Mormon Land

Recapping Mormon Land’s biggest stories of 2022 | Episode 266

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made national and international headlines during the year — and The Salt Lake Tribune and “Mormon Land” were there for all of them — from the purported discovery of the only known photograph of founder Joseph Smith to a heinous abuse case in Arizona and the church’s stunning support of the federal Respect for Marriage Act.
There were many other developments as well: employee layoffs and unease at Brigham Young University campuses; flattening and, in some cases, shrinking church membership; the release of “Under the Banner of Heaven”; more revelations about church wealth; an apostle’s advice on Heavenly Mother; a high-ranking leader’s apology for controversial remarks on the former Black priesthood/temple ban; a new book about Joseph Smith’s wives; and a Latter-day Saint influencer’s push for birth control. And, finally, 98-year-old Russell Nelson becomes the faith’s oldest ever church president.
On these week’s show, we discuss the biggest Latter-day Saint stories of 2022, the positive and negative reactions they generated, which ones surprised us, which ones went unnoticed — along with what they meant at the time, why they were significant, and how they may shape the future.

How a ‘radiant’ faith can change the world through giving | Episode 265

From Mormonism’s beginnings in the 19th century, founder Joseph Smith felt a strong responsibility to care for his burgeoning flock of mostly poor farmers and religious seekers. Waves of immigrant converts came from parts of the East Coast and Europe to form what they hoped would be a new Zion society.
More than a quarter of what Smith said were divine revelations contained in the faith’s Doctrine and Covenants relate to economics, according to Warner Woodworth, emeritus professor of organizational behavior at Brigham Young University. And they were all about communitarian economics — equality and care for those in need.
Woodworth has spent his decadeslong career urging members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to “follow the prophet” on his drive toward utopian communities. It is what he argued in his first book, “Working Toward Zion: Principles of the United Order in the Modern World” and is central to his just published, “Radiant Mormonism: Using Our Faith in Christ to Power World-Changing Service.”
On this week’s show, Woodworth talks about his book, these principles, how they changed his approach to Christmas and why it truly is “more blessed to give than to receive.”

What a newlywed learned about marriage on a yearlong backpacking honeymoon | Episode 264

Despite being taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to believe that marriage was the highest goal for women, Rachel Rueckert had lots of anxiety going into her wedding day.
Sure, she loved Austin, her husband-to-be, but she had deep ambivalence about the “for time and all eternity” aspect of the Latter-day Saint vows.
Could she commit to them? Would that shear her of her career and personal goals? Would she lose herself and her identity?
In a captivating and candid memoir, Rueckert details her first year of marriage as she and Austin travel from Peru to India, Thailand and Spain — and what she learned about herself, her relationships, her past and her faith.
On this week’s show, Rueckert, editor-in-chief of Exponent II, talks about her just published book, “East Winds: A Global Quest to Reckon With Marriage.”

Why these members say their church is wrong on the Respect for Marriage Act | Episode 263

When The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced its support of the Respect for Marriage Act, which is designed to codify same-sex marriage while safeguarding religions from embracing such unions in their policies and practices, many members, especially LGBTQ allies, rejoiced.
Not all of the faithful, however, agreed with the historic decision.
Paul Mero, former president of the conservative Sutherland Institute think tank, for one, says the Utah-based faith’s backing of LGBTQ rights in recent years led to this unwise and unnecessary move. And Stuart Reid, a former Army chaplain, state senator and public affairs representative for the church, says it’s misguided to tacitly endorse civil same-sex marriage when the practice is viewed doctrinally as an “abomination” to God.
Both argue that the church would be better off stepping away from politics and the nation’s culture wars.
On this week’s show, they discuss why the church should have stayed on the sideline on this topic, how it betrays Latter-day Saint teachings, how it confuses members and former allies, why the approach from apostle Dallin Oaks, first counselor in the governing First Presidency, advocating compromise on LGBTQ rights and religious liberties is ill-advised, and what the global faith of 16.8 million members should be doing instead.

Is the church shifting on same-sex marriage or stuck in neutral? | Episode 262

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stunned many insiders and outsiders recently when it voiced support for an amended version of the Respect for Marriage Act, a federal measure designed to codify same-sex marriage while shielding religious organizations from fully embracing such unions.
While that exemption allows the Utah-based faith and Brigham Young University, for instance, to continue their present LGBTQ policies, the monumental move nonetheless marked the first time the church has acknowledged the legitimacy of civil same-sex marriage, a practice it has famously preached and politicked against.
Many members were delighted; some were dismayed. Either way, the announcement represented a sort-of middle-way path that the church and its top leaders, including First Presidency member Dallin Oaks, have been following and advocating for more than a decade.
On this week’s show, Erika Munson, a co-founder of Mormons Building Bridges and currently a board member and co-founder of Emmaus LGBTQ Ministry, and Addison Graham, a BYU student who wrote about the church’s move in The Washington Post, discuss what this shift may mean for the church, its members, its teachings, its policies and its place in society — now and in the future.

Why those ‘I’m a Mormon’ ads worked and how they could help today | Episode 261

In the not-too-distant past, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proudly wore the “Mormon” moniker. Starting in 2011, the Utah-based faith produced a global advertising campaign, with the slogan “I’m a Mormon.” It included hundreds of 2-minute video or photographic bios of individual members as a way to show outsiders that Latter-day Saints come in all shapes, sizes and colors. That they’re not so different; they’re your friends and neighbors.
Soon after current church President Russell M. Nelson stepped into his role as “prophet, seer and revelator” in 2018, though, he mandated that the term “Mormon” be banned from use by members, scholars, outsiders and media alike. He even had it removed from the faith’s world famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir, now known as The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
In a recent blog post on By Common Consent, Taylor Kerby described feeling nostalgic about the previous ad strategy. He is here via Zoom to talk about what he liked about it, what it did for him and the church and what he misses about it.

Will LDS voters back or buck Trump? Could he chase them away from the GOP? | Episode 260

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a love-hate relationship of sorts with Donald Trump.
Many in this GOP-leaning faith love, first, that he’s a Republican. Some admire his unconventional approach to politics. Some embrace his positions on economic and social issues.
Many loathe, however, his abrasive personality. Some cringe at his crude comments about women and immigrants. Some detest his unrelenting and unfounded allegations about election fraud.
Now, Trump is seeking a return to the White House. He carried the Latter-day Saint vote before, though by far thinner margins than most recent Republican presidential nominees? But where does Trump stand now with members? Will the love side of their Trump equation again win out over the hate side? Or are Latter-day Saints ready to move on? And could another polarizing Trump run put at risk the GOP’s dominance within this American-born faith?
Quin Monson, a political science professor at church-owned Brigham Young University and a partner at Y2 Analytics, discusses those questions and more.

Director of Canadian documentary about LDS finances discusses a church ‘in crisis’ | Episode 259

The financial dealings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continue to make headlines around the world.
We’ve documented its vast landholdings. Its multibillion-dollar reserves. And the ups and downs of its staggering stock portfolio. Now, the latest twist comes from Canada, where “The Fifth Estate,” the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.’s version of “60 Minutes,” detailed how the Utah-based faith funneled $1 billion in the past 15 years to its Brigham Young University campuses in the U.S.
Most of that tax-free money came from the tithes and donations of the 200,000 or so members who live in Canada. Although Canada’s laws allow the practice, it nonetheless deprives its treasury of hundreds of millions of dollars that could be used to support services in that country.
On this week’s show, Timothy Sawa, the producer and director of “The Fifth Estate” documentary, discusses the expose, how it came about, what else it uncovered, the faith’s financial tangles in Australia, its response and calls for reform and governmental investigations of a church “in crisis.”

How modern LDS men view marriage, divorce, sex and more | Episode 258

“The Family: A Proclamation to the World” spells out the central role marriage plays in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Nuances aside, it designates so-called traditional roles, with husbands as providers for their families and wives as nurturers of their children. Yet many if not most, Latter-day Saints don’t live such neatly ordered existences. Their experiences are far more diverse, more challenging, sometimes more messy, often more rewarding and always more real.
Getting Latter-day Saint men to open up about their intimate relationships is no small feat. But writer-editor Holly Welker does just that in “Revising Eternity: 27 Latter-day Saint Men Reflect on Modern Relationships,” a collection of personal essays that touches on sexuality, illness, addiction, infertility, infidelity, divorce, sexual orientation, loss of faith, death and much more — all from a male perspective.
On this week’s show, Welker talks about what we can learn from these writers who reached beyond the Book of Mormon question of “what manner of men ought ye to be?” and revealed “what manner of men they are.”

The ‘hidden’ wives of Joseph Smith and how they viewed polygamy | Episode 257

The polygamy of Mormonism’s second prophet-president, Brigham Young, is well known. Until the late 1990s, however, many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had no idea that church founder Joseph Smith had taken dozens of women as his plural wives.
Unlike with his first wife, Emma Smith, he didn’t live with the women (polygamy was hidden during the early faith’s years in Nauvoo, Ill.) and how intimate he was with them remains in dispute among historians.
Scholar Todd Compton was among the first to fully document Smith’s wives in his 1997 book, “In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith.” Now he has come out with a second book, “In Sacred Loneliness: The Documents,” which includes many of the materials he mined to gain a better understanding of the first Mormon’s marital relations.
On this week’s show, Compton discusses what he learned about Jospeh Smith, his wives (some in their early teens and some married to other men), what their marriages were like, their level of intimacy, whether any children resulted and more.