In Good Faith

Adam Miller talks to Steve about the inspiration behind his 2013 "Letters to a Young Mormon"--his own children--and the reception this collection of essays has received over the past decade.

Think of this discussion as a foreword to In Good Faith Presents: Letters to a Young Mormon, a reading of Miller's essays by Sam Payne, host of The Apple Seed. Listen to the full series at https://www.byuradio.org/in-good-faith/book-club

Adam is a professor of philosophy at Collin College in McKinney, Texas. He earned a BA in Comparative Literature from Brigham Young University and an MA and PhD in Philosophy from Villanova University. He is the author of eight books and serves as the current director of the Mormon Theology Seminar. He and his wife, Gwen, have three children.

In 2018, President Russell M Nelson, the leader of the Church requested that members refer to themselves as Latter-day Saints and to the Church as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This book was published in 2013, so you’ll hear the narrator refer to Mormons and the Mormon Church throughout the readings. We hope this historical artifact doesn’t keep you from enjoying the wisdom of the letters.

Steve, Lia, James, and Alia test their interfaith trivia knowledge as they take Interfaith America's online quiz! How many answers does our team know?

Steve talks with Heather and Lia about our end of life miniseries, upcoming Ed week appearance, and our return September 1 with a contemplation miniseries.

Steve hosts Corinna Tanner, Sudam Mane, and Joshua Rager for a discussion about what happens after we die.

Corinna Trujillo Tanner joined the Brigham Young University College of Nursing as an Assistant Professor in 2019, after completing her PhD and a two-year National Institutes of Health Research Fellowship in cancer, aging and end of life. She holds post master’s certificates in Gerontology, Adult Nurse Practitioner training and an International Certificate in Caring and Healing. She is passionate about guiding students in honoring and fostering late life potential and creating an age-inclusive culture.

Sudam Mane is a P.h.D student in Analytical Chemistry at Brigham Young University. He grew up in the Sahyadri Mountain Ranges in India, earned master’s degrees in chemistry from Shivaji University, and then worked 13 years in the pharmaceutical industry before coming to BYU.

Joshua Rager is a pastor in the Crosspoint Utah network. Originally from Michigan, he served 14 years in various pastoral roles in North Carolina, where he received a bachelor's degree in Theology. His wife Amanda of 16 years and he moved to Utah in 2019 with their two children, to share the biblical Gospel and serve among a network of house churches in the state.

How can we continue learning and healing as we approach the end of our mortal life? Jewels Olsen sits down with Steve for a conversation about the end of life and how we can approach it with peace and reassurance, and how we can honor those we know who are dying.

Jewels Olsen is a chaplain at Applegate Home and Hospice in Utah, where she has a passion for supporting those nearing the end-of-life transition. She is familiar with many traditions and practices and provides spiritual care for a wide variety of people.

What is a holy death and how can we make sure our loved ones experience peace and love as they die? Episcopal Bishop Phyllis Spiegel joins Steve to describe how we can prepare ourselves and those who are dying for a process we all experiences.

The Rt. Rev. Phyllis A. Spiegel was consecrated as the 12th Bishop of Utah on September 17, 2022. She is passionate about The Episcopal Church’s work of deepening discipleship through daily practices of faith, believing that deepening our daily walk with God profoundly changes the way we walk in the world. She has done much study on the topic of death and afterlife in her tradition.

Welcome back to our mini-series on death. This week we are learning about near-death experience from Marianne Bahri. She speaks about her own NDE with senior producer Heather Bigley to discuss how her life was altered, and how introspective soul-searching helped her heal. Next week, we are speaking to Rev. Phyllis Spiegel and Jewels Chaplain to learn more about end-of-life care—stay tuned!

Jyoti Marianne Bahri, an ethnologist and Indologist, teacher, facilitator and author, has written several transformative works. Her published book, "Freed from the Frame - A Miraculous Recovery", is a memoir of her near-death experience and her pilgrimage to find the healer within after a near-fatal road accident in South India. She is now working on a book about living and dying differently and is also conducting a series of workshops on this subject.

Welcome to part one of our death mini-series! We are exploring near-death experiences, working with those at the end of life, and grieving a loss. In this episode, Steve sits down with Martin Tanner from KSL to discuss how hearing near-death experiences from other people have impacted his own religion. This episode is jam-packed with powerful stories and a desire to believe.

Martin Tanner co-founded Utah chapter of the International Association for Neath Death Studies in 1990. He is currently the chair of Utah IANDS and is the host of Religion Today on KSL Radio. He also produces a podcast for the Interpreter Foundation, focused on supporting the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through scholarship.

Dr. Alp Aslandogan joins Steve for a conversation about his personal journey from Turkey to the U.S., his experiences with interfaith interactions, and how he integrates faith, science, and art under his belief in God. Dr. Alp reflects on faith, love, and compassion, as well as his commitment to fostering interfaith dialogue and understanding in secular society.

Dr. Y. Alp Aslandogan is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Shared Values, a non-profit organization that promotes bringing together citizens of diverse backgrounds around shared values of humanity. Prior to his current position Dr. Aslandogan served as the board president of the Institute of Interfaith Dialog in Houston, Texas, and on the Board of Scholars and Practitioners of the Journal of Interreligious Dialogue.

Carmela Javellana chats with Steve about the importance of crisis as an opportunity for growth and the universal nature of suffering. She shares how she came to Buddhism and the vibrant differences within Buddhism.

Dr. Carmela Javellana is a volunteer assistant minister at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple since 2010, which includes leading meditation service, teaching Buddhism classes, and co-teaching a 6-week course on Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and Integrative Mental Health called “Into the Light: the Shin Buddhist Path through Difficulties.” She is also a practicing psychiatrist and the founder and director of SHIN, a sanctuary for healing and integration, in Bountiful, UT.