Mormon Land

The LDS Church is growing — but not like it used to | Episode 105

A recent Pew Research report reaffirmed a rising trend: Americans, especially younger ones, are abandoning organized religion. It’s a phenomenon that cuts across denominations and is expected to continue.
But what about in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? How is this missionary-oriented faith faring in its efforts to recruit and retain members?
Turns out, says independent researcher Matt Martinich, the Utah-based church is still growing, though the rate has been dropping for decades. He says the faith continues to boom in West Africa, for instance, but growth is stagnating in Northern Europe.
Martinich’s latest survey shows retention of new converts is improving — 50% in the U.S. and 49% outside of it — but country-by-country rates vary wildly, ranging from 80% in Congo to 33% in Uruguay.
Martinich discusses those findings and more in this week’s “Mormon Land.”
Listen here:

Psychology professor discusses conversion therapy, sexual fluidity and more | Episode 104

Individuals with same-sex attractions certainly can — and do — sometimes choose lives of celibacy to adhere to religious convictions, but, without an intimate partner, says a University of Utah psychology professor, they may find those lives lacking.
Lisa Diamond, an expert on gender issues, discusses that issue — along with questions of sexual fluidity and gender identity — as Utah regulators consider rules banning conversion therapy for minors — a proposal that, in its current form, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposes.
Listen here.

TV journalist Jane Clayson Johnson talks about her battle with depression | Episode 103

During the recent General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Reyna Aburto, a high-level women’s leader in the faith, gave a widely praised sermon about depression, anxiety and other forms of mental illness that has members talking more openly about those issues.
Jane Clayson Johnson has contributed to that conversation. A journalist known nationally for her work at CBS News, ABC News and NPR, she faced her own battle with clinical depression.
In her book, “Silent Souls Weeping: Depression — Sharing Stories, Finding Hope,” and in this week’s podcast, she describes her own experience as well as what she learned from more than 150 other Latter-day Saints who have dealt with depression.
Johnson emphasizes why these stories must be told and how Mormonism poses some distinctive challenges for those suffering emotional afflictions.
Listen here:

The life and legacy of Jane Manning James | Episode 102

When historian Quincy Newell was researching 19th-century African American Mormons, one name kept popping up: Jane Manning James.
This African American convert, who worked in church founder Joseph Smith’s household and eventually was “sealed” to him as a “servant,” probably still ranks as the most famous black female member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this side of Gladys Knight.
So Newell wrote a full-fledged biography of this pioneering black woman. Titled “Your Sister in the Gospel,” it was released earlier this year by Oxford University Press.
Newell, associate professor of religious studies at Hamilton College in New York state, joined “Mormon Land” this week to talk about the remarkable life and legacy of Jane Manning James.
Listen here:

A look back at General Conference | Episode 101

This week we revisit and discuss — what else? — the recently completed General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Besides the usual prayers, songs and sermons, the weekend’s sessions included, as church President Russell M. Nelson promised, a number of momentous changes.
There were overhauls to programs for the Young Men and Young Women (with a heavenly, gender-inclusive twist in the latter’s theme). Eight new temples, including two more in Utah, were announced. Newly tweaked temple recommend questions were unveiled. Historic and memorable talks (such as the first by an African American general authority) and another controversial speech by Nelson’s first counselor were delivered.
Examining these events and the impacts they may have on the faith are Emily Jensen, a Latter-day Saint writer, editor and blogger, and Joseph Stuart, a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Utah and co-chair of the Mormon History Association’s 2020 Program Committee.
Listen here.

The Russell Nelson Era | Episode 100

To mark the 100th episode of our “Mormon Land” podcast, an expert panel will discuss how a 95-year-old leader is reshaping The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, overhauling prominent policies and sacred ceremonies, loosening some rules while tightening others, even changing how people refer to the religion.

Sexual assault survivor behind ‘Debbie’s Law’ talks about her faith | Episode 99

Debbie Cole was sexually assaulted in 1989 at age 19.
Thus began a 30-year emotional and spiritual odyssey for this Irish Latter-day Saint — days of agony, anger, reconciliation, recovery, resolve and reform — all which culminated earlier this year with the passage of “Debbie’s Law,” which allows for tougher penalties for repeat sex offenders.
Cole discusses her journey and how her faith helped see her through it.
Listen here.

Latter-day Saints in Russia | Episode 98

The Salt Lake Tribune just concluded a special three-part series on the challenges Western faiths, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, face in Russia — a nation dominated by the Russian Orthodox Church.
One of the biggest — if not the biggest — obstacles is the government’s ban on public proselytizing by these so-called outsider religions. Latter-day Saint missionaries, for instance, are called “volunteers.” Here to talk about the status of Mormonism in Russia is David Stewart, an independent demographer who co-founded The Cumorah Project, which tracks, among other things, Latter-day Saint growth around the world. Stewart also served a mission in Russia. He joins us today from his office in Las Vegas.

Lee Hale discusses his new ‘Preach’ podcast and his own ‘evolving’ faith | Episode 97

Award-winning KUER reporter Lee Hale said his new religion podcast, called “Preach,” would be a “different kind of faith conversation.”
A two-minute promotion for the show, which debuts Friday, Sept. 6, provides a clue. It begins with Hale briefly describing his time knocking on doors in Minnesota as a Mormon missionary and how, a decade later, he finds his own beliefs are “evolving.”
Yes, Hale is opting to be open about his identity as a Latter-day Saint. He talks about that choice and his podcast, which will focus on, in his words, “the messy middle” of faith on this week’s “Mormon Land.”

Lolly Weed talks about how LDS theology encourages mixed-orientation unions | Episode 96

Child-safety advocate Ed Smart recently came out publicly as gay and revealed that he and his wife, Lois, are divorcing.
Such announcements from prominent newsmakers make headlines. But what about the straight spouses left behind? Some say they are the forgotten ones — that when their partner comes out of the closet, they go in.
Lolly Weed knows about this experience personally and professionally. A marriage and family therapist associate, she and her gay husband, Josh, ended their 15-year marriage last year, something they talked about on a previous “Mormon Land."
She returns to this week’s podcast to talk about the challenges these straight spouses face — the heartache, the betrayal, the damage to their self-esteem, the faith trials and, for Latter-day Saints, the reality of a Mormon theology that, in essence, continues to encourage mixed-orientation marriages, no matter how misguided.