Latter-day Saint Perspectives

About the Interview: With the release of Saints last year, the study of church history officially moved beyond the dusty cobwebs of the Church History Library and the podiums of sparsely attended academic conferences to the nightstands of lay members. Suddenly, members were talking about a more complex narrative than they had rehearsed in their Sunday meetings. But was this change really sudden? J. B. Haws, associate dean of BYU’s College of Religious Education, believes this interest has been growing for many years. In 2017, guest podcaster Taunalyn Rutherford interviewed Dr. Haws about his research on what he sees as a seminal moment in the study of Latter-day Saint history. He traces the origins of this new trend and speculates why this moment has been so much more successful than a similar increase in interest during the 1970s. Their discussion identifies key players in architecting a movement that will shape how a new generation of Saints approach Latter-day Saint history. Please note that this interv