Mormon Land

Nelson didn’t apologize for past racial ban, but actions matter as well, professor says | Episode 91

Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, addressed the NAACP’s national convention this week.
His appearance came in the wake of a new partnership formed between the church and the country’s oldest civil rights organization and a year after the faith celebrated the 40th anniversary of the end of its centurylong ban on blacks holding the priesthood and entering temples.
No, Nelson did not apologize for that prohibition. Such words could have been a powerful moment, said LaShawn Williams, an African American Latter-day Saint and an assistant professor of social work at Utah Valley University. But actions count for something, too.
So what did this event signify, and what is the state of race relations within the Utah-based faith?
Williams addresses those questions and more.
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After nearly a year, is Nelson’s campaign to erase the church’s nickname succeeding? | Episode 90

It has been almost a year since Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, launched his push to get members, the media, scholars and others to stop using the nicknames “Mormon” and “LDS” when talking about the faith and its followers.
Since that time, the Utah-based church has made a number of changes. Some have been high profile, renaming the renowned Tabernacle Choir, for one; others have been less noticeable, like rejiggering website domains.
Historian Matt Bowman, the newly installed Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon (there’s that word again) Studies at Claremont Graduate University shares his thoughts on the progress of this sweeping campaign.

How LDS art can enhance worship for individuals and the overall church | Episode 89

Retired Columbia University professor Richard L. Bushman is best known for his biography of Mormon founder Joseph Smith and as an expert in early American history.
In the past few years, though, he and his historian wife, Claudia Lauper Bushman, have taken a keen interest in the arts — specifically those associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This week, the two talk about what prompted them to help organize the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts in New York City, which just completed its third annual festival, and what they see as the faith’s aesthetic.

How persecuted faiths helped shape ‘America’s greatest export’ — religious freedom | Episode 88

Best-selling author Steven Waldman calls it “America’s greatest export."
Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, discussed it in March with Pope Francis in their historic meeting at the Vatican and again this week with visiting Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan. It has become practically the go-to subject for Nelson’s first counselor, Dallin H. Oaks, a former Utah Supreme Court justice. And it was a major force in the so-called Utah compromise, which brought housing and employment protections to LGBTQ individuals.
That topic, of course, is religious freedom, and Mormonism’s role in its evolution is part of Waldman’s new book, “Sacred Liberty: America’s Long, Bloody, and Ongoing Struggle for Religious Freedom.”
As the nation celebrates its independence this week, he sheds light on the issue in this week’s “Mormon Land” podcast.

A conversation with a Latter-day Saint attorney who makes her living defending Muslims | Episode 87

With foundational beliefs in prophets, modesty, fasting and family values, Islam and Mormonism share some deeply rooted faith traditions.
And this week’s guest, Carolyn Homer, knows more than a little about both religions.
Homer is a civil rights attorney with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A historian looks back at a pageant that united a Utah town for 52 years | Episode 86

For 52 years, the Mormon Miracle Pageant has been a dramatic staple in central Utah, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to the grounds of the historic Manti Temple.
But come Saturday night, when the spotlight goes dark, it will mark the last time the pageant will ever light up the summertime night.
This week’s guest, Merilyn Jorgensen, sang in the choir at that first performance in 1967 and eventually became the official historian, even compiling a 600-page book about its history.
She discusses the pageant’s roots, its memorable moments, its evolution, the sadness of seeing it fade away, and the tiny “miracles” behind the Mormon Miracle Pageant.

LDS scholar Melissa Inouye on building a global religion & addressing gender issues | Episode 85

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has more than 16.3 million members worldwide, but it still is seen by many as an American, even Utah, religion.
How does the faith become truly global and allow cultural differences in its congregations and worship while still maintaining unity?
Latter-day Saint scholar Melissa Inouye not only thinks and writes a lot about that challenge, she has lived it as well.
A teacher of Asian studies at the University of Auckland, Inouye has lived in Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Southern California, Boston, Utah and, of course, now, New Zealand, so she knows a thing or two firsthand about how Mormonism functions in the world.
She addresses that topic, the place of women in the patriarchal faith, church as a “safe setting,” LGBTQ issues and more in this week’s “Mormon Land” and in her new book, “Crossings: A Bald Asian American Latter-day Saint Woman Scholar’s Ventures Through Life, Death, Cancer and Motherhood (Not Necessarily in That Order).”

The ins and outs of the church’s nuanced policy on abortion | Episode 84

Abortion — always a hotly disputed, highly divisive topic — is back in the headlines.
Several states, including Utah, have passed laws severely restricting the procedure in hopes of setting up a showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court, where a new conservative majority would have the chance to strike down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Where does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially stand on the issue? Is it more “pro-life” or more “pro-choice.” And do rank-and-file members understand the nuances in their faith’s position?
“I hear a lot of rhetoric from church members … who I don’t think are giving an accurate view of what the church’s actual stance is on abortion,” says Angela Clayton, who recently wrote about the issue for By Common Consent.
The church’s policy, she argues is “enabled by Roe v. Wade,” and those Latter-day Saints who call abortion murder are resorting to a “theological hyperbole” that stretches beyond the faith’s doctrine.
Clayton discusses those issues and more in this Tribune story and on this week’s podcast.

New LGBTQ play explores struggles of Mama Dragons as they balance faith and family | Episode 83

A little more than five years ago, the Mama Dragons burst onto the scene. Since that time, the group has grown into a respected and vital support organization for families and their LGBTQ loved ones, especially in the Latter-day Saint community.
Now, a new play — titled “The Mama Dragon Monologues: Mormon Mothers of LGBTQ Kids Speak Out" — chronicles these women who often are torn between devotion to their faith and love for their queer children.
As Utah celebrates Pride Week, Sue Bergin, who co-wrote the play tapping the real words of Latter-day Saint women, discusses the budding production, which has already had a staged reading in San Jose and is scheduled to have another next month in New York.

Why the LDS Church uses ‘specialists’ to help members become more politically active | Episode 82

The Hinckley Institute Morgan Lyon Cotti discusses why the LDS Church is using “specialists” to help members become more politically active.