Mormon Land

It’s the late 1960s to mid-1970s. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues a century-old priesthood and temple ban against its Black members. It takes a high-profile public stance against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. And a persistent patriarchy urges women to abandon careers and return home to care for their children and husbands — all the while limiting their leadership and other opportunities within the religion. These policies and practices created friction for a number of working women in the church. But rather than leave the fold, a number of talented trailblazers chose instead to turn to Christ and seek personal answers to private prayers to carve their own paths and not only stay true to the faith — and their ambitions — but also emerge even stronger. On this week’s show, Robin Ritch discusses their journeys, which she documents in her newly released book, “Using Friction to Grow.”

Nearly 50 years ago, Latter-day Saint prophet-president Spencer W. Kimball warned boldly and directly about the dangers of war, including the vast resources used in the destruction of America’s enemies. The Yoda-like leader cautioned that members were becoming a “warlike people.” His successors in the office, though, have rarely spoken with such passion and purpose. Their condemnations of war and proclamations of peace have been more tempered, more cautious, more general. Now the U.S. is at war again and other religious leaders, most notably Pope Leo XIV, have condemned the military assault. In his first General Conference sermon as the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dallin H. Oaks gave a major address urging members to be peacemakers — echoing Jesus’ call in the Sermon on the Mount — but his remarks were mostly aimed at interpersonal rather than geopolitical conflicts. What has happened in the intervening decades to cause Latter-day Saint presidents to avoid speaking up about war? Why are some members wishing their leaders were following the pope’s lead? Discussing those questions and more related to war and peace are Patrick Mason, chair of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University who wrote a book titled: “Proclaim Peace: The Restoration’s Answer to an Age of Conflict" and Holly Burton, a Utahn who is studying conflict management and resolution at the Kroc School of Peace Studies at the Catholic-led University of San Diego.

There was plenty of good growth news — at least on its books — for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2025: a record number of convert baptisms of more than 385,000; an overall global membership climbing ever closer to 18 million; and at least 44 nations or territories with annual growth rates above 10%. At the same time, the United States, the nation with the most Latter-day Saints, saw its net raw numbers decline for the first time, and children of record continued to lag well below 100,000. On this week’s show, we dissect the latest data — from the exceptional expansions in parts of the Global South to the stagnant figures in other parts of the world — with independent researcher Matt Martinich, who tracks such data for the websites cumorah.com and ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com.

At least four aspects of the just-completed General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stood out: • The Easter weekend focus on the death, resurrection and Atonement of Jesus Christ. • A solemn assembly combined with Dallin H. Oaks’ first conference sermon as the 18th church president. • A record number of convert baptisms in 2025. • The choice of an African woman to lead the faith’s Primary organization for children. Oaks gave a powerful talk about peace, definitely a timely topic. And the elevation of the first African as head of any of the faith’s global organizations was historic. But the weekend falling on Easter meant that most of the talks began to sound alike — even repetitive — and quite similar to what you might hear at any Christian church on that sacred holiday. That begs a number of questions: Is it time to rethink the structure and substance of these semiannual gatherings? Are there too many sessions? Are they too long? Does the Saturday evening session need to return? What about a women’s meeting? What about the speeches themselves, especially since they will form the basis of Relief Society and priesthood quorum lessons (occurring every Sunday starting in September)? On this week’s show, Margaret Olsen Hemming, co-editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, and Sam Brunson, a law professor and Latter-day Saint blogger with By Common Consent, address those questions and more.

It has been the month of breaking news surrounding reality television in Utah. From Season 4 of 'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' premiering, to Taylor Frankie Paul's 'Bachelorette' season being cancelled, to Jessi from 'Secret Lives' getting divorced to then sending flowers to a friend for kissing her ex-husband...there is a lot to unpack! On this 'Mormons in Media' crossover, we discuss what ties back to religion and what is just drama. Plus, we talk about deconstructing religion on missions and GLP-1 addiction and how that ties back into the "Utah beauty standard." Will certain things stay black and white or are we entering a grey area?

As a young man, Troy Williams wore a missionary name tag for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Great Britain — all the while fighting against the growing realization he was gay. Afterward, he interned with the Utah Eagle Forum and learned the ways of backroom politicking at the feet of one of the state’s most effective conservative lobbyists, Gayle Ruzicka. Thus, an advocate was born. After embracing his sexual orientation, Williams rose to executive director of Equality Utah, the state’s preeminent LGBTQ+ rights group, and suddenly found himself on the opposite side from his onetime mentor. Though he no longer labored for his former faith, Williams soon was working with it, helping to bring about the landmark Utah Compromise, which safeguarded religious liberty while barring housing and workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. More breakthroughs followed, including the church’s endorsement of the Respect for Marriage Act, codifying civil same-sex marriage. Now, after more than a decade at Equality Utah’s helm, Williams is stepping down. On this week’s show, he discusses his incredible personal and political journey.

For decades, the Temple Square mission in Salt Lake City has operated unlike any other run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The smallest mission in the world geographically, it is arguably also one of the busiest, acting as an introduction to the Utah-based faith for millions of visitors from across the globe — as well as a place of spiritual rejuvenation for members. Temple Square is also the only mission composed solely of female proselytizers, who are given the chance to lead in roles otherwise reserved for men. Like the guests they greet in dozens of languages, they have come for decades from all across the world. During their 18-month stints, they welcome visitors to the faith’s most iconic site, teach its history, and share its beliefs in tours and in call centers. This July, that all comes to an end. After more than 30 years in operation, the mission will dissolve, replaced by the same model other church visitor centers have long employed. Instead, “sister missionaries” from surrounding Utah missions will divide their time between the serving on Temple Square and engaging in traditional proselytizing in their assigned geographic region. On this week’s show, two Temple Square mission alums — Southern Californian DaMinikah Rigby, who served from 2021 to 2022, and Arizonan-turned-Utahn Roxana Baker, who served from 2009-2010 — talk about their experiences — what they loved, what they learned, whom they taught, and what they think may be lost and gained by the mission’s closure.

Faithful Salt Lake Tribune readers know Eli McCann well. He’s the award-winning columnist who has them cracking up about coming out as a coffee drinker one minute and tearing up about the Latter-day Saint youth group in the western Pacific who won his heart the next. Now his monthly humor columns have been compiled into one bright, breezy book. Titled “We’re Thankful for the Moisture: A Gay Guy’s Guide to Mormon Faith, Family, and Fruit Preservation.” It’s a valentine of sorts to Latter-day Saint culture, containing classics like his first date with his future, non-Mormon husband at, of all places, the Kirtland Temple; his adventures — and misadventures — in the kitchen after unearthing a missionary cookbook; and the awkward — but somehow appropriate — chuckles he shared with a bishop when he signed his resignation letter from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A practicing attorney, Eli lives is Salt Lake City with his husband, physician Skylar Westerdahl, their toddler son, West, and, as Eli puts it, “two naughty (yet worshipped) dogs.” On this week’s show, Eli and Skylar talk about his writings, their life and why Eli still finds laughter and love in the religious culture that bred him.

By all accounts, Richard Bushman could be considered the patriarch of Mormon history. For more than nine decades, he has lived it, studied it, analyzed it, shared it with fellow believers and explained it to nonbelievers. The soft-spoken scholar — with three degrees from Harvard and a drive toward understanding truth — has been writing about Mormonism for much of his academic career. He is a giant in his field and a mentor to many young historians. He penned a seminal biography of Joseph Smith, founder The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and later published an examination of the importance of Smith’s “gold plates,” from which sprang the Book of Mormon. To many, the emeritus history professor from Columbia University is a dream representative of the Utah-based faith — quiet, reasoned, faithful but open and willing to ask hard questions. So what has he seen of the church in his 94 years? What eras were most difficult? Most satisfying? What struggles has he faced as a member and where does he see the church in the 21st century as compared to when he was born? On this week’s show, Bushman, who is writing his memoirs, reflects on the past, ruminates on the present and imagines the future.

For most of its nearly 200-year history, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints considered temple clothing — including what are known as “garments,” worn under everyday attire — too sacred to discuss, even within families or among friends. That has slowly changed. In 2015, the Utah-based faith posted photos and videos of garments on YouTube to show the outside world that there is “nothing magical or mystical about temple garments.” These days images of garments (especially the new sleeveless design) are posted on the church’s online store and by faithful Latter-day Saints themselves. But how did the practice of wearing garments begin? What were early garments like? What did they signify to the wearers? And how have they evolved through the years? On this week’s show, Nancy Ross and Jessica Finnigan, authors, along with Larissa Kanno Kindred, of a forthcoming book, “Mormon Garments: Sacred and Secret,“ discuss the history and purpose of this religious underwear.

The new year started and so did the reality television. On this 'Mormon Land' and 'Mormons in Media' crossover, we unpack TLC's new docuseries The Cult of the Real Housewife. This takes a deep dive into Mary Cosby, from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and how she runs her Utah church. It brings up uncomfortable questions about tithing, how it's regulated and what exactly that money goes towards. Is "cult" too strong a word in this instance, or does charisma make scamming easier to overlook?

Picking new apostles is a significant and solemn responsibility for presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After all, any of the men (and, in the patriarchal faith, they must be men) selected for this lifetime assignment could one day rise to the presidency of the global religion. Choosing new apostles also represents a way in which Latter-day Saint prophet-presidents can leave their mark on the church long after they are gone — similar to U.S. presidents when they nominate justices to the Supreme Court. In the mid-1990s, Howard Hunter led the church for a mere nine months — the shortest tenure of any church president — yet the one apostle he chose was Jeffrey Holland, who served for three decades and was positioned as next in line to take the faith’s reins at the time of his recent death. With Holland’s death, church President Dallin Oaks, himself a former Utah Supreme Court justice and barely three months into his presidential tenure, has the chance to name his second new apostle. Whom might he pick? How do church leaders go about deciding? What can we learn from past apostle selections? Were there any surprise picks? Were any notable leaders ever passed over? And what might the naming of new apostles say about the current church and its future? On this week’s show, Latter-day Saint historian Benjamin Park, author of “American Zion: A New History of Mormonism,” discusses those questions and more.