Faith Matters

By Faith Matters Foundation

Religion & Spirituality Christianity

What's Faith Matters about?

Faith Matters offers an expansive view of the Restored Gospel, thoughtful exploration of big and sometimes thorny questions, and a platform that encourages deeper engagement with our faith and our world.We focus on the Latter-day Saint (Mormon) tradition, but believe we have much to learn from other traditions and fully embrace those of other beliefs.

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158. The Other Side Academy...

03.18.2023

This week we’re sharing with you one of the most popular presentations from our Restore gathering that happened last October — a talk by Joseph Grenny called “The Other Side.” As a young father, Joseph was determined to have the ...

Faith Matters episodes:

03.18.2023 158. The Other Side Academy: "Zion with F-Bombs" — Joseph Grenny at Restore This week we’re sharing with you one of the most popular presentations from our Restore gathering that happened last October — a talk by Joseph Grenny called “The Other Side.” As a young father, Joseph was determined to have the ...
03.11.2023 157. Using Your Gifts for Good — A Conversation with Liz Shropshire For this week’s episode, we’re bringing you a story that we really think will uplift and inspire you. Our guest was Liz Shropshire, the founder of Peace Through Music. In our interview with her, Liz tells the story of how ...
03.04.2023 156. Friendship in Faith — A Conversation with Andrew Teal Several years ago, Matthew Holland, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s son, was on a sabbatical at Oxford University. One day, he passed by a door that said “Chaplain.” Intrigued, he decided to knock. Thus began a remarkable relationship with Andrew Teal, ...
02.24.2023 155. A Year of War and Miracles — Svitlana Miller and Nancy Cadjan To help, head to https://www.toukrainewithlove.org It’s been exactly a year since the world received the shocking news that Russian troops had invaded Ukraine, and exactly a year since the lives of millions of Ukrainian people changed forever. As ...
02.19.2023 154. Every Needful Thing — Melissa Inouye and Kate Holbrook Today, you’re going to hear a really special episode. It’s a conversation with Melissa Inouye and Kate Holbrook that took place last summer, not long before Kate’s passing in August 2022. We spoke with Kate and Melissa about an amazing ...
02.12.2023 153. Developing Sexual Wholeness — Jennifer Finlayson-Fife This week, we’re sharing another one of our favorite presentations from our Restore conference, given by Jennifer Finlayson-Fife and called Developing Sexual Wholeness. In her talk, Jennifer brilliantly laid out human sexuality in terms of development, in the same way ...
02.05.2023 152. The Richard Bushman Interview This week's guest is Richard Bushman, who is simply one of the most important scholarly voices ever in the Latter-day Saint tradition. Of course, Richard has been interviewed many times over the years, and we wanted to make sure that ...
01.29.2023 151. When Faith is Hard — A Conversation with Terryl Givens For today’s episode, we were honored to bring back the inimitable Terryl Givens. Terryl and his son Nathaniel have recently released a new book, called Into the Headwinds: Why Belief Has Always Been Hard — And Still Is. This is ...
01.22.2023 150. How Are We Like the Ancient Christians? — A Conversation with Kristian Heal For today’s episode, we spoke with Kristian Heal. BYU’s Maxwell Institute has just released an amazing new volume of research called Ancient Christians, that offers remarkable insights into Christianity’s earliest centuries. It’s intended for Latter-day Saints, but based on the ...
01.15.2023 149. Don't Let a Good Faith Crisis Go to Waste — Jared Halverson This week, we’re excited to share with you another presentation from our Restore conference, and one that we think was super memorable to everyone who attended. It was given by our friend Jared Halverson, and called “Don’t Let a Good ...
01.07.2023 148. Equal Partnership in Marriage — McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding This week, we’re bringing back a couple of our favorite guests and close friends, McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding. McArthur and Bethany have just released a new book titled: In the Image of Our Heavenly Parents: A Couples’ Guide ...
01.01.2023 147. Bittersweet - A Conversation with Susan Cain This week, we were honored to bring on a guest we’ve hoped to have on for years — Susan Cain. In 2013, she released her book Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking. But today, ...
12.24.2022 146. Savior of the World - A Conversation with Esther Candari As we imagine many of you have, we’ve been thinking a lot about Jesus these last few weeks. From the nativity we set up in our living room to the movies we’re watching to the hymns we’re singing in Church, ...
12.18.2022 145. Envisioning the Restoration's 3rd Century — Patrick Mason Today we’re sharing with you one of our absolute favorite presentations from our Restore gathering that happened in October — a talk by Patrick Mason that he called “Envisioning the Restoration’s Third Century.” As we prepare for our Church to ...
12.11.2022 144. The Art of Transformation — A Conversation with Makoto Fujimura In Japanese culture there is a beautiful practice called Kintsugi, which translates roughly to “golden repair”. This is how it works: when a piece of ceramic breaks, like a teacup or plate, instead of gluing the broken pieces back together ...
12.04.2022 143. The Sin of Certainty — A Conversation with Peter Enns We couldn’t be more excited about today’s episode, and it’s with someone we’ve wanted to get on the podcast for years — Peter Enns. Pete is a well-known bible scholar and is the Abram S. Clemens professor of Bible Studies ...
11.27.2022 142. The Truth Will Set You Free — A Conversation with Jason Portnoy Everything seemed to be going right for Jason Portnoy. While studying engineering at Stanford, his career took a sharp and unexpected turn upward when he met the CEO of a new startup — a company that became PayPal. He was ...
11.20.2022 141. The Song of the Heart — Brett Stewart and Brandon Stewart A few years ago, we were invited by some good friends to see a Christmas concert their kids were participating in. We were happy to be invited, and of course, wanted to support our friends and their kids! So we ...
11.13.2022 140. Understanding and Preventing Sexual Abuse — Sage Williams and Rebecca Bettilyon This discusses the topic of sexual abuse and prevention of sexual abuse. Please use discretion in determining whether or not this is a suitable episode for you or for anyone listening in. Sexual abuse and sexual violence are shockingly prevalent. ...
11.13.2022 139. How the Helpline Actually Works — A Conversation with Kate Taylor Lauck *This episode discusses the topic of sexual abuse, and in particular, the recent sexual abuse case in Arizona that was covered by the Associated Press and widely shared and discussed in mainstream/social media. Please use discretion in determining whether or ...
11.05.2022 138. The Rediscovered Gospel — A Conversation with Elaine Pagels In 1945 fifty-two papyrus texts were found concealed in an earthenware jar buried in the Egyptian desert. They turned out to be early Christian writings, some dating all the way back to the first few centuries AD. Elaine Pagels, a ...
10.30.2022 137. Loving Your Enemy: Daryl Davis and the Ku Klux Klan This week, Faith Matters is bringing you a story that defies expectations so completely that you really have to hear it straight from the source. Our guest was Daryl Davis, who’s easily one of the most fascinating and inspiring people ...
10.23.2022 136. Let Me Drown with Moses — A Conversation with James Goldberg For this episode, we were happy to bring on someone that’s been on our list for a long time — scholar and writer James Goldberg. James is a fascinating person and Latter-day Saint, and brings a truly unique perspective to ...
10.16.2022 135. Imagining a Four-Stage Church — A Conversation with Patrick Mason We’ve been thinking and talking a lot recently about a phenomenon that sometimes happens and that we’ve occasionally felt ourselves — something you might call a “spiritual whiplash.” It can happen when we’re really uplifted by something: maybe a book ...
10.02.2022 134. Do I Stay Christian? — A Conversation with Brian McLaren In this episode, we were honored to bring back our friend Brian McLaren to talk about his brand new book, Do I Stay Christian? In this new book, Brian addresses a real question which underlies a startling sociological truth: people ...
09.24.2022 133. The Love Map — A Conversation with Carol Lynn Pearson In this episode, we got to speak with Carol Lynn Pearson about her new book, The Love Map: Saving Your Love Relationship and Incidentally Saving the World. Carol Lynn has been a powerful and well-known voice in the Latter-day Saint ...
09.18.2022 132. History and Faith — A Conversation with David Holland The Restoration occurred in a fascinating and complex religious and historical moment in American history, and knowing more about that context can help us more deeply appreciate the blessings and beauty of the Restored Gospel. One person at the forefront ...
09.10.2022 131. The Burning Book — A Conversation with Jason Olson For today’s episode, we were really excited to bring on Jason Olson, who, along with James Goldberg, is the author of a new memoir called The Burning Book. Jason’s story is truly fascinating: he was born into a reform Jewish ...
09.04.2022 130. Original Grace — A Conversation with Adam Miller For today’s episode, we were lucky enough to bring back Latter-day Saint philosopher and theologian Adam Miller to talk about his new book, Original Grace. Of the many incredible books we’ve read from Adam, this one, we think, might have ...
08.27.2022 129. The Early Christian World — A Conversation with Laura Nasralla In the past few decades, scholarship on the New Testament has opened up exciting new ways of understanding the context of the early followers of Jesus and has enabled new interpretations of the texts they wrote. One of the leading ...
08.25.2022 Remembering Kate Holbrook The Faith Matters family lost a dear friend this week. Kate Holbrook passed away after a long battle with cancer. Kate was a graceful light in our lives. Her strength, her courage, her wisdom, her intelligence and her gentle manner ...
08.21.2022 128. Relentless Hope: The Chiou Family Story —Sam Chiou, Mindy Chiou, and Julia Chiou Knutson Today, we’re bringing you a really amazing story that we can’t wait for you to hear. It’s the story of Sam Chiou — a remarkable young man who is nonspeaking and autistic, and who was totally unable to communicate for ...
08.12.2022 127. Mind, Matter, and Spirit — A Conversation with Michael Ferguson For decades, our understanding of how the brain works has advanced dramatically. Using new theories, methods and tools, like fMRI technology, scientists are beginning to reveal the mysteries of this truly remarkable and complex organ. One scientist on the cutting ...
08.06.2022 126. Lift and Love — A Conversation with Allison Dayton In this episode, we spoke with Allison Dayton from Lift and Love, an organization that focuses on strengthening Latter-day Saint LGBTQ families. We met Allison not long ago and were so impressed by the spirit and love she brings to ...
07.29.2022 125. Proving Polarities — A Conversation with Jared Halverson For today’s episode, we’re really excited to bring on Jared Halverson. Jared shares with us a really important concept he calls “proving contraries,” —something we’ve talked a little bit about on the podcast before using the term “polarities.” He spoke ...
07.23.2022 124. Getting Real About Missionary Work — A Conversation with Jeff Strong For this episode, we spoke with Jeff Strong about the experience of missionaries in today’s mission field, including the unique challenges and opportunities they face. This conversation was based largely on a document Jeff wrote, called “What One Mission President ...
07.17.2022 123. Behind the Scenes at Faith Matters — Bill Turnbull, Aubrey Chaves, Tim Chaves, and Zach Davis With all the exciting things happening at Faith Matters, we thought it would be a good time to step back, take stock of what we’ve done, and share more about where we’re going. So in this episode, Tim and Aubrey ...
07.09.2022 122. Under the Banner — A Conversation with McKay Coppins and Patrick Mason Under the Banner of Heaven is a recent 7-part dramatized series aired on Hulu by about the horrific 1984 murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty by brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty. Like the book it’s based on, the series paints ...
07.02.2022 121. Hope and Healing in a Time of Crisis: A Conversation with Anne Snyder The twin challenges of the pandemic and political polarization have caused widespread anxiety and even despair. And yet, as Christian disciples, we are called to plant seeds of hope in even the most seemingly barren soil. For this episode, Zach ...
06.25.2022 120. The Law of Love — A Conversation with Steve Young In so many domains of our lives, we are encouraged to think and act in a transactional, cost-benefit way. But Latter-day Saints are called to transcend this logic and follow the law of love, which Steve Young defines in his ...
06.18.2022 119. Is God Alive in Cambridge? — A Conversation with Noah Feldman Noah Feldman is one of the most fascinating and engaging public intellectuals in the world. He’s also had a long and rich relationship with the Latter-day Saint tradition. Terryl Givens and Zachary Davis recently stopped by Noah’s office in Cambridge ...
06.12.2022 118. The End of Roe v. Wade? — With Sherif Gergis, Jenet Erickson, and Justin Collings As many of you know, at the beginning of May, the United States Supreme Court experienced an unprecedented leak of a draft opinion on the Dobbs v. Jackson case currently being adjudicated by the Supreme Court. The opinion was written ...
06.05.2022 117. Faith in Action — Fiona Givens and Britta Ellwanger Joseph Smith taught that faith is a “principle of action.” Although the world is full of crises and challenges, as Latter-day Saints, we are called to care for those in need with love and courage. In this week’s episode, Fiona ...
05.29.2022 116. Turning Our Hearts — A Conversation with Richard and Linda Eyre Memorial Day reminds us to turn our attention and our hearts back to those who have gone before us and who have made our lives possible. It’s a time to contemplate Malachi’s prophecy of turning the hearts of the fathers ...
05.22.2022 115. The Science of Spirituality — A Conversation with Dr. Lisa Miller Are we at the leading edge of a resurgent interest in religion and spirituality in the academy? Quite possibly. And not just as a curiosity. This week, Faith Matters begins a series of conversations with prominent scholars from outside our ...
05.14.2022 114. Are We Listening, Learning, and Loving? — A Conversation with Richard Ostler For this episode, Faith Matters is honored to bring on our good friend, Richard Ostler. Richard is a former YSA Bishop whose ministry has focused on all types of Latter-day Saint journeys, and especially on those of people who have ...
05.07.2022 Celebrating Our Divine Mother — A Conversation with McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding For today’s conversation, and on this Mother’s Day weekend, we’re releasing a classic episode that was done with McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding. They’re the authors of several incredible books, including The Girls’ Guide to Heavenly Mother, The Boys’ ...
04.30.2022 113. A New Approach to Church History — A Conversation with Dr. Lisa Olsen Tait The third volume of Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, was published this week by the Church. The Saints project has gained widespread popularity because of its accessibility—it’s written in a narrative format—as ...
04.22.2022 112. The Mother Tree — A Conversation with Kathryn Knight Sonntag * Links to buy "The Mother Tree" * Softcover version: https://faithmatters.org/themothertree Audible and Kindle version: https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Tree-Discovering-Wisdom-Divine/dp/B09YCDHTDZ/ Today, we’re excited to announce the latest offering from Faith Matters Publishing, following our previous books All Things New by Terryl and Fiona Givens, ...
04.16.2022 111. An Early Resurrection — A Conversation with Adam Miller As Christians, we look forward to resurrection after death into a state of wholeness and joy. But understanding resurrection as occurring only in the next life can prevent us from experiencing the fullness of life that Christ offers us here ...

Older episodes

Faith Matters

What's Faith Matters about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Faith Matters episodes:

158. The Other Side Academy: "Zion with F-Bombs" — Joseph Grenny at Restore

157. Using Your Gifts for Good — A Conversation with Liz Shropshire

156. Friendship in Faith — A Conversation with Andrew Teal

155. A Year of War and Miracles — Svitlana Miller and Nancy Cadjan

154. Every Needful Thing — Melissa Inouye and Kate Holbrook

153. Developing Sexual Wholeness — Jennifer Finlayson-Fife

152. The Richard Bushman Interview

151. When Faith is Hard — A Conversation with Terryl Givens

150. How Are We Like the Ancient Christians? — A Conversation with Kristian Heal

149. Don't Let a Good Faith Crisis Go to Waste — Jared Halverson

148. Equal Partnership in Marriage — McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding

147. Bittersweet - A Conversation with Susan Cain

146. Savior of the World - A Conversation with Esther Candari

145. Envisioning the Restoration's 3rd Century — Patrick Mason

144. The Art of Transformation — A Conversation with Makoto Fujimura

143. The Sin of Certainty — A Conversation with Peter Enns

142. The Truth Will Set You Free — A Conversation with Jason Portnoy

141. The Song of the Heart — Brett Stewart and Brandon Stewart

140. Understanding and Preventing Sexual Abuse — Sage Williams and Rebecca Bettilyon

139. How the Helpline Actually Works — A Conversation with Kate Taylor Lauck

138. The Rediscovered Gospel — A Conversation with Elaine Pagels

137. Loving Your Enemy: Daryl Davis and the Ku Klux Klan

136. Let Me Drown with Moses — A Conversation with James Goldberg

135. Imagining a Four-Stage Church — A Conversation with Patrick Mason

134. Do I Stay Christian? — A Conversation with Brian McLaren

133. The Love Map — A Conversation with Carol Lynn Pearson

132. History and Faith — A Conversation with David Holland

131. The Burning Book — A Conversation with Jason Olson

130. Original Grace — A Conversation with Adam Miller

129. The Early Christian World — A Conversation with Laura Nasralla

Remembering Kate Holbrook

128. Relentless Hope: The Chiou Family Story —Sam Chiou, Mindy Chiou, and Julia Chiou Knutson

127. Mind, Matter, and Spirit — A Conversation with Michael Ferguson

126. Lift and Love — A Conversation with Allison Dayton

125. Proving Polarities — A Conversation with Jared Halverson

124. Getting Real About Missionary Work — A Conversation with Jeff Strong

123. Behind the Scenes at Faith Matters — Bill Turnbull, Aubrey Chaves, Tim Chaves, and Zach Davis

122. Under the Banner — A Conversation with McKay Coppins and Patrick Mason

121. Hope and Healing in a Time of Crisis: A Conversation with Anne Snyder

120. The Law of Love — A Conversation with Steve Young

119. Is God Alive in Cambridge? — A Conversation with Noah Feldman

118. The End of Roe v. Wade? — With Sherif Gergis, Jenet Erickson, and Justin Collings

117. Faith in Action — Fiona Givens and Britta Ellwanger

116. Turning Our Hearts — A Conversation with Richard and Linda Eyre

115. The Science of Spirituality — A Conversation with Dr. Lisa Miller

114. Are We Listening, Learning, and Loving? — A Conversation with Richard Ostler

Celebrating Our Divine Mother — A Conversation with McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding

113. A New Approach to Church History — A Conversation with Dr. Lisa Olsen Tait

112. The Mother Tree — A Conversation with Kathryn Knight Sonntag

111. An Early Resurrection — A Conversation with Adam Miller