In just over a week after the release of this podcast episode, millions of Latter-day Saints from around the world will gather in person or …
506 –507: What Do Latter-day Saints Consider Authoritative?: Wrestling with Scripture, Prophetic Utterance, Personal Conscience, and an Expanding and Changing Canon
At this moment, with the 2018 October General Conference just weeks away, many Latter-day Saints are—consciously and unconsciously—going through in their minds and hearts how …
502: The New Push to Use the Church’s Official Name: An “Impression” Becomes an “Official Statement”— But What about “Implementation”?
On 16 August 2018, the Newsroom website for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released an official statement that set off a significant …
475: “Revelation” and “The Will of the Lord”: Changing Rhetoric and Its Effects in Today’s Mormonism
The April 2018 General Conference confirmed a trend that some have noticed in recent years that, as they speak about various policies, practices, and teachings, …
467–468: The Work of Peace in Mormonism and the Religious World: An Interview with Charles Randall Paul
Many long-time Mormon Matters listeners will recognize the name Charles Randall Paul, (or, as host Dan Wotherspoon calls him 90 percent of the time, “Randy” Paul). He …
465 –466: Deeper Readings of Misunderstood and Under-Appreciated Scriptures
Very few of us give deep consideration to the nature of scripture and how it should be read and understood. We grow up (or come …
433–435: Revelation
Mormonism hangs its hat, so to speak, on the reality of revelation. It claims that God the Father and Jesus Christ visited a teenage boy …
403–406: Revelations of Joseph Smith and Others: A Naturalistic Hypothesis
In her very important new book, Revelatory Events: Three Case Studies of the Emergence of New Spiritual Paths, historian and religion scholar Ann Taves offers a naturalistic framing for …
213–214: The Book of Abraham as Scripture
For many struggling Latter-day Saints, a pivotal moment in their transitioning faith comes when they are confronted with the mismatch between traditional teachings about the …
131–132: The Word of Wisdom
The Word of Wisdom has been in the news again, triggered by a claim about caffeine made on a network news show, which led to …
117–118: Truth in Revelation and Scripture
What does it mean to still claim that scripture is “true” or “inspired” when we fully recognize that much of it is fictional (parable, allegory, …