Faith Matters

You’ve probably heard the old joke—we caught it again recently on Ezra Klein’s show. A conspiracy theorist dies and goes to heaven. At the pearly gates, God tells him he can ask one question—anything at all. The conspiracy theorist says, “Who really killed JFK?” God replies, “Lee Harvey Oswald and he acted alone.” The conspiracy theorist pauses, nods, and says, “Wow. This goes higher than I thought.” The joke captures just how impenetrable conspiracy thinking can be. That’s part of what we’re...

Transcribed - Published: 31 August 2025

We’re excited today to talk about the temple. It’s a topic we love—one that sits at the heart of our faith—but because of its sacred nature, it can sometimes be difficult to explore openly. Our guest today is historian Jonathan Stapley, who has spent the past two decades studying the temple and its role in Latter-day Saint life. His new book, Holiness to the Lord, is coming out this fall, and it incorporates a remarkable collection of never-before-seen archival records. The book explores th...

Transcribed - Published: 24 August 2025

We’re so happy to welcome back Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife—someone whose voice and work have shaped our thinking in really lasting ways. Today we’re talking with Jennifer about her brand-new book, published by Faith Matters: That We Might Have Joy: Desire, Divinity, and Intimate Love. The book offers an honest look at how sexual intimacy can reveal the truth of a relationship—and how, for those willing to confront that truth, it can serve as the starting point for deep joy, spiritual ...

Transcribed - Published: 17 August 2025

Nearly 200 years ago, Joseph Smith gave us a holistic code of health called the Word of Wisdom. But over the next century, we largely reduced that revelation to a list of don’ts—one that came to define us as a church and serve as a kind of status marker within the Church. As we look ahead to the next hundred years, we’re asking: is it time to rethink how we see this revelation? Today, we face an overwhelming number of choices about what we put into our bodies—some deeply harmful, others...

Transcribed - Published: 10 August 2025

Today, we’re so excited to share a powerful session from last year’s Restore gathering, given by Astrid Tuminez, president of Utah Valley University. Astrid’s story is truly extraordinary. She was born in a small village in the Philippines and raised in the slums of Iloilo City. Her journey has taken her from Catholic convent schools to Harvard and Wall Street to leading a major public university—and throughout, she’s wrestled with what it means to belong and to find joy. Drawing from the B...

Transcribed - Published: 3 August 2025

Today we’re so happy to share a conversation with our friend Brian McLaren about his brand-new novel, The Last Voyage. The book is set in the future, as Earth nears collapse and a final crew is sent to Mars in a last-ditch effort to begin again. It’s a compelling story on its own, but it also opens up space for deeper questions—about what happens when we try to leave everything behind, only to discover we’ve brought all our baggage with us. So in this conversation, we got to explore som...

Transcribed - Published: 27 July 2025

Today we’re sharing another fun session from last year’s Restore gathering—one of the most unforgettable moments from the whole weekend—featuring Mauli Bonner. Mauli has spent the past two decades in the entertainment industry, developing and writing for Grammy-winning artists and directing music for film and TV, and he also co-founded the nonprofit Lift Up Voices to empower young voices through creativity and community. In this session, Mauli shares a wild, personal story that starts with a ...

Transcribed - Published: 20 July 2025

Today, we’re really grateful to share a conversation with historian John Turner about the brand new biography he’s just published: Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet. John is a professor of Religious Studies and History at George Mason University. While not a member of the the Latter-day Saint faith, he has had a particular fascination with the early history of Mormonism, and wrote an earlier biography of Brigham Young. Some of the interpretations and conclusions Joh...

Transcribed - Published: 13 July 2025

Today, we’re excited to bring you a special episode—a replay of one of our favorite sessions from last year’s Restore Gathering, featuring Dave Butler. We’re also thrilled to let you know that Restore 2025 is happening this September 25–27 in Orem, Utah, and this episode is a great preview of the kind of experience you can expect—thoughtful, joyful, expansive, and rooted in a deep desire to love and understand more fully. In this session, Dave explores the idea of Holy Envy—a concept that inv...

Transcribed - Published: 7 July 2025

Today we’re so excited to share a conversation about the new book Carry On, a rich and thoughtful history of the church’s Young Women organization. This project has been ten years in the making, created by historians Lisa Olsen Tait, James Goldberg, Amber C. Taylor, and the late Kate Holbrook. Joining us today to talk about the project are Lisa and James. In this conversation, they trace the arc of the organization’s beginnings and evolution—from a small association founded among Brigham Youn...

Transcribed - Published: 30 June 2025

Today, we’re sharing a really special session from last year’s Faith Matters gathering, Restore. This conversation has really stayed with us, and we're so grateful we get to share it with you now. It begins with a short, beautiful film—we’d highly recommend heading to our YouTube channel if you’d like to watch it. You’ll hear John Gustav-Wrathall share his journey as a gay Latter-day Saint—a path shaped by deep spiritual seeking, a loving and enduring partnership with his husband Goran, and a...

Transcribed - Published: 21 June 2025

Today we’re excited to share our conversation with Anna Lott, and we’re especially thinking of those who are walking—or have walked—the path of divorce. Anna is the host of the Solo Saints podcast and retreats, and she’s become a thoughtful and compassionate voice in our community—especially for those who often feel like their experiences don’t quite fit the mold. As a divorced mother of four, Anna brings honesty, heart, and hard-won wisdom to conversations about faith, family, and belonging....

Transcribed - Published: 14 June 2025

This week—June 9th—marks the 47th anniversary of the 1978 revelation that ended the Church’s 126-year ban on Black members receiving the priesthood and entering the temple. It’s a moment we often point to with reverence and gratitude—but the story we’ve inherited about how it happened is, in many ways, incomplete. To help us understand more fully what led to that pivotal moment, we’re joined by Dr. Matthew Harris, whose new book Second-Class Saints draws on previously unavailable documents—in...

Transcribed - Published: 7 June 2025

Today, we’re so excited to share something brand new with you—the very first episode of a new podcast we’re launching here at Faith Matters. It’s called Article 13. This new narrative podcast brings together cutting-edge research and spiritual wisdom to explore creative paths toward a more connected and compassionate world. As our society grows increasingly divided along political and cultural lines, Article 13—hosted by Zachary Davis—offers a hopeful and constructive alternative. Through dee...

Transcribed - Published: 31 May 2025

This week, we got to sit down with someone we’ve long admired and are so thrilled to finally have on the podcast—Steven Sharp Nelson, known to millions around the world as “The Cello Guy” from The Piano Guys. He’s a creative force and a pioneer in "cello-percussion"—where rhythm, melody, and movement come together in such creative and beautiful ways. If you’ve ever seen Steve perform, you know the energy he brings to music is unlike anything else—it’s vibrant, joyful, and instantly captivatin...

Transcribed - Published: 24 May 2025

This week, we’re sharing a conversation with Phil Barlow about his new book, published by Faith Matters, called A Thoughtful Faith for the 21st Century. If that sounds familiar, it may be because Phil published the first volume back in 1986. That original collection included essays by Eugene England, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Francine Bennion, Richard Bushman, and others—each exploring what it means to live a spiritually and intellectually honest life within the Latter-day Saint tradition. As P...

Transcribed - Published: 17 May 2025

This week, we’re excited to share a special live episode recorded at the Compass Gallery in Provo, as part of our Big Questions series with Terryl Givens. Each month, Terryl is joined by a guest for a conversation about some of our biggest theological and historical questions. In this episode, he’s joined by scholar and teacher Jared Halverson. Together, Terryl and Jared explore the question: can doubt be a spiritual gift? They consider how doubt might play a meaningful role in our spiritual ...

Transcribed - Published: 10 May 2025

With Mother’s Day coming up, we’re so honored to bring you this conversation with McArthur Krishna about her new book, Mother in Heaven: A Gospel Topics Essay Study Guide. The doctrine of Heavenly Mother is one of the most beautiful and distinctive Latter-Day Saint teachings—but for many, it’s still unfamiliar territory. McArthur and her co-authors created this study guide as an invitation to engage with this doctrine more deeply. Drawing on the church’s Gospel Topics essay, the book explores...

Transcribed - Published: 3 May 2025

This week, we’re so glad to be sharing a conversation with our friend Chad Ford. Chad is a conflict mediator, peace educator, and associate professor of religious studies at Utah State University. He’s spent decades working in some of the most entrenched conflict zones in the world—from the Middle East to South Africa to Northern Ireland. He’s also the author of a new book called Seventy Times Seven: Jesus’s Path to Conflict Transformation, published by Deseret Book. The book explores a quest...

Transcribed - Published: 26 April 2025

With Easter just a few days away, we’re so excited to share this conversation with Amanda Suarez and Jon Ogden. Amanda and Jon are two of the co-founders of Uplift Kids, a lesson library and curriculum that helps families explore spirituality, values, and emotional health together. Amanda is a school psychologist and certified conscious parenting coach, and Jon is a writer, curriculum creator, and author of When Mormons Doubt. In this conversation, Amanda and Jon offer a beautiful vision of E...

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2025

This week, we’re so excited to welcome Adam Miller and Rosalynde Welch to talk about their brand-new book, Seven Visions. This book is an exploration of seven visionary experiences in the Doctrine and Covenants—moments where heaven and earth meet in powerful and sometimes surprising ways. Through these visions, Adam and Rosalynde invite us to consider how we engage with scripture and revelation in our own lives. In this conversation, we explore what it means to truly see God’s face and hear g...

Transcribed - Published: 12 April 2025

This week, we’re really excited to share a conversation about a brand-new Children’s book called Changemakers by McArthur Krishna and Anne Pimentel, with beautiful artwork by Jessica Sarah Beach. The book is a powerful and much-needed affirmation, especially in a moment when many women are quietly wondering where they fit. Through stories from scripture and the global history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it highlights women whose ideas, faith, and courage have hel...

Transcribed - Published: 5 April 2025

Today we’re bringing you a special conversation hosted by Jared Halverson, who’s joined by three women—Bethany Brady Spalding, Kathryn Knight Sonntag, and me—who’ve been part of a larger, ongoing conversation sparked by one of Jared’s recent videos on social media. If you haven’t seen the video, here’s the context: Jared highlighted the recent trend of women leaving the Church in greater numbers than men and encouraged women to stay, he connects this to D&C 25, highlighting how much depen...

Transcribed - Published: 1 April 2025

We have a really fun episode for you today—We’re talking with James Goldberg about his delightful book Tales of the Chelm First Ward, which he co-wrote with his, wife Nicole Wilkes Goldberg, and his brother, Mattathias Singh. The book is a collection of fictional stories set in a Latter-day Saint ward in the imagined town of Chelm—a nod to Jewish folklore and the famous “village of fools.” The humor is wonderfully absurd but beneath the silliness is something powerful and profound. In this co...

Transcribed - Published: 29 March 2025

This week, we’re joined by Mike Petrow, who serves as the Director of Formation, Faculty Relations, and Theological Foundations at the Center for Action and Contemplation. The CAC is a nonprofit founded by Father Richard Rohr that introduces seekers to the contemplative Christian path of transformation. Mike is intimately involved with the CAC’s Living School, a core educational offering from the CAC that last year offered a course called Essentials of Engaged Contemplation that Tim and I par...

Transcribed - Published: 22 March 2025

This week, we’re excited to share a conversation between Zach Davis and New York Times columnist and author David French. David French began his career as a constitutional litigator, with a special focus on religious liberty. He has since become known for his thoughtful, principled political writing, having worked previously for The National Review, The Dispatch and The Atlantic. In their conversation today, David emphasizes the need for Christians to move from a fear-based political cu...

Transcribed - Published: 15 March 2025

This week, we’re welcoming back our good friend Jeff Strong. Last year, Jeff and his team sent out a survey to the Faith Matters audience as part of a larger research project on faith and church participation. Over 1,600 of you responded, and the results were fascinating! We’re excited to share them with you today. What emerged was a picture of a significant and often unheard cross-section of the Church—a community of people who are deeply devoted but also wrestling, holding both conviction a...

Transcribed - Published: 8 March 2025

For today’s episode, we’re releasing a fascinating conversation that Aubrey had with Rich Hanks about the life and legacy of his father, Marion D. Hanks. For those who know his name, you’ll know exactly why this conversation matters so much to us—Marion D. Hanks embodied so many of the values we hold dear. He was a leader of immense integrity, a champion for those on the margins, and a disciple of Christ in the truest sense. Even today, the ripples of his influence continue to shape the Churc...

Transcribed - Published: 1 March 2025

We have been waiting a long time for this episode with our friend Thomas McConkie. As many of you know, Thomas is an incredibly skilled meditation teacher and guide on the path of spiritual awakening. Faith Matters produced his very popular online course Transformations of Faith and also published his incredible book At-One-Ment, which has deeply impacted so many readers. For the last several years, Thomas has been doing graduate work at Harvard Divinity School. All the while, we have b...

Transcribed - Published: 22 February 2025

This week, Tim and I are sharing a fascinating conversation with therapist and researcher Janeen Martin about the complex and deeply personal ways that religion and mental health intersect. Janeen has spent years working with clients navigating the full spectrum of religious experience—some who find their faith to be a source of deep resilience and healing, and others for whom it has been a source of pain and struggle. That contrast led her to ask some big questions: What makes religion a pr...

Transcribed - Published: 15 February 2025

This week, we are thrilled to welcome back Terryl Givens—one of our all-time favorite guests and collaborators and someone we always have a running list of topics for. This time, we’re finally diving deep into the topic of agency and free will: it’s something that has come up in many of our past conversations but never had its own dedicated discussion. Terryl’s new book, Agency, is part of the Maxwell Institute’s Doctrine & Covenants theological series, and it explores some of the m...

Transcribed - Published: 8 February 2025

This week, we’re thrilled to talk with Carl Youngblood— longtime technologist, software engineer, and president of the Mormon Transhumanist Association. Artificial Intelligence is no longer a distant, futuristic idea—it’s already shaping the way we learn, work, and even practice our faith. And just this past week, AI made big headlines again in the tech world with the release of vastly improved models and increasing belief among technology leaders that artificial general intelligence (AGI) is...

Transcribed - Published: 1 February 2025

This week, Zach Davis is joined by New York Times columnist and author Ross Douthat to talk about his new book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious.Ross has spent his career bridging worlds—explaining faith and conservatism to a largely secular audience while also translating secular ideas back to religious readers. In this conversation, he makes a compelling case for why belief isn’t just a leap into the unknown, but a rational and maybe even necessary response to the world as we actua...

Transcribed - Published: 25 January 2025

This week, we’re joined by Shima Baradaran Baughman, a nationally renowned expert on criminal justice reform and a law professor at BYU. After years focusing on shaping public policy and reforming systems, Shima began to recognize that the deepest and most lasting change wasn’t coming from legislation alone, but from the quiet, compassionate efforts of faith communities and individuals who were directly transforming lives one by one.In this conversation, Shima shares her astonishing life stor...

Transcribed - Published: 18 January 2025

This week, we’re so grateful to share a conversation with Justin Dyer, a professor of religion at BYU and a researcher who has spent years exploring the intersection of faith and mental health. Justin’s most recent work focuses on perfectionism, especially within the church. He recently edited a special issue of BYU Studies Quarterly dedicated entirely to this subject, and you can find a link to it in our show notes.In this conversation, Justin shares some compelling research, including the s...

Transcribed - Published: 11 January 2025

This week, we’re so grateful to share a conversation with Justin Dyer, a professor of religion at BYU and a researcher who has spent years exploring the intersection of faith and mental health. Justin’s most recent work focuses on perfectionism, especially within the church. He recently edited a special issue of BYU Studies Quarterly dedicated entirely to this subject, and you can find a link to it in our show notes.In this conversation, Justin shares some compelling research, including the s...

Transcribed - Published: 11 January 2025

This week, we’re joined by Jana Spangler for a powerful and practical conversation about emotions—especially the ones we’ll do just about anything to avoid feeling.Jana explains that emotions aren’t our enemies; they’re signals—messages from deep within us, rooted in ancient systems designed to guide and protect us. While emotions can feel overwhelming or even painful, learning to pay attention to them—rather than suppress or ignore them—helps us understand what’s really going on and respond ...

Transcribed - Published: 4 January 2025

This week, we’re joined by Jana Spangler for a powerful and practical conversation about emotions—especially the ones we’ll do just about anything to avoid feeling.Jana explains that emotions aren’t our enemies; they’re signals—messages from deep within us, rooted in ancient systems designed to guide and protect us. While emotions can feel overwhelming or even painful, learning to pay attention to them—rather than suppress or ignore them—helps us understand what’s really going on and respond ...

Transcribed - Published: 4 January 2025

As we wrap up the year, we’ve got something a little different in store for you today. We’ve invited Zach Davis, Bill Turnbull, and McKay Coppins on for a conversation about two Hollywood Films that are making waves. Zach is the executive director of Faith Matters, Bill is one of the founders, and you may remember Mckay from his previous episodes. He’s a New York Times bestselling author and staff writer at the Atlantic. They’re joining us today for a deep dive into two films-...

Transcribed - Published: 28 December 2024

Today, as Christmas Eve settles around us, we invite you into a quiet meditation written by Tyler Johnson and published as the culmination of the advent series in the FM magazine, Wayfare, with music from the King's College Choir singing O Magnum Mysterium. This reflection draws us into the sacred reality of the Nativity—the laboring Mary, exhausted and tearful, the beauty born through pain. It reminds us that the Christ child did not come to erase suffering but to teach us how to live a...

Transcribed - Published: 24 December 2024

In the spirit of this Christmas season, we’re so excited to share a beautiful reflection with you, written and read by Lori Forsyth, Managing Editor of the Faith Matters magazine, Wayfare. This piece is part of Wayfare’s Advent series. If you've missed any parts of this series, you can still find them at wayfaremagazine.org. You can also subscribe to the digital or print versions of Wayfare for access to the incredible essays, interviews, poetry, art and more.Advent is a time of reflect...

Transcribed - Published: 21 December 2024

This week, we’re so excited to share our conversation with Dr. Janette H. Ok. She’s an Associate Professor of New Testament at Fuller Seminary and an ordained pastor at Ekko Church in Anaheim, CA. She earned her MDiv and PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and is passionate about empowering women—as leaders and preachers in their religious communities.This conversation is a rich exploration about why women’s voices are essential in religious settings and how we can step into those opportu...

Transcribed - Published: 14 December 2024

This week, we are so thrilled to bring you a conversation with Joseph Grenny. If you’ve ever read Crucial Conversations, Influencer, or Change Anything, then you already know the immense impact of Joseph’s work. His books have sold millions of copies and become essential texts for building trust, improving relationships, and transforming the way we communicate in every area of life—from families to Fortune 500 companies.Joseph is more than an author. He’s a social scientist, a business leader...

Transcribed - Published: 7 December 2024

Today, we’re excited to share our conversation with Dr. Rebecca Glazier, a Professor at the School of Public Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and author of the new book, Faith and Community: How Engagement Strengthens Members, Places of Worship, and Society. For over a decade, Rebecca has been researching how religious communities engage in their broader communities, and the findings are incredibly compelling.Rebecca’s work offers a powerful perspective on how congregation...

Transcribed - Published: 30 November 2024

This week, we’re thrilled to share a conversation with Hannah Packard Crowther about her new book, Gracing, the latest release from Faith Matters Publishing. We love Hannah's profound wisdom, lyrical writing, and her invitation to reflect on grace in entirely new ways, the book also features stunning, original, artwork by J. Kirk Richards. Hannah asks—what if grace is not a gift we passively receive, but a dynamic process we actively engage in and co-create with God? Drawing from life’s ...

Transcribed - Published: 23 November 2024

This week, we’re thrilled to share a conversation with Lisa Olsen Tait and Scott Hales, two of the historians and general editors behind Saints, the Church’s official history series. With the release of Volume 4 which covers the years of 1955 to 2020, this monumental task of recounting the Church’s story from its founding to the present day is now complete.And in this candid discussion, Lisa and Scott reflect on the Church’s evolving approach to its own history through the years. They both sh...

Transcribed - Published: 16 November 2024

Today, we're bringing you a special episode recorded live from the Restore gathering, where we were joined by Jared Halverson. Jared, who’s become a familiar voice to many of us here, spoke on what he calls “contraries” or paradoxes that are inherent in a life of faith. His message felt like a breath of fresh air and especially timely.He offers the powerful image of the cross as a symbol of wholeness in our discipleship. One axis, reaching vertically, represents our connection to God, while t...

Transcribed - Published: 9 November 2024

Tyler Johnson is intimately familiar with suffering. He’s an oncologist who has sat with countless people in some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and in the final moments before their deaths. He’s been there as people have received life-changing news, and as they’ve grappled with their deepest questions: “What has my life meant? What should I prioritize if my time is limited? Have I given enough attention to what truly matters?”It’s that perspective that Tyler brings to the proj...

Transcribed - Published: 2 November 2024

We’re excited to share something special with you. Today we're featuring an episode from the Proclaim Peace Podcast because we were so touched by this powerful conversation that feels especially meaningful right now—with an election right around the corner. In this episode, Patrick Mason, Jennifer Thomas, and their guest Thomas McConkie, explore how meaningful action doesn't come from this energy of frantic box-checking or a striving for perfection, but from a heart transformed by grace....

Transcribed - Published: 26 October 2024

This week, we’re honored to welcome Arthur Brooks to the podcast. Arthur is a renowned social scientist, Harvard professor, and bestselling author, and we’re excited to talk with him about his latest book, Build the Life You Want, which he co-authored with Oprah Winfrey.In our conversation, Arthur offers some profound insights on happiness, emphasizing that though genetics and circumstances influence our baseline, we have significant agency over our happiness. It's a skill we can practice and...

Transcribed - Published: 19 October 2024