Mormon Land explores the contours and complexities of LDS news. It’s hosted by award-winning religion writer Peggy Fletcher Stack and Salt Lake Tribune managing editor David Noyce.
Latest episodes
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42 min
How the ‘Oaks doctrine’ on politics jibes with Jesus’ teachings | Episode 462
Are Latter-day Saints Christians? It’s not an uncommon question. Members respond with an emphatic “yes” and point to the signs outside their chapels and temples: The Church of Jesu…
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35 min
This LDS OB-GYN was ‘100% yes’ on Prop 1 — until her church weighed in | Episode 461
The U.S. Central Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued an official statement last month opposing the Idaho Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act,…
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31 min
Why gambling violates LDS principles and economics | Episode 460
The explosion in gambling — especially through the emergence of online sports betting and so-called prediction markets — has been debated in the courts, Congress and now Latter-day…
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35 min
LDS women and the rise of conservative Christian gender ideals | Episode 459
Six years ago, the book “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation” hit shelves. A 75-year history of evangelical masculinity, The New Y…
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42 min
Former judge Thomas Griffith on LDS President Dallin Oaks' D.C. speech | Episode 458
President Dallin H. Oaks, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave a landmark address recently in a soaring cathedral at the nation’s capital to a packed aud…
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31 min
McKay Coppins on sports betting for Latter-day Saints | Episode 457
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is opposed to gambling. … [It] is motivated by a desire to get something for nothing. This desire is spiritually destructive. It le…
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42 min
LDS service missionaries confront a whole new challenge: immigration | Episode 456
Scott Howell is a well-known figure among Utah Democrats. He served for a decade in the state Senate and was twice the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. During the past dozen…
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31 min
Sex for older single, divorced and widowed Latter-day Saints | Episode 455
Sexual standards set by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seem clear — no sex before marriage, total fidelity during marriage. Guidelines for sexual activity are set…
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41 min
Shorter lessons. Less foyer time. Will new Sunday schedule lead to a ‘drive-thru’ church? | Episode 454
Starting in September, the Sabbath experience will change for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world. Services each Sunday will feature all of…
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29 min
The LDS Church’s retention rate may fall even further | Episode 453
The on-again, off-again debate about retention in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is, most definitely, on — again. And in a big way. The latest round began with a r…
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49 min
Exploring the church's case against John Dehlin's "Mormon Stories" | Episode 452
After a failed attempt at a mediation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sued the influential podcast “Mormon Stories,” known for its criticism of the faith and its l…
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55 min
'Mormons in Media' crossover: Watching 'The Altar' so you don't have to
On this crossover episode between ‘Mormon Land’ and ‘Mormons in Media, ’ Rebbie and Nicole are joined by Meg Walter, host of the ‘Hive Mind’ podcast. There is a new season of a Pro…
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1 h 01
‘My mom cried and my dad went silent,’ says gay son of famed LDS composer | Episode 451
Jeff McLean grew up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Heber City. As the son of renowned Latter-day Saint composer and playwright Michael McLean, fa…
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41 min
'After Happiness': Surviving today’s challenging economic and polarizing climate | Episode 450
In her new book, “After Happiness: Living with Faith in a Time of Crisis,” Natalie Brown, a Salt Lake Tribune guest columnist, calls on readers to develop a deeper, richer, more re…
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41 min
His scribe’s diaries provide further evidence of Joseph Smith’s secret polygamy | Episode 449
William Clayton is likely known to most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the author of the beloved pioneer hymn, “Come, Come, Ye Saints.” To historians…
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53 min
About Brazil's Latter-day Saints | Episode 448
Brazilian Helvécio Martins was the first Black general authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was named a dozen years after the Utah-based faith ended its…
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40 min
The search for what Joseph Smith looked like and why it matters | Episode 447
“As a Latter-day Saint artist, Joseph Brickey had painted church founder Joseph Smith dozens of times. So he was naturally skeptical in 2022, when he first saw headlines about a re…
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37 min
Why this past LDS anti-communist zealot is relevant today | Episode 446
There was a time in the 1960s when W. Cleon Skousen, who died in 2006 at 92, was a widely known and controversial conservative figure in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa…
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58 min
How LDS of all backgrounds can integrate African American spirituals into worship | Episode 445
Earlier this month, general authority Seventy historian Kyle McKay apologized for remarks he made at a regional worship service in Oklahoma. In his controversial comments, McKay, t…
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39 min
The beliefs and battles of Marion D. Hanks | Episode 444
There was a time in the 1960s and ’70s, when Marion Duff Hanks was better known than almost any other Latter-day Saint leader. The boyish, handsome, charismatic and deeply literate…