Religion Today

Whether you are confident or filled with anxiety, pretty or plain, happy or sad, faithful of have a history or sins or mistakes, confident or full of self-doubt, rich or poor, happy or sad, you will find a great from each of the women in the Bible mentioned in this episode of Religion Today. Listen to hear host Martin Tanner tell the marvelous and inspirational stories of Abagail, Deborah, Esther, Hannah, Jael, Judith, Leah, Mary, Rahab and the young Shulamite woman.

Why I believe!   In this episode, Martin Tanner describes the reasons he believes in the existence of God, Jesus, a Restoration, and an after-life, from science, scriptures, prayer, and seeing his deceased mother and later in another experience, his deceased 22 year old daughter. 

Latter-day Saints are fortunate. There are no creeds. There is little beyond beyond belief in Jesus as Savior, belief in God, belief in the restored Gospel, that one must believe. The fascinating story of Pelatiah Brown in Kirtland illustrates this idea, from Joseph Smith himself.  In this episode of Religion Today, Martin Tanner explains how the trend is towards historicity of the Bible.

Jesus' most used description of himself was "Son of Man".  Did this, as many say, mean Jesus was saying he was a mortal, a human?  In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner explains how Jews, from Psalm 80:17 (God's hero, redeemer, Messiah), Daniel 7:13-14 (Son of Man has everlasting dominion and his kingdom shall not be destroyed) understood "Son of Man" meant the Messiah sent by God. He also explains how Jesus' self-reference as "Son of Man" was also a reference to himself as the Messiah, as in Matthew 25:31 (Son of Man shall come in glory, with angels and sit on the throne of his glory).

Next to the Atonement, the most incredible doctrine and belief in Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus and many others, which has already occurred.  Martin Tanner describes the eyewitness accounts of actual resurrection, and of seeing resurrected beings, given by Isaiah, Daniel, Matthew's eyewitnesses, John, Paul, Joseph Smith and the lesser known account of Ezekiel Johnson, which is very detailed. Indicia of accuracy and details of the accounts are also given.

Easter Sunday was called "Resurrection Sunday" by the early Christians, the most holy of days. In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner gives a short chronology of the last week of Jesus' mortal life, His crucifixion, resurrection, and gradual change to a bright and glorious being, from one whom Mary could mistake for the gardener. Parents will have their children who die in infancy, to raise after they are resurrected. Old will be resurrected as they are, then grow young. Martin gives examples of others who have been resurrected.

Are the Gospel records accurate? Are they trustworthy? The question is not whether the authors of the Gospels had a Christian point of view, they did. The real question is whether they accurately reported the life of Jesus.  We can tell they were from the highly regarded historians of the First century, Cornelius Tacitus and his book "Annals," Pliny the Younger and his famous letter about the Christians to the Emperor Trajan, and from Flavius Josephus and his "Jewish Antiquities."  These highly regarded sources confirm the New Testament narrative that Jesus was executed under Pontius Pilate, in Judea, Jesus was worshiped as deity by the first Christians, Christianity spread fast throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, Christians from the beginning sang hymns and practiced the Sacrament, and, the Jesus' half brother James was a Christian leader.

In this episode of Religion Today Martin Tanner shares some of the most profound Near-Death Experiences he has ever heard, from among the more than 600 he has heard first-hand. These NDEs confirm Gospel principles and reinforce a belief in Jesus as Savior and Redeemer.

We know nothing of the Holy Ghost in the pre-existence. We know little of his roll in the next life.  On June 16, 1844, days before his assassination, Joseph Smith said the Holy Ghost would "take to himself a body as did the Savior." D&C 130:22 says the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. In this episode of Religion Today, learn about the different ideas about the Holy Ghost in LDS thought, how the Lectures on Faith were removed from the LDS Canon of scriptures because they said there were only two members of the Godhead. Hear other fascinating details about the Holy Ghost and his roll in LDS and Christian belief.

Have you wondered what happened to the Apostles of Jesus after the New Testament record? In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner explores some of the well-attested information about the Apostles.  Paul founded many branches but was ultimately beheaded at the order of Emperor Nero at what is now Three Fountains Abbey.  Peter was crucified upside down.  Hear details of what happened to other Apostles, including traditions that Thomas traveled to India and Andrew, although killed near Jerusalem, was eventually buried in what is today St. Andrews, Scotland, where the game of golf originated. Not surprising for Latter-day Saints, there are no legends or traditions of the fate of the Apostle John.