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213. Leading Deseret Book — A Conversation With Laurel Day

We’re really excited to share this episode with you. It was with someone we’ve wanted to talk to for a very long time — Deseret Book president Laurel Christensen Day. We knew from afar that she was a trailblazing leader and a thoughtful publisher — and we were not surprised to find that as we got to know her a little bit that she’s a woman of deep faith as well. Uniformly, everyone we have ever spoken with who has had a chance to work with Laurel absolutely loves her. We’ve always been fascinated by Deseret Book — by the unique place it holds in Latter-day Saint culture and the responsibility it has in creating and distributing content that informs, inspires, and even shapes belief. Walking into a Deseret Book and seeing the art and the books and the scripture sets always seems to make us nostalgic for our own upbringings and tradition, even while we’re living it! And Deseret Book is, of course, much more than just a retailer — they’re a major content producer with business lines in books, music, art, and events. And of course, it does all of this as a part of the larger organization of the Church. We thought Laurel’s insights were incredibly perceptive and thoughtful. She shared with us thoughts on what to do when you make a mistake, even as a leader, or perhaps especially as a leader—with openness rather than defensiveness, and with introspection and searching for the truth in criticism. She also shared a little bit about her story, including her journey as a woman navigating her business career—along with some other insights for women and how advocating for yourself could look. And finally, Laurel was kind enough to share some advice for us at Faith Matters.

Deseret-book , Laurel-christensen , Latter-day-saint , Church-of-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints , Mormon , Mormonism , Faith-matters , Prayer ,

The Ruby Franke case has put Mormon 'mommy bloggers' in the spotlight

They’re young, beautiful stay-at-home moms with seemingly flawless families that make perfect social media fodder... but there’s a dark side

Germany , Brigham-young-university , Utah , United-states , South-africa , Salt-lake-city , New-york , South-african , German , Hannah-neeleman , Julie-deru , Ruby-franke

195. Who is the Church for? — A Conversation with Patrick Mason

Nearly everything we do in the Church — from missionary work and ministering efforts to baptisms and temple work — hinges on an underlying question: who is the Church for? Is the project of the Restoration to find and shepherd the elect of God to exaltation in the next life, or is it to create a Zion community here that strives to include those on the margins, the way Jesus ministered? Should it be one or the other? It’s seemed to us that there’s an implicit discourse around this question playing out on social media, in Church meetings, in books and articles, on podcasts — and even in forums like General Conference. And it has significant implications — the answer holds real weight as for we participate in the work of the Restoration, but not just that — what does it say about the nature of God? This past conference, Pres. Dallin H. Oaks declared “the purpose of this restored Church is to prepare God’s children for salvation in the celestial glory and, more particularly, for exaltation in its highest degree.” In theory, that destiny is available to all God’s children. But what about the multitudes of God’s children who may seem to be left behind-–those for whom any quest for exaltation seems buried under conditions like grinding poverty, mental illness, abuse, or other serious obstacles to thriving. Is the restored church for them too? We thought it could be important and helpful to have an explicit conversation around this question that’s often felt more than heard. And, we think we ended up with the perfect conversation partner, and someone we know many of you love and admire as much as we do — Patrick Mason. Patrick helped us walk through some of this tricky territory with his signature blend of love for the Church, enthusiasm about the restoration, and clear-eyed realism about where we are as a community and tradition — and where we could hope to go. Patrick Mason is the Leonard Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University, has been a frequent guest on this show and is long-time friend and advisor to Faith Matters.

Dallinh-oaks , Leonard-arrington , Patrick-mason , Utah-state-university , Leonard-arrington-chair , Mormon-history , Church-of-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints , Mormon , Mormonism , Faith-matters , Latter-day-saint , Prayer

High-ranking Mormon leader M. Russell Ballard dies at age 95

He was second-in-line to lead the faith.

Salt-lake-city , Utah , United-states , Toronto , Ontario , Canada , Joseph-smith , M-russell-ballard , Hyrum-smith , Geraldine-smith-ballard , Tim-ballard , Operation-underground-railroad

190. Romney: A Reckoning — A Conversation with McKay Coppins

We’re very excited about this week's episode. In early 2021, in the wake of January 6th, McKay Coppins contacted Mitt Romney with a bold request: he wanted to write a biography about him. But McKay had stipulations: not only would he have full access to the Senator — he’d also retain full editorial control. To his surprise, Romney agreed, and shortly had given him stacks of journal entries, emails, and texts. They met over 45 times over the coming years for lengthy interviews, and McKay also interviewed many of Romney’s closest friends, family, and colleagues. That unprecedented access has now turned into a book called Romney: A Reckoning , which just debuted at #3 overall on the New York Times Bestsellers list. We hoped that this interview would offer a unique take on this subject, and we spent some real time on questions of integrity, culpability, and faith. McKay brought not only deep insight into the psyche of one of the most fascinating—and in some cases polarizing—political figures of our time, but he also brought really clear-eyed discernment of his own. He helped us work through some other fascinating questions: what does it take to live on the edge of inside, and what does it cost? Is it possible to stave off cynicism while remaining pragmatic about having impact for good? McKay Coppins is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covers politics, religion, and national affairs. He’s a former visiting fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics and has won the Aldo Beckman Award from the White House Correspondents Association for his coverage of the Trump presidency and the Wilbur Award for religion journalism.

New-york , United-states , Chicago , Illinois , Mitt-romney , Mckay-coppins , White-house-correspondents-association , University-of-chicago-institute-politics , New-york-times-bestsellers , Aldo-beckman-award , Wilbur-award , Church-of-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints

189. The Future of Spirituality — A Conversation with Casper ter Kuile

Organized religious communities have seen steep declines in participation in recent decades and the rise of the “nones,” those who have no particular religious affiliation, is a well-rehearsed story. But that story isn’t just about loss and lack. New forms of spiritual life and meaning-making are emerging that seek to fill the universal longings of the human heart: belonging, transformation, and love. Casper ter Kuile has studied this horizon of spiritual frontier for many years. 10 years ago, he and fellow Harvard Divinity School classmate Angie Thurston wrote a report called "How We Gather", which looked at how millennials were seeking spirituality in seemingly secular communities like crossfit, soul-cycle or social justice movements. Since that report, Casper has continued to explore the changing spiritual practices of young people. He started a very beloved podcast called Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, wrote a book called "The Power of Ritual" and has recently launched a new project called The Nearness, which is an online space to explore life’s big questions in small communities. In this conversation, Zach Davis talks with Casper about what he’s learned in his years studying and working on the edge of America’s evolving spiritual landscape.

United-states , America , Harry-potter , Angie-thurston , Zach-davis , Harvard-divinity-school , Sacred-text , Church-of-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints , Mormon , Mormonism , Faith-matters , Latter-day-saint

Mormon church sued again for investing donations from LDS members

Hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for charity were earmarked for the church's $100 billion investment organization, the lawsuit alleges.

Virginia , United-states , California , Salt-lake-city , Utah , Temple-square , Ensign-peak , James-huntsman , David-nielsen , Masen-christensen , Jon-huntsman-jr , John-oaks

Mitt Romney's journaling? That's classic Mormon stuff.

Keeping a diary wasn't just for this political biography, but a religious duty.

Great-salt-lake , Utah , United-states , Russia , Mexico , Washington , White-house , District-of-columbia , Massachusetts , American , Russian , Americans

Mitt Romney's Lonely Exit | The Nation

The former GOP presidential nominee is now a pariah in his own party.

United-states , Utah , Michigan , American , Dianne-feinstein , George-romney , Mckay-coppins , Brigham-young , Jesus-christ , Kent-nishimura-los-angeles , Newt-gingrich , Mitt-romney

183. Sex Educated — A Conversation with Bonnie Young

When therapist Bonnie Young was a teen, the subject of sexuality was for her, “drenched in fear.” And many of us can probably relate. For many Latter-day Saints growing up in a sexually conservative culture and with a strict law of chastity — for all of the goods those things can bring — feelings of anxiety, fear, and shame around sexuality may be more the rule rather than the exception. Bonnie’s on a mission to change that, and we think she’s done really important work to do so with her new book, Sex Educated: Letters from a Latter-day Saint Therapist to Her Younger Self. As the title implies, the book is structured as a series of letters, from Bonnie, to herself at various ages, starting as young as ten. It serves as a really useful retrospective, to get into our own minds at various stages of development, and helped remind us that there are really good, constructive, healthy ways to talk about sexuality to kids of any age. That “talk” — the one that can produce so much anxiety among both kids and parents — is one of the main subjects of our conversation with Bonnie. She also had amazing insights around the difference between lust and arousal, about healthy sexual relationships between committed partners, and how this all fits beautifully into the theology of the Restoration. Bonnie Young is a licensed marriage and family therapist, frequent presenter and podcast guest, and published author of several academic articles and essays on religion and mental health. She is the founder of Azure Counseling, an online mental health clinic focused on treating clients with anxiety, religious OCD scrupulosity, and sexual disorders. Bonnie holds a bachelor’s degree in history with an emphasis in Mormon women’s history and a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, both from Brigham Young University. She’s currently completing her doctoral studies at Utah State University in marriage and family therapy. Her dissertation work explores questions about women’s experience with power dynamics in Latter-day Saint marriages.

Bonnie-young , Utah-state-university , Brigham-young-university , Latter-day-saints , Sex-educated , Latter-day-saint-therapist , Her-younger , Azure-counseling , Brigham-young , Latter-day-saint , Church-of-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints , Mormon