Mormon Land
341 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★ - 276 ratingsMormon Land explores the contours and complexities of LDS news. It's hosted by award-winning religion writer Peggy Fletcher Stack and Salt Lake Tribune managing editor David Noyce.
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Episodes
The NAACP president and the unlikely alliance with the LDS Church | Episode 188
June 30, 2021 13:00 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBIn an unexpected and bold move, President Russell M. Nelson announced a partnership with the NAACP in 2018 — just days before The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrated the 40th anniversary of the end of its centurylong priesthood and temple ban on Black members. In recent weeks, the Utah-based faith elevated this unlikely alliance with the nation’s oldest civil rights organization by unveiling nearly $10 million in scholarships and humanitarian aid. On this week’s show, NAA...
What it means for the church that more than a fifth of young members are queer | Episode 187
June 23, 2021 23:32 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBA recent U.S. survey found that more than a fifth of Gen Zers who self-identify as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or other. Nearly that many millennials (19%) do as well. That is almost double the 10% that researchers Jana Riess and Benjamin Knoll found in their 2016 Next Mormons Survey. On this week’s show, Knoll, an associate professor of politics at Centre College in Kentucky, and Calvin Burke, an openly gay senior majoring...
Historians gather to discuss polygamy, the Hofmann bombings and church historic sites | Episode 186
June 16, 2021 20:41 - 39 minutes - 36 MBThe Mormon History Association’s just-completed annual conference offered the usual smorgasbord of delectable scholarly presentations relating to Mormonism. The 2021 theme for the hybrid in-person and online meeting in Park City was “Restoration, Reunion and Resilience.” There were sessions on polygamy and early Latter-day Saint experiences in Nauvoo, Ill., and Kirtland, Ohio, along with discussions of race, LGBTQ issues and the Mark Hofmann bombings. The historians also recognized that the...
Why Joseph Smith ran for president and how his platform still resonates today | Episode 185
June 09, 2021 20:02 - 32 minutes - 30 MBEditor's note: Due to an error in postproduction, we've replaced a previous version of this episode. Late in 1843, top leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent letters to the five leading candidates for the U.S. presidency, asking each what he would do, if elected, to address the persecution the faith had suffered and to protect it from future repression. Unsatisfied with the responses, they turned to a new candidate: their own prophet, Joseph Smith. Thus began the c...
Why so many Latter-day Saints believe in QAnon | Episode 184
June 02, 2021 20:00 - 36 minutes - 33.9 MBThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sprang from a young boy’s quest for religious truth, so it may seem strange that sizable numbers of its members are falling for political claims that stretch so far from the truth. A recent survey shows, for instance, that 46% of Latter-day Saints believe the “big lie” — that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. Another poll lists Latter-day Saints — along with white evangelicals and Hispanic Protestants — as the most l...
Religious scholar explains why the church should stick with the word ‘Mormon’ | Episode 183
May 26, 2021 20:35 - 27 minutes - 25 MBAs we approach the third anniversary of President Russell M. Nelson’s plea for members, media, academics and all others to start using the full name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and stop using the term “Mormon,” an outside religious scholar is suggesting a, shall we say, different approach. In fact, an opposite approach. Peter Thuesen, in a recent blog post, says the church should instead lean into the Mormon moniker. Use it. Admire it. Embrace it. A religious studies ...
How modern missionary work is changing | Episode 182
May 19, 2021 21:22 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBProselytizing has been a hallmark of Mormonism since its founding. It has become common to see pairs of young men, called “elders,” or young women, dubbed “sisters,” sporting black nametags and talking to people about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In recent years, however, the faith’s global evangelizing program has shifted in tactics, especially during the pandemic, with less emphasis on so-called tracting (spreading the word from door to door) and more on technology (see...
A Unitarian pastor reflects on his 34-year ministry in Salt Lake City | Episode 181
May 12, 2021 20:37 - 41 minutes - 37.8 MBFor 34 years, the Rev. Tom Goldsmith of Salt Lake City’s First Unitarian Church has been a prominent presence on Utah’s religious landscape. At the helm of his left-leaning congregation, Goldsmith championed social justice causes like immigration reform and climate change. He has shaped his congregation into a refuge for believers who do not feel at home in more conservative faiths, including the LDS Church. Now he is retiring and will give his final sermon Sunday. On this week’s show, he...
How to teach kids about Heavenly Mother and why it matters | Episode 180
May 05, 2021 14:49 - 38 minutes - 34.8 MBIn recent years, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has more fully embraced its teachings about Heavenly Mother, but she has been a part of the faith since virtually the beginning. She has long been celebrated in song and verse, but now members and leaders have begun to openly discuss her and debate her qualities. Two Latter-day Saint women, McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding, have written a handful of children’s books about women in scriptures — poets, priestesses and...
Remembering D. Michael Quinn — his contributions, his conflicts and his legacy | Episode 179
April 28, 2021 20:01 - 30 minutes - 28 MBD. Michael Quinn, the noted historian who died last week at 77, had an outsized impact on academic explorations of the church’s past. He was a prodigious researcher, who wrote 10 books and numerous essays. Though a believer in the faith’s founding events, Quinn resigned from church-owned Brigham Young University under pressure and subsequently was excommunicated from the faith in 1993 as part of the famed “September Six” for his writings about women and the priesthood, as well as about post-...
Latter-day Saint therapist discusses the sexuality issues that Natasha Helfer tackled | Episode 178
April 21, 2021 20:57 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBNatasha Helfer, a licensed sex therapist and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, faced a disciplinary hearing Sunday on her membership status. She was accused of apostasy for her public stances on masturbation, same-sex marriage and pornography, positions she says are consistent with the consensus in the mental health community. Due to procedural differences, Helfer wound up not attending the hearing, so the council took place without her. On this week’s show, Latter...
Richard Turley and the life of Dallin H. Oaks | Episode 177
April 14, 2021 19:48 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBHis father died when he was 7 years old. Raised by his mother and his maternal grandparents, he committed himself to hard work and diligent scholarship. He became a star student, earned a degree at one of the nation’s most prestigious law schools and launched a legal career that would see him rise to the Utah Supreme Court with whispers that he someday could land a seat on the country’s highest court. Then, virtually overnight, Dallin H. Oaks changed his life’s trajectory, trading his caree...
General Conference recap with Jana Riess | Episode 176
April 07, 2021 20:44 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBGeneral Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was, for the third straight time, all-virtual due to the pandemic. That didn’t stop it from being timely and topical. Those who tuned in heard about Christ and the resurrection (especially on Easter Sunday), the faith’s international footprint, repeated recognitions that most of the 16.6 million members are single, condemnations of cyberbullying and racist attacks, and an extensive exploration of the Constitution and the ...
The Huntsman suit, the church’s $100B account and the state of LDS finances | Episode 175
March 31, 2021 19:28 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBJames Huntsman, a member of a prominent Latter-day Saint family, recently accused The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of fraud and sued to recover millions of dollars in tithing. Huntsman alleges that the global faith has “repeatedly and publicly lied” about its use of billions of dollars in member donations solicited to pay for missionary work, temple-building and other educational and charitable operations. Citing a whistleblower’s much-publicized IRS complaint about the churc...
Why Latter-day Saints should back universal health care | Episode 174
March 25, 2021 14:18 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBFor the past year, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like others around the world, have dealt with a health care crisis that is both personal and societal. Even without the coronavirus pandemic, however, members face moral choices about medical issues throughout their lives. They must decide whether to continue a doomed pregnancy, whether to test a fetus for a genetic disorder, whether to vaccinate their children for sexually transmitted diseases, or whether to disc...
What the Salt Lake Temple loses with renovation | Episode 173
March 17, 2021 20:53 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that it will discontinue the “live” presentation of a religious ritual known as the “endowment” in its iconic Salt Lake Temple. Instead of members acting out the scripted roles of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, for instance, a film version used in other temples will be shown. The faith’s governing First Presidency also said that historic wall murals, which help set the tone and understanding of the ceremony, had been removed...
'Murder Among the Mormons' co-director Jared Hess on the Mark Hofmann bombings | Episode 172
March 11, 2021 22:02 - 29 minutes - 27 MBA new documentary, “Murder Among the Mormons,” has become a big hit this month on Netflix. It recounts the 1980s story of document forger Mark Hofmann, who tried to upset the traditional historical narrative regarding the founding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by producing fake artifacts. When he got entangled by his own financial double-dealing, Hofmann attempted to cover up his counterfeiting by setting off separate bombs that killed one of his clients, Steve Christen...
A deeper look at BYU’s report on campus racism and how the school can fix it | Episode 171
March 03, 2021 20:07 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MBBrigham Young University released a 64-page report from a faculty committee last week on “Race, Equity and Belonging” at the Provo school. It exposed widespread and significant concerns about the mistreatment of minority students who attend the private university owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many students of color end up transferring or dropping out as a result of experiences that “left many disillusioned, brokenhearted and struggling.” The report noted that “cu...
They're engineers from NASA and the Navy, these Black converts now lead an LDS mission | Episode 170
February 25, 2021 15:41 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBMichelle and John Amos are both converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Both are graduates of Southern University, a historic Black college. And both are high-powered engineers. Michelle worked for NASA for 30 years, including as part of the team that developed the Mars 2020 rover. Her husband, John, after a 21-year career with the Navy and Navy Reserve, became an engineering director at the global company Siemens Energy. Now the Amoses are overseeing more than 200 youn...
Robert Kirby reflects on his career as a religion humorist | Episdoe 169
February 17, 2021 20:46 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBFor more than a quarter century, Salt Lake Tribune columnist Robert Kirby poked fun at Mormon history, practices, culture and members themselves, including one particular member: Robert Kirby. His brand of comical commentary brought not only winces and complaints but also personal insights and even community healing. He reached out to crime victims and those who had lost loved ones. He officiated at LGBTQ weddings. Mostly, though, his musings elicited laughter. He brought a lovable irreveren...
He’s devout. And he’s gay. Now he’s sharing his personal journey. | Episode 168
February 11, 2021 20:58 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBFor the past 25-plus years, it has been the policy at Brigham Young University that it is OK to be gay, but not to act on it. That echoes the position taken by the school’s owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are clearly BYU students who are open about their LGBTQ identity while living the church’s standard of celibacy. But what about faculty and bosses? Ben Schilaty is a licensed therapist and BYU Honor Code administrator who has written his story in a newly rele...
A deeper look at #DezNat tweeters | Episode 167
February 03, 2021 20:53 - 40 minutes - 36.7 MBIn 2018, John Paul Bellum came up with a Twitter hashtag, #DezNat, which stands for Deseret Nation, to help like-minded conservatives within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints find one another on social media. Bellum said he was hoping to rally members willing to defend the faith, its leaders, its history, its doctrines and especially its teachings on the family — all of which he saw as under attack online. Since then, #DezNat has been used in hundreds of thousands of tweets, i...
How the LDS Church can adapt as it enters its third century | Episode 166
January 26, 2021 20:35 - 41 minutes - 37.6 MBIn his new book, “Restoration: God’s Call to the 21st-Century World,” scholar Patrick Mason explains how 16.5 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can — with help from the billions of others across the globe — “renovate the world.” Mason emphasizes that while Mormonism’s “ongoing restoration” is more about looking forward than backward, the church and its members must discard some historical and cultural baggage, including racism, sexism and colonialism, to reac...
Former Sen. Harry Reid on the Capitol riot, impeachment, and the Biden presidency | Episode 165
January 14, 2021 20:46 - 26 minutes - 24.2 MBAs it prepares to welcome a new president, the United States, a land of prophecy and promise to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stands at a momentous moment. A defeated, disgraced and divisive president has become the first commander in chief to be impeached twice. A violent mob has desecrated the People’s House, eroding the very foundation of democracy. And, amid threats of more unrest, a shaken nation tiptoes into the future with as much trepidation as hope. On...
Historian Richard Bushman explores faith, doubt and feminism | Episode 164
January 07, 2021 15:20 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBIn a wide-ranging interview published in Sunday’s Salt Lake Tribune, revered Mormon historian Richard Bushman, author of the acclaimed Joseph Smith biography “Rough Stone Rolling,” talked at length about his childhood in Oregon, his mission in New England and his education at Harvard, where he wrestled with his faith in God. He also discussed the mystery of the gold plates, from which the Book of Mormon sprang, his understanding of truth, and his perspectives on The Church of Jesus Christ of...
Recapping 2020 for the LDS Church | Episode 163
December 30, 2020 20:27 - 44 minutes - 40.4 MBThis year’s global pandemic brought extraordinary actions inside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Worship services were halted. Temples were closed. Missionaries were released, recalled and reassigned. Humanitarian outreach reached record levels. And there was much more: Major denunciations of racism were given. Changes to church practices and parlance were announced. A new symbol and proclamation were unveiled. Patrick Mason, head of Mormon history and culture at Utah Stat...
Is confronting church critics through satire effective or offensive? | Episode 162
December 23, 2020 16:49 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBThe group FairMormon is dedicated to defending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from critics and rebutting falsehoods about the faith’s history and theology. FairMormon is particularly concerned about the influence of a 2013 volume called the “CES Letter,” which provides a long list of what it sees as problems with the church’s descriptions of its past, including founder Joseph Smith, his “First Vision,” translation of the Book of Mormon and polygamy. So FairMormon enlisted a h...
The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins on the LDS Church’s quest for approval and its future | Episode 161
December 16, 2020 20:32 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBIn a lengthy essay in The Atlantic posted online Wednesday, reporter McKay Coppins explores The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its history as “The Most American Religion.” In a subtitle, the article states: “Perpetual outsiders, Mormons spent 200 years assimilating to a certain national ideal — only to find their country is in an identity crisis. What will the third century of the faith look like?” Coppins’ piece looks backward and forward, not as a dispassionate observer, ...
Are Latter-day Saint anti-maskers guilty of not ‘following the prophet’? | Episode 160
December 09, 2020 21:44 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posted a video this week from apostle Dale G. Renlund in which he pleaded with members to put on masks and put off assembling in large gatherings in response to the coronavirus pandemic. “Wearing a face covering,” he said, “is a sign of Christlike love for our brothers and sisters.” Renlund, a former cardiologist, emphasized that he was speaking not as a physician, but as an apostle, a position of great respect within the Utah-based faith. His...
Latter-day Saints and their love-hate history with vaccines | Episode 159
December 02, 2020 21:21 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBIn the not-too-distant future, the United States and other nations will have a vaccination available, thankfully, for COVID-19, which has killed more than 1.5 million people and altered millions of more lives. But besides the issue of who will get the vaccination first looms another question: Who will be willing to get it? Debates about the value and efficacy of vaccines — as well as the socioeconomics of those who will get them and those who won’t — have raged throughout the 20th century a...
Why giving thanks is healthy — even amid COVID | Episode 158
November 25, 2020 21:21 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBAs a global faith leader, President Russell M. Nelson urged members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last week to “flood social media” with posts about gratitude — even as he acknowledged the pain of the coronavirus pandemic that has plagued the world. In response, throngs of Latter-day Saints have done so. Some might even see it as a religious obligation. But it’s not just a good religious act. Therapists see the expression of gratitude as good for mental health, too. On ...
One of Wyoming’s ‘Black 14’ on his story and new partnership with the LDS Church | Episode 157
November 18, 2020 21:08 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBIn October 1969, 14 African American players for the University of Wyoming planned to sport black armbands in a football game against Brigham Young University to protest the then-priesthood/temple ban on Blacks in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (that ban ended in 1978). Their coach booted them off the team hours before kickoff. Now, more than 50 years later, the “Black 14,” as they have been called, are actually teaming up with the LDS Church, to bring 180 tons of food to p...
Did Latter-day Saint voters help Biden win Arizona? Will they stick with the GOP? | Episode 156
November 11, 2020 21:04 - 42 minutes - 38.5 MBBefore the presidential election, some pollsters and pundits suggested that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might play a key role — despite their relatively small numbers. Indeed, many members became actively involved on one side or the other, forming groups like Latter-day Saints for Trump and Latter-day Saints for Biden. They seemed especially visible in Western swing states like Nevada and Arizona. So, for instance, did Latter-day Saints help turn the tradition...
Reflections on 12 years as an LDS bishop in the United Kingdom | Episode 155
November 04, 2020 20:55 - 29 minutes - 40.4 MBMost bishops of a Latter-day Saint congregation give the church five years of their lives as they shepherd the spiritual and even temporal well-being of hundreds of families and individuals in their area. Because they are volunteers, that means they do this while holding a full-time job as well as taking care of the needs of their own families and loved ones. Ross Trewhella, however, served his Latter-day Saint parishioners in Cornwall, United Kingdom, for 12 years — almost unheard of for a...
Ezra Taft Benson and his influence on Latter-day Saint politics | Episode 154
October 28, 2020 21:27 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBMembers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used to be more evenly split between the two major political parties, even supporting Democrats Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson for U.S. president. But something happened in the 1960s. Latter-day Saints began moving to the right and eventually became a reliably Republican voting bloc, a trend that continues to this day. Though there were many social factors behind this shift, one high-placed church leader may hav...
How abortion and the Supreme Court might affect Latter-day Saint voters | Episode 153
October 21, 2020 21:01 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBFor many voters, including a number of Latter-day Saints, this year’s presidential election comes down to one issue: abortion. They may not like Donald Trump’s style, but they believe he will support the cause of protecting the unborn. At the same time, many other voters, including, again, a number of Latter-day Saints, have a more complex view of abortion, with some pointing to the more nuanced stance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints itself on that topic. So how might thi...
McKay Coppins on the role LDS voters may play in the election | Episode 152
October 14, 2020 20:31 - 41 minutes - 37.7 MBMcKay Coppins wrote recently in The Atlantic that President Donald Trump publicly praises evangelicals, prosperity preachers and other religious conservatives, including members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while privately mocking them and belittling their beliefs. Coppins, a Brigham Young University alumnus, joined this week’s podcast to talk about the presidential candidates, the state of this year’s White House race, how the Biden and Trump campaigns are courting me...
How founder Joseph Smith may have translated the Book of Mormon | Episode 151
October 07, 2020 21:38 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBEarly members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe the ability to translate was one of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament. Church founder Joseph Smith said he translated the faith’s signature scripture, the Book of Mormon, “by the gift and power of God” from ancient writings found on gold plates. So, if Smith used this gift to translate the Book of Mormon, as he asserted, how might he have done it? Was there more to this mystical process? What role migh...
Matthew Gong discusses his LGBTQ journey with his faith, his family and himself | Episode 150
September 30, 2020 20:30 - 21 minutes - 19.4 MBMany gay Mormons have a story about their experience in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though all the narratives stand on their own, most involve these members recognizing their attractions, trying to reconcile what they are feeling with what the Utah-based faith is teaching about homosexuality — that it is not a sin, just acting on it is — coming out, what they hope for the future, and how their family and friends respond. On this week’s podcast, Matthew Gong, who works i...
How the media use the church's preferred name | Episode 149
September 23, 2020 20:21 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBIn August 2018, President Russell M. Nelson urged the media to use the faith’s full name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to stop employing the terms “Mormon church” or “LDS Church” — indeed to cease using “Mormon” altogether, even when referring to members. A year later, Public Square Magazine, published from the perspective of Latter-day Saints, decided to survey whether various national news outlets — including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The ...
The thousands of LDS women united to clean up politics | Episode 147
September 16, 2020 20:26 - 39 minutes - 54 MBIn 2017, after the election of President Donald Trump, several female members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, distressed by the increasing political polarization and eroding ethics in government, formed Mormon Women for Ethical Government. The group, which is not endorsed by the church, is dedicated to seeking a peaceful, just and ethical world with a pledge to be faithful, nonpartisan and proactive, along with a commitment to civility. In a few short years, its membersh...
Affirmation and support for LGBTQ Latter-day Saints | Episode 146
September 09, 2020 21:35 - 31 minutes - 43.3 MBLaunched in the 1970s, Affirmation is one of the oldest support groups for LGBTQ members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the Utah-based faith has evolved in its understanding of and approach to its LGBTQ members, Affirmation has expanded as well — across the country and around the world. For the next four weekends, the organization will host a virtual international conference, complete with live and recorded workshops, speakers and discussions. On this week’s podcast...
Finding Mother God with poet Carol Lynn Pearson | Episode 145
September 02, 2020 20:34 - 30 minutes - 41.8 MBIn 2015, the church issued a short essay matter-of-factly affirming its belief in a Heavenly Mother. It was only six paragraphs, barely 600 words. That left the subject wide open to imaginative exploration with more and more leaders and members embracing the idea and mentioning Heavenly Parents in writings and sermons. Latter-day Saint poet Carol Lynn Pearson insists the world “needs” to find, or rediscover, Heavenly Mother, arguing that bringing her back “is not just cosmetic, it is cosmic...
Latter-day Saints make the case for Trump or Biden | Episode 144
August 26, 2020 21:03 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBAs the U.S. presidential race heats up, Latter-day Saints, like all Americans, are starting to choose sides. And both campaigns have begun courting members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, especially in battleground states with significant LDS voting blocs. In recent decades, Latter-day Saints have overwhelmingly cast ballots for Republican candidates, though their support of Donald Trump in 2016 was not nearly as enthusiastic. Four years later, both camps see a chance to ...
Therapist discusses what’s right with bishops’ interviews | Episode 143
August 19, 2020 20:09 - 31 minutes - 29 MBThe long-standing practice of having lay bishops interview teens and ask them questions about their faith and their lives, including any sexual activity, has come under fire in recent years. A group called “Protect LDS Children” urged the church to stop the practice, citing examples of bishops who were insensitive and even abusive. Church leaders made changes, allowing, for instance, those being interviewed to have a second adult with them in these conversations. But critics and some mental ...
Rabbi Sam Spector on life in an LDS Zion | Episode 142
August 12, 2020 20:12 - 33 minutes - 31 MBRabbi Sam Spector of Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City has been in Utah a little more than two years but has already built strong relationships with members and leaders of the state’s predominant faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Just last week, the 30-something rabbi was on hand to oversee a group of Latter-day Saint volunteers who spent five days working alongside Kol Ami congregants to xeriscape the synagogue’s six-acre plot. On this week’s podcast, the young a...
The lesser-known legacy of Emmeline B. Wells | Episode 141
August 05, 2020 21:15 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBA few weeks after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published the sermons of Eliza R. Snow comes the online release of additional diaries by a lesser known, but no less influential, female leader in the faith’s history. Emmeline B. Wells packed a lot into her 93 years of life. She was a three-time wife, mother of five daughters, a writer, editor, longtime Relief Society record-keeper, Relief Society general president, and, perhaps above all, a zealous advocate for suffrage and ...
Latter-day Saints and the end times | Episode 140
July 29, 2020 20:16 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBAmid a global pandemic, civil unrest, a presidential election and — in Utah — a string of nerve-rattling earthquakes, many biblical believers are thinking anew about the so-called apocalypse. For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though, the end times have always been a part of their theology. After all, the latter days are referenced in their faith’s official name. There also is buzz in pews and on porches about the “White Horse Prophecy,” Mormon politicians, and ...
Mette Ivie Harrison on the ‘five doctrines of ex-Mormonism' | Episode 139
July 22, 2020 15:59 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBUtah author Mette Ivie Harrison has been writing about her transition away from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Besides opposing some of the faith’s policies, practices and doctrines, Harrison also has cited the restrictive views held by some members. In a recent column, however, she notes that she again finds herself bumping into rigid thinking — this time coming from former members. In this week’s show, Harrison discusses her spiritual journey and the “five doctrines of e...
Church historians discuss the legacy of Eliza R. Snow and her 1,200 sermons | Episode 138
July 15, 2020 20:54 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBEliza R. Snow ranks as the most influential Latter-day Saint woman of her time and after Emma Smith, wife of Mormon founder Joseph Smith, perhaps the best-known woman in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Snow was a poet and a preacher, a plural wife of prophets and a defender of polygamy, a leader of the Relief Society and a champion of women. Still, there is much Latter-day Saints don’t know about her. That may change now that the church has launched a new web...