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Mormon Matters - (Dan Wotherspoon ARCHIVE)

Mormon Matters was a weekly podcast that explored Mormon current events, pop culture, politics and spirituality. Dan retired from Mormon Matters Podcast in 2019 and now hosts a podcast called "Latter-day Faith" that can be found here: http://podcast.latterdayfaith.org/
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Now displaying: 2014
Dec 17, 2014
Ever feel worn down, your spiritual life lagging, feeling like all you are doing is going through the motions, and church engagement is feeling more like "gospel grind" than blessing? When we find ourselves in one of these moments--perhaps days, months, years!--what might we do to recover a little of that energy and sense of joy we remember? In this episode, Jana Riess and Mark De St. Aubin join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon for a discussion of insights into the phenomenon of "gospel burn-out," various framings for acknowledging it and making our way through the doldrums and into deeper connection and spiritual awareness. Have you ever considered burn-out a blessing? Find out why these panelists frame it that way!
Dec 8, 2014
Because they come up so often in gospel lessons and are indeed the "first principles" of the gospel (Article of Faith 4), we might think that a 90-minute podcast on faith and repentance would be redundant and boring. Not so when talked about by Sam Brown and Adam Miller! Mixing personal stories with scripture and wonderful insights from their study and writing, Brown and Miller challenge the over-emphasis on faith as belief and repentance as being primarily about seeking forgiveness that we often encounter in Sunday discourse, and open these principles to fresh angles, examining them especially in light of Mormonism’s rich relational theology.
Dec 4, 2014
No two individuals are exactly alike, and no schema can fully capture our particular essence or personality. Yet it is sometimes helpful to speak about different temperaments or "personality types." One of the largest personality type groupings distinguishes between "extroverts" and "introverts," with certain studies recognizing between 30 and 50 percent of people as introverts. Society at large, and Mormonism in particular, seems to have a bias toward extroversion--fitting more easily those persons with larger, perhaps more recognizably adventurous personalities, often seeming more at home in large group social situations. For this reason, we often find more extroverts than introverts in leadership positions, and most cultural forms seem to forget that many people are not extroverts! We are missing a lot! Each personality type has wonderful strengths, and lead individuals to different approaches to life situations and problem solving, and involve preferences and abilities that are distinct and unique--and quite complementary of each other. In this episode, panelists Laura Sullivan, John Hatch, John Shaw, and Greg Nelson--who all self-identify as introverts--join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in a wonderful tour of the various ways the world presents itself to introverts. The discussion describes aspects of the introverted personality type and preferences, debunks misconceptions and stereotypes, and highlights introverts' strengths and the areas and types of interaction in which they excel. Each panelist also shares their own stories of how wonderful it has been for them to come to see themselves as introverts and to embrace it rather than constantly trying to bend themselves toward society’s (wrongheaded) "extroversion ideal." After defining introversion in general terms, the panelists share experiences in Mormonism that they experience differently than do extroverts, and how their introversion strongly shapes their interests and spirituality in terrific, wonderful ways that Mormonism would be all the richer for if it were to recognize them, as well as come to better utilize the introvert's gifts. This is a fantastic episode for introverts, parents and spouses and friends of introverts, and church and community leaders!
Nov 20, 2014
In 1 Peter, we are encouraged as Christians to always be ready to give voice to "a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). This past weekend, I was given an opportunity to do just that when I shared reflections from my spiritual journey as part of the Sunstone Northwest Symposium. I feel strange releasing a Mormon Matters episode that isn’t a panel discussion, so please forgive me (and know that we’ll be back to our regular type of programming again next week!) but I have chosen to do it because in these remarks I share some of the ways I answer the many queries I get about how I, even knowing what I know about LDS history and doctrinal inconsistencies and various other issues and sources that can cause great pain, manage to stay optimistic and feel my spirit fed while committed to remaining an active Mormon. For what it’s worth, then, this episode contains some of that answer. Many parts of the story I tell and some of my reflections will be familiar to long-time listeners, but hopefully they flow here in a way that helps them feel new.
Nov 13, 2014
In the LDS temple recommend interview, Question 7 reads: "Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?" This question came into public consciousness this past week when, in the wake of the midterm elections, an LDS bishop from southern California celebrated on his blog the rise of a new Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, which also meant the demotion of LDS senator Harry Reid from his position as majority leader. In his exultation, this bishop suggested that Reid is "not a man of serious religious faith," for if he were, as a Mormon he’d not be able to be a leader in a political party that had in its platform support for the ERA, a woman’s right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy, and same-sex marriage--all stances this bishop feels are out of alignment with core Mormon teachings and values. For these reasons, this bishop suggested he’d disqualify Reid from receiving a temple recommend based upon Question 7. LDS Public Affairs was quick to suggest that in writing what he did, this bishop was in error. Spokesperson Dale Jones: "Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are, of course, entitled to express their own political opinions. However, publishing such views while using a title of a church officer, even if only as a leader of a local congregation as in this case, is entirely inappropriate." In this episode, Claudia Bushman, Jeralee Renshaw, and Devery Anderson join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon for a discussion of Question 7. What do we know of its origins and the intent behind it? Should it be applied to specific things such as one’s political opinions or support for various governmental policies? In their own lives, how do they as panelists approach Question 7--and, even more so, the temple recommend process as a whole? How disclosing are they about the various nuances of their own beliefs and practice? Do they believe the intent of temple recommend interviews is "worthiness," or might there be better framings for what this process is all about?
Nov 4, 2014
Just as many theorists understand individual human maturation through developmental stages, a great deal of literature suggests that institutions (churches, corporations, governments) as well as other all other groups, cultures, and societies, also undergo similar processes. In this episode, the panel discusses ideas about socio-cultural evolution at large, but grounding it always in lived Mormon experience. As Mormonism has developed, so have expectations for church members, but there is always a "lag" of sorts between the changes called for by societal and cultural forces and the pace of change an institution is able to bear. This lag often leads to great impatience in many who have begun to shift ahead of the main body. How can we who may find ourselves in this situation negotiate the tensions created when our pace doesn’t match that of the larger church and most of its members? Guest hosted by Katie Langston, and featuring panelists Dan Wotherspoon, Marybeth Raynes, and Brad Kramer, this episode explores this wonderfully interesting but also personally challenging place to be.
Oct 27, 2014
The LDS Church has just released via its website, LDS.org, several new essays under the heading "Plural Marriage in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." The cluster includes a framing article (named above) and links to three more detailed pieces: "Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo" (new article), "Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah" (which has been available on the site since mid-December 2013), and "The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage" (also new). The articles have been widely hailed as major steps forward in helping the church confront its history with this most difficult practice, as well as the doctrines that led to it and have preserved it in many ways even down to today. As can be expected, especially in documents that emerged from committee and involved those with ecclesiastical as well as historical concerns, the articles fall short in some areas. The panelists in this episode, Barbara Jones Brown, Todd M. Compton, and Brian C. Hales, join with Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in celebrating these new releases, noting always their strengths and the ways they will undoubtedly assist the church and its many members for whom its polygamist past (and present) is so painful, but also sharing their thoughts on how they might have been improved. Perhaps sometime soon they will!
Oct 21, 2014
Through its Newsroom website, the LDS Church recently released a new video and essay that depicts Mormonism’s sacred temple clothing, along with the garments worn by those who have gone through the temple and made covenants there. The video and essay frame temple robes and garments as continuous with the phenomenon of sacred clothing worn by adherents in many other faith traditions, speaks about their use in temple rituals and daily life, highlights how similar they are for both men and women, and even depicts Latter-day Saints at distribution centers shopping for garments. It also directly addresses the inaccurate and offensive use of terms like "magical" or "magic underwear," and asks for the same degree of respect that people of good will give to religious symbols, rituals, and vestments worn by those of other faiths. In this episode, Adam Miller and Rosalynde Welch join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in discussing the new video, its potential importance, what it covers and doesn’t cover (and what more they would like it to share about, if anything), and if and how it fits with other recent social media presentations that seem to be signaling that the church is becoming more open and proactive in teaching about the temple. They wonder if even more might be forthcoming. They also reflect on the "sacred vs. secret" dichotomy that is often playing in the background of all discussions of the temple. Is "secret" accurate, or are there better terms and ways of framing the need for not allowing total access to temple rituals and covenants? In what ways does the tension between being more or less transparent serve religious life and commitment to spiritual journeying?
Oct 16, 2014
Meet the Mormons was filmed for use in LDS visitor centers, but in a surprising move it was released in U.S. theaters on October 10th, and was seen by a substantial number of people--mostly Mormons, and many there from encouragement by leaders or local organizers to attend the opening weekend and convince theater owners to keep showing it for at least another week. Reactions to the film itself have been genuinely positive when evaluating it as a tool for visitor center guests, but it has been almost universally panned were one to judge it as a "documentary." It is more of an introduction to Mormons as a Christian tradition that centers on family and service, and it completely avoids mentions of Joseph Smith, the Restoration, or anything that is typically seen as unique or controversial. But is there more going on? Did the filmmakers (and church leaders who were in charge of final decision making) really intend this film to be primarily a proselytizing film? How aware were they of the LDS (especially North American) audience as they presented its six stories of people for whom Mormonism has been a wonderful blessing? Whether intentional or not, panelists Jody England Hansen, Brian Whitney, and Michael Barker, along with Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon, see the film as perhaps a tool in helping LDS members shift their perception from Mormonism as a primarily Western church with mostly white, middle-class members, to a multi-racial and international church--even a world religion. Included in this signaling is paring down of the gospel message to its basics: be Christlike, serve others, enjoy fellowship in a caring community. Before diving into this wider framing, the panel discusses the film and its reception, including controversies and critiques from those who struggle with the decision to release it commercially or to use church resources on it when there are so many more pressing issues for which they could be used.
Oct 14, 2014
The importance of actively participating in sharing the gospel is a prominent topic in contemporary Mormonism. For youth, there are big pushes to prepare for and serve a full-time mission. For parents, one of our most important calls is to raise future missionaries. We’re frequently called on to pray for inspiration about who in our lives might be open to hearing the gospel and having missionaries teach them, and we sometimes sit (often uncomfortably) in meetings where we are directly asked to commit to submit names for contact by missionaries. We’re occasionally asked to accompany ward and full-time missionaries as they meet with people in our area. And quite often we’re encouraged to prepare now for that time when our children are raised and we will have the chance to serve as senior couple missionaries, or perhaps as mission presidents. While many of us may welcome this emphasis on actively sharing the gospel, it can trigger different feelings in those who are undergoing or who have undergone a faith crisis or transition. Those of us in this situation are very likely aware of complications to the standard narratives of the restoration and how missionaries frame their introductions of the gospel and Joseph Smith and other prophets, which leads to some degree of internal turmoil about participating enthusiastically in formal or informal missionary work--or perhaps encouraging our children to serve. Many of us who are returned missionaries have strong memories of certain aspects of "missionary culture" that we would love to protect our children from, and for others of us, we ourselves had mission presidents with personalities or visions of the gospel and how it should be shared that we felt were ultimately toxic for our own faith. In this episode, Kristine Haglund, Anthony Craiker, and Alice Fisher Roberts join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in a far-ranging discussion of these issues. Each panelist is a parent and faithful church member who is aware of complicating issues, so do they hope their children will choose to serve full-time missions? How much of their own nuanced worldviews would they share with their children ahead of their missions? What advice about mission service or descriptions of mission pitfalls would they offer their child before she or he serves a mission? Would they themselves feel comfortable actively participating in the teaching of a friend or acquaintance who expresses interest in perhaps joining the church? How many nuances or complicating views of Mormon teachings would they feel they need to share with these investigators before they could feel good about their getting baptized? What about their own possible futures as senior missionaries or mission presidents? If they were to go on a mission knowing what they know now, what would they emphasize now that might be different from what young elders and sisters might teach?
Oct 1, 2014
No story differentiates Mormonism from other Christian traditions more than its claim to be the restoration of the church Jesus Christ set up while on the earth--an organization led by twelve apostles who were granted priesthood and authority to continue Christ’s saving work after he died. This framing narrative of an original church organization with priesthood keys that entitled its apostles to special revelation that, following the death of these leaders, fell into apostasy for some eighteen centuries before being restored to the earth, has provided a key part of our understanding of ourselves as Latter-day Saints and our historical location in God’s unfolding salvation story. The idea of an apostasy--a fall from a more pure form a Christianity--has provided us with a way to understand why there are so many competing traditions, so many different ideas about God and God’s requirements of us. It has also offered a sense of our own specialness, of being called to a particular work. However, scholarship over the past couple of centuries has begun to challenge the idea that Jesus was particularly concerned with priesthood ordination or an organization with a particular leadership structure. Early Christianity is becoming increasingly understood as anything but unified or a pure system that stood apart in key ways from other movements. The idea of apostleship seems to have been a fluid category. There is no consensus on who "the twelve" were, nor if Jesus considered them apostles. There don’t seem to be many hints that Jesus gave much thought to establishing an organization to aid his followers. A recent volume, Standing Apart: Mormon Historical Consciousness and the Concept of Apostasy, offers a wonderful introduction to Mormonism's apostasy (and thus a restoration was needed) narrative. The various articles in the collection trace the story’s origins how it has taken root in LDS self-understanding, and then complicate it. Written by LDS scholars who are disciplinary experts in the tune frames and approaches they write about, each wrestles with the historical record and its mismatch with the traditional narrative. But instead of only finding hopelessness as another sacred story falls back to earth, many of the pieces present rich and potentially transformative new framings for us to consider at this important moment in our tradition’s history. The book is a wonderful accomplishment and belongs on the shelves of all good LDS libraries. In this episode, the volume’s editors, Miranda Wilcox and John D. Young, and one of the contributors, Taylor Petrey, join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in introducing this volume and the history of the LDS apostasy narrative, pointing out directions current research is taking it, and highlighting new possibilities for LDS self-understanding.
Oct 1, 2014
No story differentiates Mormonism from other Christian traditions more than its claim to be the restoration of the church Jesus Christ set up while on the earth--an organization led by twelve apostles who were granted priesthood and authority to continue Christ’s saving work after he died. This framing narrative of an original church organization with priesthood keys that entitled its apostles to special revelation that, following the death of these leaders, fell into apostasy for some eighteen centuries before being restored to the earth, has provided a key part of our understanding of ourselves as Latter-day Saints and our historical location in God’s unfolding salvation story. The idea of an apostasy--a fall from a more pure form a Christianity--has provided us with a way to understand why there are so many competing traditions, so many different ideas about God and God’s requirements of us. It has also offered a sense of our own specialness, of being called to a particular work. However, scholarship over the past couple of centuries has begun to challenge the idea that Jesus was particularly concerned with priesthood ordination or an organization with a particular leadership structure. Early Christianity is becoming increasingly understood as anything but unified or a pure system that stood apart in key ways from other movements. The idea of apostleship seems to have been a fluid category. There is no consensus on who "the twelve" were, nor if Jesus considered them apostles. There don’t seem to be many hints that Jesus gave much thought to establishing an organization to aid his followers. A recent volume, Standing Apart: Mormon Historical Consciousness and the Concept of Apostasy, offers a wonderful introduction to Mormonism's apostasy (and thus a restoration was needed) narrative. The various articles in the collection trace the story’s origins how it has taken root in LDS self-understanding, and then complicate it. Written by LDS scholars who are disciplinary experts in the tune frames and approaches they write about, each wrestles with the historical record and its mismatch with the traditional narrative. But instead of only finding hopelessness as another sacred story falls back to earth, many of the pieces present rich and potentially transformative new framings for us to consider at this important moment in our tradition’s history. The book is a wonderful accomplishment and belongs on the shelves of all good LDS libraries. In this episode, the volume’s editors, Miranda Wilcox and John D. Young, and one of the contributors, Taylor Petrey, join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in introducing this volume and the history of the LDS apostasy narrative, pointing out directions current research is taking it, and highlighting new possibilities for LDS self-understanding.
Sep 24, 2014
Mormonism is a powerful tradition, presenting a worldview and truth claims that are extremely potent, but also creating a culture that can be, for many of us, totalizing. When we feel safe and secure within its teachings and the sense of meaning it presents, it can be a wonderful, comfortable home. If, on the other hand, we find ourselves holding a more complex view about its doctrines or occupying a position at odds in any way with the community and dominant culture, we can feel very much an outsider. For those of us in this situation, our preoccupation often becomes how can we negotiate the our new relationships and its tensions while still feeling fully ourselves? How can we participate--and even teach and lead--when we know or feel more than we sense is safe to say? How can we continue to have integrity with ourselves and our community? These are the questions posed in this episode. Departing a bit from the typical Mormon Matters panel format, this two-part episode features host Dan Wotherspoon, along with LDS author Neylan McBaine, as interviewees, fielding questions (and sometimes pushback) from two Mormon Matters listeners, Adam Leavitt and Jefferson Birrell. What emerges is a spirited, intense, but ultimately empowering conversation that we believe listeners will very much relate to and hopefully come away from with renewed intensity to continue and make the most of their own spiritual questing.
Sep 24, 2014
Mormonism is a powerful tradition, presenting a worldview and truth claims that are extremely potent, but also creating a culture that can be, for many of us, totalizing. When we feel safe and secure within its teachings and the sense of meaning it presents, it can be a wonderful, comfortable home. If, on the other hand, we find ourselves holding a more complex view about its doctrines or occupying a position at odds in any way with the community and dominant culture, we can feel very much an outsider. For those of us in this situation, our preoccupation often becomes how can we negotiate the our new relationships and its tensions while still feeling fully ourselves? How can we participate--and even teach and lead--when we know or feel more than we sense is safe to say? How can we continue to have integrity with ourselves and our community? These are the questions posed in this episode. Departing a bit from the typical Mormon Matters panel format, this two-part episode features host Dan Wotherspoon, along with LDS author Neylan McBaine, as interviewees, fielding questions (and sometimes pushback) from two Mormon Matters listeners, Adam Leavitt and Jefferson Birrell. What emerges is a spirited, intense, but ultimately empowering conversation that we believe listeners will very much relate to and hopefully come away from with renewed intensity to continue and make the most of their own spiritual questing.
Aug 29, 2014
Scripture is not its own genre. Some scriptural texts are letters, some are songs or descriptions of rituals and liturgies, some poetry. Many sections are historical narratives, but others fall into the classification of "wisdom literature," a genre that has completely different goals from historical accounts and a radically different view of what is or is not "true." For ancient readers, these different genres of texts all within the Bible itself or as sections within particular books/chapters, were quite recognizable. They understood textual clues, such as phrases equivalent to today’s "Once upon a time," or would notice noun or verb forms that are highly stylized and primarily employed in mythic stories. Hence they encountered many signals that we miss because of our lack of familiarity with the original languages, the vast cultural differences between then and now, or because, as is the case with the King James Version of the Bible, the translators omitted textual forms that set off sections as the various genres change. Many of the observations outlined above come from a discipline of "literary criticism" or from those who look at scripture through literary lenses. Approaching scripture in this way, the attention falls upon the text itself. How did the author of each text shape his or her story? What did he/she leave out? How did the author intend this text to be read? We, as human beings, cannot help but bring our current eyes to each text and to fill in the gaps that are there, and to read with certain assumptions that may or may not be accurate or helpful. The best we can do is be aware that this is what we are doing, and in this awareness mitigate the distortions as much as possible. In this episode, Michael Austin and Boyd Jay Petersen join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon for a discussion of many wonderful things that literary lenses can reveal about scriptural texts. In what ways do certain aspects come alive for us, helping us see what we missed before? How does a reading more in line with its original context force us out of our comfort zones and into new questions and a frame of mind where we might gain new insights or have a fresh encounter with Spirit? As case studies, Michael helps us work through the Book of Job, and Boyd offers insights into the David and Bathsheba narrative.
Aug 23, 2014
This episode features four one-on-one conversations between Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon and wonderful friends of his--Jeff Krey, Chelsi Archibald, Jim Smithson, and Becky Linford--who he asked to think about and share their favorite thing about Mormonism. What it is that they like or love most about Mormonism or life as a Latter-day Saint? What idea or practice or cultural uniqueness excites their spirits or compels the most reflection? As happened the first time we convened a "best thing" conversation, we got very interesting, even somewhat surprising, answers.
Jul 29, 2014
In this episode, the Mormon Matters "Genesis Team"--David Bokovoy, Tom Roberts, and Brian Hauglid--join host Dan Wotherspoon for a discussion of Genesis 24-33, which focus on the God-ordained meeting and marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, and the tales of their twin sons, Esau and Jacob--many of which focus on trickery and deception in order to fulfill Yahweh’s plans to continue the purity of the bloodline and the pass along the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. It also looks long and hard at Jacob and his journey from somewhat of a "Mama’s boy" to full-fledged prophet-hero--to a great extent aided by his mighty wrestle with Yahweh himself. The episode contains important insights into the text and its sources, various laws, customs, and folk magic that help explain some very strange actions--How does one create a lot of spotted, speckled, and ringstraked livestock? By putting similar things in front of them while they mate!--and the troubling presence of parental favoritism that plagues the families of many biblical prophets. It also gives the panel and host chances to reflect on powerful moments of forgiveness and the spiritual growth of many characters, growth that is, in many of our lives, aided by great physical and mental striving.
Jul 29, 2014
In this episode, the Mormon Matters "Genesis Team"--David Bokovoy, Tom Roberts, and Brian Hauglid--join host Dan Wotherspoon for a discussion of Genesis 24-33, which focus on the God-ordained meeting and marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, and the tales of their twin sons, Esau and Jacob--many of which focus on trickery and deception in order to fulfill Yahweh’s plans to continue the purity of the bloodline and the pass along the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. It also looks long and hard at Jacob and his journey from somewhat of a "Mama’s boy" to full-fledged prophet-hero--to a great extent aided by his mighty wrestle with Yahweh himself. The episode contains important insights into the text and its sources, various laws, customs, and folk magic that help explain some very strange actions--How does one create a lot of spotted, speckled, and ringstraked livestock? By putting similar things in front of them while they mate!--and the troubling presence of parental favoritism that plagues the families of many biblical prophets. It also gives the panel and host chances to reflect on powerful moments of forgiveness and the spiritual growth of many characters, growth that is, in many of our lives, aided by great physical and mental striving.
Jul 29, 2014
In this episode, the Mormon Matters "Genesis Team"--David Bokovoy, Tom Roberts, and Brian Hauglid--join host Dan Wotherspoon for a discussion of Genesis 24-33, which focus on the God-ordained meeting and marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, and the tales of their twin sons, Esau and Jacob--many of which focus on trickery and deception in order to fulfill Yahweh’s plans to continue the purity of the bloodline and the pass along the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. It also looks long and hard at Jacob and his journey from somewhat of a "Mama’s boy" to full-fledged prophet-hero--to a great extent aided by his mighty wrestle with Yahweh himself. The episode contains important insights into the text and its sources, various laws, customs, and folk magic that help explain some very strange actions--How does one create a lot of spotted, speckled, and ringstraked livestock? By putting similar things in front of them while they mate!--and the troubling presence of parental favoritism that plagues the families of many biblical prophets. It also gives the panel and host chances to reflect on powerful moments of forgiveness and the spiritual growth of many characters, growth that is, in many of our lives, aided by great physical and mental striving.
Jul 17, 2014
We Latter-day Saints "talk of Christ . . . rejoice in Christ . . . preach of Christ . . . prophesy of Christ . . . and write of Christ, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26). But have we always been consistent in our understanding of Christ? What are the evolutions in thought about Christ that we have undergone in the nearly two centuries since the church’s founding? How did earlier Latter-day Saints understand certain terms in ways that are different from today’s views? We Mormons also speak regularly of the importance of "coming unto Christ," "taking his name upon us," "standing as a witness for Christ," and "becoming perfect in Christ." What do we mean by these terms? Do they have multiple layers that can reveal great richness when we examine them deeply? In this five-part episode, Charley Harrell, Jody England Hansen, and Phil McLemore join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in an extensive dive in both doctrinal and devotional aspects related to our Christian beliefs and experiences.
Jul 17, 2014
We Latter-day Saints "talk of Christ . . . rejoice in Christ . . . preach of Christ . . . prophesy of Christ . . . and write of Christ, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26). But have we always been consistent in our understanding of Christ? What are the evolutions in thought about Christ that we have undergone in the nearly two centuries since the church’s founding? How did earlier Latter-day Saints understand certain terms in ways that are different from today’s views? We Mormons also speak regularly of the importance of "coming unto Christ," "taking his name upon us," "standing as a witness for Christ," and "becoming perfect in Christ." What do we mean by these terms? Do they have multiple layers that can reveal great richness when we examine them deeply? In this five-part episode, Charley Harrell, Jody England Hansen, and Phil McLemore join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in an extensive dive in both doctrinal and devotional aspects related to our Christian beliefs and experiences.
Jul 17, 2014
We Latter-day Saints "talk of Christ . . . rejoice in Christ . . . preach of Christ . . . prophesy of Christ . . . and write of Christ, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26). But have we always been consistent in our understanding of Christ? What are the evolutions in thought about Christ that we have undergone in the nearly two centuries since the church’s founding? How did earlier Latter-day Saints understand certain terms in ways that are different from today’s views? We Mormons also speak regularly of the importance of "coming unto Christ," "taking his name upon us," "standing as a witness for Christ," and "becoming perfect in Christ." What do we mean by these terms? Do they have multiple layers that can reveal great richness when we examine them deeply? In this five-part episode, Charley Harrell, Jody England Hansen, and Phil McLemore join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in an extensive dive in both doctrinal and devotional aspects related to our Christian beliefs and experiences.
Jul 17, 2014
We Latter-day Saints "talk of Christ . . . rejoice in Christ . . . preach of Christ . . . prophesy of Christ . . . and write of Christ, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26). But have we always been consistent in our understanding of Christ? What are the evolutions in thought about Christ that we have undergone in the nearly two centuries since the church’s founding? How did earlier Latter-day Saints understand certain terms in ways that are different from today’s views? We Mormons also speak regularly of the importance of "coming unto Christ," "taking his name upon us," "standing as a witness for Christ," and "becoming perfect in Christ." What do we mean by these terms? Do they have multiple layers that can reveal great richness when we examine them deeply? In this five-part episode, Charley Harrell, Jody England Hansen, and Phil McLemore join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in an extensive dive in both doctrinal and devotional aspects related to our Christian beliefs and experiences.
Jul 17, 2014
We Latter-day Saints "talk of Christ . . . rejoice in Christ . . . preach of Christ . . . prophesy of Christ . . . and write of Christ, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26). But have we always been consistent in our understanding of Christ? What are the evolutions in thought about Christ that we have undergone in the nearly two centuries since the church’s founding? How did earlier Latter-day Saints understand certain terms in ways that are different from today’s views? We Mormons also speak regularly of the importance of "coming unto Christ," "taking his name upon us," "standing as a witness for Christ," and "becoming perfect in Christ." What do we mean by these terms? Do they have multiple layers that can reveal great richness when we examine them deeply? In this five-part episode, Charley Harrell, Jody England Hansen, and Phil McLemore join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in an extensive dive in both doctrinal and devotional aspects related to our Christian beliefs and experiences.
Jul 7, 2014
As we in the LDS Bloggernacle continue to process and strive for healing and renewed hope during this time of unease and pain caused by the recent excommunication of Kate Kelly and pending disciplinary decisions for John Dehlin and several other public Mormon voices, it is important to hear helpful framings from experienced and wise friends. Moderated by Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon, this episode features a conversation between Natasha Helfer Parker, Ronda Callister, Chelsea Shields Strayer, and Maxine Hanks. Our thanks to the Faith Again study group in Salt Lake City for the impetus to bring this panel together.
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