The Foyer

How do religious organizations and individuals contribute to local and global humanitarian, relief, and development efforts? In this conversation, Sharon Eubank, Director of Humanitarian Services for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, offers concrete examples and advice that will inspire anyone wanting to make the world a better place.

“The Psalm of Nephi” is a beloved passage from the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 4:16-35). In this special episode, Patrick Mason teams up with tenor Chris Machado and the Logan Institute Singers for a lecture and performance of three musical pieces with lyrics taken from the psalm.

Utah is a great state, but there are some important areas where it lags behind.  One of these areas, unfortunately, is women’s equality.  Utah statistically ranks toward or at the bottom of the nation when it comes to various gaps between men and women.  And it turns out that the state’s trademark religiosity has something to do with it.  In this episode, Patrick Mason talks with Dr. Susan Madsen, founding director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project at Utah State University, to discuss the statistics, why gender inequality matters, and what we can do about it—in Utah, in the country more broadly, and in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

From its very founding, the United States has always featured a delicate balance of being home to an overwhelmingly religious populace while also rejecting a religious establishment.  What does it mean to be a person of faith in a secular and pluralistic public sphere?  Should religious people bring their values to the arena of politics – and if so, what are the limits?  How can we balance religious freedom with other crucial civil and human rights?  The Foyer is very grateful to be joined by Utah’s current governor (and USU alum), Spencer J. Cox, to discuss these important questions.

Mormonism’s beginnings are based on Joseph Smith’s remarkable claims that he saw God and angels and then retrieved golden plates from a hill near his home.  The debate between believers and nonbelievers over the truthfulness of Smith’s claims has followed well-worn paths ever since.  In recent years, however, new interpretations have emerged that attempt to make sense of the gold plates and translation of the Book of Mormon from a secular academic perspective.  In this episode Patrick talks with Ann Taves, one of the nation’s most distinguished scholars of religion, to consider new ways of thinking about gold plates and other extraordinary things.

This special episode of the foyer is a live recording in front of a live audience. Join Patrick Mason, Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture, and Dallas Jenkins, Creator and Director of The Chosen, as they discuss the behind the scenes of creating the largest crowd-funded media project of all time. 

No other issue is as publicly prominent or as vexing for contemporary Mormonism as the relationship between the LDS Church and the LGBTQ community. We will discuss the history of LDS teachings about homosexuality, the recent emergence of “queer Mormon theology,” and how LGBTQ Latter-day Saints navigate the complex tensions of their religion and sexuality. Patrick will be joined by authors of two recent and important books on these subjects. Blaire Ostler, a philosopher who works at the intersection of queer, Mormon, and transhumanist thought. She is the author of Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction (By Common Consent Press, 2021). Taylor Petrey is an associate professor of religion and chair of the Religion Department at Kalamazoo College. The editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Petrey’s most recent book is Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism (University of North Carolina Press, 2020).

American society is deeply divided. Our political culture is as fractured and dysfunctional as at any time since the Civil War. Latter-day Saints have not been immune to this polarization, but there have also been voices calling for a return to the “better angels of our nature.” Joining us will be two of those voices speaking out in favor of a distinctively Mormon way of engaging politics. Judge Thomas Griffith is a former federal judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Before becoming a judge on the nation’s second-highest court, he was Senate Legal Counsel and General Counsel for Brigham Young University. Jennifer Walker Thomas is the co-Executive Director for Mormon Women for Ethical Government. She currently serves as an elected member of the town government in Belmont, Massachusetts.

There are some books you read that change the way you see the world. That was my experience reading the amazing recent memoirs by these two scholars and authors, who happen to be uncle and niece. Join us for a conversation about Mormonism, Zen Buddhism, raking, and cancer. Charles Shirō Inouye is Professor of Japanese Literature and Visual Culture at Tufts University and the author of the new memoir Zion Earth Zen Sky (Maxwell Institute, 2021). Melissa Inouye is a historian in the LDS Church History Department and the author of Crossings: A Bald Asian American Latter-day Saint Woman Scholar’s Ventures through Life, Death, Cancer, and Motherhood (Maxwell Institute, 2019).

May 25, 2021, marked the one-year anniversary since the murder of George Floyd, which set off a nationwide wave of protests over policing and continuing racial inequalities in America. In addition to the broader American context, the LDS Church is in the midst of an ongoing reckoning with its own past of racial exclusion. In this episode guests LaShawn Williams, Mauli Bonner, and Paul Reeve will talk about the past, present, and future of race in America and Mormonism, focusing especially on the African American experience.

Since its release in February 2021, Murder among the Mormons has been one of the most popular titles on Netflix. The true crime documentary recounts the story of Mark Hofmann, one of the most infamous forgers in modern history, whose web of lies eventually led to the murders of two innocent people. On this episode of “The Foyer,” host Patrick Mason will be joined by filmmaker Jared Hess, co-director of Murder among the Mormons, and historian Rick Turley, author of Victims: The LDS Church and the Mark Hofmann Case, to talk about the Hofmann forgeries, the documentary, and what it all means for Mormonism then and now.

One of Mormonism’s distinctive teachings is that of a Heavenly Mother, a female divinity who is God the Father’s wife and the mother of all humanity.  Long shrouded in mystery and considered by many a taboo topic, there has been a resurgence in interest in Heavenly Mother in contemporary Mormonism.  Is this just a fad, or are we witnessing the reshaping of Mormon doctrine and culture with a greater emphasis on the inherent divinity and spiritual power of women?  Guests include Fiona Givens, co-author of All Things New and Research Fellow at the Maxwell Institute at Brigham Young University; Bethany Brady Spalding, author of several books including A Girl’s Guide to Heavenly Mother; and Rachel Hunt Steenblik, author of the poetry collection Mother’s Milk: Poems in Search of a Heavenly Mother.

Join us for this exclusive conversation with Brandon Flowers, who is not only lead singer of The Killers, one of the most popular rock bands of the 21st century, but also a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We'll be talking about what it's like to be a world-famous rock star and a Mormon, as well as the religious themes in his lyrics.

Dr. Laurie Maffly-Kipp,and Patrick Mason discuss the strides as well of the challenges of mormonism as it changes into a global religion.

Featuring: Neylan McBaine, CEO of Better Days 2020 and author of Pioneering the Vote: The Untold Story of Suffragists in Utah and the West.Neylan McBaine and Patrick Mason  discuss the journey of the suffrage movement in early Utah. They share insights as to why history played out the way it did and what it could mean for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints today.

Prof. Patrick Mason speaks with Elders Marlin K. Jensen and Steven E. Snow, Emeritus General Authorities and Church Historians, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They cover the different aspects of studying mormon history from with in the church.

Yes, Mormon women were pioneers and polygamist wives.  But how have women shaped the history of Mormonism since polygamy?  Our guest will be Dr. Colleen McDannell, who is the Sterling M. McMurrin Professor of Religious Studies and Professor of History at the University of Utah.  She is the author of several books on American religious history, including the recent book Sister Saints: Mormon Women Since the End of Polygamy.