Latter Day Radio, now podcasting from The Intersection of Faith & Freedom.

Podcasting partners Martin Tanner and Greg Jarrard are together once again to discuss a subject that pushes many friends and family members apart: politics, or more specifically politicians. Whether you're Left or Right or smack dab in the middle, when somebody asks the question in jest, "how do you when a politician is lying," you immediately know the answer: "When his lips are moving." Martin and Greg point out that most people agree that "it's the other guy" who is wicked. But, it's not that easy, is it? Martin makes the point that when people of good faith get all the facts without all the spin they are more likely to agree than disagree. They also remind us what Adams, Madison and others said about the Constitution, namely, that it was created for a religious and moral people and is totally unsuited for anyone else. And, that's where it gets messy when politics and religion often become an explosive mixture. Finger pointing isn't the answer – listen and come to your own conclusions.

Somebody once said that when somebody dies who has lived a full time and DOES NOT leave a story behind, it's like a library has burned down. Host Greg Jarrard interviews an old friend, a former partner from years ago, Mark Hurst who shares his stories and poetry with friends, family and new listeners to help him fend off the effects of Parkinson's Disease. Jarrard's new volume, BRING YOUR MEMOIR TO LIFE IN 6 WEEKS, is the impetus to encourage people like Mark Hurst share his thoughts, views and wisdom with others as both a cathartic device for himself and as a wellspring of hope and encouragement for others to keep plugging along despite life's millstones that slow them down. Hurst reads an introduction to his small volume, Milestones & Millstones, and encourages others to share their lives' stories while they still can.

As a vice president of IANDS, International Association of Near-Death Studies, Latter Day Radio co-host Martin Tanner discusses the recent conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah, over Labor Day weekend in September 2022. Among other things, Martin and his co-host GM Jarrard examine the relevance and impact of accounts of people who have "passed on and returned" for people of faith, particularly Latter Day Saints. They recount how in dark and troubling times these stories, often with messages for friends and family members–can offer great hope and pique interest in life after death. Martin and Greg also address the subject of why trials are for our benefit and help people appreciate light when enveloped in darkness. And, they point out how the hope for a better future can give people renewed strength to endure to the end.

In this Latter Day Radio podcast, first broadcast on KLO Radio in Salt Lake City, attorney, author and researcher Jonathan Neville makes the case that the events described in the Book of Mormon took place in North America, primarily the northeastern U.S. states of Ohio, New York and Michigan and the surrounding areas. Neville bases his theory on Oliver Cowdery's "Letter 7" that was published in 1842 to counter claims from enemies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that Joseph Smith "borrowed" content from other sources, such as Solomon Spaulding. His studies led him to conclude that Benjamin Winchester under the direction of William Smith, the youngest brother of Joseph Smith, wrote accounts in the early LDS publication, "The Times and the Seasons," that led many researchers to "go on a snipe hunt" in Central America for clues and evidence to confirm the claims in the Book of Mormon. In Neville's view, statements made by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and other early Church leaders that the final battle between Nephites and Lamanites did indeed take place in the area of the Great Lakes and not in Guatemala nor Mexico. He asserts that his research of both documents and of archaeological sites in and around Ohio confirms his theory. Neville has written several books on the subject that are described on his website, MoronisAmerica.com. GM Jarrard is the host for this podcast that was first heard on KLO in 2018.

The growing phenomenon of near-death experiences has attracted more and more attention in recent years. In August 2022, the annual convention of the International Association of Near-death Studies is taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Latter Day Radio host Martin Tanner has been assisting in its organization. As he explains in this podcast, Martin has been investigating reports of people in all walks of life–including small children–who claim that an illness or accident led to an episode known as an NDE, or near-death event. One of the more well known experts in the subject. pediatrician Dr. Melvin Morse joins Martin and co-host GM Jarrard and recounts his experience caring for a young girl who was found at the bottom of a swimming pool a couple of decades ago. After she described her “meeting with Jesus,” Dr. Morse and his team began investigating her experience and the experiences of many other children. As Morse explains, there is no other explanation that makes sense, except for her girl's story. This podcast adds to other other Latter Day Radio podcast episodes on the subject.

A Long Journey Back to Mongolia: A "No More Strangers" Podcast It's no secret that students who attend Brigham Young University very often leave with more than just a college degree. For many, they leave with a spouse, too. Such was the case for our current guests in this Latter Day Radio podcast episode. Oh, those single wards on campus! The expressed purpose of “single wards” is to take a varied assortment of members of the Church from places with strange-sounding names and pair them up. Think of it as a sock drawer! You just can't leave socks as a loose collection of footwear; your job (if you're the bishop, for example) isn't done until they're all rolled up together. And, sometimes those socks would never have been paired up if they hadn't been dropped into the same drawer! Such is the case of Nadmid Namgur and Mayumi Yamanaka. They are both returned missionaries; Nadmid is a native Mongolian, and he served in San Diego, California, arriving in the mission field hardly speaking English. Mayumi hails from Kobe, Japan, and served her mission in Tokyo. So, when they met, they were forced to use English–their second language–as their primary means of communication. But, they had one thing in common: a commitment to live the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. That was their glue. She joined the Church as an eight-year-old when she and her mother were baptized; Nadmid's conversion came later as a young college student in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, the world's second largest land-locked country sandwiched between Russia and China. Its altitude is about the same as Salt Lake City (4,300 feet) and sits astride the Tuul River with a population of 1.3 million, nearly half of the country's 3 million inhabitants. Nadmid explains that it was the appearance of two young Americans in white shirt and ties, speaking–for them–a very foreign tongue that attracted his attention. His was no quick conversion; as he explains in the podcast, a new green missionary who spoke very little Mongolian made an impression that eventually led him to the waters of baptism and then to his surprise, a call to serve in the California San Diego mission. Opportunities, scholarships and the Hand of the Lord gave Nadmid and Mayumi an opportunity to travel to Mongolia with their two small sons where he, with his newly minted MBA from BYU, was offered a job with Rio Tinto and a chance to serve as branch president in Ulaanbaatar. A few years later, they found themselves back in Utah raising their two sons, David and Daniel, in the Daybreak “settlement” of South Jordan, Utah, in a nice, cozy cottage within walking distance of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. Oh, and a new dog. Currently, Nadmid works in the Temple Department in the Church Office Building in downtown Salt Lake City. They both can be counted on to serve in any calling they are given; he's on the High Council of the South Jordan Eastlake Stake, and Mayumi works in the Relief Society…that is, until July 1st. That's when Elder Nadmid Namgur and Sister Mayumi Yamanaka Namgur and their boys, 14-year-old David and 11-year-old Daniel, will relocate…back to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where “President Namgur” and “Mission Mother Namgur” will preside over this far-flung mission once the province of Genghis Kahn and his Empire. This podcast is the first of many to come in a new category that we're calling “No More Strangers,” patterned after a series of books written a generation ago by Elder Hartman Rector, Jr. We hope you'll like our first one, featuring Nadmid and Mayuni Namgur, leaving soon for the Mongolian Mission. You can learn more about their long journey by pressing the “Play” button on your smart phone or computer. And, in three years, we will are planning on their appearance again on Latter Day Radio. gm jarrard

< Just a block west of the imposing Oquirrh Mountain Temple set against the backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains is a neat little cottage facing a tree-lined park in the Daybreak development of South Jordan, Utah.. On any weekday morning, a cheery young woman can be seen kissing her teenage girls goodbye as they leave for Herriman High School or college. It seems ordinary enough, this cozy setting taken right off the cover of a family magazine. But, the lady of this house wasn't raised in a comfortable suburban American home. She wasn't even raised in a home. Her earliest memories are of the Shkola Internat #3 Orphanage in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she stayed until a decision to take an English class taught by two young college-age American women changed her life. She is a long way from her roots, but that doesn't mean she has forgotten them. In fact, she is busier than ever doing her best to help family, friends and fellow Ukrainians cope with the tragedy that has befallen her beloved homeland. Her name is Yuliya Anatoliivna Pernyatina Aukschun. And how she got from THERE to HERE is the story of this Latter Day Radio podcast. Her bubbly, happy personality is infectious. Maybe that's because her personal experience of remembering where she came from and where she is today gives her context and appreciation for God's blessings in her life. That first life-changing event occurred in 1993 when she jumped at the chance to learn from two young sister missionaries, Sister Jackson and Sister Fairbanks; she recalls that they “were not supposed to preach about their religion,” but that did not stop Yuliya from wanting to hear more of their message; within a week or so, she had taken all the discussions and had entered into the waters of baptism. After that, she experienced a number of life-changing events. She began attending branch activities in Kyiv, including socials, dances and the like. Then, about a year later, an American judge, who had been traveling to Ukraine on and off to help the newly emerging democracy learn about American jurisprudence, had met Yuliya and then inquired at the orphanage about the teen-age convert. He offered to adopt her and take her to the United States; she jumped at the chance, and sometime later, found herself in a suburb of Seattle, Washington, enrolled in high school, walking the halls after her ESL classes with an English-Russian pocket dictionary in her hand. Then, another member offered to pay her tuition to LDS Business College in Salt Lake City. She accepted that offer as well. At the college, she had been befriended by her Religion professor, Linda Aukschun, who told her son, Brad, about the young Ukrainian student, and when Yuliya dropped in to see her teacher, Brad was sitting at his mother's desk working on her computer. Then, Professor Aukschun walked in, and after Yuliya left, Linda Aukschun asked Brad, “Did you get her number?” He shook his head and his mother retrieved Yulija, and unlike the storyline from “Fiddler on the Roof,” this time the parent's desire was realized: 22 years later, the Cinderella story is being played out in South Jordan, Utah. Linda and Yuliya Aukschun have been close ever since, and in fact, a few years ago, they were able to attend a session at the Kviv Temple, this time with Yuliya helping with the translation. The most recent events have also been remarkable, with Brad and Yuliya Aukschun working tirelessly to help her younger sister and a childhood friend from the orphanage escape their war-torn country. With Brad's round-the-clock effort and with the help of Google Translate, they managed to help the two women and their children catch flights to Brussels and find refuge in Belgium. In fact, today (March 28th), Yuliya's friend's six-year-old daughter starts school in Belgium. Yes, amidst all the tragedy of war with millions of refugees seeking safety, miracles still happen…in this case, miracles that began when a girl enrolled an English class in Ukraine.

About This Episode In a previous podcast, “Wokeism and Teaching Kids,” we promised to follow up on our discussion of that subject. We discussed the looming problem, likely growing and wondered out loud where it's headed. The question we try to answer in this podcast is: What are we going to do about it? And who is going to step out and hold themselves up to ridicule? Latter-day Saints recognize that free agency is essential to salvation. And, to be truly free, we must be able to choose between clearly defined opposites. But, when the powers that be prevent people from learning the truth, our spiritual growth is stunted. So, the question is, what are you, as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, going to do about it? Will you simply recite the 12th Article of Faith and simply say “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the Law”? Is being compliant to government–even when it errs–the same as being obedient to God? Consider Christ standing before Pilate; the Savior informs the Roman governor that “to this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth hearth my voice.” In reply, the dumbfounded Pilate–like so many people in power today–asked, “what is truth?” Truth is, indeed, a rare commodity. Prophets before Christ, like Him, paid the price of telling the truth with their lives. Prophets and apostles after Christ met the same fate. But, sharing the truth, if the burden is broadly supported is rarely fatal today, but there is a cost. In this podcast, we put it into historical context, quoting Joseph Smith, John Adams and Winston Churchill. During the darkest days of the Battle of Britain, Churchill exemplified “The Art of Being Fearless and provides an icon to follow for Latter-day Saints who today share the burden of testifying of the truth, and in this case, helping preserve the U.S. Constitution.

We are not the first generation that has wondered if the end times have arrived, that the world has been so corrupted that the only God's intervention can make things right. Think of the 14th-century and the Black Plague, or the Thirty Years War a couple of hundred years later when the center of Europe was embroiled in war. Or a century and a half later when Napoleon marched back and forth across Europe and sounded the death knell to the Holy Roman Empire, followed by French revolution and more blood letting. That's what Charles Dickens wrote about in his classic story of The Tale of Two Cities with these immortal words: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” The difference today, is there is no place to hide. No Great Basin to settle, no place to where we can push a handcart. But, our prophets and apostles have told to make our own homes a refuge, to teach our families the truths of the Gospel, to resist the slings and arrows from the Great and Spacious Building. This Latter Day Radio Podcast focuses on the “secularization of America” as evidenced by institutions from the media to prestigious universities' and school districts' adoption of such ideologies as “Wokeism” and Critical Race Theory. Host GM Jarrard is joined by two guests, Homeschooler Amber Peterson, mother of four who has homeschooled her children for seven years and former CBS executive in New York City, co-founder of the A&E Network and former mission to Ireland.

In September 2018, Latter Day Radio was on the air broadcasting via KLO 1430AM in Salt lake City from the Firm Foundation Expo at the South Valley Exposition Centerin Sandy, Utah. One of the interviews broadcast conducted that day was with Dr. Lynn Ridenhour, a Baptist minister ifrom Independence, Missouri, who, believe it or not, preaches and teaches out of the Book of Mormon. He explains how he was introduced to the book and why he has taken such a nonconformist approach. What is particularly appealing is how he supports the notion that people of faith are coming together, they're converging just as the article last week in the Church News pointed out in January 2022 what the highly popular series, THE CHOSEN, has accomplished in bringing Christians together. Reverend Ridenhour sets a good example for all believers, and that is, not to discount or disparage people of faith or their beliefs because of rumors and tradition. In regards to Christians' commonality of belief, note the scripture in I John 4:2 where it says … 2 “Hereby aknow ye the bSpirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the cflesh is of God.” People of faith ARE converging, as evidenced by the 300+ million views of THE CHOSEN and people like Lynn Ridenhour whose story is shared here.

While millions of Americans were mourning about the chaos in the streets and political insults thrown back and forth in 2020, author of The Invitation to the Shining City, GM Jarrard, had turned to “binge-watching” the new TV series, The Chosen. “While I was engrossed in the series by Dallas Jenkins, I felt real kinship with the people at the time of Christ who were under Roman rule. It occurred to me that we take our freedoms for granted, and that despite the promise of America being the ‘Shining City on the Hill,' our way of life, even our freedoms are in peril. We need to remember what we learned in elementary school when we memorized the Pledge of Allegiance about being ‘one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'” “The Chosen was the catalyst that started my writing The Invitation.” “And, unlike our forebears, like the Pilgrims, the Puritans or the Pioneers, there is no New World to flee to. My book, The Invitation to the Shining City, proposes such an ‘exit strategy.' Using the theme of John Winthrop's speech to his fellow Puritans while en route to New England on the ship Arabella, I cite his vision to establish a place where [we] ‘follow the counsel of Micah, to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. For this end, we must be knit together, in this work, as one man.'” The book poses the question, “If there were a place, as the Puritan founder of Boston first described it, where the people were of one heart, one mind, live in righteousness and lift one another's burdens, what would you be willing to pay to go there?” Chapter One begins in Israel two years after its establishment in 1948 on the beach in Caesarea, right below Herod's aqueduct. Jonathan Blum, a military attaché with the U.S. Embassy and a veteran of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, accepts a strange meeting with a mysterious man named John who has approached him about an intriguing job offer. He is given his invitation. In a surprising turn of events, Jonathan accepts the position, one where he will eventually become the mentor to a young couple, Joey and Dana Kunz. When they finally give in to a request from the husband's 90-year-old grandmother to take her to a place “to rehabilitate in the hot springs at a Grand Hotel and Spa,” their world is turned upside down. They discover that “grandma” does more than rehabilitate, and so does everyone around her. When the couple inquires about the “entrance fee,” they learn that to live there, you have to be invited. To quality for an invitation, they commit to gather others to join them. But, along the way, they encounter opposition in the form of media attacks, charges of embezzlement and even a kidnapping. The real challenge comes from within–to qualify, Joey has to make the same decision that the young prince in the New Testament couldn't make: to sell all that he had and give it to the poor and follow the Savior. The Kunz's story of opportunity and opposition gives renewed hope to readers in a time of chaos where there is no ‘new world' to flee to. In the words of the Prophet Elisha to his apprentice as the young man's eyes were opened and he could see legions of angels round about, “they that be with us are more tha they that be with them.” (2 Kings 6:16) Yes, the book is fiction. But, it reminds people of faith what God has been telling people for generations. As Paul said, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” The 364-page paperback edition is available upon request from bookstores or at Amazon and at www.bn.com. Its suggested retail price is $16.95. The online version is $7.99. Resellers may obtain wholesale copies at Ingram Books. An audio book is in production. For more information, e-mail the author, G.M. Jarrard at gregorio1945@icloud.com

In 2005, the author GM Jarrard published this small memoir in tribute to his father and now is releasing it in segments as an audio book. This podcast includes the first three chapters. A "Jack Mormon," in case you didn't know, was originally a term used derisively by enemies of the Latter-day Saints to mean friends of "The Mormons" who gave them aid and comfort. In fact, one of the original martyrs of the Church was, in fact, a "Jack Mormon" who was beaten and clubbed to death near Nauvoo, Illinois, after pulling out a shotgun to defend Mormons in distress. His name was Ezekial Johnson whose body is buried in the Nauvoo Cemetery. He was, in fact, the third great-grandfather of the author, G.M. Jarrard, and was the father of pioneer songwriter Joel Hills Johnson ("High on a Mountain Top"). This whimsical opening to this small volume reflects on the author's reminiscing of growing up as the son of a "Jack Mormon," Jack E. Jarrard, who later became the Editor of the LDS Church News and traveling editor who followed in the tracks of LDS President Spencer W. Kimball, writing stories and taking photos. Jarrard reminds listeners that welcoming so-called "Inactive Members" and helping them simply make U-turns is the best way to share the Gospel and bring families together.

Retired broadcast executive, entrepreneur and returned mission president in Ireland, Don Gull, shares his insights about the time he spent in China with his wife, Dana, first teaching advanced business courses in economics at Nankai University near Beijing. Later, Don served with his wife in Hong Kong as the executive secretary to the Asia Area presidency. In all, he and Sister Gull spent four years in that fascinating country, the place that Winston Churchill called “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” In this podcast, Brother Gull tells about an experience he had as a mission president at a mission presidents' seminar in London when President Russell M. Nelson, then a fairly new apostle, arrived after flying in from China. In a day and time when China is in the headlines, Don Gull's recounting of his experience is a timely and hopeful message, especially now that a temple was announced in Shanghai at the 2020 General Conference.

In this episode, Latter Day Radio host GM Jarrard welcomes Brian Westover, the trades exhibit manager at the "This Is The Place Heritage Park," for a virtual tour of this historical gem east of Salt Lake City. Situated at the mouth of Emigration Canyon, the park is built around the original monument dedicated here in 1947 at the 100th anniversary of the Mormon pioneers arriving in the valley. Legend has it that Brigham Young arose from a sick bed in the back of an open-air carriage and said, as he viewed the valley below, "this is the right place, move on." And move on he and his fellow pioneers did. Within just a few years, a vibrant pioneer community was thriving in the valley below, after a number of set backs–including an invasion by crickets and rescue by flocks of seagulls. Within a couple of decades, pioneers had spread out from this point all over the Intermountain West. The park is filled with pioneer buildings, some original, some re-created, in an effort to help visitors visualize the lifestyle, the rigors and the trades of the mid 19th-century. Westover's responsibilities include managing the various tradesmen, including a blacksmith shop, a tin shop, wool spinning and even gold panning. A small train takes visitors on a familiarization tour around the village, stopping along the way, including a visit at the actual Brigham Young summer home at the west end. The park is a testament to the courage, self-sufficiency and creativity of the early Saints in the West.

Ancient language and religious history expert Bruce Porter and host GM Jarrard look at the sad trend of members leaving the faith over critics' charges about the origin of the Book of Abraham. They examine what the Book of Mormon predicts about events in the last days and relate them to Elder Holland's 2009 conference address, “Safety for the Soul.” Bruce explains what the word “translation” means as described by the Prophet Joseph Smith, especially as it relates to modern scripture like the Book of Mormon, the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham. And they remind listeners about the importance of “holding to the rod” and especially about reading “the assigned materials.” Brother Porter has traveled and lived in Israel and has graduate degrees from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is an expert in religious history and ancient texts and has taught for years in the Church Education System.

In this podcast, Bruce Porter and GM Jarrard sift through ancient scripture and examine the promises God has made with His children about living in lands of promise, from Israel to the United States. Bruce points out that both the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon are records of fallen peoples…peoples who were given great blessings and promises IF ONLY they would be obedient to God's laws. He explains that covenants are attached like deeds to these special places, much like a mortgage–if you don't pay your mortgage you can't remain on that property. So it was with Israel, and so it is today with us here in the United States of America. Porter and Jarrard then make the case for standing up for righteous principles and defending our Constitutional guarantees if we are to keep this Republic and protect our freedom.

In November of 2018, we broadcast this segment on “the latest on Family Search” on KLO AM1430 and featured Gregg Richardson, the “Experience Manager” for Family Search at the high-tech HQ in Lehi. We admit that in the world of technology, 2018 was a long time ago. Nevertheless, Brother Richardson's enthusiasm and knowledge are infectious, and we are sharing this with you now as another Latter Day Radio “Faith-affirming Podcast.” When you stop and reflect for a moment on that technology and the growth in interest in genealogy and searching for our ancestors, it really is a fulfillment of prophecy. Consider the very unique position that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints occupies when it comes to this movement–and it IS a movement, not just a hobby or avocation. Dozens of other private organizations and corporations, most notably ancestry.com have sprung up since the invention and adoption of the Internet. Every year, RootsTech gathers people from all over the globe; if you've ever attended, you can be blown away by what's happening everywhere. And, the center of it is right here, at the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So, before we take all this progress for granted, remember the words of the Angel Moroni to the young prophet Joseph Smith (this is the entire second section of the Doctrine and Covenants): D&C 2:1 Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of aElijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and bdreadful day of the Lord. 2 And ahe shall plant in the hearts of the children the bpromises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. 3 If it were not so, the whole aearth would be utterly wasted at his coming. This are nearly the exact words of Malachi in the last book of the Old Testament. And in no other church in the Judeo-Christian world had there every been any interest shown in these verses until Joseph heard them uttered by an angelic visitor. And do you think the young 24-year old Joseph Smith knew at that time what the angel meant? Of course not. But, today we know and we are seeing the very fulfillment of prophecy that he received in the upstairs bedroom of a frontier farmhouse in 1823. Without this revealed knowledge and power (temple keys and authority), Christ's coming would be for naught. And, since it's coming sooner than we had thought just a few months ago, it gives us even more to be thankful for, don't you think? It helps put it all into perspective, doesn't it? GM JARRARD

In this podcast, Latter Day Radio host Martin Tanner discusses a recent book with his guest, prolific LDS author Gerald Lund, who wrote the Work and the Glory series and many other fiction and nonfiction books for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Conducted live on the air on KLO AM1430 in 2018, this interview focuses on a question that Lund was asked in a fireside years earlier: “Why doesn't God answer my prayers?” His book examines the question and then provides answers from many different perspectives and sheds light on the many ways that God does, in fact, respond to prayers. In another segment, a successful high-tech LDS business owner, Ryan Williams, tells how he and a missionary companion in Guatemala years ago turned their friendship and a love for the people they taught first into a successful online travel business, and then into a foundation that builds and supplies desks to schools in that central American country. Williams also recounts how his travel business took thousands of members to the Rome Temple since its opening in 2019 while employing young return missionaries in Italy and the surrounding areas.

In the second verse of the Book of Mormon, Nephi claims that he was engraving on gold plates “a record of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.” Ever since this verse appeared in the first verses of the Book of Mormon, critics of the Church, and particularly of Joseph Smith and the book he translated, have been laughing themselves silly. For those with a knowledge of linguistics and who have studied the lifetime work of linguistic scholar Brian Stubbs of Blanding, Utah, aren't laughing so loudly anymore. For three decades Stubbs has been making a comparative analysis of ancient Semitic languages of the Middle East, particularly Egyptian, Aramaic and Hebrew and their relationship to 30 different languages in the Uto-Aztecan language group spoken by Native Americans in the American Southwest, (the U.S. and Mexico) and has discovered some amazing similarities. Specifically, his findings in two books conclude that 40 percent pf the vocabulary of these Native American languages can be attributed to having Semitic roots. By comparison, Yiddish, a Germanic dialect spoken by Ashakanazi Jews in Eastern Europe only contains 15 percent of its vocabulary from Hebrew! In this podcast of Latter Day Radio that was first broadcast on KLO 1430am in Salt Lake City in 2018, Stubbs details his work and concludes that statistically speaking, these American Indian tribes got their language from the Middle East, substantiating Joseph Smith's claim. Listen and you decide.

In the past few years, Primary children haven't been the only ones singing that old favorite, “I Hope They Call Me on a Mission.” Now senior citizens all over the Church have been belting out that tune as they get their affairs in order, undergo pretty rigorous medical exams and find somebody to watch the house, the garden and the dog while they're gone. Soon, they discover the toughest part of all is saying goodbye to grandchildren. Nobody knows that better than Darrell and Ann Hobson, the guests featured here in this next podcast on Latter Day Radio. In 2002, they were called as the president and "mission mother" in the Cape Verde Island mission off the west coast of Africa, a Portuguese-speaking area. President Hobson had served a mission as a young man in Brazil, so that language experience came in handy. Then, they served several in other positions in Africa, including in Mozambique, both as missionaries and as managers of an “NGO” humanitarian service group. Later, they served on a special assignment in Switzerland with BYU's Kennedy Institute for International Affairs. Their stories serve as inspiration for other seniors who hope to be called on a mission.

In this Latter Day Radio podcast, Martin Tanner and GM Jarrard look back at the sweep of Church history from 1844 to 1847 and examine the events that led up to the great western flight of the Saints of the Latter-days to the Great Basin. As we study Church history, the challenge is to walk in the worn-out boots of our pioneer ancestors…to somehow put their challenges, their pain and their triumphs into perspective. It is all too easy to be guilty of the bias of “presentism,” which Webster defines as “an attitude toward the past dominated by present-day attitudes and experiences.” Yet on the other hand, we also can overly romanticize their experiences– sometimes it's difficult to pick which path to follow. But, on occasion, we get a glimpse of how they viewed their situation, as illustrated by this colorful quote from Brigham Young: “We have been thrown like a stone from a sling, and we have lodged in the godly place where He wants His people to gather…If the Lord should say by His revelation this is the spot, the Saints would be satisfied even if it was a barren rock.” To some Europeans and Easterners accustomed to verdant hills, wooded coves and fruited plains, the Great Basin did appear as a barren rock. But, in fulfillment of prophecy, within 10 years or so, the desert had blossomed as a rose. What a trip it would be! Since we don't have a time-traveling Delorean, you'll have to settle for Martin and Greg regaling their childhoods walking across the Plains…or at least pretending that they did. Got a comment or question? Drop us an e-mail at studio@latterdayradio.com. We'll respond.

In this LATTER DAY RADIO Podcast, hosts Martin Tanner and GM Jarrard answer the question “what exactly was the message of the Restoration that should roll forth and fill the Earth?” In regards to the Prophet Joseph Smith's prophecy about the rolling forth of the Gospel that “the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear,” Martin and Greg agree how improbable this statement was given when only relatively few people had heard of Joseph. Today, with 16 million members, it doesn't seem too outlandish, but at the time, it was. Martin Tanner compares Joseph's early predictions about the acceptance of the Gospel to the TV show “The Shark Tank” where youmg entrepreneurs bring their proposals to savvy investors to get start-up cash. Who would have invested in Joseph Smith in 1830? No one (except for his family and Martin Harris)! Even today, when missionaries take the message of the Restoration to all parts of the world, the response is generally, “what needs to be restored?” Or “why?” And often “who cares!” But, the work rolls on. In the podcast, the hosts examine what knowledge had been lost to the world, what scriptures talk about concepts the Christian world knows nothing of…concepts that are now common knowledge in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This episode should be a good topic of conversation in family discussions when a family member or even friends asks, what was lost and was restored. Your feedback is appreciated–our e-mail address is studio@latterdayradio.com. Photo: Elder Frickey and Elder Cloward of the Germany Frankfurt Mission talk to pedestrians in the old city of Mainz, Germany, in 2015.

If recent events have you worrying about the future, let's not forget the challenges of the past. And, let's remember the hard-scrabble lives of our ancestors who passed through them. Consider the trials, persecution, wars and illness that our forefathers experienced since the Church was organized. In a podcast we have posted here on this website, we recounted the trials that Wilford Woodruff passed through until his death in 1898; even the day before his death, he wrote in his daily journal. How precious are his words to his posterity and to us at this present time. In this podcast today, guests Mark and Kay Hancock, publisher and author respectively, share their thoughts about journal writing, memoirs and personal histories and give us some helps and hints on writing our own. In 1999 in General Conference, Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander of the Seventy spoke of the value of family records than can “bridge the generations:” “Families collect furniture, books, porcelain, and other valuable things, then pass them on to their posterity. Such beautiful keepsakes remind us of loved ones now gone and turn our minds to loved ones unborn. They form a bridge between family past and family future. “Every family has other, more valuable, keepsakes. These include genealogies, family stories, historical accounts, and traditions. These eternal keepsakes also form a bridge between past and future and bind generations together in ways that no other keepsake can. “I would like to share a few thoughts about family history, bridges, and eternal keepsakes. Family history builds bridges between the generations of our families, builds bridges to activity in the Church, and builds bridges to the temple.” Mark Hancock is the owner of a publishing company, Family Heritage Publishers, that specializes in publishing and binding digital, on-demand personal histories; Kay Hancock is the author of a highly successful romance novel, “Dancing on Broken Glass,” that has been published in multiple languages around the world. Listen and be encouraged: you too can publish your own family's story! (The photo shown here is of my great-grandfather William Richard Wiseman and his grandson, Joe Garland, my father's first cousin; Grandpa Wiseman walks across the Plains in 1853 at the age of four; he was born in London, England)

What, exactly, is religious freedom? Depends on whom you ask. So, I Googled it, and guess what the first site was that popped up at the top? Not surprisingly, based on the secular-materialist political bent at Google, it was oilá… “the Foundation for Freedom FROM Religion.” How about that?! That topic, Freedom of Religion vs. Freedom FROM Religion is the subject of this podcast from Latter Day Radio featuring the host, Martin Tanner, and myself, GM Jarrard co-host and producer. Given how easily government just took over and shut everything down over a so-called “pandemic,” it is easy to see how quickly political correctness (AKA wearing a mask in public not just to stop the disease, but too often as “virtue signaling”) can take over an entire country. The point is, WE CANNOT TAKE OUR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR GRANTED. Here is what the Heritage Foundation has to say: “Religious freedom is more than the “freedom to worship” at a synagogue, church, or mosque. It means people shouldn't have to go against their core values and beliefs in order to conform to culture or government. “Religious freedom protects people's right to live, speak, and act according to their beliefs peacefully and publicly. It protects their ability to be themselves at work, in class, and at social activities. “Ok, that sounds good, but does such “freedom” allow people to do whatever they want under the cover of religion? “Well, that answer is no. The Supreme Court has said the federal government may limit religious freedom – but only when it has a “compelling interest” to do so in order to protect the common good and limit people's ability to harm others. “Here's how that applies to the most common allegation in religious freedom cases today – charges of discrimination. “Should florists, photographers and bakers be forced to provide their services for same-sex weddings and celebrations that violate their religious beliefs? “Well, let's flip the question. Should a lesbian graphic designer or printer be forced to create a flyer for a religious group's rally opposing same-marriage? “In both cases, the answer should be no.” And, that's the best reason for supporting conservative candidates for public office: to make sure we have courts, particularly the Supreme Court, filled with as many justices as possible that follow the rule of law as defined by the Constitution. Otherwise, this “temporary” practice of worshiping at home may become permanent if the secularists who preach freedom FROM religion get their way. GM JARRARD

In October 2018, Latter Day Radio had as its guest Michelle Schmidt, mother of several children and the wife of the Piano Guy's pianist, Jon Schmidt. Her husband's career was skyrocketing, life was good–they had missionaries out serving and then tragedy struck. On October 19, 2016, Michelle Schmidt's plane landed in Oregon, where she was meeting her daughter, Annie, for a camping trip. But Annie didn't show up at the airport to pick up her mother as planned. Thus began a season of searching and coming up short, of miracles and frustrations, of love poured out and faith tested, until Annie's body was finally discovered more than three weeks later in the Columbia River Gorge, where she had fallen while hiking. As Annie's mother opens her heart to tell her story, her husband's story (Jon Schmidt of The Piano Guys), and Annie's story, she writes: "It is my hope that my journey of being tutored by God to trust Him more—not only through the loss of Annie but through some of my most vulnerable and personal past experiences—will be the means of bringing strength and hope to anyone suffering at this time.” Her book “Carried” tells of how despite tragedy, trust in the Lord and His Redeeming can heal wounds and remind a family of the eternal blessings that come from letting Christ carry your burden.

In a day when so many people seem so disconnected–rootless, even–searching for your family's identity is more important than ever. Church leaders from the very beginning until now have taught that family history not only has power to do something for the dead, but it also has power to bless the living. President Boyd K. Packer said, “Family history . . . has a refining, spiritualizing, tempering influence on those who are engaged in it” (“Your Family History: Getting Started,” Ensign, Aug. 2003, 17). “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” —Marcus Garvey Imagine stepping back into the young Joseph Smith's shoes when he first heard Moroni's words quoting Malachi: Do you think he had even a clue as to what the angel meant? We do today, with hundreds of temples dotting the earth, with even more underway in places no one would have ever expected: Dubai? Shanghai?! Amazing, isn't it? Just as the Prophet Joseph Smith predicted, the work is rolling forth. And only the Latter-day Saints have the keys and the privilege to do vicarious work for their “family tree.” Roots and branches. That's the essence of the Restoration. Thank goodness for all the tools now at our disposal, thanks in large part to new technology and innovation by the Church to link families together. In this podcast, Latter Day Radio has a new guest, Jason Harrison, from the Church Genealogy Library in Salt Lake City to share his knowledge of the latest developments available to us to link the past with the present. Listen and learn!

For two years, Elder Phil and Sister Doreen Lear had one of the best senior missionary assignments in the Church: From November 2016 to 2018, they were assigned to collect, preserve and then set up local Church history centers in the Europe West area and lived north of Frankfurt, Germany in a small village, Bad Homburg, near the Frankfurt Temple. They worked in 38 countries, collecting stories, photos, documents and artifacts from all over. They were also assigned to help local stakes and missions to set up records preservation centers in those countries. Latter Day Radio host and producer, GM Jarrard (far right, with his wife, Christie), and Elder Lear (with his wife, Doreen) were companions in the West German Mission (Frankfurt) in 1965 and 1966; the photo shown here was taken in 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland, when the Lear's visited the area on assignment while the Jarrards were serving a short-term mission with BYU's Kennedy Institute of International Relations at the United Nations. This podcast combines several episodes that the Lears recorded in the KLO studios in Salt Lake City in November, 2018, right after their return; this is the second history podcast they recorded on KLO–an earlier segment is available here as well. Their report covers some pertinent historical events in Central Europe over a 100-year period of time until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a universalist denomination? For years, members and leaders alike have warned each other about death-bed repentance…that “easy” grace is not really that easy. We've all read in the Book of Mormon about “holding to the rod” and enduring to the end. Lehi lamented that his sons Laman and Lemuel would not partake of the fruit at the tree of salvation and were lost. So, why are we even asking the question, are Mormons universalists? (Sorry about the “M” word!) Well, don't scold us too fast. In this episode, Martin Tanner and GM Jarrard look at this question from two directions: From the direction of Justice and the direction of Mercy, and both make sense when you consider holy writ and the teachings of apostles and prophet, ancient and modern. In examining the parable of the laborers in Matthew 20, many members can become confused; the emphasis has always been on REPENTANCE, not CHEAP SALVATION, which we often accuse our evangelical friends of. But, here in this podcast, the hosts remind us that “we are saved after all we can do.” Too often, we assume that we get 98 percent of the way on our own and Christ makes up the difference. This over-emphasis on self-reliance is not only hypocritical, it's just flat wrong. Let us know if you agree. Maybe that's one reason President Nelson has emphasized that the name of the Lord's Church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints–the emphasis is on Jesus Christ. Listen and you decide: Is the Church of Jesus Christ a universalist church (with lower-case “U”)? Tell us what you think. (By the way, the photo in the image is from the intersection of four Protestant churches on the Main Street in Palmyra, New York!)

Where did we get the Pearl of Great Price? You could view it as a “recipe” book, a collection of some of your favorite spiritual meals combined into one volume. The Church website explains that “…the first collection of materials carrying the title Pearl of Great Price was made in 1851 by Elder Franklin D. Richards, then a member of the Council of the Twelve and president of the British Mission. Its purpose was to make more readily accessible some important articles that had had limited circulation in the time of Joseph Smith. As Church membership increased throughout Europe and America, there was a need to make these items available. The Pearl of Great Price received wide use and subsequently became a standard work of the Church by action of the First Presidency and the general conference in Salt Lake City on October 10, 1880.” While critics of the Church find problems with the whole book (that's their problem), the Book of Abraham itself has been singled out for scrutiny by people who either don't understand how it came about or ignore what experts have explained. This segment on Latter Day Radio features PhD Egyptologist John Gee, professor of ancient scripture at BYU, who answers the questions that many members has. His book, “An Introduction to the Book of Abraham.” is available wherever LDS books are sold. This episode is hosted by GM Jarrard and was originally broadcast on KLO Radio in Salt Lake City in August of 2018.

As members of the Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when we speak of a Promised Land, we can mean many things, many places…many LANDS of Promise. In this podcast, Book of Mormon researcher and author Rod Meldrum explores the meaning of this phrase through the lens of the scriptures. Years ago, Elder Jeffrey Holland touched upon the same subject in an address. He noted that a promised land is the “most sacred of places, then, will always be those locations which God has designated for holy and eternal purposes, locations where he is the ‘doer of the deed.' These places are revered forever by his faithful children wherever they may be. “America is such a place, but of course it wasn't always called America nor has it always been identified by a distinctive continental shape. Originally it was simply a portion of that large, single land mass which God in his creative process called “Earth” and which, when completed, was pronounced “good.” (Gen. 1:10.) Whatever its name and geographical configuration, however, it was from the beginning a land of divinity as well as a land of destiny.” Meldrum reminds us that God has set aside Lands of Promise throughout the ages in all our books of scripture, our “Standard Works.” And to the Prophet Joseph Smith was revealed the hidden knowledge that in the beginning of time–in Adam's day–and now in the Last Days, it's the very same Promised Land–the United States of America. In this podcast, Rod takes us step-by-step through history and makes the case that what the Lord said about this land to Adam, the Jaredites and the Nephites ALSO applies to us in these days, namely, that when we are righteous and keep the covenants associated with this Promised Land, we will prosper. Otherwise, as Rod described, we will get the “broom treatment”—we'll be swept off! Timely information presented right here on Latter Day Radio. Enjoy!

In the past few years, there have been two major theories proposed about where the actual events in the Book of Mormon took place. Filmmaker Kieth Merrill gave one important bit of advice to any Book of Mormon “geography hobbyist” about suggesting their theory is the official position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When Merrill was reviewing productions about a new major film on the appearance of Jesus Christ in the New World, President James E. Faust took him aside and directed him not to portray or use any recognizable location to imply that the Church endorses any location over another. President Faust simply said: “We do not know.” Merrill got the message. Today, two different groups occupy the stage and take turns pitching their theories: one group at Brigham Young University is convinced that it's somewhere in southern Mexico or Meso-America, a theory that was first proposed about the turn of the 20th-century by scholars in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; their group, Book of Mormon Central, backs this theory. The second theory, the one that proponents at Book of Mormon Evidence say was what Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Brigham Young. Parley P. Pratt and other early brethren supported, is that it took place in the upper midwest and northeastern states of the United States, specifically, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and as far west as Iowa. While there are new publications and studies being released by this group, Book of Mormon Evidence, about new archaeological and geographic findings. this podcasts focuses on what the Prophet Joseph said about the “western Indians” to whom early missionaries were sent, particularly to the tribes in the upper midwest. Latter Day Radio's guest in this podcast, Rod Meldrum, focuses on those events and passages in the Book of Mormon that support his “Heartland” or “Hopewell” theory. Co-author Bruce Porter, along with Rod Meldrum, suggest in their book “Prophecies ad Promises, the Book of Mormon and the United States of America” that, instead of just reading specific passages in the Book of Mormon that deal with just geography, it is better to establish a “hierarchy of multiple witnesses that are unambiguous, clear and unassailable” rather than trying to make a few passages fit a preconceived idea for a romantic notion of where the key events in the Book of Mormon took place. They point to first, what Book of Mormon prophecies and promises testify of in relation to the Promised Land and the people associated with it; second, they consider the inspired and revealed statements by the Prophet Joseph Smith associated with specific locations (like comments he made on the Zion's March, such as the reference to Zelph's grave); third, look at physical, “real world” evidence such as correlating civilizations in the correct time frame (600 BC to 400 AD), archaeological findings with the text, cultural lifestyles, genetic relationships and linguistic ties; and, fourth, they point to passages contained within the Book of Mormon that are locatable geographical indicators. Meldrum and his allies emphasize that no one knows for sure where the final events in the Book of Mormon took place, but they insist that there is one Hill Cumorah and that the final Nephite “extinction” battle took place near that hill around 400 A.D. But, they also admit that after that period–a very, very long time ago—that the descendants of that awful battle spread all over the western hemisphere taking their stories, their oral histories and the legends with them, likely as far away as South America. Now, you can decide if the “Heartland” model holds any merit. Latter Day Radio, like the Church itself, takes no official position, except this one: The Book of Mormon is exactly what it proposes: Another testament for Jesus Christ published for our day.

Who are God's covenant people? By reading the Old and New Testament, one could come to the quick conclusion that it's the Jews, members of the tribe of Judah and upon closer inspection, all of Jacob's sons… all 12 twelve tribes of Israel. Then, after reading Genesis in the Old Testament, you'd have to admit that it was all of Abraham's posterity–even more “covenant people” in the Middle East and around the world. But, then you've got modern scripture–the rest of the standard works as defined by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And, when you read Jacob in the Book of Mormon and the allegory of the olive orchard, you have to open the door for everybody who makes a covenant. Covenant people? They're the ones who've made covenants–and more specifically–honor them. In this podcast, Israeli tour guide, Daniel Rona, compares two different groups who call themselves “a covenant people,” Mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and Jews. Specifically, he examines holidays and traditions common to Jews, but unfamiliar to “Mormons” and draws some very interesting holidays. Most members of the Church of Jesus Christ understand that Easter and the Jewish Passover are celebrated together–for good reason. But, other Jewish holidays are not as familiar to us. As the only member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (along with his son) who is licensed as a tour guide in Israel, Daniel is uniquely qualified to talk about Jewish traditions, culture and religious practices. What's more, he was born a Jew in the Holy Land (at the time, it was called Palestine), converted to the LDS faith, served a mission to Germany as a young man and is now a U.S. citizen. He wears lots of hats! And, as he describes Jewish holy days, he explains why Christ was crucified on a Thursday, not on Friday, which explains the three days between the crucifixion and the resurrection. The three segments that were originally broadcast on KLO Radio in Salt Lake City in November, 2018, have now been combined into one 40-minute podcast by Latter Day Radio. Prepared to be enlightened!

If you're looking for an example in journal writing–someone to model your record-keeping life after–then this podcast on Wilford Woodruff is right up your alley. If it weren't for this fourth president of the Church, much of the 19th-century history of the Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be missing. As he confesses in his journal, he was not only compelled, but inspired to write down all of the pertinent information of his life from the day he joined the Church in 1833 until his death as its president in San Francisco in 1898. He stated that every time he heard the Prophet Joseph Smith speak, he would be able to write down nearly a perfect facsimile of his message, even days afterwards. But, once he had put pen to paper, it would be gone from his mind. After he died, his family discovered boxes of journals in his attic, totaling more than1,900 pages worth. And when they were typeset and printed, the totaled more than 5,400 pages! In this podcast, Martin Tanner and GM Jarrard covered the highlights of his life using a condensed version of his many volumes published as “Waiting for World's End: The Diaries of Wilford Woodruff.” The author is no apologist for the Church, and likes to portray Pres. Woodruff as a man of odd contradictions, “…The same man who consulted scientific texts for the cultivation of fruit trees for his personal garden was equally known for his apocalyptic vision on a Navajo mesa in Arizona in 1880. The man who balanced his ledger with penny-accuracy modeled buckskin temple robes to friends on his birthday and accepted from Brigham Young, as a birthday gift, one of Young's daughters as a wife.” Nevertheless, those with eyes to see and with a testimony to put what he said and did into a spiritual context, it is easy to see why President Woodruff, like all the early Saints who went through so much trials, hardship and persecution would want the Lord to come sooner, rather than later. Members today remember him as the great missionary to the British Isles and the man who had to seek the Lord's will regarding plural marriage and the survival of the Church and then released the Manifesto. He had 34 children with several wives, some of whom died or left him; 21 of his children–more than half–died before he did. He was hiding from federal authorities at the time of the dedication of the St. George Temple; his vision of the signers of the Constitution who visited him and asked for their work to be done is well known throughout the Church. These are just facts. To really appreciate his trials, failures and successes, you have to read his own words–maybe not all 5,400 pages–and feel his pain, like when he recorded the entry of the death of his three-year-old daughter that he learned about in a letter while serving a mission in England. That's just an example. To get to know Wilford better, listening to this Latter Day Radio podcast is a good start to appreciate the life and times of this rugged pioneer.

When Latter Day Radio was on the air in 2018 on KLO AM1430, we used the phrase “broadcasting from the intersection of faith and freedom.” It wasn't just a slogan–it was our attempt to label our point of view that even though religion and politics generally don't mix well together–sort of like fuel oil and fertilizer that tend to blow up–our intention was clear: namely, that faith and and freedom are inextricably linked. You can't have one without the other. As Benjamin Franklin explained to one woman when he exited Independence Hall in Philadelphia, who asked him what kind of government the Founders had created, he answered, “a Republic–if you can keep it.” Its foundation, the founders explained, rested on the faith and obedience to God's laws by its citizens. When the wicked rule, the people mourn–and the corollary: when the people govern themselves and are wicked, it's like mixing fuel oil and fertilizer… it's a bad combination just waiting for a spark. And, lately, there have been lots of sparks. The incessant, obsessive-compulsive effort by the Left away from the rule of law and its unwillingness to accept the results of the 2016 election are more than a political stalemate–they're a Cold Civil War, where the forces of secular materialism are being arrayed against traditional Christian values from things like the Right to Life to religious expression. And their bully pulpit is a cudgel called “identity politics.” In discussing "Identity Politics" – a sacred cause for today's Democratic Party – the magazine Whistleblower explains that it ‘is reshaping American life, law, politics, culture and virtually every major institution. Yet most people have little or no idea what it really is – or how dangerous.” Though the term has changed meanings over the years, "identity politics" today has morphed into something so perverse and destructive as to literally promote hatred, conflict and mental illness on the individual level, and on a societal level widespread mistrust, tribalization and ultimate disintegration of the greatest nation in history.” And, it has eroded the rule of law as demonstrated by the Obama holdovers and their attempt to remove a duly elected President by weaponing the CIA, the FBI and even the Justice Department. In the upcoming podcast, the hosts Martin Tanner and Greg Jarrard, and their guest Dr. Kristine Frederickson, don't discuss these current subjects in detail, rather their conversation focuses on the erosion of the rule of law. And, it's probably more of a problem today (in the spring of 2020) than it was then. Listen and you decide. To share your thoughts, go to www.latterdayradio.com.

Where is the promised land? The Jews, the Muslims and most Christians believe that a small strip of land bordering the southeast shore of the Mediterranean Sea is where Jehovah sent Abraham and his seed to the land of their inheritance. And, they're not wrong. But members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Book of Mormon in one hand and the Doctrine and Covenants on the other have learned that the Middle East isn't the ONLY Promised Land. Modern scripture and modern prophets have declared that the Americas are the inheritance for the children of Joseph, and most particularly North America and specifically the United States of America, for it was here that the Lord took a hand in its founding, in the writing of the inspired Constitution and gave aid to the Founding Fathers in their gaining independence. The following podcast was recorded in July 2018 with Hannah Stoddard of the Joseph Smith Foundation who details the divine direction that the Founding Fathers of the United States received in the earliest days of this Republic. For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it should be remarkable and faith-affirming how the Lord cleared the path for the Restoration of the Church in the only place on earth where a literate people enjoyed the freedom to worship according to the dictates of their own consciences and then choose a new path to salvation. This podcast was taken from a broadcast on KLO AM1430 and is the first of more to come on Latter Day Radio. To make comments or pose questions, go to www.latterdayradio.com.

If we take a hard look at the titles of the two main parts of the bible, we will realize that the OLD and the NEW testaments testify of the same thing: They testify that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, that there was a Creation, a Fall and an Atonement, and that Jesus is the Christ. That's why today, the Book of Mormon bears the subtitle: ANOTHER TESTAMENT OF JESUS CHRIST. Each testament serves a similar, but different purpose. How does the mission of the New Testament differ from its predecessor and its successors? Mainly, it describes in detail of the mortal mission of the Only Begotten of the Father, the carpenter from Nazareth, the one whom we recognize from comparisons with Old Testament scripture and from modern revelation as the God of the Old Testament, the Lord Jehovah himself. Christians, by definition, accept the New Testament on face value. But, how did we get it? Who assembled and edited it? Was it put together under divine direction? And how reliable is it? Those are just some of the discussions you'll hear in the first segment of our podcasts on the New Testament, which really three combined episodes that were first broadcast on KLO AM1430 in 2018 with Martin Tanner leading the discussion. More follow, but this is the first. Hope you like it! Comments? Share them on the website at www.latterdayradio.com.

Every four years, members of the Church dust off their copies of the Old Testament, move their marker ribbon-bookmarks from somewhere in the back of their “quads” to the front and prepare to listen, ready and study books from Genesis to Malachi. Why? What makes the Old Testament germane to the 21st-century? What could we possibly have in common with Noah's contemporaries? Oh THAT! You mean Imminent destruction of the wicked? Maybe not a global flood, just a worldwide contagion, sexual slavery, wicked people in high places, drones raining down death from the sky, and generally, mocking people, in large and spacious buildings pointing their fingers at you? O.Ok. Now it makes more sense, doesn't it? Patterns repeat themselves. And as George Santayana said, if we don't learn from history, we're destined to repeat it. That, was after all, the message of the Book of Mormon, and it's the sad but true story we in the books we read in the Old Testament. Ask yourself this question: Why did the Lord command Lehi and his family to go back and obtain the brass plates from Laban? And what were the brass plates? The Old Testament down through Isaiah. Remember that the Mulekites did not have access to their scriptures, and as a result, they lost not only their language, but also a knowledge of the law and the prophets. So, we study the Old Testament. And, at Latter Day Radio, we discuss WHY this ancient book of scripture is so important, so civilizing and a key to understanding the New Testament and the modern scriptures that follow. All of our standard works focus on the three “pillars of eternity”— The Creation, the Fall and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. THEY ALL POINT THERE! In the first three segments on the Old Testament (now joined together as one 38-minute podcast) that were originally broadcast on KLO AM1430 in 2018, Martin Tanner and GM Jarrard examine the reasons WHY the Old Testament is so important and a key to understanding the rest of the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So listen. And share your feedback with us at www.latterdayradio.com.

Holding on to history and studying it allows people to learn from those who have gone ahead. As George Santayana said, if we don't study history, we are likely to repeat it. That, of course, was a key reason we have the Book of Mormon…that we may be wiser than the peoples of the book were. We not only have to learn from our forebears' folly, but also from their faith and faithfulness so we can appreciate what they gave us. The Saints have always been concerned with keeping records. President Spencer W. Kimball wrote, “From time immemorial the Lord has counseled us to be a record-keeping people. Abraham had a book of remembrance, and Adam had one.”[1] Today the Saints continue to keep records. How tragic it would be to lose our records. Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander said, “A life that is not documented is a life that within a generation or two will largely be lost to memory. What a tragedy this can be in the history of a family.”[2] Likewise, the document of a life that is lost or damaged is also a tragedy. The following series of podcasts is a faith-affirming “homecoming” talk from a pair of senior missionaries, Elder Phil and Sister Doreen Lear, who in the fall of 2018 returned from the Frankfurt area where they had served for two years as archival missionaries collecting stories, artifacts and documents from throughout the 38 countries that constituted the Europe area. They have some very faith-affirming stories–we're sure you'll enjoy them. LATTER DAY RADIO

The enigmatic Job, the long-suffering figure in the Old Testament, posed this eternal question, one that every person, sooner or later, asks: “If a man die, shall he live again?” Most people would like to think so; the scriptures give us evidence of that. Then, every once in awhile, we meet someone who confirms it because of an illness or accident. They experience what is officially dubbed a “Near-Death Experience” or “NDE.” Later Day Radio host Martin Tanner summed it up with this clever anecdote: “Everybody would like an NDE; they're just not dying to have one!” In our second episode about NDE's, Martin introduces us to not one, but two persons who actually shared the same experience, but from two different perspectives: accident victim Jeff Olson and his emergency room physician, Dr. Jeffrey O'Driscoll. More than 20 years ago, Jeff Olson was driving back to Salt Lake when he apparently fell asleep momentarily while driving 75 miles an hour on I-15 and rolled his car; his wife was killed instantly along with his infant son; he and his other surviving son were life-flighted to a Salt Lake City hospital where he found himself walking around its halls–disembodied–while Dr. Driscoll and the rest of the emergency team tried to bring him back. Dr. Driscoll testifies that he witnessed the appearance of Mrs. Olson in the trauma room, encouraging the team's efforts while Jeff Olson witnessed the events in great detail over a long period of time. This second episode on near-death experiences is an inspirational story you won't want to miss! For more details on this and other Latter Day Radio podcasts, visit latterdayradio.com.

Maybe it is better to be lucky than good. At least that was the case for my broadcasting partner Martin Tanner and me in June 2018. We broadcast our first episode of Latter Day Radio on Friday, June 1st, and then as we planned out our program fare for the rest of the month, we realized that we had a red-letter day on Friday the 8th. It dawned on us that that was to be the 40th anniversary of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' announcement that men of African descent would no longer be banned from holding the Priesthood. In our first segments, we spoke with people who were on the scene in 1978 when the revelation on the Priesthood rocked the membership of the Church. And, in the second segments, Martin Tanner gave a detailed account of how the policy of withholding the Priesthood from black men came about and why it was not a revealed doctrine, but rather a policy that was changed. And in the final segments, you will now hear of the marvelous experiences of a senior missionary couple, Farrell and Marilyn Barlow, who have to date served four missions in Africa. Their heart-warming stories of working with the members and the missionaries will move you. In fact, we have shared some of their photos here on this website. Finally, neighbor and friend Don Gull tells about his experience in New York City as an executive at CBS and his dealings with people of African descent before the 1978 revelation and what happened when people back east heard the announcement. Do you have experiences or comments you'd like to share? If so, please share them here by sending us an e-mail at studio@latterdayradio.com.

As we look at the events that led up to the momentous revelation that allowed black men in the Church to receive the Priesthood, let's go back to the mid 1970's. The Church was undergoing growing pressure to do something about its policy–note that I use the word “policy,” not doctrine–regarding race and full fellowship in the Church. Ever since the mid 19th-century, men of African descent were not ordained to the Priesthood. That also meant that the blessings of the temple were not only withheld from them, but also from their spouses. And, this was despite the fact that early black Saints had received the Priesthood and were able to participate fully in everything the Church had to offer. A number of black men had ordained priests and elders, and even held Church office and served missions. But, had there been a specific revelation or doctrine that spelled out that position? In the next segments of this series, Martin Tanner gives a very detailed description of early black Saints who, in fact, DID receive the Priesthood. And, points out that most other Christian churches were of the same opinion in the 19th-century. In fact, he surmises that the reason Brigham Young did not continue with the practice was to deflect criticism from the Church and forestall any additional persecution; it was after all, well known that the Church was anti-slavery and that had been a tenet of Joseph Smith's 1844 platform in his pursuit of the presidency of the United States. And, Martin points out that it took a REVELATION to change a POLICY, since the practice had been so entrenched in Church practice and culture. That all changed for the better in 1978 and led to incredible growth in the Church since then, especially in Africa.

Our initial podcasts offering “evidence” or “witnesses” focus on the arguments for “intelligent design,” namely, that when you find a watch in the forest, somewhere there must be a watchmaker. Watches do not assemble themselves, and as two of our guests, Dr. John West and Dr. Ann Gauger, explain, even life at its simplest is infinitely more complex than a watch. Our guests from the Discovery Institute in Seattle construct an increasingly compelling case that things as complex as an animal–vertebrate, invertebrate, complex or simple–cannot simply arise from itself alone through the process of natural selection. Complexity cannot arise from simplicity. Perpetual motion machines are impossible in physics–the science of biology is just as strict. In this last segment, cellular biologist Dr. Ann Gauger explores the wonderful work accomplished by a tiny machine inside of our cells called kinesin. Kinesin has an odd shape — two long legs, two feet, and a stalk-like body — that is eminently suited for its work. When it receives a package to carry, it attaches itself to one of the many microtubule highways of the cell and begins to stride, one foot over the other, dragging its cargo behind it and looking for all the world like a little stick man walking down a road with a great big bundle on his back. Kinesin is the UPS delivery man of the cell — a molecular motor that can muscle its way through the jostling tangle of the cytoplasm, dragging its cargo with it. Because of its amazing tenacity kinesin is rarely dislodged, placing one foot securely after the other; by working in teams it is able to transport cellular objects as large as mitochondria. When it encounters an obstacle it can't get around, kinesin will first recruit more kinesin motors to help. Failing that, it partners with another motor traveling in the opposite direction. They rock back and forth taking turns pulling in opposite directions, like a driver caught in a snow drift, until finally they dislodge their cargo. Then the original kinesin resumes travel in its old direction. How do the proteins and organelles get from where they are made to where they are used? And how do things that need to be recycled return to the cell body? It's by means of kinesin (for outward bound travel) and another motor protein called dynein (for inward bound travel). Remarkably, dynein and kinesin cooperate, rather than compete—otherwise there would be a constant tug of war in the cell. They “know” where packages are meant to go, and which motor protein should do the job. How does kinesin know which package to carry and what road to take? Apparently there are labels that kinesin recognizes, saying “Carry me!” but no one knows what the map is or how kinesin reads it. The big question is, could such a tiny little intra-cellular UPS man like kinesin create itself? Could the chaos of the natural world accidentally create such a thing with such abilities? The rational answer is NO. And the only possible explanation, that there was an Intelligent Designer with remarkable capabilities.

I have often thought of the saying, “He who has eyes to see, let him see,” when it comes to spiritual insight. Things that seem obvious to me are not to others, and I wonder why. Think of Nephi's brothers, Laman and Lemuel, who, after having been reprimanded by an angel, complained that God “maketh no such thing known unto us.” Then, there are contemporary atheists like Richard Dawkins, or anti-religious skeptics like political commentator Bill Mahr or comedian Ricky Gervais, even the Book of Mormon's own Korihor, all who make a living by hurling snarky comments at people of faith. Where do you start with such people? What do you say to them? Maybe this collection of can help provide some answers. And, perhaps a moment of reflection staring into the night sky, a quiet walk through a meadow covered with wild flowers or a visit to a maternity would also be good places to begin. Consider Moses 6:63: “And behold, all things have their alikeness, and all things are created and made to bbear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.” Or read this snippet from Alma 30: (verse 44) “… and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.” And, finally, Doctrine & Covenants 88:45-47: “45 The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God. 46 Unto what shall I liken these kingdoms, that ye may understand? 47 Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power. So, look up! In this second installment of LATTER DAY RADIO PODCASTS, hosts Martin Tanner and GM Jarrard are joined by Dr. John West, vice president of the Discovery Institute in Seattle, Washington, whose organization funds research by scientists from many disciplines to examine what living organisms tell us about their possible origins. One key point is easy to recognize once researchers take a close look at the DNA building blocks of all living things: they look remarkably like computer code, except far more complex and intricate. The closer one examines, the more evidence stacks up: chaos cannot create such order. Somebody or something designed it. The Discovery Institute has published materials and produced videos and podcasts making their case. Here on Latter Day Radio we have summarized some key points to give you a taste of it. Once you get a bite, you'll want more. To learn more, go to www.discovery.org. And, to learn more about other Latter Day Radio podcasts, visit www.latterdayradio.com.

In late 2018, Latter Day Radio host Martin Tanner and GM Jarrard broadcast several segments on intelligent design and Darwinian evolution on KLO AM1430. Now these discussions have been re-edited and are now available online. In the podcast episodes under the banner of “EVIDENCES & WITNESSES,” they present some powerful arguments for a “designer, creator or supreme intelligence”— whatever name you choose to use—that has a hand in our creation and an interest in our day-to-day lives. The producers surmise that once a person admits that there is evidence for a creator, for life after death or purpose in life, the next questions may very well be: “Who is this entity or person, how can I get to know him or her,” and “What does it–or He or She–require of me?” Once a person reaches this point, then serious inquiry can begin…like a 14-year-old finding a secluded spot in a grove of trees to go also he can go and ask for himself. The initial podcasts offering “evidence” or “witnesses” focus on the arguments for “intelligent design,” namely, that when you find a watch in the forest, somewhere there must be a watchmaker. Watches do not assemble themselves, and as two of the guests, Dr. John West and Dr. Ann Gauger, explain, even life at its simplest is infinitely more complex than a watch. Guests from the Discovery Institute in Seattle make no mention of a God–they do not assume what or who he or she may be. Instead, they construct an increasingly compelling case that things as complex as an animal–vertebrate, invertebrate, complex or simple–cannot simply arise from itself alone through the process of natural selection. Complexity cannot arise from simplicity. Perpetual motion machines are impossible in physics–the science of biology is just as strict. The hosts and guests then examine how evolution and "scientism" have been blended into public policy, particularly as part of a secular materialistic world view. And yet, people in high places regularly declare things like “science is my savior.” Publications like Britain's Telegraph newspaper declare, “The Future of Science: We Will Have the Power of the Gods.” Or, “Only science can save us from climate catastrophe” and “Forget faith–only science can save us.” And once they have claimed for themselves the moral high ground, they sneer and show their contempt for people of faith with comments like “Science flies us to the moon, religion flies us into buildings.” (Physicist Victor Stenger) More than a generation ago, write and moral philosopher C.S. Lewis decried this viewpoint and dismantled it in his book “The Magician's Twin.” Science, he said, is now a religion unto itself and called it “scientism,” something indistinguishable from magic and possessing the same medieval qualities. He predicted that “The new oligarchy must increasingly rely on the advice of scientists till in the end the politicians merely become the scientists' puppets.” These present a real danger for religious and political freedom. He explained that there are “very dangerous and malignant consequences when we deify science. pointing to Nazism and Communism and their devotion to “scientific socialism.” The so-called racial science of eugenics in Nazi Germany, for example, had its roots in “barbaric and scientific ideas, abuses of the scientific method, abuses of scientific terminology and faith.” More episodes will also be downloaded. For more information, visit www.latterdayradio.com. or send an e-mail to studio@latterdayradio.com.

June 8th, 2018 was the 40th anniversary of the historic announcement by the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that its long-standing and controversial stand that men of African descent could not hold its priesthood was changed forever–in an instant. On that anniversary, a three-hour discussion on the statement that Church leaders had received a revelation that "all worthy male members of the Church regardless of race or color" could now be ordained was broadcast on Latter Day Radio, an LDS radio talk show on KLO AM1430. This podcast is an edited version of that broadcast. First, you'll hear from members who heard about the announcement while living in the Deep South at the time; then, two former Church News reporters and editors tell how they were as surprised as anyone else about the announcement. Geri Avant, who later became the Church News editor, and Jon Hart, a staff writer, explain how they fielded questions from all over the world. Then, they relate a heart-warming meeting with President Kimball in December of that year (1978) who explained how he was determined to learn of the Lord's will–once and for all–about the question at hand. This first episode is followed by two additional segments that will give a historical basis for the policy and then why it was changed. The last segment will address the effect this revelation has on the Church's growth today in Africa and elsewhere.

In 2018, author, publisher and college professor Dr. Randall Chase was a guest on the LDS talk show, Latter Day Radio, hosted by GM Jarrard. A prolific author, Dr. Chase is well known among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for his popular “Making Precious Things Plain: A Book of Mormon Study Guide." In this podcast, Dr. Chase discusses three books in three episodes (that we have combined into one 40-minute podcast). They are “Apocalypse: The Great Day of the Lord for the Righteous,” “Establishing Zion: Preparing the Earth for the Return of Jesus Christ,” and “Making Isaiah Plain: An Old Testament Guide for the Book of Isaiah.” As he explains in our first segment, most people have negative opinions of the word “apocalypse,” but they shouldn't have—if they're righteous, according to Dr. Chase. Just saying the word brings to mind the idea of mass destruction. Many think of a fiery end to life on earth or of zombies shuffling ominously through the streets. Focusing on the negative makes it an unpleasant subject. Contrary to these ideas, this book on the Apocalypse focuses on the great blessings that the righteous will receive when the Lord comes—a great and glorious day with no fear of the destruction that will simultaneously come down upon the heads of the wicked. He continues in the second segment where he describes the concept of Zion; in the third part, he helps us understand the importance of studying Isaiah. Dr. Chase's interview and the review of his books are examples of the discussions we have had with LDS authors since Latter Day Radio went on the air (on KLO 1430am in Salt Lake City) in 2018. Another author we will be featuring in an upcoming episode is Michelle Schmidt, the mother of Annie Schmidt who was killed in a hiking accident in 2016. Michelle's husband is Jon Schmidt, the pianist of the Piano Guys; their search for their daughter, by all accounts, ended in tragedy when Annie's body was found at the bottom of a cliff in Oregon. But, in her book, “Carried,” Michelle describes how the Lord's atonement carried her through that grief and gave her even greater faith in Christ's plan for his children. Another author, Bruce Van Orden, released his book, “We'll Sing and We'll Shout: The Life and Times of W.W. Phelps,” in 2018. His podcast and review of the life of this remarkable early author, printer and figure in the Restoration is also posted here … as another of Latter Day Radio's “Faith-affirming Podcasts.” For details, refer to Latter Day Radio's website at www.latterdayradio.com, or send an e-mail to studio@latterdayradio.com.

In this comprehensive biography, author and historian Bruce Van Orden tells the story early Latter-day Saint leader, printer, scribe, ghostwriter, and monumental hymn writer, WW Phelps. Phelps printed the Book of Commandments and other early standard works. In fact, it was his print shop that was destroyed by the Missouri mob that eventually led to the expulsion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from that state. He was one of the "council of presidents" that guided the Church in Kirtland and helped publish the newspaper in Nauvoo. As political clerk, he assisted Joseph Smith in his roles as mayor of Nauvoo and contender for the U.S. presidency. Phelps also played a key role in the Council of Fifty. He went west with the Saints, helped propose the "State of Deseret," and published prose and poetry in the Deseret News and his Deseret Almanac. Phelp's strong feelings sometimes put him at odds with Church leaders, and he was excommunicated three times, rejoining each time. In the end, he showed the importance of endurance and earned the love and respect of the Prophet and others, then and now. This interview with Van Orden originally took place on KLO AM1430 in Salt Lake City in 2018 as one of hundreds of episodes of Latter Day Radio. Now, the broadcast has been edited as a podcast, one of dozens soon to be available online, at Apple Music, Spotify and other distributors. For more information about all the podcasts produced by Latter Day Radio, go to www.latterdayradio.com; for inquiries, send requests via e-mail to studio@latterdayradio.com

Paul writes in I Corinthians, “As in Adam all men die, so in Christ shall all men made alive.” (I Corinthians 15:22) That, of course, is the great promise that all Christians–and others–long for: that death is not oblivion, that we shall live again, and more importantly, be reunited with those we love. As we have discussed in our segments on intelligent design, there are many people, particularly secular humanists who scoff at such an idea and smirk, finger waving and reminding us how naive we are, that wishful thinking cannot make it so, that we better just grow up and face the facts: dead is dead. Then, every once in awhile, they or a loved one come very close to “passing to the other side” and then come back…from somewhere. In these segments that we are now posting as podcasts, Martin Tanner and GM Jarrard are joined with people who have had such experiences, or at least witnessed others who have. We're not offering these as convincing arguments that this church or that church is true: rather, we are offering these stories as evidence that not everything that's reality can be seen with our natural eyes or heard or felt. Like our podcasts on intelligent design, these segments offer an opportunity for listeners to open their minds and hearts so that they can find hope. And from hope, faith can grow as we ask the question: If there is life after death, if there is evidence of an “intelligent designer, how can I learn more? How can I find out who this designer is? And, finally, what does this Being require of me?” The first guest on the initial segment is a friend of Martin Tanner; his name is Dr. Melvin Morse, and he is well known for his studies and observations, as a pediatrician, of children who have been clinically dead and then report remarkable experiences that they had while “out of their bodies.” As he explains in his first segment, the little girl whom he called “Crystal” reported things to him while the medical team was trying to revive her that she could not have possibly seen. And, he says, she recalled them in amazing detail. From that first experience, he and his team at Seattle's Children's hospital began a longevity study of children whom had been revived and went back and interviewed them. From this experience, he has earned himself an international reputation as an expert on the subject and has appeared on many national talks shows with personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and others. Originally broadcast on KLO AM1430 in November, 2018, these episodes offer a glimmer of light for people who need hope...hope that can lead to faith. For more information, visit www.latterdayradio.com or send an e-mail to studio@latterdayradio.com.