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 years, though, Howell donned a different mantle: service missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He and his wife, Linda, spent their days teaching workshops on self-reliance, addressing the problems of homelessness, helping those living on the margins get the care they need, even helping a toothless member get dentures.

On this week’s show, the Howells discuss the church’s program, its challenges and rewards, and what they learned along the way.

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 out for young Latter-day Saints in publications like “For the Strength of Youth.”

But what about older singles who have never wed or those whose marriages end in divorce or death? How do they then navigate the possibility of intimacy?

Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, a well-known Latter-day Saint sex therapist and author of “That We Might Have Joy: Desire, Divinity & Intimate Love,” addresses older singles as they encounter complex realities that don’t fit neatly into a pamphlet.

She talks about these realities and how to understand the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.

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 the faith’s traditional classes for adults and youths, rather than every other week. That means an hourlong sacrament meeting, the faith’s main worship gathering, followed by 25 minutes of Sunday school for adults and teens, and then 25 minutes for all-male priesthood classes, along with women’s Relief Society and Young Women classes. Children’s Primary will remain 55 minutes long.

Essentially, church leaders are cramming classes and meetings that used to take three hours into the two-hour block the faith adopted in 2019.

Latter-day Saints see allowing men, women and teens to gather each week in their groups as a plus. But members worry about the 25-minute classes. Is that enough lesson time for meaningful discussion and deep gospel and scripture study?

On this week’s show, Cynthia Winward, co-host of the Latter-day Saint podcast “At Last She Said It,” and Michael David Huston, a contributor for the Latter-day Saint blog By Common Consent, discuss the Sunday shift.

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 report by BYU Studies, which found a number of positive signs of high religiosity among members. But it also noted that retention among U.S. Latter-day Saints has plunged from 82% in the heady 1980s to about 50% today.

Stories appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune and the church-owned Deseret News, followed by a post from statistician Ryan Burge under the headline “The LDS Church Has a Retention Problem,” pointing to a 54% rate.

Religion News Service columnist Jana Riess weighed in on the issue, and her commentary spurred a pair of responses from BYU researchers and a number of entries on Mormon blogs.

Of particular concern to Riess, who is a Latter-day Saint, is the even lower retention rate among young women and the remarkable reversal that shows women (especially younger ones) are now more likely to leave the faith than men.

On this week’s show, Riess, author of the forthcoming book “Leaving Mormonism: Who Is Exiting The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—and Why,” discusses this data debate, what it means for the overall church, and why more Latter-day Saint women appear to be struggling with staying in the fold.

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 leaders.

In their complaint, church attorneys alleged trademark infringement.

They argued that the show’s use of the term “Mormon,” combined with church-trademarked visuals as well as copyright images, could lead some listeners to believe the podcast is affiliated with the global faith of 17.8 million members.

Host and founder John Dehlin, excommunicated in 2015, changed his branding visuals to draw a starker contrast from those of the church but drew the line at scrapping the “Mormon” moniker, which he has used for more than 20 years.

His answer to the lawsuit maintained that the term “belongs to the public — including the members of the over 400 different Mormon sects currently existing nationwide that trace their heritage back to the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith.”

On this week’s show, Cara Gagliano, senior attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation focused on trademark, copyright and free speech issues, and Latter-day Saint historian and writer Kristine Haglund discuss case, along with the legal, cultural and historical relevance of the term “Mormon.” (Gagliano’s Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed an amicus brief supporting Dehlin’s “Mormon Stories” and asking that the lawsuit be dismissed.)

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 Provo "dating show" that the three of them watch and discuss. This is truly an act of public service, so you can cringe with us about not only the new generation of dating, but the new generation of dating in Provo without having to watch it yourself. 

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, faith and music were large parts of Jeff’s life.

From his earliest memories, Jeff recalls his father’s stardom and the expectations of being his son. But he never anticipated the struggle of trying to reconcile his faith and his sexuality.

After serving a church mission, entering a brief marriage to another man, and battling a drug addiction, Jeff finally gathered the courage to come home and confront the people he thought he had lost long ago: his parents.

His new book — co-written with his father, Michael, and therapist Brad Reedy, and titled “Stay in the Room: How a Gay Son and a Mormon Father Found Themselves and Each Other” — shares the insightful story of how this family found healing and common ground.

Told through three voices, the memoir shows the challenging facets of family life, fatherhood and faith.

Jeff shares how he found a place in life where he could express himself fully, all while feeling the love of God. Michael recounts how the Spirit led him to hold on to his son during his moments of pain. And Reedy offers insights for families navigating the tensions in faith, family and identity.

On this week’s show, Jeff and Michael McLean discuss the dynamic changes in their familial relationships, the impact of growing up Latter-day Saint as an LGBTQ+ individual, how parents can respond when their children’s identity challenges their beliefs, and what reconciliation really looks like.

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 resilient faith amid life’s trials and uncertainties. 

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, though, Clayton was a key figure in Mormonism’s beginnings, especially during the years in Nauvoo, Illinois. He served as secretary and scribe for church founder Joseph Smith, keeping a detailed diary of all the happenings — and controversies — during that pivotal period.

He recorded Smith dictating passages in the faith’s Doctrine and Covenants, including the section about polygamy, or “plural marriage,” as it was known.

For more than a century, the church kept a tight lid on Clayton’s journals, allowing only select scholars access to them. But next year the Utah-based faith is publishing the full record, with careful annotations, through Yale University Press. Even before the publication, however, Clayton’s account has been questioned by those who do not believe Smith practiced polygamy.

On this week’s show, Matthew Grow, managing director of the Church History Department, and Matthew McBride, director of publications for the department, discuss Clayton, his journals, what they say — and don’t say — about polygamy, and day-to-day life in Nauvoo.

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 126-year priesthood/temple ban in 1978.

His son Marcus Martins had just turned 19 and thus, by most accounts, became the church’s first Black missionary after the change.

The younger Martins went on to earn a master’s degree in organizational behavior and a doctorate in sociology of religion, race and ethnic relations. Eventually, he became chair of religious education at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. He has served as a mission president, twice as bishop, and as a full-time senior missionary with his wife, Mirian.

All this time, Marcus Martins has remained keenly interested in the politics and sociology of Mormonism. He has addressed how geopolitical, sociocultural and technological trends have affected missionary and temple work.

As he prepares to embark on his third church mission in Brazil — which recently surpassed Mexico as having more Latter-day Saints than any other nation outside the U.S. — Martins discusses why Brazilians have embraced this American-born faith and how they view U.S. culture, traditions and politics?