Podcast appearances and mentions of Jana Riess

On March 12, 2025, Church educator and BYU professor Jared Halverson released an Instagram short where he stated: “One of the statistics that has worried me the most of late, comes from a survey that was done in 2023 and it's suggesting that for the first time that I can think of, more women are leaving religion than men are.” Is this true? Why are more women leaving Mormonism than men are? Join us today as we gather with Katie Rich (author of Fifty Years of Exponent II), Amy McPhie Allebest (of the Breaking Down Patriarchy YouTube channel), and Abby Maxwell Hansen (who was threatened with excommunication for her profile on Ordain Women in 2013 and an Exponent II blogger since 2019), as well as writer and columnist Jana Riess to discuss this growing phenomenon.Jared Halverson is an associate professor of Ancient Scriptures and served for over 20 years in the Church Education System. Halverson earned his BA in History and MA in Religious Education. He has been a featured speaker in devotionals as well as in academic settings. He is the host of the YouTube channel and podcast titled “Unshaken.”You can view Jared Halverson's original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TevsIrw1nqsShow Notes: https://www.mormonstories.org/why-are-women-leaving-the-mormon-church/

In this episode we're talking about the new volume on Religion, Theology, and Stranger Things: Studies from the Upside Down on Evil, Ethics, Horror, and Hope (Rowman & Littlefield). We're joined by the editors Dr. Andy Byers (lecturer in New Testament at Ridley Hall in the Cambridge Theological Federation) and Dr. Adam Powell (lecturer in medical humanities at Durham University), as well as a few of the many contributors, including: Dr. Siobhán Jolley (Howard and Roberta Ahmanson Research Fellow in Art and Religion at the National Gallery), Dr. Brandon Grafius (Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Academic Dean at Ecumenical Theological Seminary), and Dr. Jana Riess (author, writer, former professor at Miami University, and former religious studies editor at Publisher's Weekly). Additionally, two of our Two Cities team members also contributed to the volume: Dr. John Anthony Dunne and Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne Adishian. We talk about how the volume came together, what topics and themes we wrote about for the book, what personally drew us to the show, and what we're hoping to see in season 5. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Positive Review!Series Title: Cutting Edge Research on the LDS Faith Journey Experience [Part II of II]In this series' second half with the amazing author and researcher Jana Riess, you won't be disappointed in an abundance of aha moments and things to ponder after the closing music. Val and Jana delve deeply into several aspects of Jana's current research (yes...new book forthcoming and you're hearing about it HERE before anyone else!) and dive deep into what Jana is learning about the important role that "edge" people (on the inside or the outside) play in bridging our sadly divided space. Jana and Val also tackle the very complex topic of negotiating church activity during faith transitions and how members handle shifts in sexual behavior and shame. These discussions provide a comprehensive view of how personal identity and community intersect during faith transitions.Jana's book The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church can be found HERE **More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comFREE Info Meeting "What's in a Growth & Processing Group"Weds. 1/23 at 10:30 a.m. Central TimeSign up here: https://forms.gle/HhHqWuBjSJhWrbhf9CONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Check your email for the invite to our next session on Mon, Feb 3rd at 2 p.m. Central!CLASSES: ...

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: Cutting Edge Research on the LDS Faith Journey Experience [Part I of II]You're in for a wonderful two episodes here as Valerie welcomes researcher and author Jana Reiss for a conversation brimming with details about Jana's current project (a forthcoming book!) centered around the diverse personal experiences of hundreds of people on the LDS faith spectrum. In order to not give too many spoilers for the next two episodes, you'll need to tune in to hear what she is learning in both her surveys and oral history interviews about people like yourself and also about people whom you love on different places of the spectrum. In this info-packed two part conversation they hit (among other things!): sociopolitical influences on the LDS faith journey navigating sexual ethics during/after the faith journeythe role of "edge" dwellers on potentially helping our LDS faith spectrum learn how to talk to one anotherJana's research is in part an effort to help us wherever we are on the LDS spectrum understand one another better...which we couldn't love more here on the Latter Day Struggles podcast! Jana's book The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church can be found HERESupport the show**More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)THEN subscribe to Fridays here. TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Email: support@buzzsprout.comCONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠ SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.CLASSES: Visit our library.SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...

From Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives to your favorite homemaking TikTok influencers, the women of the Church of Latter Day Saints have been gaining mass audiences via social media for over a decade. This week, Brittany is joined by Jana Riess, senior columnist at Religious News Service and author of The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church, to discuss how Mormon culture provides some of TikTok's most powerful influencers with heavenly tools for success.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Today we talked with religious scholar Jana Riess. She gave the 2024 Arrington Mormon History Lecture at USU last week titled “Latter-day Saint Women and the Quiet Erosion of Certainty.”

Telling the truth can be complicated for a Latter-day Saint woman, even if we value honesty. It's hard to say out loud some of what we're thinking, feeling, or experiencing. At church or even in our families and close relationships we may self-censor with an ‘okayness' filter: Is it uplifting? Faith promoting? Too negative? Does it cast the Church in an unfavorable light? Sound contentious? Will I look less worthy/valiant/faithful? And how are others likely to react? In Episode 158, Susan and Cynthia are joined by author/columnist Jana Riess for a conversation about potential upsides and downsides of telling it like it is.

Jana Riess grew up in a household where swearing was the norm. And she wonders if bringing a little of that spice over to our religious devotions might not kick things up a notch.

Jana Riess grew up in a household where swearing was the norm. And she wonders if bringing a little of that spice over to our religious devotions might not kick things up a notch.

In this special episode of Dialogue Out Loud, Editor Taylor Petrey moderates a panel discussion with Amanda Hendrix-Komoto, Patrick Q. Mason, Benjamin E. Park, Jana Riess, and Kristine Haglund. “In September 1993, six people were… The post Contemporary Perspectives on the September Six, Thirty Years On appeared first on Dialogue Journal.

In this episode, Jana Riess and Kathryn Knight Sonntag join LDF host Dan Wotherspoon in talking about "worship." What is worship, or what does it mean to be in worship mode, and how do these differ from reverence, prayer, or gratitude? Do Latter-day Saint worship practices differ from those of other faith traditions? If so, in what ways? Have LDS forms of worship changed over the past 200 years? Why and how? How does worship affect the worshipper individually? The wider world?  Join Jana, Kathryn, and Dan for this dynamic and, at times, personal discussion of their experiences in worship!

MAILBAG? MATT A listener wrote in regarding our discussion on church finances: “I think there is a balance somewhere in between full-disclosure and what we've got now - where, as Melissa said, we can read articles on the church news to see where we are spending money.  I would like something like a line item budget.  You don't have to tell me exact numbers, but what about letting us know that we spend 20% on temples, 15% on disaster relief, 35% goes into savings, etc.  I'd be interested in your thoughts on a middle-of-the-road type financial disclosure from the church” QUICK CLIPS (A FEW OF THE WEEK'S STORIES) MELISSA Church sends weekly emails of inspiration MATT I think we should discuss two things from President Oaks Devotional. The first is these two figures he presents: President Oaks asks young people to consider what they miss when marriage is intentionally delayed. President Oaks mentions a couple of causes: shortage of affordable housing, and increased student debt. What else is behind these trends? The second is his response to a question from a Young Woman in the US who is concerned with how other members of the church act on social media and at stake youth activities regarding LGTBQ issues. He says two things that I think we should discuss. 1) He tells young people that their church leaders and parents can help them understand eternal principles and then emphasizes the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. The states that “With these truths as your guide, you can make inspired choices that will bless you throughout eternity” then 2) He emphasizes the two great commandments and says, “Anyone who does not treat individuals who face gender identity challenges with love and dignity is not aligned with the teachings of the first and second great commandments.” What is the best way to stand up for the truth on these moral questions? MELISSA  American Idol winner is LDS MATT Plans For 101-Foot Mormon Temple In Cody Spark Opposition, Petition Drive MELISSA Has the church increased transparency about what happens inside temples?  Related: Status of all 133 temples announced by Pres. Nelson MATT Central American Youth encouraged to serve missions MELISSA Mental Health awareness https://www.thechurchnews.com/ MATT What does anti-Mormon bias look like in academia? A Q&A with Patrick Mason “I've heard students of faith at Utah State University and the University of Utah say they are sitting in classrooms where at least their perception of the faculty is that they are hostile to either the particulars of their faith or faith in general. Oftentimes, it revolves around more social and political and cultural issues, such as LGBTQ equality and things like that, but sometimes it's just simply, at least in the student's perception, a kind of hostility toward religion broadly speaking” Is this true? FAMOUS MORMONS MATT Alan Moon: Ticket to Ride Frank Norris: Pit Grandpa Beck: Cover your Assets (BIG DEAL, LITTLE DEAL, NO DEAL?) MELISSA 1 in 4 lds have thought about leaving the church by Jana Riess. I think it is humorous that she wrote this piece because that number is the same as the national average. She could just have easily written a story that says that 22% of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are converts, or that at most 5% of our church members have left the church, compared to 37% leaving the Catholic Church or 24% leaving their Protestant church. MATT Church handbook instructs on how to handle preferred names or pronouns. There are some interesting tidbits in there. MELISSA Women's Conference talk on how to avoid spiritual overwhelm MATT Holly Jane, 39, wasn't willing to quit her OnlyFans venture, despite the bishop demanding she delete her account. Apparently she still attends church, but she has faced disciplinary action for continuing to have an OnlyFans account.

Today we discuss: – LDS Church membership growth/statistics for 2022. – Arizona court upholds clergy privilege in child abuse case. – LDS leader in Trenton charged with allegedly enticing teen girl from congregation. – LDS apostle Jeffrey Holland ‘excused' from church duties due to ill health. He won't speak at SUU.

As our first test run (pre-pilot), we review the April 2023 LDS Church General. Specific topics include: – Our intentions for Mormon News Weekly Podcast. – We introduce ourselves. – Peacemakers Needed | Russell M. Nelson | April 2023 General Conference. – The Greatest Easter Story Ever Told | Gary E. Stevenson | April 2023 General Conference – Do You Know Why I as a Christian Believe in Christ? | Ahmad S. Corbitt | April 2023 – Mormon Church to pay fine to settle charges it hid an approximately $32 billion investment fund – SEC Cease and Desist Order Against the LDS Church for Securities Deception. – SEC Charges The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Its Investment Management Company for Disclosure Failures and Misstated Filings – Church Auditing Department Report, 2022 | April 2023 General Conference Please email us with your feedback: mormonnews@gmail.com.

In this podcast, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Eric Johnson of the Mormon Research Ministry on the topic of Mormonism, what they believe, and how to engage with them. We also discuss the themes in Eric's book: Introducing Christianity to Mormons.*We talk about:* Morality, The Lord of the Rings, and Awkward Jokes w/ Dr Peter Kreefthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIIiVz_t5VAIs God a Vindictive Bully?https://a315.co/3FPSgfA*Helpful links:*Mormonism Research Ministryhttps://www.mrm.org/Introducing Christianity to Mormons (book)https://a315.co/3T7TWnOEric Johnson (about)https://www.mrm.org/eric-johnsonViewpoint on Mormonism (Radio Show and Podcast)https://a315.co/3hddGZNThe Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church by Jana Riess - https://a315.co/3UoUK8GLatter-day Saints: Would you be willing to take the Romans Challenge?https://a315.co/3t59wWKJim Wallace Podcast with Eric Johnson - How Can I Introduce My Mormon Friends To Christianity? (Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast S8E22)IntroducingChristianity.comWe appreciate your feedback.If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

Before we delve into the Old Testament book of Ezekiel in this episode, be warned that we will be talking here about subjects which some parents might not want their children hearing about just yet, so I tell you up-front lest I offend anyone's sensibilities by surprise. That said, I just this week learned about an old Jewish rabbinical tradition that men under 30 years old were not allowed to read Ezekiel. And, as would surely shock the sensibilities of feminists in our day, women were not permitted to read it at all. Reading up on why this was so, after a passing reference to it in N.T. Wright's biography of the Apostle Paul, I did a bit of digging, and I now know better what the reasons were, particularly after reading Ezekiel 16 in the Complete Jewish Bible translation. Yet I disagree with the decision to withhold this book from view except for men above 30, and A similar tradition, by the way, was held to regarding Song of Solomon, or “the Song of Songs.” And this one was known to me, particularly in the wake of Mark Driscoll's infamous sermon series 'The Peasant Princess' several years ago. Nevertheless, for those less familiar, Arend Remmers writes at BibleCentre.org the following explanation: “With orthodox Jews we find the old tradition that men under the age of 30 years ought not to read the Song of Songs. At the same time the Jews have counted the book among the most holy ones and have accordingly estimated it very highly. This attitude becomes for us also. The Song of Songs is a book of oriental poetry that is marked by special pictorial language. Here it is the pictorial language of love, full of flowery, sentimental, and sometimes very vivid expressions. But neither an Oriental nor a Hebrew would consider this book as a description of voluptuous passion! Such a judgment was reserved to a so-called Christian, western civilization, which up to the mid of the 20th century made a taboo of all that was sexual.” But, again, something similar being held to about Ezekiel was news to me. So while fact-checking N.T. Wright on his claim, I came across an article at Sojo.net by Jana Riess titled ‘Don't Read This Part of the Bible If You're Under 30 (Or A Woman).' Ms. Riess describes herself as a feminist, and even the tagline for Sojourners where her article can be found reads as follows: “faith in action for social justice.” Nevertheless, she says a similar thing to what Arend Remmers wrote about Song of Songs when she writes: “Some of the great rabbis taught that the book of Ezekiel, with its strange visions and explicit sexual language, should not be read by any Torah student under the age of 30. The symbolism of "30" was likely tied to Ezekiel's own reported age when he began receiving his prophetic visions; perhaps the rabbis felt that if Ezekiel was old enough to see these weird word-pictures, 30-something men were considered mature enough to read about them. Not so for women." What are we to make of this, and is it ever good or wise to censor the Lord? Even if He says 'whore' and that offends our delicate sensibilities, I dare say 'No,' and 'watch out.' But on a related note, the Google Books Ngram Viewer for the history of that word's usage since 1500 sure is interesting. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/garrett-ashley-mullet/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/garrett-ashley-mullet/support

The FX/Hulu television series “Under the Banner of Heaven” has generated a social media storm among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as former members and religion observers. It tells the story of the gruesome 1984 murders of Brenda Lafferty and her 15-month-old daughter, Erica, at the hands of her husband's two brothers. The story is built on a bestselling book of the same name by journalist Jon Krakauer, whose thesis is that religion — all religion and especially Mormonism — leads inevitably to violence. Viewers of the first two episodes are debating whether the depictions are true to the faith of the 1980s and whether the actions of the investigators make sense — especially those of the fictional detective, played by Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield, whose faith journey is at the center of the show. Mormon studies scholars, however, may be less concerned with artistic license than with the series' conclusions. On this week's podcast, three religion experts offer their views of the show, the book, the history, the premise, the portrayals — what the filmmakers get right and what they get wrong — and how Latter-day Saints themselves can learn from all of this. Join us to hear from Patrick Mason, chair of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University; writer and researcher Jana Riess of Religion News Service; and Janan Graham-Russell, who recently completed a fellowship in Mormon studies at the University of Utah.

We have a very special guest for you today…author, editor, and Enneagram One, Jana Riess joins me for an in-depth discussion about The Improvers.  As the very talented editor of both The Road Back to You and The Story of You, Jana is well-versed in the Enneagram and brings a wealth of knowledge and valuable insights to our conversation about lasting personal transformation.  A few topics we explore today are:  the Improvers fixation on anger what messages Ones internalize, and  how Ones can tap into the high side of Seven to find their joy   ABOUT JANA RIESS Since 2008, Jana Riess has been an editor in the publishing industry, primarily working in the areas of religion, history, popular culture, ethics, and biblical studies. From 1999 to 2008, she was the Religion Book Review Editor for Publishers Weekly, and continues to write freelance reviews for PW as well as other publications. She holds degrees in religion from Wellesley College and Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in American religious history from Columbia University. She speaks often to media about issues pertaining to religion in America, and has been interviewed by the Associated Press, Time, Newsweek, People, the Boston Globe, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and Newsday, among other print publications, as well as “Voice of America,” the “Today” show, MSNBC, and NPR's “All Things Considered,” “Tell Me More,” and “Talk of the Nation.” She is the author or co-author of many books, including The Prayer Wheel; Flunking Sainthood; What Would Buffy Do?; Mormonism for Dummies; and The Writer's Market Guide to Getting Published. Her book The Twible: All the Chapters of the Bible in 140 Characters or Less . . . . Now with 68% More Humor! won first place in the non-fiction category in the Writer's Digest Annual Self-Published Book Awards. Her book The Next Mormons: The Rising Generation of Latter-day Saints will be released in March 2019 from Oxford University Press. She is a senior columnist for Religion News Service.

Doug Pagitt sits down with Jana Riess to talk about her new book The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church and how her faith compels her to work toward the common good.   Jana Riess is a writer and editor who has focused on American religions. She earned a bachelor's degree in religion from Wellesley College, a master's degree in theology from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a PhD in American Religious Studies from Columbia University. She was the religion book review editor for Publishers Weekly from 1999 to 2008. She then blogged for Beliefnet, and since 2012 writes a blog called “Flunking Sainthood” for Religion News Service.   Doug Pagitt is the Executive Director and one of the founders of Vote Common Good. He is also a pastor, author, and social activist.  @pagitt  The Common Good Podcast is produced and edited by Daniel Deitrich. @danieldeitrich Our theme music is composed by Ben Grace. @bengracemusic   votecommongood.com votecommongood.com/podcast facebook.com/votecommongood twitter.com/votecommon

Bill and Eric react to Jana Riess' “Top 10” list of Russell M. Nelson's presidency since he took over in 2018. Her list may (or may not) surprise you.

Bill and Eric react to Jana Riess' “Top 10” list of Russell M. Nelson's presidency since he took over in 2018. Her list may (or may not) surprise you.

Bill and Eric react to Jana Riess' “Top 10” list of Russell M. Nelson's presidency since he took over in 2018. Her list may (or may not) surprise you.

Jana Riess is a senior columnist at Religion News Service and the author of many books, including “The Prayer Wheel” (Random House/Convergent, 2018) and “The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church” (Oxford… The post Dialogue Old Testament Gospel Study with Jana Riess on Noah appeared first on Dialogue Journal.

Jana Riess is a senior columnist at Religion News Service and the author of many books, including “The Prayer Wheel” (Random House/Convergent, 2018) and “The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church” (Oxford University Press, 2019). She is working on a sociology book with Benjamin Knoll about why and how people leave theRead More » The post Dialogue Gospel Study #59 w/Jana Riess first appeared on The Dialogue Journal.

Jana Riess: "Crafting Your Spiritual Memoir: Why and How to Tell Your Story"

(00:00-8:38): Brian was joined by guest co-host Steve Coble. Steve is the Pastor of Teaching, Discipleship, and Spiritual Formation at Renewal Church of Chicago. Learn more about Steve at renewalchicago.com Brian and Steve discussed the following articles: ”Chicago schools: Public school students will return to classroom Wednesday after teachers union suspends work action, mayor says” “Chicago Teachers Union clears way for in-person classes to resume Wednesday in Chicago Public Schools after four days of cancellations over COVID-19 clashes” (8:38-18:07): Brian and Steve shared their thoughts on a tweet from Tim Keller, “#1 Pure capitalism says all your money belongs to you; #2 pure Marxism says all your money belongs to the State; #3 Christianity says all your money belongs to God (1 Chron 29), and we should be radically generous with it as Jesus was with his riches. (2 Cor 8-9)” (18:07-28:52): Brian and Steve unpacked Derek Thompson's article for The Atlantic, “Why More Americans Are Saying They're ‘Vaxxed and Done.'” (28:52-38:39): Dr. Amanda Porter, Author and Nurse Practitioner, joined Brian and Steve to talk about her new book, “Dear Anxiety, Let's Break Up.” Learn more about Amanda at amandaporternp.com and connect with her on Instagram at @AmandaPorterNP (38:39-46:51): Brian and Steve shared their thoughts on Jana Riess' Flunking Sainthood column at Religion News Service, “The I Hate Winter Spirituality Club.” (46:51-56:44): Brian and Steve reflected on an encouraging message from Francis Chan, “Francis Chan on Until Unity.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently we posted the episodes that focused on The Gospel According to The Simpsons. This week I came across a show we did a year later (2004) with Jana Riess, the author of "What Would Buffy Do?" This book follows along the same lines, seeking the deep spirituality that is embedded in the series. I was never really a fan of the show, though I always thought Sarah Michelle Gellar was quite fetching. Regardless, I think we had a great conversation over these episodes. So all you children of the 90s, enjoy. Oh, I checked for myself. www.whatwouldbuffydo.net no longer exists. "

Have you ever had doubts about Joseph Smith?     If so, you're not alone!   In today's episode, we are discussing how to handle those doubts and strengthen your testimony!     And make sure to check out our brand new FHE-on-the-Go, a done-for-you Family Home Evening podcast now available for absolutely everyone!   For sign up details click here:   https://kristenwalkersmith.com/fhe-on-the-go/   Great resources we've found on specific questions: Different first vision accounts: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/first-vision-accounts?lang=eng Book of Mormon translation: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/book-of-mormon-translation?lang=eng Seer stones: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Smith-Rough-Stone-Rolling/dp/1400077532 Polygamy: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Smiths-Polygamy-Toward-Understanding/dp/1589587235 Kirtland Safety Society: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/stay-in-the-boat-and-hold-on?lang=eng Resources:   Jana Riess, “The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church,” Chapter 1, Table 1.3   BALLARD 1: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/stay-in-the-boat-and-hold-on?lang=eng   HOLLAND: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng   BALLARD 2: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2016/12/by-study-and-by-faith?lang=eng   UCHTDORF: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2013/10/come-join-with-us?lang=eng

Jana Riess makes a call for more Mormon dissenters in January 2019–Eric and Bill discuss this article

Jana Riess makes a call for more Mormon dissenters in January 2019–Eric and Bill discuss this article.

A 2018 article written by Mormon blogger Jana Riess is the topic of discussion.

A 2018 article written by Mormon blogger Jana Riess is the topic of discussion.

A 2018 article written by Mormon blogger Jana Riess is the discussion topic for 3 days.

A recent U.S. survey found that more than a fifth of Gen Zers who self-identify as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or other. Nearly that many millennials (19%) do as well. That is almost double the 10% that researchers Jana Riess and Benjamin Knoll found in their 2016 Next Mormons Survey. On this week's show, Knoll, an associate professor of politics at Centre College in Kentucky, and Calvin Burke, an openly gay senior majoring in English at Brigham Young University and a media manager for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, discuss these latest findings and their implications for the Utah-based faith now and into the future.

(00:00-10:37): Brian and Aubrey discussed President Biden's speech to Congress and commented on the negative reaction to Tim Scott's speech.   (10:37-20:22): What would Jesus say to the Church in America? Brian and Aubrey discussed Caroline Cobb's Gospel Coalition article, “Would Jesus Turn Over Tables in Today's Church?” (20:22-30:34): Brian and Aubrey shared their thoughts on Bob Smietana's Religion News Service article, “‘If you have eyes, plagiarize': When borrowing a sermon goes too far.”    (30:34-40:05): Brian and Aubrey talked about turning to God in the midst of tragedy. Aubrey shared a powerful personal story about the loss of her cousin and how this inspired her to write, “The Louder Song: Listening for Hope in the Midst of Lament.” (40:05-48:41): How can parents help their kids build a relationship with God? Brian and Aubrey discussed this and unpacked Jana Riess' Religion News Service article, “Parent like your religion depends on it.”  (48:41-58:57): Brian and Aubrey shared their TOP FIVE Superheroes. Aubrey's #1 pick was Captain Marvel and Brian's #1 pick was Batman. (58:57-1:08:17): Brian and Aubrey reacted to Francis Chan's video, “Impossible Unity,” and talked about how the Church can grow in unity.    (1:08:17-1:17:25): Brian and Aubrey closed the show with some Good News! Phenomenal 6-yo Skateboarder Performs in Pink Party Dress and Leopard Print Helmet Family Builds Giant Dinosaur From Take-Out Containers During Hotel Quarantine: Naming It ‘Bagasaurus' Watch Teen's Graduation Advice For The Class of 2020 That Won 1st Prize in Global Competition: ‘We got this!' Affordable Housing Landlord Starts Eviction Fund and is Shocked –Raising $9Mil Kept 3,000 Families in Their Homes See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was, for the third straight time, all-virtual due to the pandemic. That didn’t stop it from being timely and topical. Those who tuned in heard about Christ and the resurrection (especially on Easter Sunday), the faith’s international footprint, repeated recognitions that most of the 16.6 million members are single, condemnations of cyberbullying and racist attacks, and an extensive exploration of the Constitution and the bounds of partisan politics. And only two women spoke. On this week’s podcast, Religion News Service columnist Jana Riess, author of “The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church,” looks back at the highlights, lowlights and memorable moments from conference and what some of them may portend the church’s future.

In this episode, Tony Jones and Ryan Parker turn their attention to the new Netflix limited docuseries, Murder Among the Mormons, directed by Jared Hess and Tyler Measom. They welcome Jana Riess, Killer Serial's resident Mormon, to discuss all things LDS and to give some context to what we've seen (and will be seeing) in this series.

(00:00-09:18): In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, churches and small groups have suffered, and have been forced to change their routine. Brian and Ian discuss how they have dealt with the circumstances and how they are managing. (09:18-18:34): David Fitch writes: “The Potential of Faithful Presence During a Pandemic” in MissioAlliance. Brian and Ian take time to discuss how faithful diligence is necessary in order to keep a church family strong. (18:34-27:59): Brian and Ian discuss this prompt: Can Faith Help Us Get Through the Coronavirus? PLUS, They are discussing how to navigate through an uncharted world like we are seeing with COVID-19. Isolation, precautions, it’s all unprecedented for the modern world. (27:59-37:39): Jon Acuff Tweeted: “There’s a thin line between “informed” and “obsessed.” It’s different for each person, but when you find the constant stream of Coronavirus information fueling your fear instead of equipping you with facts, take a short break.” Brian and Ian respond to this and a Christine Caine Tweet. (38:36-48:42): Jen Pollock Michel writes: “20 Prayers to Pray During This Pandemic”. As COVID-19 sends the globe into crisis, it also sends us to our knees. (48:42-58:26): Is the Coronavirus going to affect the outcome of the primary elections or presidential elections? Biden sweeps three states, doubles delegate lead over Sanders, NBC News projects, and Bernie Sanders to 'assess' presidential bid. (58:26-1:08:37): Jana Riess writes: “The problem of ‘social distancing’ for women who already do too much” in Religion News Source. (1:09:41-1:15:28): Brian and Ian’s “Weird Stuff We Found on the Internet”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jana Riess talks about the findings of her book “The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church”. Jana also discusses how mixed faith marriage plays into her research and shares some of her own mixed faith marriage story. We can't recommend Jana's book enough! Buy it here on Amazon. You can learn more at thenextmormons.org Subscribe to our Youtube Channel! Support the mixed faith community and Marriage on a Tightrope by making a recurring donation at tightropemarriage.org

What are the biggest takeaways leaders of the Mormon Church can take away from the largest public survey of Mormon attitudes?  Dr. Jana Riess and Dr. Ben Knoll will give their answers. https://youtu.be/jGZY2oTmgGg GT:  Let's just pretend that the brethren are here, and you can tell them anything. What would you tell them? Jana:  You have to have equal representation of women.  You cannot continue having meetings in which decisions are made that affect women's lives directly without a woman in the room, at least one woman in the room. And not just a little token woman who like, in the leaked video that I was talking about, at the very end, like in the last two-minute Hail Mary pass of the meeting, someone asks for Sister Beck's opinion.  She gives it. The meeting breaks up, no one even responds to what she said. I mean, it's entire tokenism to have her there, to ask her opinion and then totally disregard it. So yes, that's hugely important. It's important to women. There are a couple of different narratives that I think we need to keep in mind. The narrative that the church wants us to believe, is what Gordon B Hinckley said, which is "Mormon women are happy, and they're happy with their role." Statistically, he's right. Because most Mormon women who are still in the church don't seem to have a problem. Younger women are a bit different. But the majority of Mormon women are fairly satisfied, apparently, with their roles in the church. The other part of the story, though, the other narrative that needs to also be told is that women's roles ranked as the third most common reason for leaving for all women. So, for some women, this was an important enough issue that it was a catalyst to their departure, and we need to keep that in mind as well. We can't just say that Mormon women are happy with the way things are, because if you weren't happy, you're gone.  What would you say? Benjamin:  So I suppose in addition to that which I agree with, would be that all humans are subject to our cognitive biases and the way we see the world. We tend to take our experience as the norm and project it on to everyone else's experience. Good faith people who are in leadership positions, of course, don't intend to do that, but often times do it. And I'm just as guilty like everyone, that's what we do, right? That's what human beings do. One thing that this research offers is an opportunity to hear about what the experience is like from people who don't match your own experience. And that's really hard, and I like that some church leaders, like Patrick Mason wrote in his book Planted, he's like, "I get it." Right? From a leadership position, this worked for you your whole life. You've always felt happy here. Why could anyone possibly be upset? Or why would they not want to be here? There's just a lack of awareness on their part, not through anyone's fault, but just simply because we all have different lived experiences. Could we take things from here and incorporate those kinds of messages, and carefully consider them non-defensively and think, "Okay, my experience might not be this, but this is experience that maybe not a majority, but that a critical mass of membership are experiencing. What could we do to create spaces where they feel like they're fitting in better, even if that means that we perhaps need to change what we emphasize, or give greater room for those kinds of voices to be represented in both decision making, as well as scriptural interpretation? Or how we're applying the stories about what it means to be a Mormon in today's world or Latter-day Saints, etc."  Things like that, that would be one of the pieces of advice I could humbly and constructively offer. Find out what else they had to say, and find out who our next interview is with!  Check out our conversation…. Dr Jana Riess & Dr. Ben Knoll discuss their beliefs opinions about things Mormon leaders can do to improve.

Why do Mormons leave the LDS Church?  Dr. Jana Riess and Dr. Ben Knoll have put together the largest random sample of ex-Mormons and tell us why Mormons leave.  What did they learn? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A0FgnTHQmE GT:  That's pretty awesome I'd say. I know John Dehlin did a survey awhile back.  Were your results similar to his? Jana: Not at all, and I want to point out that this is part of the difference between a nationally representative survey and a sample that is of a targeted population. Their study, which is really helpful and interesting and well done, they would be the first to tell you, I think, that it's not a nationally representative sample of all former Mormons. If you look in the really helpful breakdown of who was in that study, they have a very affluent population and a very well-educated population. So, the fact that what they're finding is that these people are very interested in history, and they're very interested in some of these more controversial issues about Mormon theology. Well, in part that is because this is a very affluent and well-educated population, and in part, it's because this is a population that has been fielded through social media affinity groups that are interested in those questions, right?  So, it's a self-selecting sample, and I think that's an important thing to keep in mind. That does not mean that it's not valuable for understanding that important population, but it's not generalizable to everyone. ... GT:  What are some of the reasons that people choose to disaffiliate? Benjamin:  I suppose the first thing to clarify is, we've got information amongst those who chose to disaffiliate for specific reasons that aren't necessarily just simply lifecycle, adolescent disaffiliation, which is the biggest one right there. GT:  The biggest one is just, "Well, I'm a teenager, I don't want to go to church." Benjamin:  This is what people in America and Europe do. When they're teenagers, they tend to just [quit going.] Jana:  Right, or younger. Benjamin:  Right, yeah, exactly. Yeah. So, a lot of former Mormons are in that same category. They are people who just for one reason or another, just weren't that interested anymore. GT:  Church is boring. Benjamin:  Yeah, they went on to do other things. Some of them rejoined the church later. Some didn't. We've got some information in the survey about like, what are the lives of former Mormons like? The ones who leave for these historical doctrinal issues tend to have a former Mormon life that's a little bit different than those who just leave because they just went inactive when they were teenagers, got married to someone who's not a member, that never really went anymore, because their family's diverse. So, it's important that we say, just like within the Mormon community, there are different groups of people and diversity and how it's expressed, it's the same thing with former members as well. Are you surprised?  On the internet we often hear people publicly claim they lost their testimony due to church history.  We don't hear about these people that quietly leave.  Find out what else they said (like politics.)  Check out our conversation…. Why do Mormons leave the church? Dr. Jana Riess and Dr. Ben Knoll tell the results of the largest random sample of ex-Mormons. Don't miss our other conversations with Dr. Riess and Dr. Knoll. 299: Out of the Box Mormons 298: Comparing Mormons by Generations 297: Surprising Mormon Responses 296: How to Randomly Sample Mormons  

There has been a slowdown in growth for the LDS Church recently.  I asked Dr. Jana Riess what the Church can do to halt the slide, and I was a bit surprised at her answer.  Is there a problem with "out of the box" Mormons? https://youtu.be/gff2tQByGfQ GT : Is there anything in your book that you think that leaders can use to keep people in? Jana:  Yes, and no. {Chuckling} So that's my wishy-washy answer. The Yes, part is yes, there are things. For example, backing away on LGBT issues can only help. It certainly would help if the church did a better job of incorporating more Millennials into things that they care about, rather than indexing genealogy or things that the church cares about, but that are not necessarily driving attendance for people in their 20's. There are a lot of things like that.  We could have better architecture. I have a whole list of those things. Jana:  But the no side, which I think is just as important, and I'm speaking here as a historian. When we look at the bigger picture of what's going on in American religion, more generally, Mormons and ex-Mormons are so tunnel-focused on what the Church is, or is not doing, that is driving this problem that they miss the bigger picture that Mormonism is not an island. We have, throughout our history, been buffeted by the tides of whatever is going on in American religion. In the 1950s and 60s, when religion was thriving in the United States, we were also thriving. And in the 70s, and 80s, when conservative religions, in particular, were thriving the United States, we were thriving.  Now we're in a period where everyone is suffering, we are also suffering. So in that context, particularly because we are less than 2% of the population, there's not a lot we can do. Mormonism is really good for nuclear families, but it can be a tough place for singles, divorced, LGBT, widowed, or other members who may not have the ideal Mormon family.  In our next conversation with Dr. Jana Riess and Dr. Ben Knoll, we'll talk about non-traditional families, and how we can make church culture better for others. Jana: There is one area where I see church leaders really trying to change this outcome. And it's in the hammering of marriage and having children. Recent talks by certain church leaders have emphasized this. And that's not to say it hasn't been an emphasis all along, but the stakes are much higher. We're looking at a scenario where married church members, according to the church's own leaked statistics, married church members in their 20s are twice as likely to be active, as single church members in their 20s of the same age. So, the Church says, "Well, let's just get everybody married," right? And the people who are most active in the church are the people who have children of school age and are in those programs right now. "Well, let's get people to have children," right?  And of course, that plays into the eternal message of the gospel, that marriage and children are part of your exaltation forever. So, it's not like this is just a cynical, sociological move that we need to up our activity rates. They truly, I think, earnestly believe that this is also contributing to people's eternal salvation, but they have got to be worried about marriage among Millennials as a whole in this nation. Millennials are delaying marriage Millennials are having fewer children or not having children at all. And in terms of religiosity that is a concern, not just for Mormons, but for all organized religions. Because those young parents are the mainstay. They are the bread and butter of religious activity and tithing and programs, the success of the programs. So that's where you're going to see them trying to change that narrative. GT:  To be more friendly to singles, is that what you're saying? Jana:  No. I'm afraid not. GT:  That's too bad. Jana:  To be telling singles, "Just get married already," which seems to be the message that comes up again and again.

Do young and old Mormons feel the same about Church teachings and culture?  How similar or different are they?  Dr. Jana Riess and Dr. Ben Knoll discuss the results of their recent survey of Mormon attitudes and we'll learn how similar or different we are based on age.  What are differences in Mormons by Generations? https://youtu.be/1phIQ1aWGKc Benjamin:  And so oftentimes in the book, we combined Baby Boomers and Silent Generation into a single category, because they tended to look similar on a lot of things. Whereas Gen Xers and Millennials tended to look similar on a lot of things. The breakdown seems to be between the Baby Boomer and Gen X generation. The trends that the Millennials show were often continuations of things that started or became more pronounced in the Gen X generation, which I thought was really interesting. GT:  All right, so how are the Gen Xers and the Millennials similar? I think Millennials are even more different, right? How are they more different? Jana:  Well, they are not quite as politically conservative. They are not flaming liberals by any stroke of the imagination. They're still Mormons. And so, they're more conservative than other people their age, but they are less conservative than older Latter-day Saints, politically. And I think in terms of their religiosity, they are, again, in between. So, Millennials as a whole in the nation are the generation that we're seeing to be most likely to disaffiliate of any generation that we've been tracking, in American history. But for Millennial Mormons, yes, they are more likely to disaffiliate than their older counterparts, but less likely to do so than other Millennials. So just think of them as kind of in the middle of these two things. But they're more supportive of LGBT rights, not as supportive as other Millennials. We also talked about Millennials's attitudes about LGBT and the Church, and even referenced Greg Prince's recent book, Gay Rights and the Mormon Church. GT:  Yeah, he thought that they would double down for about 15 years. So, it was definitely surprising. I asked Greg, a little bit about how many people left the church? He said, in the first year 60,000 people, which is just..... Jana:  He and I talked about this as well, and we're not finding that kind of evidence. GT:  Oh, really? Jana:  No. Benjamin:  Well, that's one that we're going to have to take a little bit further look at. So, this happened, it was in 2015? GT:  November. Benjamin:  Right. And our survey was literally, just the year afterwards, and so for people to say that they're former Mormons in here, that would have been only a year for that to have happened. There just weren't that many people in the survey that we saw identifying as a former Mormon, who had left just in that 12 months before the survey was conducted from when the event first happened there. So, it's difficult for us to be able to definitively put a number on that one way or another. ... GT:  Well, I guess I do have another question. If you look at 60,000 divided by 15 million, that's a fraction of a percent, right? And how big was your survey of Mormons? Jana:  We had 1156 currently identified and 540 former Mormons. GT:  So would your survey even be large enough to ascertain?  I mean, 60,000 sounds like a big number. But, in my statistics class, I always say rates are much better than counts. So, as far as a rate that would be a tiny fraction. Would you even be able to notice that in a survey of 1100 people? Jana:  Matt Martinich, who is much more advanced on church statistics than just about anybody else, would say no. That's not enough to move the needle, as he would put it. What are your thoughts about shifting generational attitudes in the Church?  Is the exodus following the November 2015 Gay Policy a big number, or just a blip? Check out our conversation…. Are Millennials' attitudes changing the Church?

Dr. Jana Riess and Dr. Ben Knoll surveyed Mormons to find out their attitudes about church teachings and practices.  What were some of the surprising Mormon responses?  Do people really adhere to the Word of Wisdom, which forbids coffee, alcohol, and tobacco? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKgz_GToLkM Jana:  There were several big surprises, one of which was how many current Mormons, apparently, especially younger ones are drinking coffee. Ben actually emailed me that day when we were both analyzing data separately. He's said, "Have you seen this?" So that was interesting. Basically, it was four out of 10. GT:  And these are not just everyday Mormons, but these are active, temple going Mormons, right? Jana:  Sort of, when you tease that out by age, it's very interesting what happens because for older Mormons who said that they had coffee, for example, in the last six months, it's primarily people who are less active in the church and don't hold a temple recommend. But for younger Mormons, there was some overlap in those categories. Even people who said that they were very active, or who did hold a temple recommend, sometimes apparently are drinking coffee or alcohol. Among other surprises were that there are more single men, than single women in the church! Jana:  Another thing that surprised me, completely unrelated, is that I think many people in the Mormon experience, have the understanding that single women in the church are outnumbering single men by a factor of two, or even a factor of three. And actually, statistically, single men in the church have a slight edge over single women. And I looked at that, and I thought that is very surprising. GT:  There are more single men than single women? Jana:  Proportionally, which, I know, it sounds very surprising. So... GT:  Well, in a way it doesn't because the men get hammered pretty hard on, "Hey, go get married." Jana:  Well, that may be true. I cannot ascertain causation simply from that. But what's interesting though, is that nationally that's the case that there are fewer men proportionally who have married than women who have married at some point in their lives. So, Mormons are not actually that different than what's going on nationally. Then looking at the previous work that's been done on Mormons, single men outnumber single women in the Pew study, also in the 2016, PRRI study about religion in America. So, ours is the third national study in which single men have the slight edge over single women in Mormonism. And you would never guess that, just sitting in a young single adult fireside, for example. But statistically, that does appear to be the case. What do you think? Benjamin:  I'd want to follow up with that, and I think we did at some point, I just don't remember off the top my head of those who attend weekly. What was the breakdown with those ones? That would be fun to look at. Jana:  Right, well, and I find that very interesting, too. Because there is a difference, right? There is a difference. But we found in terms of breaking down orthodoxy by marital category, that single men had the lowest levels of belief and adherent behavior of any marital category. So single women, or married men, married women. Benjamin:  That may explain why we see more women at the firesides. We also discussed an interesting concept of self-identification. Jana:  There is the general question that's asked on a lot of surveys about religion. "Are you a person who comes more than once a week, weekly, couple times a month," etc.? In that we had a very nice presentation from Mormons of all ages. When we asked though, in the Sabbath question, "Have you been to church in the last 30 days?" For Millennials, and particularly for younger men, that gap between the people who say that they attend weekly, and who actually have been in the last 30 days was wider. So that's interesting. Benjamin:  And that's not uncommon with survey research, either.

I'm excited to introduce Dr. Jana Riess and Dr. Benjamin Knoll.  These two have put together the largest survey of Mormon attitudes ever.  With Mormons being just 2% of the U.S. population, I asked them how randomly sample Mormon attitudes.  Jana and Ben will tell us more. https://youtu.be/F0TJrv6rmp4 Ben: We contracted with a firm, who has been a leader in developing these methodologies. It has been an approach that has been used successfully, not only by Pew Research, but other social scientists who have tried to get at Mormons in the population, because for the very reason that you're talking about, it's 2%, at best, of the US population. So when we make these telephone surveys, that means that one out of every 50 people, if you're random digit dialing, is going to be someone who says, "Yes, I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." That's a lot of man hours, you've get to go through to make so many calls to get several hundred, if not at least 1000 surveys completed there.w What other issues are involved in putting together a scientific survey?  Check out our conversation… Dr. Jana Riess and Dr. Ben Knoll have put together the largest public opinion survey of Mormons ever.

Ms. Jana Riess

Join Julia as she talks with author and blogger Jana Riess about the creative writing process and how to get one’s ideas and experiences down on…

Glenn Ostlund and Bridget join up to discuss with Jana Riess why Mormon meetings tend to be so dull. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mormonexpression/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mormonexpression/support