Emily Utt: Guarding the Sacred

All In

DB Podcasts

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Emily Utt has one of the most unique jobs within the Church: she spends her days inside its most sacred and historic spaces. Sometimes that means slipping on a hard hat; other times it means uncovering stories and artifacts that deepen our understanding of the faith's heritage. In this episode, Emily shares what she's learned from a career spent safeguarding holy places—and why these spaces should matter to each of us.

1:43- What Constitutes a Sacred Space?
4:49- Remembering and Connection
9:55- We are Them
16:40- A Very Cool Job
19:09- Principles of Preservation
24:47- Appropriateness and Real People
27:22- Why Spend Time in Sacred Spaces?
31:33- Kirtland Temple
37:46- Until You've Been in Their Home
44:21- Looking Forward and Looking Back
50:07- What Does It Mean To Be All In the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

"I imagine every person in the world has a place that would be their waters of Mormon and how beautiful is that place, for there they came to know God."

Links:
Follow Him podcast with Emily- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/followhim/id1545433056?i=100070927727

Hi Five Live with Emily- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy1wPXog1q8

Transcript

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0:00.0	Emily Utts job has been described as being like the Indiana Jones of church history sites.
0:06.2	She doesn't just sit at a desk and research church history.
0:09.6	Instead, she crawls through attics in the homes of early church leaders on her hands and knees,
0:15.1	trying to become acquainted with what she calls sacred spaces.
0:18.9	So what makes these places sacred?
0:21.5	Well, that's what she shares with us on today's episode.
0:25.3	Emily Utt has worked for almost two decades,
0:28.0	preserving and sharing the stories of the most significant places
0:31.6	managed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
0:35.3	Emily has been involved in preservation projects ranging from 1820's
0:39.8	log structures to 1970s new formalist landmarks around the world. Emily holds a master's degree
0:47.3	in historic preservation. This is All-In, an LDS Living podcast where we ask the question, what does it really mean to be All In the gospel of Jesus Christ?
0:59.4	I'm Morgan Pearson, and I am so honored to have Emily Ut on the line with me today.
1:04.3	Emily, welcome.
1:05.6	It's good to be here.
1:07.2	Well, I have told Emily this, but Emily and I have several mutual friends who I love and adore.
1:15.8	And so if we're not good friends by the end of this interview, I'm going to be disappointed, Emily.
1:21.6	I feel like we already are friends.
1:23.4	Actually, I stocked you a little on Facebook as well.
1:25.9	I'm like, we need to talk about how we know some of the same people.
1:29.4	Yes, do like the mutual friend run through?
1:31.8	I'll take it.
	...

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