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© 2025 Faith Matters
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Faith Matters offers an expansive view of the Restored Gospel, thoughtful exploration of big and sometimes thorny questions, and a platform that encourages deeper engagement with our faith and our world. We focus on the Latter-day Saint (Mormon) tradition, but believe we have much to learn from other traditions and fully embrace those of other beliefs.
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1You’ve probably heard the old joke—we caught it again recently on Ezra Klein’s show. A conspiracy theorist dies and goes to heaven. At the pearly gates, God tells him he can ask one question—anything at all. The conspiracy theorist says, “Who really killed JFK?” God replies, “Lee Harvey Oswald and he acted alone.” The conspiracy theorist pauses, nods, and says, “Wow. This goes higher than I thought.” The joke captures just how impenetrable conspiracy thinking can be. That’s part of what we’re...
We’re excited today to talk about the temple. It’s a topic we love—one that sits at the heart of our faith—but because of its sacred nature, it can sometimes be difficult to explore openly. Our guest today is historian Jonathan Stapley, who has spent the past two decades studying the temple and its role in Latter-day Saint life. His new book, Holiness to the Lord, is coming out this fall, and it incorporates a remarkable collection of never-before-seen archival records. The book explores th...
We’re so happy to welcome back Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife—someone whose voice and work have shaped our thinking in really lasting ways. Today we’re talking with Jennifer about her brand-new book, published by Faith Matters: That We Might Have Joy: Desire, Divinity, and Intimate Love. The book offers an honest look at how sexual intimacy can reveal the truth of a relationship—and how, for those willing to confront that truth, it can serve as the starting point for deep joy, spiritual ...
Nearly 200 years ago, Joseph Smith gave us a holistic code of health called the Word of Wisdom. But over the next century, we largely reduced that revelation to a list of don’ts—one that came to define us as a church and serve as a kind of status marker within the Church. As we look ahead to the next hundred years, we’re asking: is it time to rethink how we see this revelation? Today, we face an overwhelming number of choices about what we put into our bodies—some deeply harmful, others...
Today, we’re so excited to share a powerful session from last year’s Restore gathering, given by Astrid Tuminez, president of Utah Valley University. Astrid’s story is truly extraordinary. She was born in a small village in the Philippines and raised in the slums of Iloilo City. Her journey has taken her from Catholic convent schools to Harvard and Wall Street to leading a major public university—and throughout, she’s wrestled with what it means to belong and to find joy. Drawing from the B...
Today we’re so happy to share a conversation with our friend Brian McLaren about his brand-new novel, The Last Voyage. The book is set in the future, as Earth nears collapse and a final crew is sent to Mars in a last-ditch effort to begin again. It’s a compelling story on its own, but it also opens up space for deeper questions—about what happens when we try to leave everything behind, only to discover we’ve brought all our baggage with us. So in this conversation, we got to explore som...
Today we’re sharing another fun session from last year’s Restore gathering—one of the most unforgettable moments from the whole weekend—featuring Mauli Bonner. Mauli has spent the past two decades in the entertainment industry, developing and writing for Grammy-winning artists and directing music for film and TV, and he also co-founded the nonprofit Lift Up Voices to empower young voices through creativity and community. In this session, Mauli shares a wild, personal story that starts with a ...
Today, we’re really grateful to share a conversation with historian John Turner about the brand new biography he’s just published: Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet. John is a professor of Religious Studies and History at George Mason University. While not a member of the the Latter-day Saint faith, he has had a particular fascination with the early history of Mormonism, and wrote an earlier biography of Brigham Young. Some of the interpretations and conclusions Joh...
Today, we’re excited to bring you a special episode—a replay of one of our favorite sessions from last year’s Restore Gathering, featuring Dave Butler. We’re also thrilled to let you know that Restore 2025 is happening this September 25–27 in Orem, Utah, and this episode is a great preview of the kind of experience you can expect—thoughtful, joyful, expansive, and rooted in a deep desire to love and understand more fully. In this session, Dave explores the idea of Holy Envy—a concept that inv...
Today we’re so excited to share a conversation about the new book Carry On, a rich and thoughtful history of the church’s Young Women organization. This project has been ten years in the making, created by historians Lisa Olsen Tait, James Goldberg, Amber C. Taylor, and the late Kate Holbrook. Joining us today to talk about the project are Lisa and James. In this conversation, they trace the arc of the organization’s beginnings and evolution—from a small association founded among Brigham Youn...
Today, we’re sharing a really special session from last year’s Faith Matters gathering, Restore. This conversation has really stayed with us, and we're so grateful we get to share it with you now. It begins with a short, beautiful film—we’d highly recommend heading to our YouTube channel if you’d like to watch it. You’ll hear John Gustav-Wrathall share his journey as a gay Latter-day Saint—a path shaped by deep spiritual seeking, a loving and enduring partnership with his husband Goran, and a...
Today we’re excited to share our conversation with Anna Lott, and we’re especially thinking of those who are walking—or have walked—the path of divorce. Anna is the host of the Solo Saints podcast and retreats, and she’s become a thoughtful and compassionate voice in our community—especially for those who often feel like their experiences don’t quite fit the mold. As a divorced mother of four, Anna brings honesty, heart, and hard-won wisdom to conversations about faith, family, and belonging....
This week—June 9th—marks the 47th anniversary of the 1978 revelation that ended the Church’s 126-year ban on Black members receiving the priesthood and entering the temple. It’s a moment we often point to with reverence and gratitude—but the story we’ve inherited about how it happened is, in many ways, incomplete. To help us understand more fully what led to that pivotal moment, we’re joined by Dr. Matthew Harris, whose new book Second-Class Saints draws on previously unavailable documents—in...
Today, we’re so excited to share something brand new with you—the very first episode of a new podcast we’re launching here at Faith Matters. It’s called Article 13. This new narrative podcast brings together cutting-edge research and spiritual wisdom to explore creative paths toward a more connected and compassionate world. As our society grows increasingly divided along political and cultural lines, Article 13—hosted by Zachary Davis—offers a hopeful and constructive alternative. Through dee...
This week, we got to sit down with someone we’ve long admired and are so thrilled to finally have on the podcast—Steven Sharp Nelson, known to millions around the world as “The Cello Guy” from The Piano Guys. He’s a creative force and a pioneer in "cello-percussion"—where rhythm, melody, and movement come together in such creative and beautiful ways. If you’ve ever seen Steve perform, you know the energy he brings to music is unlike anything else—it’s vibrant, joyful, and instantly captivatin...
This week, we’re sharing a conversation with Phil Barlow about his new book, published by Faith Matters, called A Thoughtful Faith for the 21st Century. If that sounds familiar, it may be because Phil published the first volume back in 1986. That original collection included essays by Eugene England, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Francine Bennion, Richard Bushman, and others—each exploring what it means to live a spiritually and intellectually honest life within the Latter-day Saint tradition. As P...
This week, we’re excited to share a special live episode recorded at the Compass Gallery in Provo, as part of our Big Questions series with Terryl Givens. Each month, Terryl is joined by a guest for a conversation about some of our biggest theological and historical questions. In this episode, he’s joined by scholar and teacher Jared Halverson. Together, Terryl and Jared explore the question: can doubt be a spiritual gift? They consider how doubt might play a meaningful role in our spiritual ...
With Mother’s Day coming up, we’re so honored to bring you this conversation with McArthur Krishna about her new book, Mother in Heaven: A Gospel Topics Essay Study Guide. The doctrine of Heavenly Mother is one of the most beautiful and distinctive Latter-Day Saint teachings—but for many, it’s still unfamiliar territory. McArthur and her co-authors created this study guide as an invitation to engage with this doctrine more deeply. Drawing on the church’s Gospel Topics essay, the book explores...
This week, we’re so glad to be sharing a conversation with our friend Chad Ford. Chad is a conflict mediator, peace educator, and associate professor of religious studies at Utah State University. He’s spent decades working in some of the most entrenched conflict zones in the world—from the Middle East to South Africa to Northern Ireland. He’s also the author of a new book called Seventy Times Seven: Jesus’s Path to Conflict Transformation, published by Deseret Book. The book explores a quest...
With Easter just a few days away, we’re so excited to share this conversation with Amanda Suarez and Jon Ogden. Amanda and Jon are two of the co-founders of Uplift Kids, a lesson library and curriculum that helps families explore spirituality, values, and emotional health together. Amanda is a school psychologist and certified conscious parenting coach, and Jon is a writer, curriculum creator, and author of When Mormons Doubt. In this conversation, Amanda and Jon offer a beautiful vision of E...
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oh my gosh, this is so good! Loved it!
As far as addressing the fear of not being together in the next life... I really do feel it is a matter of Faith. Yes, God is bound by laws, but I've come to believe that we don't really know how everything will be in the next life. Good will keep His promises. things will be wonderful. We will feel comfortable and happy in whatever degree of glory where we land. It will be what is right for us and our loved ones for them. God is loving, just, and merciful. It will be good. It's not a race.
I could listen to Josh's voice all day.
Love you Kate, an inspiration to us all
The audio on this episode is TERRIBLE, unless Terryl Givens has taken up beatboxing as a hobby. Save your ears and maybe watch this episode on YouTube instead... Also, don't expect to hear much from the author highlighted... it's a one man show and the invited author is not allowed the space to speak much. :/
Wilcox said that as he has looked for God everywhere, he has discovered that great hearts and great minds see in the different religions more of their similarities than their differences.
Remarkably insightful and expansive thinking from Michael Wilcox about the discovery of truth and goodness in so many traditions and faiths and art forms around the world and throughout history. A wonderful analogy using a compass that has one fixed foot and that has another discovery foot that can draw large circles of truth and goodness around our fixed foot (though that fixed foot may also be called to shift some at times when our searching asks for yet bigger circles of discovery and embrace). A footing that fears or discounts the truths that may be present in other religions or traditions will tend to draw small circles around the fixed foot, while the confident and secure footing will generously seek truth and goodness in many forms and traditions and will draw big circles to encompass them.
LaShawn Williams for president!!🥳 Please let her speak her truth from the pulpit! We need her voice, her truth, her beauty and her testimony!
looking forward to more content