sunday and to the temple and the rest of the week can be seen in “yoga pants.” He warned that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was planning to issue stricter rules about the wearing of garments. The standard instruction has essentially been for women and men to wear them “day and night.” According to a recent survey, though, some women are donning them when and where they want — and they don’t, it seems, view that as disobedience or inappropriate. At the same, it is getting tougher to find clothing, especially for women, that completely covers garments. On this week’s episode, author Kristine Haglund, former editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, and Laura Brignone, a Latter-day Saint research analyst at Sacramento State University, discuss the challenges in wearing garments, what some members are choosing, and what it means for their faith.

What LDS women want — in the wake of a controversial ‘priesthood power’ speech | Episode 331 Mar 27, 2024

A decade after the Ordain Women movement within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made national news, another feminist issue is getting lots of media attention. During a March 17 meeting to celebrate the creation of the church’s Relief Society, J. Anette Dennis, first counselor in the faith’s global women’s organization, declared that “there is no other religious organization in the world that I know of that has so broadly given power and authority to women.” Dennis went on to say that “other faiths ordain women to roles like priest or pastor, but those individuals represent a small minority when compared to the total number of women within their congregations.” In the Utah-based church, all women “who choose a covenant relationship with God in the House of the Lord are endowed with priesthood power directly from God.” It is a sentiment that has been expressed previously by Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the church’s governing First Presidency, and by Sheri Dew, a former counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency. But when the church posted Dennis’ quote on Instagram, a flood of responses from women ensued — more than 15,000 comments. And, in an unusual acknowledgment, the church’s social media team promised to share the “thoughts, feelings and experiences” with the faith’s leaders. On this week’s show, discussing this speech, the overwhelming response it generated and the role of women in the church, are Julie Hanks, a Latter-day Saint therapist in Utah, and Amy Watkins Jensen, a Latter-day Saint middle school humanities teacher in Oakland, California, who created the Women on the Stand letter-writing campaign in the wake of women’s leaders being removed from the stand at worship services in the Bay Area.

Preserving the Kirtland and Manti temples — through the eyes of LDS historians | Episode 330 Mar 20, 2024

In the past, historians and preservationists were not always pleased with how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints treated its treasured buildings. Bulldozing Utah’s Coalville Tabernacle and gutting the Logan Temple led to cries of anguish from insiders and outsiders alike. These days, though, the same groups are lauding the painstaking and resplendent renovation of the faith’s pioneer-era Manti Temple, which is now open to public tours. And they are reassured by the Salt Lake City-based church’s plans for its recent purchase of Mormonism’s first temple, in Kirtland, Ohio. On this week’s show, Matthew Grow, managing director of the church’s History Department, and Emily Utt, a curator of Latter-day Saint historic sites, discuss these preservation efforts.

A look at the Kirtland Temple’s past and its future under a new owner | Episode 329 Mar 14, 2024

The recent acquisition by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of Mormonism’s first temple — in Kirtland, Ohio — along with historic buildings in Nauvoo, Ill., similarly tied to founder Joseph Smith and his band of believers thrilled the global faith’s members. For followers of the Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the longtime diligent, devoted caretakers of these properties, the sale, which that faith’s top leaders acknowledged was “painful,” brought sadness, heartache and tears. While grateful for the good the $192 million purchase price will do for the Community of Christ’s future, they lament losing ownership of these cherished pieces of their past. On this week’s show to discuss that past and that future is David Howlett, a Community of Christ historian, visiting religion professor at Smith College in Massachusetts and author of “Kirtland Temple: The Biography of a Shared Mormon Sacred Space.”

The Huntsman case, ‘copycat’ tithing lawsuits and expanding LDS Church wealth | Episode 328 Mar 07, 2024

Money talks. It makes headlines, too. Just ask The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Utah-based faith’s finances have become a source of discussion, debate and, yes, dissent among insiders and outsiders. In recent weeks, the church’s chief investment arm, Ensign Peak Advisors, has seen its publicly reported stock portfolio shoot past $50 billion, helping to propel the global faith’s total wealth to an estimated $265 billion. Days ago, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed the church a mini-victory, agreeing to rehear the fraud lawsuit brought against it by a prominent Utahn, James Huntsman, who has accused Latter-day Saint leaders of misleading members about how the faith spends tithing funds. In addition, the church has been targeted in at least five states by a string of what it has called “copycat” tithing lawsuits seeking class-action status. On this week’s show, Salt Lake Tribune reporter Tony Semerad, who has been tracking the church’s finances and legal entanglements for a number of years, helps sort out all this money maneuvering and courtroom drama.

BYU’s racial history | Episode 327 Feb 28, 2024

Even in the 19th century, Brigham Young Academy (later Brigham Young University) welcomed students of both sexes, all nationalities, religions, races and colors. Nearly from the start, it included women, which made it distinctive among other American higher-education institutions. And the school — owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — had a small but consistent nonwhite student population. That included the school’s first Black graduate, Norman Wilson (not a Latter-day Saint), who earned his degree in 1939. Grace Ann Soelberg curated a BYU exhibit honoring Wilson. She also explored how Black students were treated at the school, and how they were depicted, including examples of blackface, in its yearbooks from 1911 to 1985. On this week’s show, Soelberg, now a graduate student at the University of Utah, discusses her findings.

The life and legacy of historian D. Michael Quinn | Episode 326 Feb 21, 2024

What most Latter-day Saint historians and other scholars know about D. Michael Quinn is that he was, by all accounts, a remarkable researcher who could assemble disparate dots into a colorful mosaic. They may know that he was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of the “September Six” for his discussion of post-Manifesto polygamy and other controversial topics or that he was an expert in the faith’s financial dealings and hierarchy. But now, nearly three years after his death at age 77, the public will hear for the first time of his inner struggles as a gay man in the church that for most of his life preached that homosexuality was a sin. Signature Books has now published Quinn’s heartbreaking autobiography, titled “Chosen Path: A Memoir,” described as a “relentlessly episodic” look at the deeply personal agonies and ecstasies of his life and work, while offering his perspective on significant church events that occurred while he was writing about Mormonism. Three themes are thread through his entries: his relationship with himself as a closeted gay man, with his oft-absent and secretive father, and with his church. On this week’s show, Moshe Quinn, his son, who wrote a foreword, and Barbara Jones Brown, who edited the volume Quinn gleaned from his multiple journals, discuss the revelations in his memoir.

Finding love in today’s Latter-day Saint dating scene | Episode 325 Feb 14, 2024

Ah, Valentine’s Day, a holiday full of hearts and hopes, cards and candy, roses and romance. It’s a time couples seek their favorite table at their favorite restaurant and view their favorite rom-com from their favorite couch. What does it mean, though, for young members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Are they on the lookout for more than gestures — indeed, eternal marriage — or do they just want to have a good time? On this week’s show, two young single adult Latter-day Saints, Sara Sumsion, who is working on a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy at Northwestern University, and Matt Judd, a health statistics consultant, discuss what the Latter-day Saint dating scene is REALLY like.

How Latter-day Saints can add other Christian traditions to Easter | Episode 324 Feb 07, 2024

Easter is the most significant holiday on the Christian calendar, celebrated in solemnity and song, pageantry and prayer, rituals and rejoicing, “hosannas and hallelujahs.” While members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe deeply in Christ’s resurrection, they have not participated as a church with the rest of Christendom in immersive traditions like waving palms on Palm Sunday, washing feet on Maundy Thursday or carrying a large cross for Good Friday. So, many Latter-day Saints have joined with other Christians on these holy practices. Last year, though, top Latter-day Saint leaders encouraged members to find ways to better commemorate the sacred moment when they believe Jesus rose from the dead. Eric Huntsman, a Brigham Young University professor of ancient scripture, has spent his career reading biblical texts in their original languages. Last year, Huntsman, who is currently on hiatus from his position as academic director at BYU’s Jerusalem Center, co-wrote a book with Trevan Hatch, “Greater Love Hath No Man: A Latter-day Saint Guide to Celebrating the Easter Season.” As many Christians prepare for next week’s Lent, Huntsman offers other tips on how Latter-day Saint individuals and families can better remember the “climax of the gospel story.”

Abuse and forgiveness — How gender imbalances sometimes protect LDS predators | Episode 323 Jan 31, 2024

Chelsea Goodrich was a returned missionary pursuing a graduate degree in California when she came forward with allegations that her father, John Goodrich, had molested her throughout her childhood. (In a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune, John Goodrich has denied the accusations of sexual assault.) The alleged abuse, the subject of a recent Associated Press investigation, is not the reason, however, that Chelsea, now a 38-year-old licensed counselor, no longer identifies as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She attributes that shift to the response she received when she tried to protect children. Friends and family, many from the tightknit Latter-day Saint community of Mountain Home, Idaho, where she grew up, discouraged her from continuing to press the matter, urging her instead to forgive her father. In this week’s episode, she joins Deidre Nicole Green, a Latter-day Saint and theologian at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., to discuss how church leaders, members and others sometimes “weaponize” forgiveness, silencing survivors and preventing justice.

Why can’t Latter-day Saint girls pass the sacrament? | Episode 322 Jan 24, 2024

Every year, a new crop of young Latter-day Saints turning 12 by December will graduate from Primary, the faith’s program for children. The boys will get a new title — “deacon” — and start passing the bread and water of the sacrament (known as Communion in other Christian faiths and mostly distributed by priests and pastors), while the girls will start attending the Young Women’s program and get no new identity. Why is there such a gender difference around the sacrament in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Tradition, says Sam Brunson, a Latter-day Saint tax attorney in Chicago who often writes about church issues on the blog By Common Consent. Or, in other words, “policy choices that church leaders made decades ago.” Yes, the church has an all-male priesthood, but is passing the sacrament really a priesthood function? And if the Utah-based faith allows young women to carry those trays, does that mean they have to open up the priesthood to women? On this week’s show, Brunson talks about how such differences came to be in the church and why he thinks some of them could be revised — without formally giving women the priesthood.

Benjamin Park on a fresh take of 200 years of Mormon history | Episode 321 Jan 17, 2024

Scholar Benjamin Park’s new book, “American Zion: A New History of Mormonism,” tells the sweeping saga of the rise, rifts and resilience of the nation’s most successful homegrown religion. “The Mormon story,” he writes, “is the American story.” Under the guidance of founder Joseph Smith, this new movement was cradled in upstate New York and nurtured in the heartland. But mounting persecutions and prosecutions left leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints feeling so abandoned by the country that gave the faith birth that they abandoned the country itself. Out West, Brigham Young and his band of beleaguered believers built a remote religious empire. In the decades that followed, though, successive generations of Latter-day Saints slowly but surely returned to the arms of the American fold, eventually becoming among the nation’s most passionate, even partisan, patriots. But like the country it once battled and now embraces, this global faith of 17 million members finds itself caught up in polarizing culture wars. Former frictions — between church and state, faith and intellect, obedience and dissent, patriarchy and feminism — regularly resurface even as new conflicts emerge. On this week’s show, Park talks about some key players and moments in Latter-day Saint history, along with the tensions that persist to this day.

Why believers and critics miss the complexities of the Book of Mormon | Episode 320 Jan 10, 2024

Grant Hardy is among the preeminent scholars of the Book of Mormon. The North Carolina history professor has produced two volumes on Mormonism’s sacred text: a study edition from Brigham Young University’s Maxwell Institute, and a reader’s edition from the University of Illinois Press — and now, from Oxford University Press, a third, The Annotated Book of Mormon. His latest effort is hailed as “the world’s first fully annotated, academic edition of the Book of Mormon.” Indeed, its 900 pages have almost as many footnotes and commentary as the text itself. Hardy lays out the narrative like a series of stories, not as short verses, with extensive commentary and analysis about important themes, biblical connections and symbolic meanings. At the end, he adds essays to explore various ways of thinking about the Book of Mormon — as literature, ancient history, fiction, revealed scripture and world scripture. On this week’s show, he talks about this massive undertaking; what Latter-day Saints often get wrong about their foundational text; why context matters when reading it; how the Book of Mormon compares and complements the Bible; and why, as a believer in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as a scholar, he finds the book “amazingly coherent and consistent.”

A look at LDS Church growth and what the membership stats really reveal | Episode 319 Jan 03, 2024

At every spring General Conference, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offers a glimpse of its growth by reporting worldwide membership statistics, including the number of converts and children added to the faith’s rolls the previous year. A more reliable barometer for tracking church expansion, however, can be found in the congregations created (or subtracted). So when the governing First Presidency recently announced new requirements for establishing wards and stakes, or clusters of congregations, insiders and outsiders naturally wondered what impact the changes would have. For instance, stakes in most of the world previously needed 1,900 members; now they need 2,000, or 5% more. While stakes in the U.S. and Canada also need 2,000, that’s 33% fewer than the previous 3,000. On its face, this appeared to make it easier to form new stakes in much of North America and, in essence, inflate the church’s congregational count. But experts say that may not be the case. In fact, Matt Martinich, an independent researcher who tracks church movements for the websites cumorah.com and ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com, argues the overall rules could result in fewer stakes and wards coming on line. On this week’s show, Martinich discusses the recent changes and other trends in church membership, including a newly released study showing self-identifying Latter-day Saints make up 42% of Utah’s adult population.

The LDS army that made its mark in history without firing a shot against a foe | Episode 318 Dec 27, 2023

This is a war story unlike any other. It’s about a fighting force of nearly 500 men who were drafted, in a very real sense, not by the president of their nation but by the prophet of their faith. Though they were prepared to die for a country they were fleeing, they labored to live for the families they were supporting. Though they were armed and marched through hundreds of miles of hostile territory, they never fired a single shot against their enemy. Though they never tasted death from combat, they endured casualties from foes just as dangerous and deadly: thirst, fatigue, hunger and sickness. Though they never recorded a military victory, they achieved a triumph perhaps far greater. So why is the Mormon Battalion — a ragtag band of hundreds of reluctant riflemen, along with dozens of women and children, most of whom trekked nearly 2,000 miles from Iowa to Southern California — remembered not only in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but also in the annals of the American experiment? Discussing those questions and more and is Brent Top, retired professor of church history and doctrine at church-owned Brigham Young University and now president of the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.

Remembering a Latter-day Saint humanitarian who truly lived his religion | Episode 317 Dec 20, 2023

Lowell Bennion was among Mormonism’s greatest humanitarians, while also being one of its most prominent thinkers and teachers. Indeed, he was among the few non-general authorities or officers ever to speak in General Conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the first director of the church’s Institute of Religion at the University of Utah, Bennion spoke powerfully and courageously against the church’s former priesthood/temple ban on Black members — which may have cost and encouraged students to see science and religion as complementary rather than contradictory paths to truth. But he did more than teach or preach. Bennion, who died in 1996, created the Community Services Council in Salt Lake City to aid poor and marginalized populations. Eventually, a center for service was created in his name at the U., integrating outreach to the disadvantaged into the curriculum. Of the service he rendered, he once said, “I used to teach religion; now I practice it.” Yet Bennion’s life and work remain largely unknown to today’s Latter-day Saints. On this week’s show, George Handley, professor of interdisciplinary humanities at Brigham Young University and author of “Lowell L. Bennion: A Mormon Educator,” discusses the life and legacy of the legendary scholar, considered by many to be one of the founders of Mormon studies.

What to expect from Patrick Kearon, not your typical LDS apostle | Episode 316 Dec 13, 2023

Newly named Latter-day Saint apostle Patrick Kearon brings an unusual biography to second highest leadership council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A British convert, he joined the faith at age 26. Kearon has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United States. He does not have a university degree, but, having been trained in communication, his speeches are earnest, eloquent and evocative. He is the second European in the current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the third born outside the United States. What will the 62-year-old Brit’s background, passions and personality bring to the apostleship and how might he influence the global faith? On this week’s show, Patrick Mason, Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University, addresses those question and more.

Booting women’s leaders off the stand was ‘hurtful’ and ‘heartbreaking’ | Episode 315 Dec 06, 2023

For more than a decade, women’s Relief Society leaders were invited to sit on the stand facing the pews during Sunday services among some Latter-day Saint congregations in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was an uncontroversial tradition until October, when an area president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ordered an end to the practice. The move felt arbitrary to many members and was made without consulting any of the women affected, all of whom were devout believers. After a Salt Lake Tribune story about the edict, many women in the region and across the country are writing letters to church headquarters in Salt Lake City, explaining why the tradition had been good for women in a church governed by men as a sign of inclusion and gender equity. On this week’s show, we discuss this issue with two women who have felt the impact personally: Amy Jensen, who has served as a Young Women leader in Lafayette, Calif., and Laurel McNeil, a current Relief Society president in Sunnyvale, Calif. One solution, they suggest, to bring uniformity to Latter-day Saint services: Invite women’s leaders to sit on the stand in congregations across the globe.

The woman who runs the church’s most visible publisher and retailer: Deseret Book | Episode 314 Nov 29, 2023

Deseret Book has been the church-owned commercial publisher for more than a century, producing landmark theological volumes such as James E. Talmage’s “Jesus the Christ” and LeGrand Richards’ “A Marvelous Work and a Wonder.” It is a sought-after brand for Latter-day Saint leaders, scholars and writers, and remains the go-to retail outlet for rank-and-file members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through the decades, the focus of D.B., as it has come to be known, has expanded to include not only books by and about Latter-day Saint prophets and apostles but also a range of novels and art. The woman overseeing all that is Laurel Day, who rose through the ranks to become D.B.’s president. On this week’s show, she talks about her vision for the global company; the new openness in detailing the church’s unvarnished history; the increasing visibility of women; the part she plays in deciding what is published and what is put on — and sometimes pulled off — the shelves; and Deseret Book’s role in building the worldwide faith.

Apostle vacancy spurs questions about men who run the church — for life | Episode 313 Nov 21, 2023

With senior apostle M. Russell Ballard’s death, church President Russell Nelson’s back injury and apostle Jeffrey Holland’s recent illnesses, the focus has fallen once again on the top men who lead the 17 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Years, even decades, of policy, practice and precedent have established how the hierarchy is ordered — a governing First Presidency, usually made up of the faith’s president and two counselors, at the pinnacle, followed by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Presidency of the Seventy and general authority Seventies. But with all the members of the First Presidency in their 90s and increasingly aged apostles, questions are reemerging about a gerontocracy among these men, who must serve for life and are charged with guiding a global religion. Is emeritus status for these leaders an option? Should it be? And what about the general women’s leaders? Does their service, capped at five years, prevent them from having more influence in the church? Historian Matthew Bowman, Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University, addresses these questions and more on this week’s podcast.

Steve Young lays out a new game plan for life: the law of love | Episode 312 Nov 15, 2023

Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, the former BYU star who earned multiple MVP awards and Super Bowl rings with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, ranks among the most famous members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Recently, though, Young has turned from tactics for victory on the football field to strategies for winning at life — namely by living his religion, following Christ, helping to heal others, and, ultimately, loving all people, no matter whether they are in their personal journeys, as God loves them. Yes, he does draw on his gridiron experiences in his book “The Law of Love,” but he also reveals much about his own shyness, anxiety and insecurity. On this week’s show, Young discuss a more expansive, more exultant and more exalting kind of love.

We aren’t perfect. Life isn’t perfect. The church isn’t perfect. Why that’s OK. | Episode 311 Nov 08, 2023

No one likes pain or poverty, bigotry or war, frustration or failure, disease or doubt, joblessness or homelessness or loneliness. That includes this week’s “Mormon Land” guest, Melissa Inouye. The Latter-day Saint scholar has endured more than her share of heartache. She inexplicably lost her hair at a young age and then, at 37, the marathon-running mother of four, was diagnosed with colon cancer, an affliction she has been suffering from and through ever since. But as Inouye reminds herself and Latter-day Saints in her new book, “Sacred Struggle: Seeking Christ on the Path of Most Resistance,” a carefree, trouble-free world is not what humanity signed up for. An easy earthly existence, under Mormon theology, was Satan’s plan, not God’s. Divine design, Inouye writes, calls instead for agency, personal growth, compassion and caring for others, and “living a life full of life” — the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, the hopes and the hopelessness — as God’s children learn to be more like their Heavenly Parents by following and finding Jesus. On this week’s show, Inouye discusses this “sacred struggle” — including how she approaches the sometimes-problematic past found in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, her hopes for women in the faith’s still-present patriarchy, and how she and other members find joy in imperfect lives, imperfect bodies, imperfect families, imperfect communities, an imperfect church and an imperfect world.

Can Latter-day Saints become as good at peacemaking as they are at proselytizing? | Episode 310 Nov 01, 2023

Amid today’s polarized political scene, many Americans throw up their hands and say, like Patrick Henry, “‘peace, peace,’ but there is no peace. The war is actually begun.” To some, the partisan divide seems deeper than ever — with no way to bridge it. Even religions sometimes seem to battle with other faiths, as well as those within a faith. Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith America and author of “We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy,” has done a lot of thinking about how to overcome divisions. He is also an “impact scholar” at the University of Utah and will visit the Salt Lake City campus a few times each year during his two-year appointment. Retired federal Judge Thomas Griffith, a Latter-day Saint convert, also bemoans the toxic divides that poison public debate and rip apart the fabric of U.S. society. Recently, the American Bar Association appointed Griffith a member of a newly created Task Force for American Democracy, whose aim is to push back against authoritarian tendencies in the country. On this week’s show, Patel and Griffith — both hopeful if not optimistic — discuss how to bring peace to our trouble times and how members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a vital role to play in that quest, especially if they can become as accomplished at bridge building as they are at evangelizing.

McKay Coppins on Mitt Romney — his faith, his politics and his legacy | Episode 309 Oct 24, 2023

Lots of national politicians are keen to learn how Mitt Romney may skewer them in McKay Coppins’ newly released biography, “Romney: A Reckoning.” Coppins, a Brigham Young University alum who writes for The Atlantic, had access to the journals and emails, as well as candid interviews with the Republican Utah senator, who made history as the first Latter-day Saint to top a major party’s presidential ticket and first senator to vote to remove a president of his own party. But because Romney and Coppins are both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is also a lot of Mormon-speak in the book. In it, the writer explores the way in which Romney’s faith became a political roadblock for him while, at the same time, providing him spiritual strength and comfort. On this week’s show, Coppins share ways Romney’s beliefs shaped the man, how he faced the “Mormon moment,” why he lined up so boldly against Donald Trump, and what church leaders had to say about it all.

A Palestinian Latter-day Saint’s view on the Israel-Hamas war | Episode 308 Oct 18, 2023

As the war in Israel and Gaza rages on with civilians caught in the violent crossfire, those watching from across the globe are asking what it must be like to live in such a conflict-ridden space. What does it mean to face possible violence every day? Sahar Qumsiyeh can offer a firsthand description of how routine activities were affected by such a fraught environment. Qumsiyeh is a Palestinian born in Jerusalem and raised Orthodox Christian outside of Bethlehem. She converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while receiving a master’s degree from Brigham Young University in statistics. She earned a doctorate from the Middle East Technical University in Turkey in the same subject, taught at various universities in the West Bank and worked for four years as a data analyst with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Jerusalem. She currently teaches in the mathematics department at BYU-Idaho. She is also the author of “Peace for a Palestinian: One Woman’s Story of Faith Amidst War in the Holy Land.” On this week’s show, Qumsiyeh talks about the current crisis, the tensions that led to it, and what Americans, and particularly Latter-day Saints, should know when discussing it. Her views are her own and do not represent those of her employer or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The rise and fall of Brigham Young’s wine mission | Episode 307 Oct 11, 2023

For today’s faithful, believing, temple-recommend-carrying members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sipping a Chardonnay with their salmon entree would be unthinkable, off the table, a no-no. They know that the faith’s Word of Wisdom health code strictly forbids consumption of alcohol. But there was time in the church’s history when teetotaling wasn’t the order of the day. In fact, there was a time when Latter-day Saints not only drank wine but also produced it, sold it and profited from it — all with their prophet’s blessing and encouragement. Indeed, southwestern Utah’s pioneer past was home to a church “wine mission.” On this week’s show, Lindsay Hansen Park, a blogger, podcaster and executive director of the Sunstone Education Foundation, discusses Brigham Young’s wine mission — its roots, the success it enjoyed, the product it produced, the problems it encountered (and engendered), and the ultimate demise it met.

Only 3 women spoke at General Conference — what they said and why it matters | Episode 306 Oct 04, 2023

This past weekend, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held its biannual General Conference in Salt Lake City. In five sessions, held Saturday and Sunday, Latter-day Saints around the world heard sermons, instructions and announcements from their top leaders. Of the dozens to take the pulpit, just three were women: President Emily Belle Freeman, head of the global Young Women organization; her first counselor, Tamara Runia; and Amy Wright, first counselor in the children’s Primary general presidency. This underrepresentation of female speakers isn’t new — or surprising — in the patriarchal faith, where top leadership is almost entirely male. Some longtime conference listeners, however, did point to a shift in the nature of the sermons given by Freeman, Runia and Wright — as well as other recent female speakers. On this week’s show, Kimberly Applewhite Teitter discusses all that and more. Teitter is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Salt Lake City area and assistant director of the Debra Bonner Unity Gospel Choir. She was recently featured in the Deseret Book publications “Every Needful Thing: Essays of the Mind and Heart” and “No Division Among You: Creating Unity in a Diverse Church.”

Tim Ballard uproar reveals divisions between LDS Church and its far-right members | Episode 305 Sep 27, 2023

When a spokesperson for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offered a stinging rebuke of Tim Ballard, a fellow member and the charismatic founder of Operation Underground Railroad, an anti-human-trafficking organization, his defenders went ballistic. They were especially incensed when the statement said M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the faith’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, disavowed Tim Ballard, who is no relation, and condemned the activist for using the senior apostle’s name in his fundraising. It couldn’t have come from the church they love, these Tim Ballard devotees reasoned. They had to believe that it was some kind of fake news, or worse, a deep conspiracy. Latter-day Saint historian Benjamin Park, though, had no trouble believing the church’s condemnation of OUR’s founder. He sees in Tim Ballard’s impressive following a link to many other far-right causes and conspiracy theories — and even possible schism. Park, whose new book, “American Zion: A New History of Mormonism,” is due out in January, explores the larger issues he has observed within Tim Ballard’s movement and the implications of extreme conservative politics for the church.

Live with eminent scholars Richard and Claudia Bushman | Episode 304 Sep 20, 2023

In his new book, “Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates: A Cultural History,” historian Richard Bushman calls the Book of Mormon, the signature scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a “book about the importance of books.” One could also say that this book, which church founder Joseph Smith said he translated, sprang from plates that were about the importance of plates. In this special live episode, celebrating the more than 300 “Mormon Land” shows, we talk about the “important” role these plates played in the rise of a global religion with the author, who also wrote the highly acclaimed “Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling.” Joining him is his wife, scholar Claudia Bushman, the founding editor of Exponent II who edited “Mormon Sisters: Women in Early Utah” and wrote “Contemporary Mormonism: Latter-day Saints in Modern America.” Together, the Bushmans discuss their research on Mormonism, church founder Joseph Smith, the evolution of women’s rights, the threats to Latter-day Saint community, the challenges and opportunities facing the global faith, why they think art is vital in the church, and a range of other topics.

‘September Six’ ousters were in the past, but the tug of war isn’t over | Episode 303 Sep 13, 2023

Tickets for Mormon Land Live can be found here: givebutter.com/Vl1q3T In September 1993, six Latter-day Saint scholars and activists were disciplined for their critical writings about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was an extraordinary confluence of events, one that has echoed down through the decades. The censures had a chilling effect on a generation of would-be Latter-day Saint scholars but within 10 years or so the church felt the impact of the internet, with its widespread distribution and democratization of information. Now, 30 years later, many observers are assessing what happened that month and what its legacy has been in the global faith of 17 million members. In her new book, “The September Six and the Struggle for the Soul of Mormonism,” Sara M. Patterson, a professor of theology and gender studies at Indiana’s Hanover College, puts the episode within a much broader, decadeslong cultural and theological debate over the nature of the Utah-based faith and its evolving narrative. In this week’s episode, she shares her findings about those past events, how they continue to affect the present, and what they may portend for the future.

‘E.T.’ meets Joseph Smith? A new book shows the intersection between religion and UFOs | Episode 302 Sep 06, 2023

Tickets for Mormon Land Live can be found here: https://givebutter.com/Vl1q3T Kolob, the star “nearest” to where God dwells. “Worlds without number.” And “worlds [plural] are and were created.” Yes, these Latter-day Saint scriptures seem to affirm that, in Mormonism, we are not alone in the universe. Given that theology, it appears there is space, so to speak, for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to believe or have an interest in alien beings, intergalactic travelers, extraterrestrial visitors and, well, UFOs. Add to that the fascination, curiosity and intrigue surrounding such unidentified anomalous phenomena that have swelled in recent weeks since Congress staged hearings in July on the subject. All of this makes Latter-day Saint historian Matthew Bowman’s new book all the more timely, topical and telling. Titled “The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill: Alien Encounters, Civil Rights, and the New Age in America,” the volume explores the beginning of the UFO phenomenon, its intersection with U.S. society and its implications for religion, particularly Mormonism. On this week’s show, Bowman talks about how these otherworldly encounters affect our world.

LDS singles sing, dance and rock out. Will such connections keep them in the church? | Episode 301 Aug 30, 2023

Tickets for Mormon Land Live can be found here: https://givebutter.com/Vl1q3T Nearly 20,000 young single adult members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sang, danced, played, prayed, served, ran and worshipped over three weekends in August for a Utah YSA Conference. Events, all under the theme “Together in Christ,” included a concert at Salt Lake City’s Delta Center, a dance at a Sandy convention hall, a 5K run at the new Saratoga Springs Temple, devotionals, games and other activities at Salt Lake City’s Salt Palace and Brigham Young University’s Marriott Center in Provo. The conference came at a time when many millennials and younger generations are leaving the church and even religion altogether. Can events like this one help reduce that exodus? On this week’s show, University of Utah student Carly Clark, who was a co-chair of the planning committee, and BYU student Josh Newman, who attended, discuss the conference, its purpose, appeal and success as well as whether such gatherings should be duplicated and repeated.

All about the tithing lawsuit facing the church | Episode 300 Aug 23, 2023

A multimillion-dollar fraud lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appeared dead and buried nearly two years ago after a federal judge threw out the case. But a divided appeals court revived part of James Huntsman’s suit this month, flatly stating that “a reasonable juror” could conclude that the faith’s top leaders, including then-President Gordon B. Hinckley, misrepresented how they spent $1.4 billion in church funds to build the for-profit City Creek Center mall in downtown Salt Lake City. Did the money come from members’ tithing — intended for church and charitable operations — as alleged? Or did it come from the faith’s commercial enterprises and “earnings” of invested reserves — as the church has maintained? Or are those arguments, in the end, “distinctions without a difference.” Where does the case go from here? What are its chances? What’s at stake for the global faith of 17 million members? And how does it fit into the ballooning media attention on the church’s wealth? Salt Lake Tribune reporter Tony Semerad — who has reported on this lawsuit since it was first filed, along with a multitude of other stories about the church’s finances — answers those questions and more on this week’s show.

Fighting hunger among Latter-day Saints in developing nations. Can the church do it? | Ep. 299 Aug 16, 2023

Last week, officials with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a combined donation of $44 million to a number of nonprofit organizations dealing with global hunger. “No humanitarian effort is more foundational to Christ’s church than feeding the hungry,” Relief Society President Camille Johnson, head of the faith’s global women’s organization, said in a news release. “We are grateful to have the means to collaborate with wonderful organizations and provide relief to children and young mothers in dire need.” But what about starving Latter-day Saint children, specifically, in developing countries? After seeing hungry kids at church during his Latter-day Saint mission to Ecuador, Las Vegas physician Brad Walker returned decades later and launched the Liahona Children’s Foundation to provide a “caloric and vitamin supplement” to those suffering from malnutrition. It began small but now his nonprofit — which changed its name two years ago to the Bountiful Children’s Foundation — actively serves “nearly 20,000 children and many of their mothers in 16 countries,” according to its website, and is working with the church’s division over humanitarian services for members. Walker says church brass also asked Johnson, the women’s leader, to tackle the problem worldwide — without giving her a staff, budget or direction on how to do so. So those needs remain great. Walker says, with emotion, that some six children a day die of starvation somewhere in the world. On this week’s show, he explains those needs and how this new collaboration with the church is working — and sometimes not working.

Is ‘Barbie’ an allegory of Mother Eve in LDS theology? | Episode 298 Aug 09, 2023

On the face of it, the blockbuster “Barbie” film seems like a light romp through gender-swapping universes — the first where women rule (Astronaut Barbie, Nobel Prize winner Barbie, President Barbie) in perfect harmony and the second where men dominate. But some, including an author at Christianity Today, see it as a reverse allegory of the Christian Garden of Eden story with Barbieland as the world untouched by human tragedy. The heroine must commit “original sin” to travel to the “real world” to discover the knowledge of “good and evil.” This telling echoes Mormon theology of a “happy fall,” in which Eve makes the right choice, even though she disobeys God, and persuades Adam to follow her. “In addition to introducing physical and spiritual death,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints explains, “[the fall] gave us the opportunity to be born on the earth and to learn and progress.” So what does the movie, which has attracted Latter-day Saints and millions and millions of other theatergoers, have to say about women and men, the need for choices, the all-male priesthood, patriarchy and perfectionism? On this week’s podcast, Rachel Rueckert, an award-winning author and editor-in-chief of Exponent II, a magazine for and about Latter-day Saint women, discusses those questions and more.

From temple divorce to a thriving interfaith marriage | Episode 297 Aug 02, 2023

Carolyn Homer, a Latter-day Saint attorney in Washington D.C., expected her life to be the epitome of Mormonism’s teachings on marriage and family. She planned for a temple wedding and didn’t expect to work outside the home after children were born. But that marriage failed (“It was just a disaster”) and thrust her into an all new spiritual journey, since “everything that supposed to happen wasn’t happening.” Now married to a Catholic and a relatively new mother, Caroyln and her husband, Brad are charting a rich path with both faiths as they rear their young son as 66% Catholic and 33% LDS. In this week’s podcast, Homer talks about her experience with marriage, divorce and interfaith parenting — and how they negotiate complex theological issues like the Book of Mormon and the LDS sacrament versus the Eucharist.

Meet Eli McCann — lawyer, writer and humorist on LDS culture | Episode 296 Jul 26, 2023

You might know Eli McCann as The Salt Lake Tribune’s guest humor columnist and storyteller. But there’s a lot you probably don’t know. Eli, let’s just call him that, is an attorney who discusses religious freedom cases while teaching at the University of Utah’s law school. He served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ukraine and became a vocal supporter of helping that country after Russia attacked it last year. He’s an LGBTQ advocate and a board member of Equality Utah. He is married to Skylar Westerdahl and lives in Salt Lake City with, as he puts it, their “two naughty (yet worshipped) dogs.” Eli McCann joins us today in studio to explain how he puts all that together with his love of canning, knitting and marathon running.

Gordon Monson talks tithing, politics, patriotism and his new beat: religion | Episode 295 Jul 19, 2023

Paying tithing at a time when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has tens of millions of dollars in surplus assets. Lauding the faith’s explicit neutrality stance in U.S. partisan politics — along with its implicit call for more Democrats in the pews — and then seeing the church’s Utah Area Presidency embrace an effort to celebrate the Constitution by endorsing a group with multiple far-right ties. Add to that senior apostle Dallin Oaks’ plea for young members to stop delaying marriage and child rearing while acknowledging the sometimes-crippling barrier of housing costs. Yes, there has been no shortage of topics of late to which Salt Lake Tribune columnist Gordon Monson could add his voice and views. On today’s show, a little more than year since he became a regular faith columnist, Monson discusses his latest pieces on tithing, politics, patriotism and marriage — and shares what has been most rewarding and most distressing about his new assignment.

Should an ‘inspired’ but imperfect Constitution be celebrated? | Episode 294 Jul 14, 2023

The Utah Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent a memo last month to the faith’s lay leaders in the Beehive State, urging their congregations to join a September celebration of the U.S. Constitution. Nothing remarkable about that. Church teachings and culture have long embraced America’s founding and the role its governing document plays. But the missive also endorsed a grassroots group with ties to conservative — some say extremist — causes. This seemed to run counter to the governing First Presidency’s recently updated commitment to political neutrality and its warning against straight-ticket partisan loyalties. So what’s happening here? Were these dual directives or dueling directives? Can the church and its members honor the Constitution in some formal way without drifting into partisan polarization? Discussing those questions and more on this week’s show are two Latter-day Saints with extensive public service backgrounds: Stewart Tuttle, a career diplomat who recently served as chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Panama, and Lew Cramer, who helped found World Trade Center Utah, served as an assistant commerce secretary in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, and works as director general of the U.S. Commercial Service.

How British Latter-day Saints swayed their church on background checks | Episode 293 Jul 05, 2023

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints repeatedly has proclaimed that it has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind. That’s all well and good, some British Latter-day Saints reasoned, but not enough. They wanted their faith to do more, to undertake concrete reforms that could help prevent abuse from happening in the first place. So they launched a widespread public and private lobbying effort. They surveyed members. They wrote to their church leaders. They contacted national lawmakers. All that praying, pleading and prodding finally paid off when, starting this month, the church adopted a new policy mandating, among other measures, background checks for any church volunteers in the United Kingdom who work with children, youths or vulnerable adults. On this week’s show, Sara Delaney and Jane Christie, who together began the “21st Century Saints” podcast, along with Douglas Stilgoe, host of the “Nemo the Mormon” podcast, discuss their campaign — when they started it, how they structured it, and why it succeeded.

Voice and views of LDS historian Kate Holbook live on after death | Episode 292 Jun 28, 2023

Barely a month after Kate Holbrook died, her widowed husband, Dr. Samuel Brown, heard her voice. He was walking around New York and listening to the Maxwell Institute’s interview with Holbrook, a professional historian with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During her five decades of life, Holbrook connected to hundreds of Latter-day Saint women in the present and elevated the lives of scores of women from the past. Now Holbrook’s voice is speaking to a new, even wider audience in a new book, titled “Both Things Are True.” “My dead beloved,” Brown writes about that Manhattan moment in the book’s epilogue, “reached … all the way to the center of me.” And at least one of these five essays touches her husband in his grief. The piece on housework “is beautiful and thoughtful and provocative and does really important things for thinking about the shape of relationships with men and women,” he says in this deeply personal and poignant podcast. “But it was also, I think, her making sure I knew she forgave me for having been a pain…for the first 10 years of our marriage.…I had been a busy academic and had not really shown up for housework.” Though Brown changed and became more involved in helping at home, the essay was his wife’s way of assuring him. These five essays together “chart a path through the heart of Kate’s faith,” Rosalynde Frandsen Welch writes in the prologue. The pieces speak to history, belief, spirituality, community and the beauty of housework and cooking. On this week’s show, Brown, an intensive care unit physician and writer, along with Welch, a senior research fellow at BYU’s Maxwell Institute and host of its podcast, discuss Holbrook’s book, their memories and how her words live on.

Deconstructing Carthage — Why Joseph was slain and why it was about more than religion | Episode 291 Jun 21, 2023

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints learn early on about the murder of their faith’s founder, Joseph Smith. They know that, on June 27, 1844 (179 years ago this month), he and his brother Hyrum were gunned down by a mob at a jail in Carthage, Ill. They know that no one was ever convicted of the killings. And they know that the ugliness that took place outside their “City Beautiful” marked the beginning of the end to the Saints’ stay in nearby Nauvoo. What many insiders and outsiders alike either don’t know or fail to recognize, however, is that Smith’s slaying was not only a religious martyrdom but also a political assassination. They forget that the church leader was a candidate for the U.S. presidency at the time of his death and was the first American to be assassinated while running for the White House. On this week’s show, with the help of Benjamin Park, author of the acclaimed “Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier,” we revisit the mystique surrounding Carthage, how it happened, why it happened, what can be learned from it.

Ben McAdams’ high hopes but low expectations for a politically balanced LDS electorate | Episode 290 Jun 14, 2023

For years, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has proclaimed its neutrality in partisan politics, a position reaffirmed in the faith’s recently updated policy on the matter. But in a strongly worded letter to U.S. members, the governing First Presidency added a new wrinkle, denouncing strict party-line voting. “Merely voting a straight ticket or voting based on ‘tradition’ without careful study of candidates and their positions on important issues,” the top leaders warned, “is a threat to democracy and inconsistent with revealed standards.” They reminded Latter-day Saints that “principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties” and urged them to “vote for those who have demonstrated integrity, compassion and service to others, regardless of party affiliation.” For decades, Latter-day Saints have been among the most reliably Republican voting blocs with a number of members either overtly casting a straight GOP ticket or, in essence, doing so by simply backing the candidates with an “R” after their names. Could this blunt message from the First Presidency begin to change that voting dynamic? Will more members, especially in red states like Utah, start to back Democrats or office seekers from other parties? Would a more balanced Latter-day Saint electorate be helpful or harmful for the global church? On this week’s show, a prominent Latter-day Saint Democrat, Ben McAdams, a former congressman and Salt Lake County mayor, discusses those questions and more.

How temple garments affect LDS women spiritually, physically, socially | Episode 289 Jun 07, 2023

Many faiths feature clothing they consider part of their religious identity or obligation. Muslim women don headscarves. Jewish men wear yarmulkes. Sikh men cover their hair with turbans. Married Hindu couples sport sacred threads. These are all visible symbols of commitment. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have adopted religious clothing known as “temple garments” to remind them of covenants they have made. But they are worn under street clothes — and are meant to be invisible to others. This spring, Larissa Kindred, a former Latter-day Saint and recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, created an online “snowball survey” to reach out to Latter-day Saint women about what they like — and dislike — about wearing garments. On this week’s show, Kindred discusses her research, the responses and conclusions. She also focuses on the challenges Latter-day Saint women face spiritually, physically, emotionally and socially in wearing the garments — and how the apparel affects their body image.

Why LDS couples should — or shouldn’t — marry ‘younger’ or ‘older’ - Episode 288 May 31, 2023

Young Latter-day Saint couples are delaying marriage and having fewer children nowadays, according to recent statistics cited by Dallin H. Oaks, a top leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While acknowledging that the financial climate can be difficult for this generation, Oaks, first counselor in the faith’s governing First Presidency, nonetheless urged a global gathering of 18- to 30-year-old members to fight those trends. “Marriage is central to the purpose of mortal life and what follows,” he said. “We are children of a loving Heavenly Father who created us with the capacity to follow his commandment to multiply and replenish the earth.” On this week’s show Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, a Latter-day Saint marriage and sex therapist and contributor to “In the Image of Our Heavenly Parents: A Couples Guide to Creating a More Divine Marriage,” discusses Oaks’ speech, the pluses and minuses of marrying “early” or “late,” what children bring to the mix, and how the faith can help members make wise marital choices.

LDS growth — where it’s up, down and how many are actually active | Episode 287 May 24, 2023

With the COVID-19 pandemic increasingly in the rearview mirror, worldwide membership for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints topped 17 million by the end of 2022, a 1.17% increase from the previous year. But that growth was hardly wall to wall. Some places grew much faster, some much slower, and some saw their rolls shrink. There were encouraging signs. Africa, for instance, led the way — again — boasting eight of the 10 nations with the fastest rates of membership growth. There were troubling stats, too. Ukraine, not surprisingly, saw its Latter-day Saint totals fall as members fled the war-scarred nation, and Russia’s ranks — reported for the first time in years — cratered, plunging by nearly 80% since 2017. In the United States, Southern states enjoyed the quickest gains, while the Northwest’s numbers continued to slide. And Utah, home to the faith’s headquarters, experienced stunningly anemic growth. On this week’s show, we dig into these figures — the whats, whys and wherefores — with Matt Martinich, an independent researcher who tracks church movements for the websites cumorah.com and ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com. We also discuss post-pandemic expansion, how church growth aligns with temple building, and just how many members can be considered “active.”

Mountain Meadows Massacre — What did Brigham Young know and when did he know it? | Episode 286 May 17, 2023

The infamous and inexcusable Mountain Meadows Massacre lives on as the bloodiest stain on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The 2008 book “Massacre at Mountain Meadows” offered modern readers the most complete look to date at the atrocity, when, on Sept. 11, 1857, Mormon settlers deceived a wagon train of emigrants on their way to California through southern Utah and then slaughtered about a hundred men, women and children. Now comes the eagerly anticipated follow-up volume, titled “Vengeance Is Mine: The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath.” On this week’s show, co-authors Richard E. Turley and Barbara Jones Brown explain how church leaders in southern Utah tried to cover up the crime, how investigations were thwarted, and how justice was delayed and denied. (In then end, only one perpetrator, John D. Lee, was executed.) They also explore a key Watergate-like question: What did church prophet-president Brigham Young know and when did he know it?

The richness of religious diversity and what kids and adults can learn | Episode 285 May 10, 2023

In 1998, a Utah publisher released “A World of Faith,” a children’s book by The Salt Lake Tribune’s award-winning religion writer, Peggy Fletcher Stack, with illustrations by celebrated Latter-day Saint artist Kathleen Peterson. Praise for the volume was wide and deep, including from former President Jimmy Carter. A commemorative version followed in 2001 to celebrate Salt Lake City’s hosting of the 2002 Winter Olympics. The book’s approach is simple: Take many of the world’s major faith traditions, write a one-page explanation of their history and beliefs, make the text easy enough for youngsters but interesting enough for seasoned readers, and pair each entry with a gorgeous illustration depicting aspects of that religion. Yes, it’s a modest model, but behind it rests a profound pursuit: Eliminate religious bigotry through increased understanding and turn today’s readers into tomorrow’s peacemakers. Now, 25 years later, BCC Press has issued revised second edition of “A World of Faith,” with an additional six non-Western religions added into the mix. The authors join us on this week’s show to discuss the expanded book — what they learned; the challenges they faced (including how to handle the “Mormon” term); the commonalities, differences and beauties in religious diversity; and Latter-day Saints’ awareness of other faiths. With the book’s release, we’re also making this special offer: Join Mormon Land on Patreon by Monday, May 15, and you’ll be entered to win one of five signed copies of the volume. Current patrons will also be entered.

A sex abuse survivor details his painful path to healing | Episode 284 May 03, 2023

Note • This podcast discusses sexual assault. If you need to report or discuss a sexual assault, you can call the Utah Sexual Violence help line at 801-736-4356. Rabbi Avremi Zippel was 8 years old when his nanny began sexually abusing him in a basement bathroom in his Salt Lake City home. For Zippel, the abuse, which continued for a decade, violated everything he believed as an Orthodox Jew and threw him into a whirlwind of shame, guilt, depression, anxiety and even questions about God. He eventually told his wife, his parents, his siblings, a therapist and the police, which was an agonizing but ultimately healing journey. Zippel, who followed in the footsteps of his father, Rabbi Benny Zippel, a Chabad Lubavitch leader in Utah, tells the harrowing story in his new book, “Not What I Expected: A 20-Year Journey to Reclaim a Child’s Voice.” On this week’s show, Avremi Zippel discusses his book, what he endured and what religious leaders can do in the fight against sexual abuse.

Why all R-rated movies need not scare away faithful Latter-day Saints | Episode 283 Apr 26, 2023

Devout Latter-day Saints don’t, or at least think they shouldn’t, watch R-rated movies. This belief has permeated their religious culture for decades. And while top leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have warned about such films, there has never been a general proscription against viewing them. In fact, a popular Latter-day Saint blogger recently argued that some R-rated and TV-MA productions are worth watching, listing titles from “Saving Private Ryan” and “Marriage Story” to “The Passion of the Christ” and “Good Will Hunting.” He stated that swearing off such movies can lead to “consuming disproportionately infantile content.” So where did this supposed blanket ban on such films originate? Does it still have the same hold on Latter-day Saint culture? And are there movies that adult members not only could watch (without any guilt) but indeed should watch? On this week’s show, David Scott, a communication professor at Utah Valley University and an expert on Mormon culture, media and their intersection with religiosity, discusses those questions and more.

Church’s internet presence — how and why it changed | Episode 282 Apr 19, 2023

In the wake of President Russell M. Nelson’s decree to remove the “Mormon” name from common parlance in person and in publications, the need to replace its use on the internet with the faith’s full name was no easy feat. After all, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were widely known as “Mormons.” The faith even promoted a popular advertising campaign, called “I’m a Mormon,” highlighting the lives and beliefs of its followers. The website mormon.org featured those mini-videos, while lds.org went to the church’s official website. On this week’s show, technology expert Spencer Greenhalgh, who teaches in the School of Information Science at the University of Kentucky, discusses what it took to get those domain names changed and why church officials when to the time, trouble and expense to do so.

The General Conference gender gap — why it should change and how it can | Episode 281 Apr 12, 2023

President Russell Nelson, worldwide leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has urged women to be seen and be heard, to speak up and speak out — in their communities, in their homes and in their congregations. That may be happening at the grassroots level, but it isn’t occurring in the patriarchal faith’s highest-profile forum: General Conference. In the most recent gathering, only two of the 33 speakers were women. Even in past conferences, that number rarely reached a handful. Researcher Eliza Wells, a doctoral student in philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studied this phenomenon in conferences over a 50-year period for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought and discovered an even deeper chasm: Men were at least 16 times more likely to be quoted over the pulpit than women — a gap that holds true even when women were speaking. It’s an inequity that many women and men in the church notice and hope to change. On this week’s show, Wells discusses her findings, the implications, the message sent, how to change that pattern and why it matters.

How to heed Russell Nelson’s plea to be a peacemaker and why it isn’t easy | Episode 280 Apr 05, 2023

When President Russell M. Nelson took to the podium at this past weekend’s General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and steadfastly called on members and all others to eliminate contention and become, like the Prince of Peace, peacemakers, Patrick Mason and David Pulsipher had to be cheering. After all, the two scholars wrote a book about that very ideal. Titled “Proclaim Peace: The Restoration’s Answer to an Age of Conflict,” their volume explained how “peace is possible” and explored how the Mormon message — along with writings from other faiths and other thinkers — can bring help, healing and harmony to the world, nations, communities, homes and individual hearts. On this week’s show, they discussed Nelson’s address, other conference speakers who also pleaded for harmony and unity, and how true Christian discipleship can end political polarization and cultural conflicts, and convey peace to one soul and all souls.

Two former missionaries open up about their mental health challenges | Episode 279 Mar 29, 2023

Depression, attention-deficit disorder, anxiety, anorexia, insomnia, scrupulosity, obsessive-compulsive disorder and more. Like people from every walk of life, missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not immune from mental health challenges. In fact, the stresses of full-time proselytizing, with its high demands and high expectations, can exacerbate the unsettling symptoms and the sometimes-crippling complications. As missionaries increasingly encounter mental health challenges, the church is increasingly responding — with better trained mission presidents, mission therapists and mission health councils. On this week’s show, two former missionaries — Cora Longhurst, who served in the Philadelphia Mission, and Michael Skaggs, who labored in Las Vegas and on a service mission at church headquarters — share the struggles they endured during their stints, the help they received and how they are coping now.

Writers discuss their identities as Indigenous scholars and Latter-day Saints | Episode 278 Mar 22, 2023

In the 1830s, Mormonism’s founder, Joseph Smith, offered Latter-day Saints an expansive view of education. In his mind, temple (a religious space) and school (a secular place) were linked in a joint spiritual and intellectual venture. Smith urged followers in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint to gather “every needful thing” to further that kind of learning. Now, writer/editor Melissa Inouye and the late Kate Holbrook, who directed women’s history for the church, have gathered two dozen essays by Latter-day Saint women wrestling with what it means to “flourish in a world of complexity and abundance.” The book is titled “Every Needful Thing: Essays on the Life of the Mind and the Heart.” On this week’s show, two of the authors, Farina King of the University of Oklahoma, and Tanya Wendt Samu of New Zealand’s University of Auckland, discuss their views of the Book of Mormon, seen by some as an exploration of racism, and their identities as Indigenous scholars and Latter-day Saints as they navigate a life of learning and a life of faith.

So Americans don’t view Latter-day Saints favorably. What that means? Does it matter? | Episode 277 Mar 15, 2023

It seems to be a common human trait to wonder how others see us. Who among us is most likable? Most respected? Most trusted? It is, of course, of particular value to those in the minority, perceived as outcasts or threats or newcomers to the scene. This may be especially pertinent to faith groups. A new poll from the Pew Research Center found that respondents viewed Catholics, Jews and mainline Protestants more positively than they do members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Evangelical Christians, Muslims and even atheists also scored higher than Mormons, as they are referred to throughout the survey. “A quarter of Americans say they hold very or somewhat unfavorable views of Mormons,” the Pew report stated, “while 15% express favorable opinions.” On this week’s show, Brigham Young University political science professor Quin Monson, himself a pollster and co-author of “Seeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics,” discusses those perceptions, whether they have changed through the years and if it should be a cause for concern in the missionary-minded faith.

How Latter-day Saints can immerse themselves in Easter | Episode 276 Mar 08, 2023

Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints complain about the fact that there’s no expansive or universal celebration of Easter in their religion. While much of Christendom builds up to the holiest day on the calendar with preparation rituals like Lent or immersive traditions such as waving palms on Palm Sunday, washing feet on Maundy Thursday, or carrying a large cross for Good Friday, Latter-day Saints have no accepted traditions for Easter. Some have begun to develop their own way of commemorating Easter with prayers, readings and discussions. Eric Huntsman, a Brigham Young University professor of ancient scripture, has spent his career reading biblical texts in their original languages. Huntsman, who is currently the academic director at BYU’s Jerusalem Center, has just published a book in time for the holiday, with Trevan Hatch, “Greater Love Hath No Man: A Latter-day Saint Guide to Celebrating the Easter Season” that explores the scriptural accounts for each day of Holy Week, explains how those events have been celebrated in various Christian traditions and shares suggestions for how Latter-day Saints can commemorate the occasions in their own homes.

How Brigham Young instituted a racist policy that lasted for more than a century | Episode 275 Mar 01, 2023

In 1833, a leading Latter-day Saint, William W. Phelps, published a column under the headline “Free People of Color,” making it clear that, since its founding three years earlier, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints exercised no racial barriers. Black members were not only welcome in the fledgling faith but also eligible for all of its rites and privileges. It was a stance that did not sit well with many Missourians at the time and with the racist views scarring much of America in those pre-Civil War days. It’s also a position that did not last inside the church itself. The faith’s second prophet-president, Brigham Young, eventually departed from the ways of founder Joseph Smith and instituted a ban barring Black Latter-day Saints from priesthood ordinations and temple ordinances. That prohibition endured for nearly 130 years, a racist stain that the global faith and its members grapple with to this day. In his new book, “Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood,” from church-owned Deseret Book, W. Paul Reeve, head of Mormon studies at the University of Utah, relies on historical records and scriptural passages to examine how and why the Utah-based church shifted from an inclusive approach on race to a restricted one and, ultimately, back to its original universalist theology. In this week’s show, Reeve, who flatly states that he doesn’t believe the former priesthood/temple ban was of “divine origin,” discusses the faith’s evolution on this sensitive topic and the challenges that still lie ahead.

Would Latter-day Saints be upset if they knew all about their church’s wealth? | Episode 274 Feb 21, 2023

First came a whistleblower’s call for the IRS to punish Ensign Peak Advisors, the investment arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, accusing it of stockpiling a reserve fund worth tens of billions of dollars intended for charity but never spent for that purpose. Then came a federal lawsuit, now on appeal, from a prominent and prosperous former member alleging fraud by the Utah-based faith and seeking the return of his tithing donations. In recent weeks, that IRS whistleblower called on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee to investigate Ensign Peak for illegally dodging billions in taxes. And, finally, came word that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Ensign Peak over past investment practices that reportedly concealed the multibillion-dollar portfolio. Will these unflattering headlines about the church’s wealth ever end? What might be the final outcome? Does this global faith of nearly 17 million members simply have too much money? It reported spending nearly $1 billion on charity in 2021. Could it — and should it — be doing more? How can the church avoid such unflattering attention in the future? Would further fiscal transparency — in essence, “showing us the money” — be a solution? Or if members knew the full financial picture, would they stop paying tithes? On this week’s show, Sam Brunson, a popular Latter-day Saint blogger and a tax law professor at Loyola University Chicago, discusses these questions and more.

A Valentine’s Day special — How couples can build a marriage like God’s | Episode 273 Feb 14, 2023

It’s Valentine’s Day, the time when many American couples turn to romantic thoughts and gestures. (Think chocolates and roses.) What better occasion to think about the nature of Latter-day Saint marriages? Bethany Brady Spalding and McArthur Krishna, authors of the bestselling “Girls Who Choose God” and “Guides to Heavenly Mother” series, have spent years exploring the influence of the divine feminine in the beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now they have turned their attention to a divine couple: Heavenly Parents. They are deeply committed to the idea that marital equality is not just a human construct but also an eternal truth. In their new online workbook, titled “In the Image of Our Heavenly Parents: A Couple’s Guide to Creating a More Divine Marriage” from D Street Press, Spalding and Krishna, as well as Latter-day Saint therapists, explore these religious role models and 12 principles for improving marriages. On this week’s show, the two editors, along with Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, a Latter-day Saint therapist in Chicago, discuss the new book and how earthly couples can build heavenly marriages.

What Latter-day Saints and their church can do to save the Great Salt Lake | Episode 272 Feb 08, 2023

In the wake of drought, climate change and, primarily, human-caused incursions, the Salt Lake Valley’s namesake ecological landmark, the Great Salt Lake, is dying, shriveling up before our very eyes. Experts warn, in fact, that this shrinking body of water could vanish within five years, leaving behind an exposed lakebed and a source of toxic dust storms that could make this place — this place that Brigham Young reportedly declared the “right place” to become Mormonism’s new home — uninhabitable. So the need to save the lake is obvious, and the stakes are huge — not only for Salt Lakers and Utahns but also for The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints. The faith’s world headquarters is here. Its history is here. Its strength — both in membership and, frankly, money — is here. Its iconic Salt Lake Temple and global offices are here. Thankfully, it’s not too late to preserve the lake, but it will take a concerted, costly and expedited effort, and the Utah-based church — and its members — must play a vital role. On this week’s show, Ben Abbott, professor of ecology at church-owned Brigham Young University, discusses the lake’s precarious present and what Latter-day Saints and their church could do to help secure its future.

The way forward for Latter-day Saints who aren’t all-in or all-out | Episode 271 Feb 01, 2023

There are plenty of people counted as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who don’t necessarily make their memberships count. They’re not all-in, but they’re not all-out either. They may have issues with church’s theology, history, policies, practices, people or any number of other reasons. Some eventually leave, but many stay, clinging to the fringes of the faith. It’s to this diverse and disparate audience that this week’s guest, author Christian Kimball, addresses his new book, “Living on the Inside of the Edge: A Survival Guide,” currently Amazon’s bestselling Mormonism book. A former bishop, Kimball, who describes himself as a “25-year veteran backbencher in a blue shirt and no tie,” doesn’t prod these “edge dwellers” to stick it out — in fact, he says exiting the church may be the best move for some — but he also doesn’t urge these “middle-way” members to bolt. Rather, he offers practical and practicable advice for how adult Latter-day Saints can navigate the nexus of affection and disaffection, doubt and certainty, belief and disbelief, activity and inactivity, and be at home on the “inside of the edge” of Mormonism.

Did Joseph use a ‘seer stone’ or other ‘interpreters’ to translate the Book of Mormon? | Episode 270 Jan 25, 2023

The question of just how church founder Joseph Smith produced the faith’s signature scripture, the Book of Mormon, continues to be debated. Did Smith “translate” the Reformed Egyptian writing from gold plates or did he invent the story of a Hebrew civilization living in the ancient Americas who welcomed Jesus Christ after his crucifixion in Jerusalem? In recent years, the scholarly consensus in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seems to be that Smith produced most of the text using a “seer stone” in a hat, where words somehow appeared on the revelatory rock, without really referring to the plates. In a forthcoming book, titled “By Means of the Urim and Thummim: Restoring Translation to the Restoration,” authors James Lucas and Jonathan Neville argue that the evidence for the seer stone is “inconsistent and unreliable.” Instead, they believe the traditional theory that Smith used “interpreters” called the urim and thummim, which the first Latter-day Saint prophet described as “two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate.” On this week’s show, Lucas discusses why he and his co-writer believe their theory is correct.

Could a return to ancient Christian practices improve women’s status in LDS Church? | Episode 269 Jan 18, 2023

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often assert that the organization in their global religion is the same as in the church established by Christ and his earliest followers, “namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth,” as declared in the church’s Articles of Faith. But are they really the same? In a new book, “Ancient Christians: An Introduction for Latter-day Saints,” from Brigham Young University’s Maxwell Institute, scholars describe the early Christian church and how it evolved over the centuries. One of the most intriguing questions is about the role of women in ancient Christianity. Given how much patriarchy dominated all forms of the faith, were Jesus’ early disciples and leaders all men? Not by a long shot, argues Ariel Bybee Laughton, an independent Latter-day Saint researcher and author of a chapter in the new book about women and gender in early Christianity. Jesus’ female followers held significant and vaunted positions in the then-fledgling faith. On this week’s show, Laughton discusses the ancient church and how the modern Utah-based faith is beginning to return to those roots by increasing women’s visibility, leadership and participation.

How President Russell M. Nelson has put the ‘latter’ back in Latter-day Saints | Episode 268 Jan 12, 2023

It’s been an unexpectedly lively five years for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — with institutional changes as well as pandemic shutdowns — and all under the leadership of President Russell M. Nelson. The former heart surgeon became the Utah-based church’s 17th president on Jan. 14, 2018, at 93, the second oldest man to step into that role. No matter his age, Nelson was anything but retiring. With an increased emphasis on these “latter days,” he oversaw ambitious plans to perfect the organization, chart new courses, and shift much of the faith’s spiritual training and development to individuals and families. Now at 98 and the oldest-ever church president, it’s time to examine what has he done. On this week’s show, Patrick Mason, head of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University, examines the Nelson presidency — the big changes, the impact, what’s working, what isn’t and whether the church is better today than when he took over.

Why the LDS Church is ‘underperforming’ and how to revive growth | Episode 267 Jan 04, 2023

Growth is essential to the mission of a missionary-minded faith like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In headier times, that expansion seemed to come rapidly and resoundingly, spurring optimistic predictions that the Utah-based religion could top 100 million members by 2020. That didn’t happen, of course. In recent years, the global faith of 16.8 million has grown by less than 1% annually and, in fact, is shrinking in a number of regions. In the United States over the past two years, for instance, 21 states saw Latter-day Saint membership decline. In the inaugural issue of the Journal of the Mormon Social Science Association, David Stewart, who has been studying Latter-day Saint growth trends for decades, explores why this era of expedited expansion may be at an end. On this week’s show, the independent researcher discusses this slowdown and how the “underperforming” church could reverse it.

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