Latter-day Saint Perspectives

The Interview:  “Dear Reader,” Melissa Inouye opens her memoir, “I’ve always been fuzzy about deadlines, but in May 2017 when I was diagnosed with colon cancer, everything snapped into focus: ‘Oh shoot!’ I’m going to die.’ Suddenly thinking about the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything seemed terribly urgent. To be more precise, the project of writing about life and its conundrums seemed terribly urgent, because my children are young. … When one contemplates the possibility of being entirely absent, a few letters do not seem enough. This is why I began to think about writing a book: a literary form of food storage. … a stash of thoughts. …” In this episode join Laura Harris Hales as she interviews Melissa Inouye about her perspectives on lived religion, the purpose of life, and what she has learned from studying global religious studies. She also discusses how to approach difficult topics with youth. Below are some pointers from Dr. Inouye: “Five Ways to Respond When the Youth [and Othe

The Interview: Just one day before Jonathan Stapley was awarded the best book award for The Power of Godliness by the Mormon History Association, I visited with him about the history and development of core ideas essential to current Mormon identity such as priesthood, authority, and ordinances. We also discussed how priesthood power relates to temple practice and what Jonathan refers to as the ordering of heaven. His volume is an academic history of Mormonism, and as such it’s intent is to understand and analyze the past and contextualize and historicize the present. On this episode, Jonathan Stapley shares his perspective on Latter-day Saint liturgy in theory and practice. About Our Guest:  Jonathan A. Stapley is an award-winning historian and scientist. An active participant in the field of Mormon Studies, he is also the Chief Technology Officer for a bio-renewables company. Jonathan received his Ph.D. from Purdue University and has been active in the field of Mormon History for over a decade.  You can

The Interview: Historian Jedediah S. Rogers and Matthew C. Godfrey recently co-edited a collection of essays on Latter-day Saint environmental history entitled The Earth Will Appear as the Garden of Eden. In the volume, contributors explore the relationship between members of the church and the places they settled. Editor Matthew Godfrey has written extensively about the early years of the church and lends additional light on how these connections were both physical and theological. In this episode, join us for Matthew Godfrey’s perspective on the early Latter-day Saint quest to obtain and redeem a promised land. About Our Guest: Matthew C. Godfrey is a general editor and the managing historian of the Joseph Smith Papers. He is also a member of the Church History Department Editorial Board. Matthew holds a PhD in American and public history from Washington State University. Before joining the project, he was president of Historical Research Associates, a historical and archeological consulting firm headqua

About the Interview: In this episode, I discuss with Jennifer Champoux, an art history scholar, how biblical women are depicted in the art of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Portrayals of biblical women are scarce among images that are endorsed by the LDS Church. Those women who are depicted are frequently shown as simplified, didactic figures, and they are typically divided into two groups: wise or foolish. This dichotomy is apparent in the symbolism and formal elements of many LDS paintings of both the parable of the ten virgins and of Mary and Martha, which are the only images in which we see groups of women. Champoux takes us through an examination of LDS depictions of Mary and Martha, revealing that they generally rely on earlier Christian visual and textual interpretations that privilege Mary and show her as quiet and passive.  Most LDS images do not offer alternative interpretations of the story, although Church leaders have offered various readings. Champoux also explains how Miner

The Interview:  Good Friday is seen as the most holy day in Christian tradition, yet it is not particularly emphasized in Latter-day Saint dialogue. And outside of Easter lessons, pictures of the crucifixion are rarely displayed. In contrast, depictions of the suffering of Christ on the cross hold prominent positions within most Christian buildings whether local meetinghouses or grand cathedrals. Dr. Gaye Strathearn grew up Latter-day Saint in a small branch in Australia. She and her fellow members did celebrate Good Friday. When she spent her first Easter on BYU campus, she was surprised that what she had always celebrated as a sacred day was pretty much a non-event. This has always bothered her and has led her to research the topic. In “Christ’s Crucifixion: The Reclamation of the Cross,” she explores the relationship of Latter-day Saint teachings and culture regarding the crucifixion. Strathearn isn’t arguing to put crosses on our buildings or forgetting the seminal event of Gethsemane, but she does thin

The Interview: In this episode of LDS Perspectives Podcast, Laura Hales interviews Eric D. Huntsman about his new book, Becoming the Beloved Disciple: Coming unto Christ through the Gospel of John, about learning from the Gospels, and John more generally. As this year’s Come Follow Me course of study leads individuals and families to study the New Testament more intently, Huntsman’s new book treating important aspects of the Gospel of John provides helpful models for understanding and applying John, and other scripture, to today’s world. While Latter-day Saints are accustomed to “likening all scripture unto ourselves” (see 1 Nephi 19:23), sometimes we have difficulty understanding scripture in its original context, making it less accessible for modern readers. In the introduction to Becoming the Beloved Disciple, Huntsman borrows two images from Murray Krieger, a scholar of Shakespeare’s sonnets, to better understanding texts: seeing literature first as a window and then as a mirror. Using these images, he s

In early January, I sat down with Jane Clayson Johnson, a former news correspondent for CBS and ABC news, to discuss her research on mental illness. Over the course of three years, Jane recorded hundreds of interviews with Latter-day Saints about their experiences. Her book, Silent Souls Weeping, contains frank discussions aimed at breaking down the stigma associated with depression and providing ministering tools. Join us for Jane Clayson Johnson’s perspective on mental illness. About Our Guest: Jane Clayson Johnson is an award-winning journalist widely known for her work at CBS News, ABC News, and the nationally syndicated NPR program On Point. Over more than two decades, she traveled the world covering stories from international news to presidential campaigns and interviewing the biggest newsmakers of the day. Jane is the best-selling author of I Am a Mother. She has served in regional, stake, and ward public affairs, as a Gospel Doctrine teacher, and in many Relief Society and Primary callings. Jane and

About the Interview: In a recent article published in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship titled “Et Incarnatus Est: The Imperative for Book of Mormon Historicity,” Stephen Smoot maintains the credibility of the Book of Mormon is intricately linked to its historicity. As explained in the paper’s abstract: Some have come to insist that the Book of Mormon should be read as inspired fiction, which is to say that readers, including Latter-day Saints, should abandon any belief in the Book of Mormon as an authentic ancient text and instead should see it as an inspired frontier novel written by Joseph Smith that may act as scripture for those who follow his teachings. This paper provides reasoning to reject this proposition as not only logically incoherent but also theologically impotent. It raises the objection that this position fundamentally undercuts the credibility of Joseph Smith. The Prophet’s direct claims concerning the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as well as how the Book

Joshua Matson The Interview: Even a casual, first-time reader quickly notices that the Fourth Gospel, or the Gospel of John, is different than the other New Testament gospels. From the first verse, the metaphorical language tells readers that this is more than a historical rehearsal; it is scripture written to persuade men that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Redeemer of Israel. Jesus’ Second Temple period Jewish audience would have had expectations of what the Messiah would be like and what he would do. Depending on their religious community and sect, these hopes would likely represent exaggerations of various Old Testament prophecies. Some of the Jewish leadership had willingly altered the concept of the Messiah, but other characteristics became distorted through time. The fourth evangelist likely wrote his gospel to a group of Jewish-Christian believers in the late part of the first century after Christ’s death. He meant his message to inspire Jews to re-examine their expectations and assumptions reg

The Interview: In this episode of the LDS Perspectives Podcast, Stephen Smoot interviews Grant Hardy, editor of the newly released Maxwell Institute Study Edition of the Book of Mormon. They discuss the history of publishing the Book of Mormon, and in particular the key features and motivations behind Grant’s earlier Reader’s Edition. While the Study Edition shares many of the features that made that earlier edition so useful—including paragraphs, quotations marks, poetic stanzas, and section headings—it also includes changes that reflect Book of Mormon research over the last fifteen years. The paragraphing, poetic formatting, and section headings have all been revised. Bolded text in the lengthy quotations from Isaiah and Matthew indicate where there are differences between the Book of Mormon and the King James Version, making it easier to see how the Nephite record can function as a commentary on the Bible. The original chapters are more clearly marked. And there are many more footnotes pointing out liter

The Interview: For this episode of the Latter-day Saint Perspectives Podcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews BYU–Idaho professor David Pulsipher about some of the subtle but consequential lessons regarding conflict, violence, and peace found in the Book of Mormon. Steeped in a culture of violent films and video games, and surrounded with visual images of muscular Book of Mormon warriors, we can easily miss important patterns of conflict in the scriptural narrative. For example, while the text contains multiple examples of defending faith and family with armies and military strategies, it also contains numerous examples of successful nonviolent strategies that are usually depicted as even more effective than violence. The Nephites, for example, believed that God would protect them from their enemies in at least two ways—he would either “warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger” (Alma 48:15). If we carefully read the text to find examples of either of these warnings, we may be surpri

  The Interview: There are four books in the New Testament that tell the story of the life and ministry of Jesus. Each one does it quite differently. The gospel of Luke is related to the gospel of Mark—it appears to use Mark as its foundation—but changes Mark’s stories in specific ways and adds many others. Kent Brown spent years teaching and studying the New Testament and especially the gospel of Luke. He has written and published a hefty commentary on it—more than 1,200 pages—that deeply explores every element of Luke’s unique messages, language, theology, and priorities. As part of the BYU New Testament Commentary series, Brown’s book, The Testimony of Luke, offers insights and discoveries unique to the Latter-day Saint culture. In this episode of the LDS Perspective podcast, guest interviewer David A. LeFevre discusses some of these unique elements. As one of the founders of the New Testament Commentary series, Brown shares how the project began, including challenges to getting it off the ground. The L

    The Interview: In this interview, Laura Harris Hales interviews Dr. Thomas A. Wayment about modern Bible translations and the lasting heritage of the King James Bible. For the majority of English-speaking Latter-day Saints, the King James Bible is both a cultural symbol of participation in American Christianity as well as a signifier of activity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But as recent polls have demonstrated, Americans are less likely today to purchase and read a KJV Bible than at any time in our history. Increasingly, LDS missionaries are faced with speaking a foreign Bible language when they read from the words of their KJV Bibles. They wrestle with trying to understand an older form of English in order to make sense of the primary canonical texts of their religion. Many Latter-day Saints and other Christians too often venture into the unfamiliar territory of exploring other translations of the Bible. One reason for this is the interest to understand this important relig

The Interview: In the latest episode of LDS Perspectives Podcast, guest interviewer Stephen Smoot visits with Latter-day Saint Church historian Robin Jensen about the newly released Revelations and Translations, Volume 4: Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts. Robin explains that this latest volume is part of the overall strategy of the Joseph Smith Papers Project to help scholars around the world study Latter-day Saint history. “We test our success, not in how many volumes we are selling” he declares. “But in how well they are being used. … If they are listed in the bibliographies of books, then we find that a success.” Scrutinizing Joseph and his teachings is highly encouraged and is now easier than ever before thanks to the Joseph Smith Papers project. The interview dives into the question, “What is the relationship between the Book of Abraham and the papyri.” The relationship is difficult to define due to complexities and ambiguities in the available documents. Dealing with the challenges requires fait

The Interview: Laura Harris Hales of LDS Perspectives Podcast recently interviewed Jared Ludlow on Exploring the Apocrypha from a Latter-day Saint Perspective, a new book that introduces to an LDS audience what the Apocrypha is and how it was treated in the early church by Joseph Smith and others. It also gives a book-by-book overview of the contents of the Apocrypha, and what a Latter-day Saint reader might glean from it. While the Apocrypha is mentioned in Doctrine and Covenants 91 when Joseph Smith asked whether he should translate it as part of his Bible translation project (the JST), it is usually not read by LDS members because Joseph Smith received a “no” answer, and subsequently it never became part of the scriptural canon. The Apocrypha is a collection of texts that were included in the Greek translation (Septuagint) of the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament), but were not found in the original Hebrew Bible. These additional books and stories are related to biblical figures, or discuss some of the his

When Taunalyn Ford Rutherford was a member of the Young Ambassadors she had the opportunity to visit and perform in India. While there, the group spent a day helping at the Mother Theresa charities. Ever since then she has been fascinated with India. So when she had the chance to do oral interviews in preparation for writing her dissertation, she knew where she wanted to go. Over several years, Dr. Ford traveled to India to interview the LDS Church members of the Hyderabad Stake in India. Recently, she published her work on the Church in India. In this episode of the LDS Perspectives Podcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews Taunalyn Ford Rutherford about what a globalized LDS Church looks like in India. Although missionaries were sent to India in the 1850s, growth of the Church didn’t really take off until the 1980s. Leaders were hesitant to send missionaries to a country that had so much need for humanitarian aid and whose Christianity reflected Evangelical more than Mormon culture. But what started out as a

The Interview:  Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. The themes of this day are atonement and repentance, which are essential themes of the Restoration as well. Although the ancient Israelites who first celebrated this festival are far removed in time and space, do the symbolic acts of the priest in the tabernacle carry over to LDS understandings, doctrines, and ordinances? Dr. Shon Hopkin believes they do and studying them can enhance our worship and understanding of the gospel. But how can we know we are interpreting symbols correctly? Symbols, by their very nature, can be interpreted in multiple ways. A member of the Jewish faith may interpret biblical symbolism differently than a Christian, which doesn’t mean that one understanding is correct and the other is not. All religions build upon the imagery of others. As Christians use this foundation and reinterpret the meanings, the symbolism is made new and alive in other religious traditions. The Ch

The Interview: In this episode of the LDS Perspectives podcast, Laura Harris Hales discusses tips for understanding Isaiah in the Old Testament with Joseph M. Spencer, author of The Vision of All: Twenty-five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi’s Record. The Book of Isaiah is a high-context scripture that overwhelms most readers. But because of its conspicuous presence in the Book of Mormon, it begs to be examined more closely. The Book of Mormon can inform us on how those prophets likened or interpreted Isaiah, but our study is incomplete without studying what Isaiah may have meant when it was written and in its Old Testament context. But figuring that out takes a bit of work. Spencer suggests four strategies for a serious study of Isaiah: Don’t rely solely on the King James Version of the Bible. It is 400 years old and contains archaic language. Consult a modern translation like the NRSV. If you want, you can even compare the verses in the KJV to the NRSV for clarity. Don’t stress if every verse or word doesn

  In this episode of the LDS Perspectives Podcast, Laura Harris Hales interviews scholar Nicholas (Nick) J. Frederick about New Testament intertextuality in the Book of Mormon. As an undergraduate classics major at BYU, Frederick became interested in studying Book of Mormon intertextuality. He wanted to discuss with other scholars what he was finding but encountered resistance from those who thought he was attacking the historicity of the Book of Mormon. Further frustration came as he realized that the few resources on the topic were primarily written by critics of the Book of Mormon arguing against historicity. Their research was overreaching and didn’t address how these New Testament elements were functioning within the text. Frederick, who has since written a dissertation, book, and articles on the topic, hopes to expand the discussion of the New Testament elements in the Book of Mormon beyond that of simply whether they speak to historicity. That the New Testament can be found in the Book of Mormon i

The Interview: Part 2 of Laura Harris Hales' interview of Bruce A. Van Orden about the life and work of W. W. Phelps, a unique witness to the events of the early Church. About Our Guest:  Bruce Van Orden received his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from Brigham Young University. Bruce is an emeritus professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. During retirement, Bruce and his wife, Karen, had a seven-year prison ministry. He has served on LDS Church curriculum committees and on the Pioneer Sesquicentennial Committee (“Faith in Every Footstep”). He has published widely on scriptural and church history themes.