Mormon Land

Missionaries can call home more often now, but will it make a difference? | Episode 69

This week, Latter-day Saint parents got an early Christmas — or Mother’s Day — gift: The chance to talk to their missionary daughters and sons outside of those two holidays.
These young sisters and elders now can call, video chat or text their families weekly in yet another major cultural shift under the administration of Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While you can imagine the rejoicing among missionaries and their families, some fear the relaxed rules go too far.
On the latest podcast David Cook, a former mission president in Chile, and Susie Augenstein, whose son is serving in Poland, discuss the change.

Would yesterday’s pioneers recognize today’s temple ceremonies? | Episode 68

Latter-day Saint temples have been in the news a lot lately. New temples are opening. Some older ones are closing for renovation. And groundbreakings are taking place around the globe.
Capturing the most attention were the recent changes that brought more gender equity to the religious rites that take place inside these temples.
So how has temple worship evolved throughout the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Historian and author Devery Anderson, who edited the volume, “The Development of LDS Temple Worship," shares his insights.

Would Utah’s birth certificate bill “erase transgender people from existence?” | Episode 67

A state lawmaker is proposing a measure that would prevent Utahns from changing the sex designated on their birth certificates.
Such a move would set a “very dangerous” precedent, argues Laurie Lee Hall, a former stake president and temple architect who was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for living as a transgender woman. “ … It would ultimately wind up, without hyperbole at all, erasing transgender people from existence.”
Hall, who appears on this week’s “Mormon Land” podcast, also notes that she has no issue with the faith’s so-called family proclamation, which declares that “gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." She “relates” to it. After all, Hall says, she always has been — and forever will be — a woman.
“But I don't seem to relate to that in the way that most in the church interpret it,” she adds. “What they're really thinking, I think, when they read that is that biological sex determines who you are and that at the end of the day you will always be whatever your biological sex was.”
Hall shares her thoughts on the proposed bill, President Dallin H. Oaks' October sermon on gender issues and more.

Former practitioner of ‘reparative therapy’ discusses his coming out as a gay man | Episode 66

For years, David Matheson, a Utahn who was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and married to a woman, was a prominent advocate and professional practitioner of so-called “reparative therapy,” an effort that essentially seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Matheson came to renounce that type of treatment and instead focused on therapies intended to reduce, in his words, the “shame, anxiety and effects of trauma” experienced by LGBTQ individuals in society.
Now, Matheson is divorced and making news by coming out as a gay man seeking a male partner. He also is expressing remorse for the pain he may have brought to men he was trying to help along the way.
Matheson discusses his past, present and future on this week’s “Mormon Land,” especially now as he strives to navigate a new place for himself in the faith he loves.

Why there are fewer litmus tests for what makes a ‘real Mormon’ outside of Utah | Episode 65

Latter-day Saints are full of jokes, jabs and judgments about so-called “Utah Mormons” — how church members who live in the heart of the faith are somehow different than those who live elsewhere.
New survey findings from writer-researcher Jana Riess show that’s true, especially when it comes to orthodoxy and some cultural influences.
Latter-day Saint scholar Patrick Mason, who grew up in Utah but has lived in the Midwest, Eastern Europe and now Southern California, has noticed the differences, too. For instance, in those places away from the Intermountain West’s Mormon Belt, he said, when members attended church, it didn’t matter how they were dressed.
"The overwhelming feeling, at least that we experienced, was ‘thank goodness you’re here,’” Mason said in this week’s “Mormon Land” podcast. “Who cares whether you’re wearing a dress or pants or what you think about the Book of Mormon? If you’re willing to walk in that door, you know, thank you for being here.”
There were, he added, “fewer litmus tests for what makes a ‘real Mormon.’”
By the way, Mason, head of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University, soon will become a “Utah Mormon” again. In July, he takes over as the Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University.
He said his family values diversity and “a lot of things that we found outside of Utah. But ... I was raised there, and I’m I don’t think I’m too screwed up. ... I can’t wait to get back there.”

What do recent temple changes mean for women, men and the wider LDS Church? | Episode 64

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made historic changes last week to its temple ceremonies, drawing widespread attention and praise, especially from women, for its use of gender-equitable language.
Neylan McBaine, author of “Women at Church” and founder of the Mormon Women Project, joins this week’s podcast to discuss what these changes mean for women, men and the wider church.

A look back at the church’s headline-making year | Episode 63

If The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seemed to be dormant during the waning years of enfeebled President Thomas S. Monson’s tenure, that inactivity ended in 2018.
After Monson’s death at age 90 two days into the year and the ascension of apostle Russell M. Nelson to the presidency, the deluge of changes, adjustments, announcements, rescissions and reforms came at a dizzying pace and show no signs of letting up.
We recap the historic headline-making year in this week’s podcast.

How do Latter-day Saints and Catholics view Mary? | Episode 62

In Christian homes around the world this holiday season, families have dusted off their Nativity sets and carefully arranged the pieces in their living rooms. There are wise men, shepherds, barnyard animals, Joseph, perhaps an angel, all paying homage to the baby Jesus. But what about one woman in every Nativity: Mary.
Where does the mother of the Lord fit in Latter-day Saint theology and the wider Christian world?
Cristina Rosetti, a doctoral candidate in religious studies at the University of California Riverside and an expert on the intersection of Mormonism and spirit communication, examines that question and more. A convert to Catholicism, Rosetti, who is a also an archivist at Sunstone and a former Mormon studies fellow at the University of Utah, explains the prominent role Mary plays in Catholic worship and her more-subdued part in Latter-day Saint teachings, along with the doctrine of Heavenly Mother and how together they affect women’s places in the world of faith.

The potential positives and negatives of an increasingly non-LDS Salt Lake County, Utah | Episode 61

Salt Lake County is home to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It also boasts the faith’s famous tabernacle and its landmark temple.
But the county is no longer populated mostly by Mormons. The latest membership numbers, supplied by the church itself, show that Utah’s most populous county is now 48.91 percent Latter-day Saint.
In fact, the Latter-day Saint tally statewide has fallen below 62 percent.
This continuing demographic shift is more than a statistical footnote. It carries with it sweeping implications for schools, politics, neighborhoods and the church itself.
Jim McConkie, a Salt Lake City attorney, former Latter-day Saint bishop and an ex-congressional candidate, has witnessed this transformation and sees opportunities for the area to become more cohesive and inclusive even as it grows more diverse and increasingly becomes a place for non-Mormons.

The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins talks about Prop 2, Mitt Romney and more | Episode 60

Two days before Election Day, Marty Stephens, a Latter-day Saint stake president and the church’s chief lobbyist on Utah’s Capitol Hill, took to the pulpit and urged his congregations to “Follow the prophet” and, in so many words, vote against the ballot measure legalizing medical marijuana.
Although most Utah voters ultimately bucked the church’s position and approved Proposition 2 anyway, Stephens’ sermon and the public and behind-the-scenes actions of Utah’s predominant faith during the campaign have revived questions about the separation of church and state and whether Latter-day Saint authorities wielded inappropriate influence on politicians, policymakers and rank-and-file church members.
McKay Coppins, staff writer for The Atlantic and a graduate of Brigham Young University, shares his views on Prop 2, the midterm elections, Mitt Romney, the church’s forays into public policy, its clout in Utah and Washington and the intersection of religion and politics.