Mormon Land

General authority talks about race, Joseph Smith’s polygamy, the LGBTQ policy and more | Episode 93

For nearly two decades, Elder Steven E. Snow has served as a general authority for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The past seven or so years, he has been the church historian, overseeing the faith’s history department. During that time, he has led the release of “Saints,” the first in a planned four-volume narrative history of the church, and the production of landmark essays that tackle some of the pricklier points of Latter-day Saint history and teachings.
Snow, who is poised to receive official emeritus status in the coming fall General Conference, talks about his tenure and some of the issues he confronted, including:
• How to explain Brigham Young’s role in the former race-based priesthood ban.
• How to detail the early days of Mormon polygamy and Joseph Smith’s plural wives, including one who was 14.
• The much-publicized news conference showcasing the so-called “seer stone” that historians say Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon, the faith’s signature scripture.
• His reaction to the controversial 2015 policy on LGBTQ couples and their children, and the subsequent reversal.
• His relationship with former Church Historian Marlin Jensen, a fellow Democrat in a religion dominated by Republicans.
• His commitment to the environment and his hopes for more eco-friendly policies from the faith.
• His excitement over the dynamic changes taking place under church President Russell M. Nelson.
Listen here.

How to reach out in love to members who are questioning, or have left, the faith | Episode 92

Stories of members walking away from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are legion. And plenty of books have been written in recent years documenting and addressing the concerns of these disaffected members.
But what can loved ones and leaders still in the faith do to help, to serve, to embrace these onetime believers?
That’s what David Ostler explores in his new book, “Bridges: Ministering to Those Who Question.” A retired business executive, Ostler, who has lived on several continents and has served as a bishop, stake president and mission president, discusses his findings in this week’s “Mormon Land” podcast.

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.
Listen here:

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.