When I Heard This - Podcast

Why did the Mormon Church change its rules about race in 1978? And what does that history mean for the way people view the LDS Church today?

For decades, Black men were restricted from receiving the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That restriction ended in 1978, but the history behind it raises some difficult questions about race, religious leadership, and changing church policies.

Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman discuss the LDS Church's history with race and the controversy surrounding the 1978 change. They also explore Mormon temples, including why certain practices are reserved for members who meet specific requirements and what makes temple worship so different from an ordinary church service.

It's another round of questions about Mormonism, and Nate isn't exactly running out of them.

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Why do Mormon missionaries travel in pairs, follow strict rules, and spend so much time away from their normal lives? And what's behind the LDS belief that humans can eventually become gods?

Missionary service is one of the most recognizable parts of Mormonism, but the rules governing it are probably less familiar. From assigned companions and restrictions on entertainment to the expectations placed on young missionaries, there's a lot more structure involved than simply knocking on doors.

Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman continue their Mormonism series with a conversation about missionary life, the LDS doctrine of exaltation, and another question that's been hanging around this whole series: Why are Mormons so incredibly nice?

Follow the show for more conversations about religion, culture, and the questions that usually lead to even more questions.

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If someone dies without being baptized, can another person do it for them? According to Mormon teachings, baptism for the dead is an important part of how Latter-day Saints understand salvation and the afterlife.

But that opens up a much bigger conversation. What do Mormons believe happens after death? How does their understanding of heaven compare with traditional Christianity? And why are living members of the LDS Church performing religious ordinances on behalf of people who are no longer alive?

Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman continue their exploration of Mormonism, this time looking at the LDS afterlife, proxy baptism, and the beliefs that make these practices possible. Turns out, the question of what happens when you die has a few more layers than you might expect.

Follow the show for more conversations about religion, culture, and the questions that tend to complicate everything.

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Why do Mormons believe Jesus came to America, what happened with plural marriage, and what exactly are temple garments?

The Mormonism series continues with some of the LDS beliefs and practices that tend to generate the most questions from people outside the church. Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman get into the belief that Jesus appeared in the Americas, questions surrounding plural marriage in Mormon history, and the lifestyle restrictions associated with being a Latter-day Saint.

Then there are temple garments and the questions, misconceptions, and jokes surrounding them. Dr. Joseph brings the historical and religious context while Nate continues asking the questions exactly the way Nate asks questions.

Follow or subscribe for the rest of the Mormonism series.

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The Mormon Church has a president, apostles, bishops, and an entire leadership hierarchy.

Which means Nate has an obvious question: How exactly does someone become the Mormon pope?

We’re continuing our series on Mormonism by getting into how leadership works in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Who actually leads the LDS Church? How does someone become a church leader? And what does the Mormon leadership structure look like once you get past the titles most people have heard before?

Then we get into what a Mormon church service is actually like and one of the biggest theological differences between Mormonism and mainline Christianity: the Trinity. Latter-day Saints talk about God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, but their understanding of the Godhead differs significantly from the traditional Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman work through the LDS leadership structure, Mormon worship, and theology with the usual mix of serious questions and extremely specific follow-up questions. Dr. Joseph brings the history and theological context. Nate remains unusually interested in the Mormon organizational chart and his hypothetical path to the top.

Whether you’re Christian, Mormon, ex-Mormon, skeptical, or simply curious about what Latter-day Saints believe and how the LDS Church actually works, there’s plenty to unpack.

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#Mormonism #LDS #MormonBeliefs #Christianity #Theology #FaithPodcast

We somehow made it to 200 episodes.

Which means we’ve apparently spent 200 episodes talking about Christianity, church culture, theology, relationships, faith, and all the questions people usually save for the group chat.

For episode 200, Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman look back at the podcast so far, including some of their favorite topics, memorable conversations, unexpected rabbit holes, and the discussions that have stuck with them along the way.

They also get into how the show has changed and what they want to talk about next. Because after 200 episodes of church debates, Bible questions, relationship conversations, cultural commentary, and theological detours, the list of things left to discuss has somehow not gotten shorter.

This one is less about settling a big theological question and more about looking back at what happens when two people spend years having honest conversations about faith and real life with microphones in front of them. There’s some reflection, plenty of commentary, and the usual Nate and Dr. Joseph dynamic that makes staying completely on topic more of a suggestion than a rule.

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So Mormons believe in the Bible. Great. That clears up one question and immediately creates about twelve more.

In part three of our Mormonism series, we get into what Latter-day Saints actually believe about the Bible and how it fits alongside the Book of Mormon and other LDS scripture. Because “yes, we believe in the Bible” turns out to need a few follow-up questions.

Then we tackle the bigger one: How does someone actually become Mormon? What does being “saved” mean in Mormon theology? And what does a person have to do to reach heaven according to the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

Nate brings the questions and Dr. Joseph Tillman brings the theological context as they sort through Mormon beliefs about salvation, heaven, scripture, Jesus, and where LDS theology differs from historic Christianity. Familiar words start getting unfamiliar definitions pretty quickly.

Whether you’re Christian, Mormon, ex-Mormon, skeptical, or just curious about what Latter-day Saints actually believe, this conversation gets past the surface-level similarities and into the details where things get considerably more complicated.

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Nate finished reading the Book of Mormon.

This was probably never going to be a short conversation.

In the second part of our Mormonism series, we get into the different branches and sects within the Latter-day Saint movement and why Mormonism is more complicated than one church with one name. We also tackle a question a lot of people have probably wondered: If Mormons use the Bible, why do they also have the Book of Mormon?

Then Nate takes over for a while.

Fresh off actually reading the Book of Mormon, Nate has observations, questions, objections, and apparently no shortage of things he needs to discuss immediately. That leads Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman into an honest, sometimes sarcastic conversation about Mormon theology, LDS beliefs, the Book of Mormon, Christianity, church history, and what happens when you stop talking about a religious text in theory and actually read it.

Whether you’re Christian, Mormon, ex-Mormon, skeptical, curious, or just wondering why Mormon missionaries always seem to have another book with them, there’s plenty to unpack here.

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Rate or favorite the episode if it made you think 👍

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Mormonism starts with one very big claim. So how did that claim become the foundation of an entirely new religious movement?

We’re kicking off a new series on Mormonism by going back to the beginning. What are Mormons? What does “Mormon” actually mean? What does LDS stand for? And how did the Mormon Church get started?

This episode digs into the history of Mormonism, the origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith, and the early claims and events that shaped the movement. Because before getting into what Mormons believe today, we probably need to establish how we got here in the first place.

Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman walk through the history and terminology while asking the questions that naturally come up once you start pulling on this particular thread. It’s an honest conversation about Mormonism, Christianity, faith, theology, and church history for believers, skeptics, and anyone who has heard “LDS” a thousand times but never actually stopped to ask what it means.

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Rate or favorite the episode if it resonated. 👍

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Speaking in tongues somehow still had unanswered questions. Four episodes later, Nate found more.

This time, the conversation gets into what speaking in tongues looks like outside the usual theological debate. Should Christians speak in tongues in front of kids? If the Bible gives instructions for speaking in tongues in church, why does it seem like nobody actually does it that way?

And then Nate gets to a question we somehow missed the first time around: Can someone who is mute speak in tongues? Because apparently there was still one more corner of this topic left unexplored.

Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman dig into the Bible, theology, spiritual gifts, Pentecostal and charismatic church culture, and their own experiences with speaking in tongues. Joseph brings the theological context. Nate brings the questions that tend to make the theological context significantly less tidy.

Whether you grew up around speaking in tongues, still practice it, have never understood it, or are just watching this entire conversation from the skeptical side of the room, this episode gets into the questions people tend to ask after the official answer is over.

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#SpeakingInTongues #Christianity #ChurchCulture #Theology #ChristianPodcast #FaithDiscussion