Podcast appearances and mentions of faith matters

In this episode, we expand on ideas presented by Nate Oman during a discussion on Faith Matters and trace the complicated, evolving history of Mormon sealings from Joseph Smith through the 20th century.Today, “eternal families” are often presented as the central purpose of temple sealings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But historically, the story is much messier.In this conversation, we explore how early sealings were not originally centered on the modern concept of nuclear families being together forever. Instead, sealing theology developed gradually during the Nauvoo period and often functioned as a way to create dynastic networks, priesthood connections, and systems of authority –what some critics compare to an MLM-style hierarchy of spiritual relationships. We discuss the evolution of sealing theology from Joseph Smith to Brigham Young, baptisms for the dead and the trauma surrounding Alvin Smith's death, the rise of dynastic sealings and the “Law of Adoption” where men were sealed to other men. We also discuss the relationship between sealings and plural marriage, how the sealing language changed over time, why Joseph Smith never initially sealed himself to Emma, the story of Jane Manning James and how she was “attached” to Joseph Smith instead of sealed. We also discuss the racial restrictions for Black Mormons, questions of informed consent, authority, and prophetic consistency, and whether the modern LDS concept of “forever families” would have been recognizable to Joseph Smith himself. We also examine how doctrines once treated as essential and eternal –including the Law of Adoption –were later abandoned entirely, raising larger questions about revelation, institutional change, and the development of Mormon theology. Whether you're believing, questioning, post-Mormon, or simply interested in religious history, this episode offers a deep dive into one of the most controversial and misunderstood developments in Mormon history.___________________YouTubeAt Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

This week, wards across the United States will be having a really unique 5th Sunday discussion centered on the Constitution, moral agency, and peace-building. So today, we wanted to reshare a conversation that originally aired in 2021.In this episode, Faith Matters co-founder Bill Turnbull joins Judge Thomas Griffith, an expert in constitutional law, to explore the Constitution and the rapid erosion of goodwill and trust in American politics, including among Latter-day Saints. Judge Griffith sees the possibility of a serious crisis and believes that Latter-day Saints can and must play a critical role in healing today's divides.We've also compiled lots of additional resources that we hope will help as you prepare for this special Sunday lesson—you can find those on our website (faithmatters.org), and you can always find links to dig deeper into each episode in our free weekly newsletter. Thanks so much as always for listening, and we hope you enjoy the episode.Join us on July 11 for the Wayfare festival! RSVP here.

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Fr. Hathaway reflects on Pope Leo XIV's recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas ("Magnificent Humanity"), on Artificial Intelligence. Click here to read/download it.  He also shares that the the parish will pray a Novena to the Sacred Heart after all the Masses on June 3-11 in union with the U.S. Bishops' consecration of the nation to Jesus' Most Sacred Heart on June 11.  Click here to learn more. He also invites all to pray for vocations during a Holy Hour that will also include praise-and-worship music in the Basilica on Friday, June 5, starting at 7 p.m. We will be joined by the National Eucharistic Pilgrims as they stop here during their cross-country pilgrimage with the Blessed Sacrament. Click here for more information.   

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Fr. Hathaway reflects on what a blessing the descent of the Holy Spirit was on Pentecost Sunday and how the Holy Spirit can guide families with wisdom, courage, and hope today. Here is the prayer to the Holy Spirit that he recites at the beginning of the episode:  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. "O Holy Spirit, Soul of my soul, I worship and adore You. Enlighten, guide, strengthen and console me. Tell me what I must to do and command me to do it. I promise to be submissive to all that You permit to happen to me, but only let me know Your will." Amen. He also invites all to sign up to participate in the 2nd annual Run with Haste 5K walk/run through Old Town on the morning of May 30th. Click here to register and find out more. He also shares information about two Masses that are being held on Memorial Day. Click here to find out more. 

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Fr. Hathaway shares about the importance of the Feast of the Ascension, which the Church celebrates on Sunday, May 17.  He also invites all parishioners to attend a special Feast of the Ascension Concert tonight May 14th, in the Basilica at 7 p.m. Click here to reserve your seats and to find out more. He also mentions the recent clergy changes. More information about that can be found here. Also, his 35th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood is on Monday, May 18. Click here for more information on that. 

Happy Mother's Day! In this special message from Neighborhood Church, Pastor Mark celebrates women of faith by taking us through the powerful stories of Hannah and Mary. From Hannah's desperate prayer at the tabernacle to Mary's courageous "yes" to God — these women changed the course of history not through perfection, but through faith. Whether you're a mother, a daughter, or simply someone who's been shaped by a woman of faith, this message is for you. Your faith matters — not just for today, but for generations to come. Be encouraged!#MothersDay #WomenOfFaith #HannahAndMary #GenerationalFaith #NeighborhoodChurch #MothersDaySermon #Luke1 #1Samuel #ChristianFaith #FaithMatters

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Fr. Hathaway shares about how to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary and how to grow in relationship with her during the month of May, which is dedicated to Our Lady. He also invites all parishioners to attend a special Feast of the Ascension Concert on Thursday, May 14th, in the Basilica at 7 p.m. Click here to reserve your seats and to find out more. Also, don't forget to honor your mother, grandmother, or godmother through our Mother's Day Novena of Masses by clicking here. 

Hey everyone, this is Aubrey from Faith Matters. Today's episode is a personal one for me—and probably for many of you—especially if you've ever found yourself deferring to someone else's inspiration, or noticing a tendency to believe that someone else's knowing is more trustworthy than your own.Our guest, Deidre Nicole Green, is a professor at Graduate Theological Union and a theologian and scholar whose work explores gender, faith, and the Christian life. The starting place for this discussion was Deidre's just-released Wayfare Magazine article called "Envying Hannah".At the center of the conversation is a concept called epistemic confidence—a trust in our capacity to receive and recognize truth for ourselves. And while this shows up differently for each of us, research suggests it doesn't fall evenly. Women, in particular, are often more likely to feel that their knowing needs to be confirmed or mediated by someone with more authority before it really counts.Deidre helps us see how quickly this gets complicated, especially at church—where the line between agency and people-pleasing can blur without us even realizing it. She invites us to ask harder questions: when does deference begin to erode our connection to the divine? When are we silencing something sacred within ourselves?And maybe most importantly, what becomes possible when we show up differently—when we act with courage, claim our spiritual authority and sacred agency, and allow ourselves to be fully seen and known… even if it means risking being wrong?You can read Deidre's piece, "Envying Hannah: Risking Respectability for Spiritual Fidelity" in Issue 7 of Wayfare or online at WayfareMagazine.org now, and you can get a sneak peek inside the issue (including two more essays!) here. You can also read "Finding Truth Together: Epistemic Humility in the Book of Jacob," an excerpt from Deidre's book "Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction" on WayfareMagazine.org. You can find all these links and more in our weekly newsletter at faithmatters.org. A subscription to Wayfare makes an incredible Mother's Day gift! Get a look inside Wayfare Issue 7 here, and subscribe for 20% off here to receive Issue 7 now and Issue 8 in the fall. 

In this episode, Dr. Finlayson-Fife joins Tim and Aubrey Chaves of the Faith Matters podcast to explore the powerful ideas at the heart of That We Might Have Joy. We are re-airing this popular episode to bring attention to Dr. Finlayson-Fife's book discussion and signing in Boston on April 23rd.

Are the beliefs you were handed as a child quietly running your life — and blocking your fertility?Most women trying to conceive never think to look at their inherited religious beliefs as a source of womb blocks. But if you've been taught to make yourself small, submit to others, and never ask why — your nervous system and your womb are listening.If you're healing your womb but skipping your belief system, you may be missing the deepest root of all.BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:What faith deconstruction actually means and why questioning inherited beliefs is one of the most powerful things you can do for your fertilityHow to use the BITE model to identify whether your faith environment is empowering you or keeping you small and compliantHow purity culture creates shame and nervous system dysregulation — and why those patterns don't just disappear once you're marriedSend us Fan Mail Liked this episode? Share it with your TTC friends!Love the show? Say thanks in true podcasting style by leaving a review.Join the FREE Make A Baby Community to see exactly where you are blocked in your fertility and learn what healing can help you. Follow Carolina for more fertility & womb healing tips: Website | TikTok | Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook  This podcast is for informational and spiritual purposes only and does not constitute medical or any professional advice. Review our full Privacy Policy here and Disclaimer here.

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Fr. Hathaway outlines the Easter Season and shares why it's important to live out the graces that follow Christ's resurrection in our homes and in our lives. He also invites parishioners to attend the Virginia March for Life with him in Richmond on Wednesday, April 22. Click here to reserve your seat(s) on the bus. 

Today we're exploring a tender question so many parents are carrying: how do we help our kids grow in faith when we're still figuring it out for ourselves? And underneath that—what if we get it wrong? What if we hand them something they'll spend years trying to untangle?Today, we're joined by pastor, author, and researcher Meredith Miller, who has spent her career thoughtfully engaging these questions. Her book, Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn't Have to Heal From, offers a grounded and practical guide for what this can look like.Meredith invites us to move away from rigid faith metaphors like walls and foundations, and instead to see faith more like a web—flexible, resilient, and uniquely woven for each person. That shift opens up a much more spacious way of thinking about what it means to guide our kids spiritually.Anchoring this conversation is her distinction between obedience-based and trust-based faith. Meredith makes a compelling case that trust must come first—that obedience, when it matters, grows naturally out of a relationship with a God we've come to know and trust, rather than fear.We also talk about how to approach scripture with kids, what her research revealed about the strengths of a Latter-Day Saint ward-based model, the value of family warmth, and why “I don't know” can be a great answer.This conversation was a steadying reminder for us that while we can't control how our kid's faith unfolds, we can trust that God is already at work in their lives. We hope this episode gives you both some practical tools and a little more peace for the long, slow work nourishing a faith your kid doesn't need to heal from.You can also find Meredith's new book Wonder: 52 Conversations to Help Kids Fall in Love with Scripture on Bookshop.org and Amazon. Did you know Faith Matters also produces a Bible Storybook podcast? Listen to Scripture Stories for Little Saints on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And for more help with family spiritual development, check out Uplift Kids.Come to Raising Little Saints: A Faith Matters Family Night! RSVP here. 

We live in a world that prizes activity: being productive, staying in control, always doing something. So when life brings seasons of waiting—through illness, loss, or circumstances we didn't choose—it can feel unsettling, even threatening to our sense of self. But what if those seasons are actually inviting us into a deeper understanding of God?Today, we're joined by Terryl Givens to explore an extraordinary book called The Stature of Waiting by W.H. Vanstone. Vanstone noticed something hiding in plain sight in the gospel accounts of the last week of Jesus's life. Up until a certain moment, Jesus is the one acting—teaching, healing, feeding, leading. And then, almost imperceptibly, the grammar of the story shifts. He is no longer the one doing, but the one to whom things are done. He is handed over. He waits. He receives. And Vanstone suggests this isn't a tragic turn in the story—it's its deepest revelation.Terryl and Fiona introduced many of us to the God who weeps in Moses 7. In Vanstone, we meet that same vulnerable God again—this time, waiting. And we ask what it means to follow that God in how we love, how we age, how we suffer, and how we let ourselves be carried.We hope that as you move through Holy Week this year, this conversation helps see the face of God in the most vulnerable moments of the Easter story — and in your own.Become a Friend of Faith Matters or a paid Wayfare subscriber by March 31 to get Issue 7 in the mail! 

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Fr. Hathaway reminds us that Holy Week starts on Palm Sunday this weekend and shares an overview of what occurs over the course of Holy Week. He also introduces a recording that features Fr. James Searby and Fr. Ken Geraci, a Fathers of Mercy priest who recently led our parish mission, and their conversation, which offers practical advice for how married couples can pray for each other and their children. To listen to their entire conversation, click here. Click here to check out our Holy Week schedule. 

This version has the correct audio--thanks to those who let us know the last one wasn't right! From time to time we like to share episodes from other shows in the Faith Matters network that we think you'll really love, and today we're highlighting one of our new favorites from Article 13, the podcast hosted by Zach Davis.If you haven't discovered it yet, Article 13 is one of the most beautifully produced things Faith Matters does. The title comes from the thirteenth Article of Faith and that really captures the spirit of seeking that you'll experience in these episodes. These are rich, deeply researched explorations that bring together cutting-edge scholarship and spiritual wisdom to ask big questions about how we live.In today's episode, drawing on research from thinkers like Seth Kaplan and Pete Davis, we hear a compelling case that one of the central challenges of our time is a growing fear of commitment.Our culture tells us that the best life is the one where we keep our options open. But the irony is that the things that make life richest—friendships, tight-knit neighborhoods, shared projects, belonging—become possible when we choose to commit to one another. Real, rooted, showing-up-again-and-again community.Even though our tradition is built around covenant relationships, we're living in the same cultural waters that pull toward busyness, mobility, and individualism.This episode is both a diagnosis and an invitation. It's full of ideas and stories that might make you want to knock on a neighbor's door, join something local, or start something in your own community.We hope it sends you back to your people—your neighbors, your ward, your community—with a little more fire.And with that, here's Article 13.

From time to time we like to share episodes from other shows in the Faith Matters network that we think you'll really love, and today we're highlighting one of our new favorites from Article 13, the podcast hosted by Zach Davis.If you haven't discovered it yet, Article 13 is one of the most beautifully produced things Faith Matters does. The title comes from the thirteenth Article of Faith and that really captures the spirit of seeking that you'll experience in these episodes. These are rich, deeply researched explorations that bring together cutting-edge scholarship and spiritual wisdom to ask big questions about how we live.In today's episode, drawing on research from thinkers like Seth Kaplan and Pete Davis, we hear a compelling case that one of the central challenges of our time is a growing fear of commitment.Our culture tells us that the best life is the one where we keep our options open. But the irony is that the things that make life richest—friendships, tight-knit neighborhoods, shared projects, belonging—become possible when we choose to commit to one another. Real, rooted, showing-up-again-and-again community.Even though our tradition is built around covenant relationships, we're living in the same cultural waters that pull toward busyness, mobility, and individualism.This episode is both a diagnosis and an invitation. It's full of ideas and stories that might make you want to knock on a neighbor's door, join something local, or start something in your own community.We hope it sends you back to your people—your neighbors, your ward, your community—with a little more fire.And with that, here's Article 13.

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, during the Feast of Saint Joseph, Father Hathaway reflects revolves around Saint Joseph's example of humble fatherhood, which serves as inspiration for all fathers in leading their families toward faith and transformation during Lent. He also invites all to celebrate today's feast day during tonight's Saint Joseph Altar event at 7 p.m., starting with Vespers and a short reflection in the Basilica, and then continuing with a grand feast in our Lyceum Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Click here for more information. 

If we want our kids to be okay with their imperctions, not beat themselves up, and expect others to treat them with respect, there is a practice we parents need to improve- self love. Our kids learn how to see themselves by how we see ourselves.  It is a common misconception that if we think we're awsome, we're proud. Not always so- listen in as I explain the difference between perfectionism and self love- this is a concept that will bless you and your childrens lives forever! I reference one of my favorite presentations on love by Adam Miller at FaithMatters. 10/10 recommend Love is a Law not a Reward To more fully understand, embrace and implement what I teach, book a free Discover Your Disconnection Pattern call with me. There is a solid reason you're feeling stuck, broken, or are hurting. I will help you discover it so that you can heal it. I firmly believe that your weaknesses can become your strength. Let me show you how. xoxo

One of the real challenges of studying the Hebrew Bible is figuring out how to make sense of stories of divine violence—where a God of love seems hard to find. These passages raise real questions about the nature of God and what it means for us as we try to live faithfully.Our guest today is Riley Risto, director of Latter-day Peace Studies, who joined the Church after a powerful mystical experience while praying about the Book of Mormon, an experience that centered his faith on Jesus and shaped his lifelong effort to take Christ's teachings seriously in a world—and a Bible—full of violence and conflict.In this episode, Riley invites us to engage scripture through what's often called a cruciform lens—the idea that, if Jesus gives us the clearest picture of who God is, then his life and teachings should shape how we understand every Bible story. Instead of letting the most troubling passages define our image of God, we begin with Christ and the cross and allow his life—and his radical call to love our enemies—to guide the way we wrestle with the rest.Along the way we explore what René Girard's work on scapegoating might reveal about violence in scripture, what it might really mean to “take the Lord's name in vain,” and what a Christ-centered reading could mean about justice.Underneath it all is the conviction that we're not meant to be casual observers of scripture, but participants—trusting that honest wrestling can refine our faith and discipleship. For us, this cruciform lens has sparked new curiosity and breathed new life into our scripture study this year, and we're excited to share it with you.If conversations like this are resonating with you, we'd love to invite you to explore more of the work we're doing at Faith Matters. One podcast you might especially enjoy is Proclaim Peace, a joint project from Faith Matters and Mormon Women for Ethical Government.Hosted by Jennifer Thomas and Patrick Mason, Proclaim Peace explores what it might look like to read scripture through a lens of peace—and how those teachings can shape the way we live, engage conflict, and show up in the world.If this episode sparked something for you, we invite you to subscribe to Proclaim Peace on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. We think you'll really appreciate the thoughtful conversations happening there.Become a Friend of Faith Matters or a paid Wayfare subscriber by March 31 to get Issue 7 in the mail! 

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Father James Searby, a parochial vicar, substitutes for Father Hathaway, who is away on a retreat, and shares about the virtue of the month at the school: peserverance (fortitude). Father Searby also invites all parishioners to attend our upcoming poarish mission, which will occur on March 15-18. For more information, please click here. He also invites all to celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, during our Saint Joseph Altar event, which takes place on March 19h. Click here for more information. 

In today's conversation, we explore creativity as a spiritual practice—not something reserved for artists, but a way of living.Our guests are Lisa Valentine Clark, a comedian, actor, and host of The Lisa Show, and James Rees—artist, educator, researcher, and passionate advocate for the arts.Both Lisa and James have spent their lives creating—in front of audiences on stages, in studios, in classrooms—and they've come to see that creativity does sacred work inside us. It gives form to what we're wrestling with. It helps us clarify what we think and feel. It helps us metabolize the unexpected. It draws us into deeper presence.For Lisa, these insights became intensely practical. She shares the foundational rule of improv, “yes, and”: accept what's given and build from it. This principle became a discipline that helped carry her through the hardest season of her life.Throughout the episode, we return again and again to the role of vulnerability—the courage to begin before you feel ready, to quiet the inner critic, and to let something take shape before you judge it. It's this openness that makes growth possible.We hope this conversation expands the way you think about creativity and moves you to notice the ways you're already being invited to practice it.Become a Friend of Faith Matters or a paid Wayfare subscriber by March 31 to get Issue 7 in the mail! 

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Father Hathaway ties in this Sunday's Gospel reading, which features the Samaritan woman at the well, to the upcoming parish mission. For more information about the parish mission, which will occur on March 15-18, please click here. 

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Father Hathaway reflects on the transfiguration of Jesus and the importance of listening to God, which can only occur if we carve silence into our lives to make time for prayer and spiritual reading during Lent.    He also invites parishioners to attend Family Bingo Night at the Basilica School Gym this Saturday, Feb. 28, from 6:30-9 p.m. Click here for more information. He also invites people to attend an enthronement of a relic of St. Manuel González García – described as the greatest Eucharistic priest since St. John Vianney – which will occur after the 12:10 p.m. Mass on Tuesday, March 3rd. A reflection on the saint's life and devotion to the Eucharist, with veneration of his relics, will follow. Click here for more information. 

We're so excited to share a conversation that our friend and Executive Director, Zach Davis, had with Teresa Morgan, Professor at Yale Divinity School and a leading scholar of early Christian history.Teresa invites us to reconsider one of the most central words in Christianity: faith. She explains that for the first generations of Christians, “faith” didn't mean signing on to a list of beliefs. It meant something more like trust—faithfulness, trustworthiness, the act of entrusting your life to God. Faith was less about what you thought and more about the kind of relationship you were living: a daily, embodied trust in a faithful God.But over time, as outside pressures mounted, Christian leaders drew clearer boundaries around belief. Creeds became markers of belonging, and faith—once rooted primarily in trust and lived allegiance—was increasingly defined by agreement with specific doctrines. That shift has shaped the Christian imagination ever since.In this conversation, Zach and Teresa explore how that evolution happened, what may have been lost, and what it might look like to recover a richer, more relational vision of faith today. We also want to mention that this interview is featured in the upcoming Issue 7 of Wayfare, and that this is a special edition centering women's voices on the theme of trust—trust in God, in ourselves, and in our communities. It's a beautiful and thoughtful collection that we are really proud of. You can read this interview, and see the beautiful artwork that accompanies it, at WayfareMagazine.org.If you'd like to receive your own copy of Wayfare in the mail, you can become a Friend of Faith Matters or a paid Wayfare subscriber by March 31. Your support is what makes conversations like this possible, and we're so grateful.Join us March 6 in SLC for Interfaith REPAIR: a peacemaking workshop from Waymakers!

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Father Hathaway reflects on how Lent becomes transformative when our sacrifices become acts of love for God rather than strategies for self-improvement.   He also invites parishioners to view a new permanent display on Catholic education at the Basilica School on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, from 9:45-11:30 a.m. Click here for more information.    Also, the Saint Patrick Irish Hooley, which will occur on Sunday, March 1, 2026, from 3-6 p.m. in the Basilica School Gym, still has tickets available. This is a festive and fun family event, where everyone can enjoy great Irish food, music, drinks, and dancing. Click here to find out more and to get your tickets today before it's sold out.    Reminder: Don't forget to have fun attending Family Bingo Night at the Basilica School Gym on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, from 6:30-9 p.m. Click here for more information.     

Today we're so excited to share our conversation with Bruce Tift, author, psychotherapist and longtime practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism. This summer, our friends at Uplift Kids introduced us to Bruce's fascinating book Already Free, and we've been thinking about it ever since.In this conversation, Bruce dives into some of the ideas in the book. He explores how to make peace with being human. He looks at two seemingly opposing paths—both Western and Eastern wisdom—and shows how each offers a vital piece of the puzzle. Where psychotherapy may teach us to bring our early wounds and disowned emotions into awareness, Buddhist practices help us recognize the deeper freedom that's available when we stop identifying with the fixed self.We loved that Bruce talked us through the ways we organize around our core fears, why so many of our childhood survival strategies still run the show in adulthood, and why real freedom often begins with simply allowing ourselves to feel uncomfortable without trying to fix or escape.Bruce's insights feel so useful for navigating seasons of growth—emotional, spiritual, and relational.This conversation really helped us see that personal growth isn't about achieving some ideal version of ourselves—it's about meeting our actual experience with curiosity, compassion, and presence. We found Bruce's wisdom to be gentle, honest, and deeply liberating, and we're so grateful he joined us.You can find Already Free on Bookshop.org, Amazon, or wherever you buy your books, and you can find even more from Faith Matters on this topic in this week's newsletter on our website, faithmatters.org.Order That We Might Have Joy for the perfect Valentine's Day gift, and join the book club with Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife!

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Father Hathaway reflects on how Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, is a time for our hearts to undergo an interior transformation, one that leads us closer to Christ.   Our Ash Wednesday Mass times are as follows: 6:30 a.m.; 8 a.m.; 12:10 p.m.; 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. (featuring the choir).  All are also invited to join Hallow, the prayer app, to participate in their Lent Pray40 Prayer Challenge during Lent. Click here for more information.

As we explore the Old Testament this year, we've found ourselves returning to a past conversation with our friend Terryl Givens. It felt grounding and expansive and we're really excited to share it with you again.The Old Testament can be incredibly rich—full of beauty, poetry, and profound spiritual insights. But it can also sometimes feel bewildering or even faith-shaking. We get glimpses of a loving, nurturing God—and turn the page to encounter a God that seems angry, even violent. It's a text that raises big questions and invites us into deep wrestles. And maybe that's part of its sacredness—that it pushes us into such honest, meaningful conversation.In this episode, Terryl helps us navigate those tensions. Together, we ask: What is the Bible, really, and where did it come from? What do different translations of this text have to offer, and how can we engage with this scripture in a posture of reverence and discernment that allows for mystery, and honors the sacredness of the whole landscape.We loved Terryl's insights in this conversation, and we're so grateful to revisit them now. Thanks so much for listening—we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did.For more on this topic, and for weekly resources to accompany your Come Follow Me study, be sure to check out the Faith Matters newsletter at faithmatters.org.Order That We Might Have Joy for the perfect Valentine's Day gift, and join the book club with Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife!

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, he reflects on how Jesus teaches that a life rooted in holiness brings, flavor, meaning and light to a darkened world.   

On Today's Episode: Dennis explores the ultimate question: Is there a God? He's joined by Rabbi David Wolpe, a prominent rabbi and author of the book "Why Faith Matters." They delve into the importance of faith, its impact on society, and the role of religion in shaping our lives. Rabbi Wolpe shares his personal journey from atheism to faith, and they discuss the benefits of a faith-based approach to life. They also touch on the decline of religiosity among Jews and the importance of preserving our collective past.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everyone, this is Aubrey Chaves from Faith Matters. Today I'm excited to share my conversation with Katie Ludlow Rich and Heather Sundahl about 50 Years of Exponent II, their new book tracing the history of a space where Latter-day Saint women have engaged the most urgent questions of their time—while also honoring the dailiness of life.The roots of this effort go back to 1872, when women began publishing the Woman's Exponent to speak for themselves and stay connected across distance. A century later, Exponent II carried that work forward—not to create consensus, but to make room for complexity, difference, and the kind of deep listening that makes real community possible.And that's what this conversation is about—what it takes to stay in relationship, even when ground we used to share—whether in belief, perspective, or experience—starts to shift. We're probably all navigating this now in some spaces, in families, wards, or friendships. And so today, Katie and Heather explore the difference between discomfort and danger, how we can sit with the tension of disagreement without walking away, and what it means to listen not to persuade, but to witness—to be present with someone else's experience, even when it's different from our own.Katie is a writer and independent scholar of women's history. Heather is a marriage and family therapist in Orem, Utah. This was a deeply personal conversation, and we're so grateful to Katie and Heather for showing up with such honesty and care. Their own lived experiences have led them down different paths, and it was a gift to sit with them in dialogue—watching the ways they do this together and make space for others to do the same. That kind of wisdom is hard won, and we're honored to share it with you now.You can find their book, 50 Years of Exponent II, on Amazon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold.Listen to the audiobook of The Bible Storybook by Sarah and Josh Sabey in Scripture Stories for Little Saints on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Our donors and paid subscribers make this collaboration possible--thank you for your support!

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, he shares about the importance of following the Beatitudes, as they are pathways to encounter happiness, conversion and holiness.  He also shared about some changes in the schedule of upcoming events, due to the frigid, icy weather:  + The Catholic Schools Week Family Mass has been rescheduled from this Sunday morning to Sunday, Feb. 22, at 8:30 a.m., and the viewing for the new, permanent display on Catholic education at the Basilica School has been rescheduled from this Sunday to Feb. 22 from 9:30-11 a.m.   + The Catholic Daughters' Family Bingo Night -- originally scheduled for this Friday evening, Jan. 30 -- has been rescheduled to occur on Saturday, February 28, at the Basilica School gym from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.  

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, he shares about the importance of Catholic education. The Basilica School will be celebrating Catholic Schools Week, which starts this Sunday.  Here is Pope Leo XIV's Apostolic Letter, called "Drawing New Maps of Hope," on the subject of Catholic education, which Father Hathaway mentions in this episode. To read it, please click here.  In other news, we hope you are able to join us at the March for Life on tomorrow, Jan. 23, as we travel by Metro to D.C. We will meet at the King Street Metro Station in Alexandria between 11:30-11:50 a.m. and leave on the train that leaves the station close to 12 (noon). If you can't make it to the march in D.C., please join us in the Basilica church to pray with us as there will be a Holy Hour and a Rosary for Life from 11 a.m.-noon tomorrow.    Also, all Basilica School families are invited to join us for the 8:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, February 1. Following that Mass, families are then invited to the school grounds for what will serve as our closing celebration of Catholic Schools Week. This gathering will include a light continental breakfast, tours of the new Christ Yesterday and Today exhibit -- a new, permanent display highlighting the history of Catholic education from 9:45 a.m. until 2 p.m. -- and time to visit the Book Fair.

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, he shares about how this Sunday's Gospel reading connects with our Culture of Life mindset, which we can participate in during next week's National March for Life in Washington, D.C.  We hope you are able to join us at the March for Life on Friday, Jan. 23, as we travel by Metro to D.C. We will meet at the King Street Metro Station in Alexandria between 11:30-11:50 a.m. and leave on the train that leaves the station close to 12 (noon). If you can't make it to the march in D.C., please join us in the Basilica church to pray with us during a Holy Hour and Rosary for Life at 11 a.m. on Jan. 23. Also, Father Hathaway mentions the redesigned Project Rachel site, which you can access by going here: www.helpafterabortion.org This site has been thoughtfully created for women and men seeking help and healing after abortion, including those who may not yet recognize how unresolved pain is affecting their lives. It's intended to meet people where they are and invite them into the light of truth, so that we can accompany them toward healing in Jesus Christ through the Sacraments.  

In a tumultuous world, faith is the way to get and keep spiritual feet under you, while keeping your eyes on the Pioneer and Perfector of our faith.  By Jenny Nipper

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, he talks about the meaning of baptism as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord on Sunday.  Father Hathaway also invites parishioners to advocate for the Culture of Life during the Virginia Pro-Life Day on Jan. 15 in Richmond. Meet with your legislators to advocate for life and against pending extreme and radical proposals to enshrine a virtually unlimited "fundamental right" to abortion in Virginia's constitution. If you can't make it to Richmond, please come to the Basilica on Jan. 15 to pray for the Culture of Life to prevail during a Holy Hour at 11 a.m. Bishop Burbidge is going, and he has released a video invitation. Here's the schedule of events: 7:30 a.m.: Doors open – Greater Richmond Convention Center (GRCC) 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.: Morning Program (GRCC) 9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.: Walk to General Assembly Building (GAB) 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.: Meetings with legislators (GAB) 11:00 a.m.: Visits to Galleries – (GAB) 12:00 p.m.: Mass at St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral with Bishop Burbidgeand Bishop Knestout The Virginia Catholic Conference encourages all participants to register and attend virtual training on the evening of Thursday, January 8. More information, a social media tool kit for additional promotion, and registration are available at vaprolifeday.org.  

Today we're sharing a conversation with writers and filmmakers Sarah and Josh Sabey about their new project, The Bible Storybook, a two volume collection of 50 stories from the Old Testament.You might remember their Book of Mormon Storybook. Like those earlier volumes, this new project is guided by a simple and beautiful idea: “These are stories about a real God who loves real people”—people who are complicated, wounded, and doing their best to understand how God is working in their lives.For many of us, the Old Testament can feel troubling—full of contradictions, harsh laws, and stories that might not always align with the God we've come to know through Jesus. So if the thought of spending a whole year studying this text feels daunting, this episode is especially for you.Sarah and Josh offer a powerful way back into these familiar stories through a fresh and deeply thoughtful lens. While staying fully anchored in the text, they invite us to see the people and events in new and meaningful ways.Their storytelling will invite you to consider what the Exodus story teaches us about revenge and healing. What if Cain was actually the first perfectionist, undone by his own impossible expectations? What can Jonah reveal about our own gifts and heartbreak?Their retellings don't avoid what's difficult—they honor the tension. Again and again, they show how the complexity and even the discomfort of the Old Testament can become fertile ground for a deeper, more expansive faith.We hope this episode leaves you feeling so excited to dive into this text again—to rediscover the Old Testament as a living well of wisdom, beauty, with a God who still meets us in the mess.We've also partnered with Josh and Sarah to make half of the audiobook stories available to everyone as a podcast called Scripture Stories for Little Saints you can listen to with your kids, in the car, as part of your Old Testament study, and share with friends. The full audiobook is available as a private podcast for Friends of Faith Matters—thank you for your generosity making this collaboration possible. You can send us an email at info@faithmatters.org or check the instructions on our website if you need help downloading it.Listen to the audiobook of The Bible Storybook by Sarah and Josh Sabey in Scripture Stories for Little Saints on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Our donors and paid subscribers make this collaboration possible--thank you for your support!

As we move into Christmas week, we wanted to offer something a little different. Today's episode is a reading of “In the Bleak Midwinter,” written and read by Peter Conti‑Brown, and originally published in the Faith Matters magazine, Wayfare.It tells the true story of a Christmas that unfolded in unexpected ways—marked by absence, uncertainty, and pain. And yet, it's also a story about how grace finds its way to us—through presence, through each other, and through the quiet mystery of ordinary, imperfect people becoming God's healing hands in the moments when we need it most.We hope this opens up space for you to feel whatever this season is bringing, and to notice the quiet ways love might be showing up.From all of us at Faith Matters and Wayfare, we're wishing you a Christmas filled with the peace of this season, and moments of deep connection and joy.We'd also love to invite you to subscribe to Wayfare Magazine. Wayfare shares thoughtful, beautifully written essays each week through its email newsletter, and publishes stunning print editions twice a year—featuring original artwork and design that make each issue a work of art in itself. A Wayfare subscription also makes a meaningful gift for the thoughtful, curious reader in your life.To learn more or to subscribe, just head to wayfaremagazine.org/subscribe.

In this episode, Dr. John Patrick reflects on how Christianity is often presented today and why this approach fails to persuade thoughtful people. Drawing on poetry, Scripture, history, and lived experience, he argues that faith must be spoken with clarity, beauty, and intellectual seriousness if it is to be heard.   // LINKS // Website: https://www.johnpatrick.ca/ Podcast: https://doctorjohnpatrick.podbean.com/ Biblical Literate Quiz: https://www.johnpatrick.ca/meaning-metaphor-and-allusion/ Recommended Reading list: https://www.johnpatrick.ca/book-list/ Ask Doctor John: https://www.johnpatrick.ca/ask/ LINKS: https://beacons.ai/doctorjohnpatrick

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, he talks about the importance of joy as we celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent this weekend. Join us for festive refreshments and the Basilica Christmas Tree lighting, along with the singing of Christmas carols, in the Parish Courtyard at 6 p.m. this Sunday, December 14th, and then afterwards, at 7 p.m., for Lessons and Carols in the church. This Sunday is also Bambinelli Sunday. All are invited to bring the baby Jesus from your Nativity set to be blessed at all the Masses, including the Saturday 5 p.m. Vigil Mass.  Coming up: Food donations for less fortunate Alexandria families can be dropped off on Thursday evening, December 18th, or Friday, December 19th, during the day in our Lyceum, as part of the Basilica's Christmas Dinner Basket Program. Click here for more information.   

Today, in light of the upcoming Come Follow Me lesson which covers Official Declaration 2, we're honored to share a conversation with W. Paul Reeve and Ramesus Stewart-Johnson about race, the priesthood and temple restriction, and what it really means to root out racism in our church community today.Since lifting the priesthood and temple ban in 1978, we have witnessed a great flourishing of the church, as multitudes have embraced the restored gospel in Africa and elsewhere. We can pause to celebrate this transformation occurring in the body of Christ, while contemplating how we can continue to follow the prophetic challenge to root out racism in our church, in our society and in our hearts today.. Part of this work is recognizing that myths and misinformation about our history on race persist to this day, subtle remnants of racism.This conversation felt bold, and at times, challenging. But both Paul and Ramesus share their personal stories, insights, and convictions to help us face our past and future with clarity and spiritual courage. Paul walks us through the history—how the restriction began, how it was solidified, and how newly available primary sources push back against the idea, expressed in our Come Follow Me manual, that we “just don't know” why the priesthood and temple restrictions were put in place. Paul argues that, until we come face-to-face with our history, we will not learn what we should from it. Ramesus helps us grapple with the lasting spiritual and emotional impact this history has had on many Black Saints—and how genuine discipleship, rooted in grace, honesty, and reconciliation, may be the key to moving forward.Paul is the Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies at the University of Utah and author of Let's Talk About Race and Priesthood, published by Deseret Book, as well as Religion of a Different Color, a landmark history of race and the early Church and winner of multiple book awards. Ramesus founded the North Texas Genesis Group as a support for Black Latter-day Saints, and now leads Black Lives Bless, an organization devoted to building beloved community through storytelling and truth-telling across the global Church and beyond.We're deeply grateful to Paul and Ramesus for being willing to share their hearts and their wisdom with us.You can watch a video of how Paul would lead a Sunday School discussion on Official Declaration 2 on our YouTube channel, and you can find Paul's slides for that discussion here.You can learn more from Black Lives Bless on their website, blacklivesbless.org.And find even more from Faith Matters on this important topic in this week's newsletter on our website, faithmatters.org.

Today, we're so excited to share a conversation with our good friend and teammate at Faith Matters, Cece Proffit. If you've followed Faith Matters for a while, you've felt Cece's influence—her energy, creativity, and care shape so much of what we do behind the scenes. And so today, we're thrilled she's stepping in front of the mic to talk about one of her very favorite subjects—Advent.In this conversation, Cece offers a beautiful and grounding introduction to Advent. If this tradition is new to you, you'll come away with simple, meaningful ways to begin. But beyond that, she invites us to experience Advent as a season of sacred longing—a time to hold both the beauty and the ache of our lives, and to trust that God will meet us in all of it.Cece helps us see that Advent prepares us for the joy of Christ's coming, not by turning away from the hard and the real, but by teaching us to stay with it. In that presence, something holy unfolds. And maybe most beautifully, she reminds us that we are part of this unfolding—that Christ comes not only to us in this season, but through us. Through our love, our creativity, we join in the work of “hasten[ing] the time” of peace on earth, goodwill toward men.For even more resources on Advent, including music, past essays, and more, be sure to check out our newsletter for this episode at faithmatters.org, and be sure to become a free subscriber to Wayfare at wayfaremagazine.org to receive beautiful, thoughtful essays to accompany your Advent observance this season.

Today we are so excited to share a session from this year's Restore Gathering with Mallory Everton. Mallory is best known for her work on the sketch comedy show Studio C, and in this session, she asks a question she says she's been asking her whole life: do Latter-Day Saints have a problem with laughter? She explores how in the context of spirituality, humor sometimes gets sidelined—dismissed as loud, irreverent, or frivolous. But she really pushes back on that assumption, flipping the idea on its head. Laughter, she argues, isn't a distraction from spiritual life—it's a spiritual practice in its own right. One that roots us in the present, binds us to each other, and softens us toward the divine.She walks us through what actually makes us laugh—and invites us to consider that when Jesus said to become like little children, he may have been pointing us toward a life that's playful, open, and easily delighted. And yes, she tells some unforgettable stories that had the whole room in tears of laughter.This session is available to watch on YouTube, and we definitely recommend checking it out there. If you attended Restore in person, you can rewatch all the sessions for free. Otherwise, recordings are available for purchase at faithmatters.org/restore. And if you'd like to hear more from Mallory, she also co-hosts another Faith Matters podcast called The Soloists—we think you'll love it.Become a paid subscriber to Wayfare Magazine before December 1 to receive Issue 6, the prophecy issue, in the mail! This is a beautifully bound print magazine with full color art and work by writers like Adam Miller, Hannah Packard Crowther, James Goldberg, Camilla Stark, Matt Bowman, Jenny Richards, Terryl Givens, and more. Visit wayfaremagazine.org/subscribe to learn more. 

Faith Matters is a weekly podcast for the Messenger newsletter of the Basilica School of Saint Mary, which gets distributed to Basilica School families. It features Father Edward Hathaway, the rector of the Basilica. In this week's episode, Fr. Hathaway shares about issues two upcoming feast days: the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary tomorrow and Christ the King on Sunday. He also reflects about his recent pilgrimage to Italy with a group of Basilica parishioners.  To learn more about Father's pilgrimage to Italy, click here for Facebook or click here for Instagram. Reminder:  The Parish Offices will close Wednesday, November 26th, at 1 p.m. and will remain closed on November 27th and 28th for the holiday. There will be one Mass on Thanksgiving Day – at 9 a.m. There will be no 6:30 a.m. Mass on Friday, November 28th, but the 8 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. Masses on that day will occur. For those who attend the Thanksgiving Day Mass: please bring grocery bags of non-perishable food items that will be donated to help feed the needy. They will be brought up during the offertory.  The Basilica will be adopting new Sunday Mass times starting next Sunday, November 30th. The 11:30 a.m. Mass will begin at 12 (noon), and the 1 p.m. Mass will start at 1:30 p.m. All other Mass times on Sunday will remain the same. The Sunday Vigil Mass at 5 p.m. will also remain the same. The two shifts in time will allow more time for worship and fellowship and to help ease the parking transitions between two of our Masses, including our standing-room only High Mass at 10 a.m.    

We're really excited to share this week's episode with you—a conversation with scholar and historian, Matt Bowman. Matt is the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies and an associate professor of religion and history at Claremont Graduate University. In this conversation, he draws on ancient scripture to explore two archetypes that show up again and again: the prophet and the priest.The prophet, Matt says, is often a voice from the outside—someone who has had a powerful, personal encounter with the divine and is sent to deliver a message that calls the community to repent. They challenge, critique, and call us back to our spiritual roots.The priest, by contrast, usually nurtures from within—building and sustaining community, preserving memory, and ministering through sacred ritual. The priest creates belonging, continuity, and connection.And while these approaches may seem to contrast, they work in harmony to support and strengthen the spiritual life of a community.Matt notes that beginning around the 1950s, we began consistently referring to the president of the church as the prophet. And he wonders if, in doing so, we may have come to sometimes undervalue the essential priestly work the President of the Church also does.This conversation helped us see something familiar—and deeply cherished in our tradition—in a fresh and powerful way and we came away feeling more grateful for a structure that makes room for both priestly care and prophetic vision.We're so thankful to Matt for this conversation, and we hope you love it as much as we did.Matt's piece that inspired this conversation, The Prophet and the Priest, will be published in Issue 6 of Wayfare alongside poetry, stories, essays and more exploring the roles of prophets and of prophecy in our tradition. We're putting this issue in the mail to all Wayfare paid subscribers and Friends of Faith Matters on December 1, so subscribe now if you haven't already to be sure you get your copy! ​What does Joseph Smith's legacy mean today? Join Terryl Givens and Jenny Reeder at The Compass in downtown Provo on November 20 for a lively discussion on the Prophet's enduring influence—his vision, his challenges, and the spiritual movement he helped create. You can RSVP here. Friends of Faith Matters will receive the livestream link for free as a thank you for your continued support.

Today we're wrapping up our week of Unpacking Polygamy with a very honest, illuminating and challenging conversation among three faithful friends: Bethany Brady Spaulding, Patrick Mason and Bill Turnbull. Together, they tackle the profound theological problems that polygamy presents, particularly as it is laid out in what is perhaps the most challenging scripture in our canon—Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants. They compare and contrast Section 132 with what God has revealed elsewhere in scripture and with what the church actually teaches today. And they consider the question of whether it is possible for the church to actually move on from polygamy if section 132 continues to be taught as inspired scripture. Along the way, they celebrate the restored gospel's teaching of a higher and holier order of celestial union—couples sealed together for eternity as intimate, equal partners.This conversation was originally inspired by an essay written by Bill and Susan Turnbull, two of Faith Matters founders, titled “One Couple's Wrestle with Polygamy.” It's a fascinating and compelling piece and we encourage you to check it out. You can also find Bill's essay on the Abrahamic Test on our website, faithmatters.org.Faithfulness in any relationship, including our relationship with God and with the Church, requires not just generosity but also a willingness to acknowledge and honestly address problems. This is a conversation full of both generosity and honesty. We hope you are challenged and inspired by it.This episode is part of a five-part series on polygamy. We invite you to listen to all five episodes for a range of perspectives and voices on this important topic. You can find even more resources on our website, faithmatters.org. Become a paid subscriber to Wayfare Magazine before December 1 to receive Issue 6, the prophecy issue, in the mail! This is a beautifully bound print magazine with full color art and work by writers like Adam Miller, Hannah Packard Crowther, James Goldberg, Camilla Stark, Matt Bowman, Jenny Richards, Terryl Givens, and more. Visit wayfaremagazine.org/subscribe to learn more.

Today's episode kicks off our five-part series Unpacking Polygamy—a deep dive into one of the most complex and sensitive topics in our church's history. We hope you'll listen to the full series, where you'll hear from a variety of voices and perspectives that help illuminate this part of our shared story.To start us off, we're honored to bring together two remarkable thinkers. Patrick Mason is a historian, author, and Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University and co-host of Proclaim Peace, another Faith Matters network podcast. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich is a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian, and professor emerita at Harvard University.In this episode, Patrick and Laurel explore what we actually know—and how we know what we know—about Joseph Smith's involvement in plural marriage, how the practice evolved in early Utah, and the theological, social, and gender dynamics that shaped it. Laurel also shares reflections from teaching a comparative polygamy course at Harvard, and considers how the echoes of plural marriage still reverberate today in our doctrine, culture, and hearts.We're so grateful to both Patrick and Laurel for their honesty, curiosity, and compassion.You can find even more resources on this important topic on our website, faithmatters.org.Find Laurel's groundbreaking book A House Full of Females on Bookshop.org or Amazon.Become a paid subscriber to Wayfare Magazine before December 1 to receive Issue 6, the prophecy issue, in the mail! This is a beautifully bound print magazine with full color art and work by writers like Adam Miller, Hannah Packard Crowther, James Goldberg, Camilla Stark, Matt Bowman, Jenny Richards, Terryl Givens, and more. Visit wayfaremagazine.org/subscribe to learn more.

Today, we're bringing you what we think is one of the most important conversations we could be having right now. We're talking with our friend and scholar Medlir Mema about artificial intelligence—and what it means for people of faith.Now whether you're already fascinated by AI, cautious, or ready to turn this episode off, this episode is for everyone. Medlir makes the case that AI is a human issue. A spiritual issue. And that it's urgent for people of faith to be asking how we can create an AI future that reflects the best of humanity.Medlir is the Head of the AI Governance Programme at the Global Governance Institute in Brussels, a Professor of International Relations at Brigham Young University Idaho, and is leading Organized Intelligence, a new initiative supported by the Future of Life Institute and Faith Matters. In this episode, he explains why he sees AI as an era-defining shift—less like the next tech milestone and more like the discovery of fire. It's a moment, he believes, that could fundamentally reshape how we live. We talk today about the ways AI is already changing jobs, relationships, trust, and even our sense of identity. And while Medlir is clear-eyed about the risks, this conversation is about clarity and opportunity. He believes that we have a real chance right now, to join the conversation with our deep values and even perhaps our theological frameworks, to ensure that AI actually helps us re-center on what truly matters and stay grounded in what it means to be human.We hope this episode is a call to pull up a seat to the table, and help shape what comes next.Learn more and follow Organized Intelligence at organizedintelligence.ai We're so excited to tell you about a new Faith Matters initiative called Organized Intelligence, supported by the Future of Life Institute. Our first gathering will take place November 4-5 in Salt Lake City, where you'll hear from scholars, creatives, technologists, and religious leaders. This gathering is for curious minds, and we would love to see you there! Go to organizedintelligence.ai to RSVP.

We sometimes reduce “faith-promoting” stories to those tidy endings—where miracles show up just in time, doubts vanish, and testimony replaces tension. But sometimes growth begins when the script falls apart. For Susan Meredith Hinckley and Cynthia Winward, these stories are nourishing a faith that looks like trust and transformation.  Susan and Cynthia are co-hosts of the At Last She Said It podcast and authors of a new book with the same title. They came to this work from different paths. For Cynthia, the Church just worked. She thrived—until her life took a turn at 40 and her certainty unraveled. For Susan, the discomfort was quieter. She says the Church always fit like an “itchy sweater”—a subtle, persistent misfit that kept her silent. But over time, what had become a “crisis of silence” became a call to speak up.For the past six years, Susan and Cynthia have been inviting women into conversations that began as honest exchanges between friends about big ideas and the real tensions of belonging to a church they both love and feel challenged by. What they've learned is that talking about hard things can be its own kind of faith practice—a way to bring your whole heart to your faith and your community, a way of being known. In this episode, they share practical wisdom for navigating Sundays when belief feels messy, offer a compass for making decisions when clarity is out of reach, and explore how using our voice can help transform hard things into a source connection with each other and a more intimate relationship with a God who loves us without conditions.We hope this conversation expands your imagination for what spiritual strength can look like—and invites you into a faith that's honest, evolving, and a true seedbed for growth.We're so excited to tell you about a new Faith Matters initiative called Organized Intelligence, supported by the Future of Life Institute. Our first gathering will take place November 4-5 in Salt Lake City, where you'll hear from scholars, creatives, technologists, and religious leaders. This gathering is for curious minds, and we would love to see you there! Go to organizedintelligence.ai to RSVP.We're so excited to tell you about a new Faith Matters initiative called Organized Intelligence, supported by the Future of Life Institute. Our first gathering will take place November 4-5 in Salt Lake City, where you'll hear from scholars, creatives, technologists, and religious leaders. This gathering is for curious minds, and we would love to see you there! Go to organizedintelligence.ai to RSVP.

Before we jump in, we wanted to acknowledge that so many in our community and across the world have been stunned and horrified by the murder of Charlie Kirk at UVU. It feels to us like a particularly difficult moment in this country, and we find ourselves grasping both for hope, and for the message to share in a moment like this.It's in that spirit that we wanted to share this week's episode — a conversation about belonging from the Faith Matters podcast Article 13.At their best, faith and faith communities bring us together across differences and remind us of something essential: that we are inherently and irrevocably connected. When we call each other “brother” and “sister,” we're naming something deeply true. And choosing to stay in community — even when it's hard — might be exactly what the world needs right now. This episode explores what it means to belong—it invites us to think about belonging not just as something to find, but something we can offer and build in our spiritual communities.We appreciated the insight we saw shared by Senator Chris Murphy this week: that when other forms of identity become weaker, something—like political identity—will step in to fill the void. This episode asks the question: what might society look like if we strive to intentionally create identity not just as members of religious communities, but as inherently dignified, divine beings who are all connected—in other words: as children of God? If there's any truth that might help us find some hope for the future, it seems like we'll find it in that direction.As always, we really appreciate you listening, and for helping us find our own belonging, especially in hard moments.*Find more peacemaking resources on our website: faithmatters.orgLearn more about Restore: faithmatters.org/restore