Mormon Land

Most bishops of a Latter-day Saint congregation give the church five years of their lives as they shepherd the spiritual and even temporal well-being of hundreds of families and individuals in their area.

Because they are volunteers, that means they do this while holding a full-time job as well as taking care of the needs of their own families and loved ones.

Ross Trewhella, however, served his Latter-day Saint parishioners in Cornwall, United Kingdom, for 12 years — almost unheard of for a bishop in modern Mormonism.

In this week’s podcast, he reflects on the highs and the lows, the challenges and the rewards, the members and the memories after more than a decade of service — and how he feels now about relinquishing his seat at the front of the chapel.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used to be more evenly split between the two major political parties, even supporting Democrats Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson for U.S. president.

But something happened in the 1960s. Latter-day Saints began moving to the right and eventually became a reliably Republican voting bloc, a trend that continues to this day.

Though there were many social factors behind this shift, one high-placed church leader may have helped shape Mormon political views for decades. His name: Ezra Taft Benson.

A Latter-day Saint apostle and onetime church president, Benson held political positions that went further right than mainstream Republicans. He spoke out against communism — even calling Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “Communists” — considered running on a presidential ticket with ardent segregationist George Wallace, and wanted to name a member of the right-wing John Birch Society to the faith’s top quorums. But he got plenty of pushback for linking politics and religion from other church leaders including David O. McKay, Gordon B. Hinckley and Boyd K. Packer.

Matthew Harris, author of “Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right” and a history professor at Colorado State University in Pueblo, joins us today via Zoom to talk about Benson and his influence on Latter-day Saint politics. Matthew, welcome.

For many voters, including a number of Latter-day Saints, this year’s presidential election comes down to one issue: abortion.

They may not like Donald Trump’s style, but they believe he will support the cause of protecting the unborn.

At the same time, many other voters, including, again, a number of Latter-day Saints, have a more complex view of abortion, with some pointing to the more nuanced stance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints itself on that topic.

So how might this debate play out among Latter-day Saints, especially in Utah, in this election? And how might the current battle over the Supreme Court — and talk of toppling Roe v. Wade — affect the outcome?

Morgan Lyon Cotti, associate director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, discusses this and other issues dividing Latter-day Saint voters in 2020 and beyond.

McKay Coppins wrote recently in The Atlantic that President Donald Trump publicly praises evangelicals, prosperity preachers and other religious conservatives, including members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while privately mocking them and belittling their beliefs.

Coppins, a Brigham Young University alumnus, joined this week’s podcast to talk about the presidential candidates, the state of this year’s White House race, how the Biden and Trump campaigns are courting members, and whether Latter-day Saints — and the issues they care about most — could help determine the outcome in swing states.

Early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe the ability to translate was one of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament.

Church founder Joseph Smith said he translated the faith’s signature scripture, the Book of Mormon, “by the gift and power of God” from ancient writings found on gold plates.

So, if Smith used this gift to translate the Book of Mormon, as he asserted, how might he have done it? Was there more to this mystical process? What role might a so-called seer stone have played? And what should members and outsiders alike keep in mind when considering the birthing of this global religion’s foundational text?

Latter-day Saint physician Samuel Brown, a religious historian and author of the recently released “Joseph Smith’s Translation: The Words and Worlds of Early Mormonism," addresses those questions and more on this week’s podcast.

Many gay Mormons have a story about their experience in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Though all the narratives stand on their own, most involve these members recognizing their attractions, trying to reconcile what they are feeling with what the Utah-based faith is teaching about homosexuality — that it is not a sin, just acting on it is — coming out, what they hope for the future, and how their family and friends respond.

On this week’s podcast, Matthew Gong, who works in artificial intelligence, discusses his unique journey with his faith, his family, his friends and himself.

In August 2018, President Russell M. Nelson urged the media to use the faith’s full name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to stop employing the terms “Mormon church” or “LDS Church” — indeed to cease using “Mormon” altogether, even when referring to members.

A year later, Public Square Magazine, published from the perspective of Latter-day Saints, decided to survey whether various national news outlets — including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Associated Press and CNN — had complied and how it affected their coverage.

On this week’s podcast, Public Square Managing Editor Christopher Cunningham discusses the results, along with the challenges journalists face in heeding the church’s preferred style and the implications their word choices carry.

In 2017, after the election of President Donald Trump, several female members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, distressed by the increasing political polarization and eroding ethics in government, formed Mormon Women for Ethical Government.

The group, which is not endorsed by the church, is dedicated to seeking a peaceful, just and ethical world with a pledge to be faithful, nonpartisan and proactive, along with a commitment to civility.

In a few short years, its membership has ballooned to more than 7,000.

Now, with the nation in the midst of another deeply divisive presidential race, the organization’s executive director, Emma Petty Addams, and Christie Black, an engagement director, joined this week’s podcast to talk about their group and its goals.

Launched in the 1970s, Affirmation is one of the oldest support groups for LGBTQ members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As the Utah-based faith has evolved in its understanding of and approach to its LGBTQ members, Affirmation has expanded as well — across the country and around the world.

For the next four weekends, the organization will host a virtual international conference, complete with live and recorded workshops, speakers and discussions.

On this week’s podcast, Affirmation President Nathan Kitchen discusses the conference, the group’s widening reach, and the challenges LGBTQ Latter-day Saints face from Arizona to Argentina to Australia — and across the globe.

In 2015, the church issued a short essay matter-of-factly affirming its belief in a Heavenly Mother. It was only six paragraphs, barely 600 words.

That left the subject wide open to imaginative exploration with more and more leaders and members embracing the idea and mentioning Heavenly Parents in writings and sermons.

Latter-day Saint poet Carol Lynn Pearson insists the world “needs” to find, or rediscover, Heavenly Mother, arguing that bringing her back “is not just cosmetic, it is cosmic” and can help bring peace, justice and harmony to the planet.

She undertakes that quest in her new volume of verses, “Finding Mother God: Poems to Heal the World,” and discusses it on this week’s podcast.