On the third crossover episode between ‘Mormon Land’ and ‘Mormons in Media, ’ Rebbie and Nicole are joined by Meg Walter, host of the ‘Hive Mind’ podcast. After watching the ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ reunion, the three talk about the heaviness of it. Nicole asks the question: If faith is so important to these girls, why stay in the LDS Church where they don’t follow the rules versus choosing a different denomination? We also talk about the “Mormon Hacks” Nick Viall brought up.
Jul 06, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 47
On Sept. 28, 2017, The Salt Lake Tribune premiered a new podcast, “Mormon Land,” and its first guest was Tom Christofferson, a prominent LGBTQ+ member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a brother of apostle D. Todd Christofferson. Deseret Book had just published Tom’s memoir, “ That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Faith and Family .” As hosts, we were definitely neophytes, but the power of Tom’s narrative and his openness carried the moment. Now, as “Mormon Land”...
Jul 02, 2025•33 min•Ep. 46
Stassi D. Cramm did not spend her childhood fantasizing about becoming the first female prophet-president in the Community of Christ’s 165-year history. Indeed, Cramm did not originally plan for a life of ministry in the church, which, like the much-larger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , traces its origins to Joseph Smith . But sometimes, Cramm says, God has other plans for you. Earlier this month, Cramm was ordained to the highest office in the Community of Christ after nearly a q...
Jun 25, 2025•35 min•Ep. 45
To many liberal members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, apostle Hugh B. Brown was an ecclesiastical icon, a fierce warrior for social justice and a passionate proponent of ending the faith’s former temple/priesthood exclusion of Black members. Still, Brown was not without his critics, including some strong opponents among the church’s highest leadership ranks. As a member of the governing First Presidency from 1961 to 1970, for example, Brown wrangled with future church Presi...
Jun 18, 2025•57 min•Ep. 44
Critics often say that there is no place in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for LGBTQ+ members. After all, they rightly point out, the faith’s policy is that having same-sex attraction is not a sin but acting on it is. That can put those who are in a same-sex marriage or advocating for it in a tough position. It also has led to self-loathing among LGBTQ+ members and serious conflicts with those who believe everyone has a right to love whomever they choose. In 2012, members of the...
Jun 11, 2025•32 min•Ep. 43
In 2012, scholar John Turner published an award-winning biography of Brigham Young , a mountain of a man in Western Americana. But there remained a bigger fish to pursue, namely Joseph Smith, the “white whale” of Mormon history, the religious icon who gave birth to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Turner’s voyage is now complete and the resulting book, “ Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet ,” is available this month. Infused with the latest scholarship, the vol...
Jun 04, 2025•45 min•Ep. 42
In the second monthly bonus episode brought to you by a collaboration of “Mormon Land” and “Mormons in Media,” Latter-day Saint Rebbie Brassfield and non-Latter-day Saint Nicole Weaver recap season two of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” From discussing maternity garments and Gen-Z Latter-day Saints bringing back cross necklaces, the pair talks about all the things you may have been wondering. You might even learn the Young Women Theme.
Jun 01, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 41
It took more than three decades for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to grow its membership in Kenya from a handful in the late 1980s to more than 21,000 today. These days, though, the number of conversions is rising more rapidly in this East African country. Kenya now even has its first Latter-day Saint temple . Such expansion brings with it challenges brought by having young lay leaders, adapting to cultural practices like “bride prices,” a kind of dowry, and finding new meeting...
May 28, 2025•32 min•Ep. 40
As the world held its collective breath for white smoke at the Vatican to signal the selection of a new Catholic pope , some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were smugly thinking how straightforward their faith‘s succession process is. No guessing. No politicking. No top candidates. The senior apostle simply moves up a seat. Some wonder, though, what’s wrong with mystery and surprise ? Is an election in this context necessarily devoid of the Holy Spirit? Couldn’t God ma...
May 21, 2025•34 min•Ep. 39
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are more prone to perfectionism . That was the assumption, at least, that Justin Dyer , professor of religious education at church-owned Brigham Young University, was used to hearing. Then the statistician, along with a few colleagues, started digging into the data. What they found was more complicated than the common wisdom that church membership, with its lofty eternal aim of helping followers to become like God, leads its members to h...
May 14, 2025•45 min•Ep. 38
In 1981, then-apostle Ezra Taft Benson rose to the pulpit during a General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and told women: “You were elected by God to be wives and mothers in Zion. Exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom is predicated on faithfulness to that calling. Since the beginning, a woman’s first and most important role has been ushering into mortality spirit sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven.” Even when another eventual church president, apostle Gordon ...
May 07, 2025•47 min•Ep. 37
In the first monthly bonus episode brought to you by a collaboration of “Mormon Land” and “Mormons in Media,” Latter-day Saint Rebbie Brassfield and non-Latter-day Saint Nicole Weaver talk about season one of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” and what they’re expecting, and hoping to see, from season two. Rebbie is surprised to learn that Nicole knows about the Celestial Kingdom and even more surprised to learn she heard about it on TV.
May 04, 2025•53 min•Ep. 36
Taylor Frankie Paul. Litia Garr. Shari Franke. Andy Reid. Lisa Barlow. Hannah Neeleman. What do all these people have in common? For our online friends, the answer is obvious: All are Latter-day Saints. Maybe you’ve heard of them. Maybe not. But these are just some of the names representing and defining, albeit unofficially, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for millions around the world. Put simply, they matter. So do the Mormon-themed Netflix miniseries and Hulu tell-alls that st...
Apr 30, 2025•38 min•Ep. 35
While the racist priesthood/temple ban in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is indeed in the past, racism itself remains very much in the present — for the faith and for society as a whole. In fact, the Utah-based church recently published a new webpage addressing the topic, reminding members that President Russell Nelson directed them to “lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice” and his top counselor, Dallin Oaks , urged Latter-day Saints to “help root out” the s...
Apr 23, 2025•31 min•Ep. 34
As a proselytizing faith with a committed corps of volunteer missionaries, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is forever driven to boost its ranks and broaden its reach. It did so last year at a level not seen in decades. Convert baptisms topped 308,000 in 2024, a 27-year high, and pushed total membership above 17.5 million. The army of missionaries shot past 74,000, a number not seen since 10 years ago after leaders lowered the age minimum for full-time service. And the tally of mi...
Apr 16, 2025•32 min•Ep. 33
When news broke last fall that redesigned temple garments — including a sleeveless version — were already on sale in some foreign countries, it became a hot topic among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Would the sacred underclothes, which are expected to be worn under daily clothing, be visible under tank tops? Would the new slip or half-slip allow women to wear their own underwear? Would they be accepted by other members or seen as caving to modern fashion? Perhaps th...
Apr 09, 2025•33 min•Ep. 32
In the mid-1970s, a tiny group of Latter-day Saint women in Boston launched a modest effort to discuss women’s issues — past and present — in a magazine they called Exponent II (named after the newspaper of their Mormon foremothers, Woman’s Exponent ). These modern feminists did not challenge the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on, say, polygamy , priesthood or other doctrines. They focused primarily on the challenges of motherhood, marriage and material culture. The...
Apr 02, 2025•36 min•Ep. 31
As practicing Latter-day Saints with nuanced faith, Valerie and Nathan Hamaker wanted to help fellow believers grappling with a “faith crisis” or how they have been “wounded” by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So, in 2022, Valerie, a mental health counselor in Kansas City, Missouri, and Nathan launched a podcast, called “ Latter Day Struggles ,” to address some of their issues and find peace. Their podcast drew wide appeal, but it also came to the attention of their local Latter...
Mar 26, 2025•45 min•Ep. 30
A new report by the Pew Research Center, the Religious Landscape Study , has given members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plenty to pat themselves on the back about. According to the survey of 37,000 U.S. adults, including 565 self-identified Latter-day Saints, active members of the Utah-based faith are some of Christianity’s workhorses, showing up for church each Sunday and finding time in between services to pray, read scriptures and teach their children about their faith —...
Mar 19, 2025•38 min•Ep. 29
Pornography — broadly defined as sexually explicit images — has become a sort-of wallpaper of modern lives. It is everywhere: in our books, movies, computers, video games, social media posts, music and phones. For many years, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint warned members that porn was “dangerous,” “evil” and “damnable. ” They taught that viewing porn was a sin. In the past decade, though, the church has suggested that repeated porn watching is an addiction , like alcoh...
Mar 12, 2025•29 min•Ep. 28
Joseph Fielding Smith’s family tree alone makes him a significant player in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His father, Joseph F. Smith, was the faith’s sixth president. His grandfather was Hyrum Smith, who was slain with his great-uncle, church founder Joseph Smith. His son-in-law, in fact, was apostle Bruce R. McConkie, a theological kindred spirit. Joseph Fielding Smith served as an apostle for 60 years, church historian for 49 and as the church’s 10th presiden...
Mar 05, 2025•46 min•Ep. 27
Certainly not for the first time, the United States has become a hotbed of hot takes and even hotter debates over men’s roles in the home and society. Fueling this fiery crisis of masculinity is, of course, social media, podcasts and other online forums. Enter the “manosphere,” a conservative- and Christian-leaning media ecosystem aimed at male empowerment. On this week’s show, Amy Chapman , a faculty member at Arizona State University’s teachers college, and Levi Sands , a graduate student in s...
Feb 26, 2025•40 min•Ep. 26
When Brigham Young University teams play on the road, they, like any visiting opponent, expect to encounter their share of jeers from the home crowd. But what happens when the razzing turns raunchy and the boos give way to bigotry? That occurs all too often at Cougar games. Obscene choruses, often emanating from opposing student sections, break out, mocking BYU’s sponsoring religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and members of that faith. Why have Latter-day Saints and their ...
Feb 19, 2025•35 min•Ep. 25
Since America’s founding, Christianity has been a “load-bearing wall” of democracy, but in recent decades it has given up that role — and that, argues writer and scholar Jonathan Rauch , has led to the country’s current crisis. In his latest book, “Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain With Democracy ,” the self-described gay, Jewish atheist critiques secular Americans who think Christianity should be abandoned and Christian Americans who blame secular culture for their grievances. He sh...
Feb 12, 2025•32 min•Ep. 24
As a candidate, he promised “mass deportations” of undocumented immigrants. And now, as president, he is setting the wheels in motion in an effort to do just that. While President Donald Trump’s next move — and that of immigration enforcement agents — is uncertain, this much is sure: The country is on edge — so much so that the governing First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expressed concern about the “complex challenges and hardships now faced by members who are u...
Feb 05, 2025•41 min•Ep. 23
In 2017, Laurie Lee Hall publicly shared her remarkable journey as a transgender Latter-day Saint. It took her through joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving a two-year mission, marrying and having children, being called as a bishop and stake president, and becoming head architect for the faith’s sacred temples. Transitioning to her “authentic self,” she said, caused her to lose her job, her marriage and her church membership. Yet, she is more at peace with herself than...
Jan 29, 2025•35 min•Ep. 22
Tithing has long been seen by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a test, a trial, if you will, of faith. Well, now the practice of donating a tenth of one’s income is essentially on trial — in the courts. Nine plaintiffs are suing the global church, accusing Latter-day Saint leaders of soliciting and amassing these donations by the billions to support the faith’s religious and charitable purposes and instead spending money on commercial ventures, including the construc...
Jan 22, 2025•26 min•Ep. 21
Note to listeners • This episode contains spoilers for “American Primeval.” It’s bleak. It’s bloody. It’s barbaric. It’s also the No. 1 TV show on Netflix. But what millions of viewers may misunderstand about “ American Primeval ” is that it is fictional. While the six-part series is centered around real places, a few real events and some real people — ranging from the Utah War and the Mountain Meadows Massacre to mountain man Jim Bridger and pioneer-prophet Brigham Young, the show is not a docu...
Jan 15, 2025•40 min•Ep. 20
Brigham Young University has a “unique and compelling faith-based mission to develop disciples of Jesus Christ,” says school spokesperson Carri Jenkins. To that end, the school has long required students and faculty to hold a “ temple recommend ,” which attests to belief and behavior standards set out by BYU’s owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Under the leadership of the church’s commissioner of education, Clark Gilbert, the school has added extra layers of rules, meant to ...
Jan 08, 2025•38 min•Ep. 19
While Russell Nelson, the 100-year-old leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is, by his own admission, slowing a bit, the pace of news in the global faith he oversees is hardly letting up. The headlines from 2024 prove it. Temples top the list. The centenarian prophet-president dedicated the church’s 200th temple and has now announced more than half of its 367 planned or existing temples. The Utah-based faith also bought the church’s first temple — the historic edifice in Ki...
Dec 31, 2024•50 min•Ep. 18