The Latter-day Saint dietary revelation known as the Word of Wisdom is a well-known tenant of our faith.  It teaches to abstain from alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea.  There is also, however, counsel on animal wildlife. We may think we understand what the Word of Wisdom is teaching here, but perhaps it’s worth a closer look. In this episode, Dr. Andrew Hedges shares his fascinating research contextualizing and applying the terms “fowls of the air” and “wild animals” in the revelatory text.

Publications:

“’A Forbearance of Restraint:’ American Wildlife and the Word of Wisdom,” Mormon Historical Studies, vol. 19, no. 2, 2018.

How do finite minds grasp something infinite, like the Atonement of Jesus Christ? To help, we often use mortal analogies. In Alma 42, Alma utilizes a legalistic model of Atonement to teach his errant son, Corianton. In this episode, Professor Mark Ellison discusses why Alma may have used this approach, explaining it as one among many scriptural models to more richly understand and apply the Atonement of the Lord. 

Publications:

“Beyond Justice: Reading Alma 42 in the Context of Atonement Theories” (Give Ear to My Words: Text and Context of Alma 36-42, RSC/Deseret Book, 2019) 

The Rome Temple Visitor’s Center features a masterful 20-foot-wide by 7-foot-tall stained-glass window that symbolically depicts the life, parables, and miracles of Jesus in one cohesive scene. Three BYU Religion professors acted as scholarly consultants for the project and published a book describing each event the window portrays. In this episode, one of those authors, Dr. Tyler Griffin, gives fascinating insights and applicable lessons from this marvelous art glass window.

Publications:

Come unto Me: Illuminating the Savior's Life, Mission, Parables, and Miracles (Deseret Book, 2019)

Click here to see a high-resolution image of the stained glass window discussed in this episode.

In all dispensations, peace-loving saints have been compelled to go to war. Professor Ken Alford from BYU Religious Education has documented the inspiring stories of many Latter-day Saint service members who have fought in the ongoing war on terror in his book Saints at War: The Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq. These fascinating true stories help show the tender mercies of the Lord upon those saints who fight for freedom, and why their sacrifices deserve our honor, respect, and gratitude.  

Publications:

Saints at War: The Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq (BYU Religious Studies Center/Deseret Book, 2020)

Carthage Jail, where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed, is visited by thousands of people annually as Church missionaries guide them through the building, reviewing the heartrending event. How did the Church acquire this tragic site—and why? In this episode, BYU professor and Nauvoo historian Dr. Scott Esplin shares his fascinating research on this history, discussing why visiting and memorializing sites where tragedy and suffering have occurred, such as Carthage Jail, can lead to understanding and healing.

Publications:

“Dark Tourism: Healing at Historic Carthage Jail” (Journal of Mormon History, vol. 46, no. 1, 2020)

You may or may not be able to visit foundational Church history sites like the Sacred Grove or Nauvoo, but thanks to Professor Craig Ostler and others at BYU you can go on a professionally guided video tour. For the last 20 years Dr. Ostler has worked to produce a series of 100 peer-reviewed videos of Church History locations called Hallowed Ground and Sacred Journeys.  In this episode, get ready to go on an auditory Church history tour as Dr. Ostler gives insights from places like Palmyra, Mendon, Kirtland, Nauvoo, and Salt Lake City.  What he shares helps us understand why there is power in experiencing the spirit of sacred sites.

Creative Publications:

BYU Virtual Tours “Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys”

It’s not uncommon to hear popular narratives that link depression and suicide with the Church.  Are those claims accurate? Dr. Justin Dyer finds the research suggests a different narrative. In this episode, professor Dyer shares his important studies about Latter-day Saint youth suicide, depression, LGBTQ members, and religiosity that can help us act in more informed and compassionate ways.

Publications:

“Depression, Religiosity, and Parenting Styles among Young Latter-Day Saint Adolescents” (Religions, vol. 10, 2019).

“Guest opinion: The church and LGBT youth suicide: Inaccurate claims may do more harm than good” (Deseret News, May 2019)

“Commentary: Did the same-sex marriage policy of the LDS Church coincide with an increase in youth suicide?” (Salt Lake Tribune, September 2018)

“Op-ed: Responding to Ellen on Mormons and teen suicide” (Deseret News, June 2018)

Other links:

Suicide Prevention and Ministering (churchofjesuschrist.org)

Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Although we all come from different backgrounds and situations, we all are coming unto the same Savior.  In this episode, Professor Eric Huntsman discusses insights from his book publication, Becoming the Beloved Disciple, about a purposeful theme in the gospel of John that highlights people in varied circumstances, and what we can learn from each of them about becoming beloved disciples of Christ.  

Publications:

Becoming the Beloved Disciple (Cedar Fort, 2018)

The Lord told Emma Smith to “expound scriptures” by the Spirit, saying this was his “voice unto all.” So how did women of the Church in the 19^th century use the scriptures, in particular the Bible, in their teaching, exhorting, and writing? In this episode, Dr. Amy Easton-Flake discusses her research publications about how early Latter-day Saint women used scripture to understand their divine roles and change their society, and why modern Latter-day Saint women should do the same.

Publications:

“The Bible in the Millennial Star and Woman’s Exponent” (forthcoming in BYU Studies, 2020)

“Merging Mormon Women and Women of Genesis: Hannah Tapfield King's Women of the Scriptures” (Women’s History Review, vol. 27 no. 7, 2018)

“Biblical Women in the Woman’s Exponent: Nineteenth-Century Mormon Women Interpret the Bible” (The Bible in American Life, Oxford 2017)

Joseph Smith’s First Vision is often the first story we tell in the narrative of the Restoration. But that was not always the case. It took about 50 years for the First Vision to become solidified as a foundational story of the Church. In this episode, BYU professor Steven Harper discusses his landmark research publication about how the First Vision was remembered and interpreted by Joseph Smith, and why thoughtfully doing the same today is essential for Latter-day Saints.

Publications:

First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins (Oxford, 2019)

“Remembering the First Vision” (A Reason for Faith, 2016)

“Forming a Collective Memory of the First Vision” (An Eye of Faith, 2015)