Best Joseph Smith Fletcher Podcasts (2024)

1
Utah’s LDS sometimes discriminate — and are sometimes discriminated against | Episode 351 43:45

3h ago43:45

43:45

A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wants to invite her daughter’s friend to join them for their congregation’s annual Halloween trunk-or-treat. But it’s being held in the parking lot of the church, and she worries the parents will think the invitation carries ulterior motives.Across the street, a couple plan a neighborhood …

1
Latter-day Saints and body image | Episode 350 31:12

7d ago31:12

31:12

Religion, in general, has prompted believers to have a more positive view of their bodies, and Mormonism specifically teaches that Heavenly Parents are embodied, that humans are created in their divine image, and that the body is a temple.Why, then, do some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints struggle with their body image? W…

1
Big change for church’s young single adults could bring big benefits | Episode 349 34:20

13d ago34:20

34:20

Last August, nearly 20,000 Latter-day Saint young single adults came together to sing, dance, play, pray, run and worship over three weekends. By all accounts, it was a smashing success.They’re back again this weekend for a three-day festival to celebrate their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to strengthen their faith…

1
Church can be painful for some Latter-day Saints. So what’s the answer? | Episode 438 53:40

23d ago53:40

53:40

For many Latter-day Saints, church is a place of solace, service and spirituality.Some folks, though, find their participation in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be painful, a source of inner conflict.These days some members, especially younger ones, feel betrayed to discover that the faith’s history is not as pure as the simplis…

1
After 50 years, feminist voice still rings out in the pages of Exponent II | Episode 437 32:27

27d ago32:27

32:27

Claudia Bushman was 40 years old, a mother of six and working on an advanced history degree when she, essentially, was volunteered to become the first editor-in-chief of Exponent II, an independent feminist magazine for Latter-day Saint women. That was 1974.Rachel Rueckert, a 30-something novelist, career woman and the magazine’s current top editor…

1
A look at LDS missionary folklore and what it says about the faith | Episode 436 38:50

1M ago38:50

38:50

Few groups exist in the world like missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.They may be assigned to different countries or speak different languages, but for 18 months to two years, tens of thousands of these mostly young proselytizers share the same strict schedule, routine, identity and purpose: namely, to share the good ne…

1
Did Joseph Smith practice polygamy? | Episode 345 36:50

1M ago36:50

36:50

In 2014, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published an official essay detailing Joseph Smith’s marriages to multiple women. After decades of insisting otherwise, the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has since conceded that the faith founder did participate in polygamy. Highly …

1
"Leadership roulette" for same-sex LDS couples | Episode 344 40:00

2M ago40:00

40:00

Janette Petersen, a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had been attending Sunday services with her wife, Tammy, as faithfully as her job would allow for nearly five years when her membership was withdrawn. Although the letter she received informing her of the decision did not state a reason, Janette told The Tribune…

1
The case for a group dedicated to protecting Latter-day Saint civil rights | Episode 343 34:00

2M ago34:00

34:00

For 115 years, the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, has been advancing the cause of justice for Black Americans. For 111 years, the Anti-Defamation League has been doing much the same for Jewish Americans. And for 104 years, the American Civil Liberties Union has been safeguarding the constitutional rights of everyone in the Un…

1
Why a pastor is teaching evangelicals about the LDS Church | Episode 342 32:05

2M ago32:05

32:05

Jeff McCullough took a trip to Utah in 2020, and it changed his life.No, the evangelical pastor didn’t convert to the state’s predominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he didn’t launch a virulent campaign to explore what some have seen as Mormonism’s heresies. Instead, he felt a divine call to launch a YouTube chann…

1
What happened behind the scenes before and after the Black priesthood ban ended | Episode 341 53:10

2M ago53:10

53:10

Forty-six years ago this month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, under then-President Spencer W. Kimball, lifted its prohibition preventing Black men from entering the all-male priesthood and Black women and men from participating in temple rites.This historic shift, the most significant since the faith stopped practicing polygamy, …

1
The surprising news about LDS Church growth | Episode 340 30:55

3M ago30:55

30:55

For The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is much to celebrate in its latest statistical report: The worldwide growth rate in the 17.2 million-member faith is growing. The expansion of congregations is expanding. And the number of U.S. states with declining membership is, well, declining.East Africa, meanwhile, is booming, the U.S.…

1
What was lost when the LDS Church started emphasizing covenants over community | Episode 339 39:05

3M ago39:05

39:05

Since shortening its Sunday services and refocusing its curriculum more than five years ago, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has trumpeted a home-centered, church-supported approach with an emphasis on covenant-making and covenant-keeping.This shift has some members worried about a loss of community.Gone are roadshows, pageants, spo…

1
The LDS Church isn’t dying in Germany, but it is changing | Episode 338 31:41

3M ago31:41

31:41

Born in West Germany, Ralf Grünke has been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for most of his life. But it was complicated. And, among his Catholic and Lutheran peers, that meant he sometimes keenly felt his “otherness.”Still, being “an ugly duckling between the swans,” Grunke has written, was a “blessing in disguise.”He st…

1
Why leaders’ efforts to keep women in the faith could backfire — and what could work | Episode 337 40:10

3M ago40:10

40:10

Without a doubt, says writer and scholar Caroline Kline, Latter-day Saint leader President Camille Johnson would have heard former church presidents telling working mothers to “come home” and focus on their families.Instead, she pursued a 30-year career as a corporate lawyer.In this episode of “Mormon Land,” Kline, assistant director of the Center …

1
Will a top LDS women’s leader ever again be seen as a ‘13th apostle’? | Episode 336 26:35

4M ago26:35

26:35

The role of women in any patriarchal faith is always fraught. It is especially confusing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which celebrated women who led the charge for suffrage while also practicing polygamy.Past Latter-day Saint women like Eliza Snow and Emmeline Wells held high-profile positions in the hierarchy almost until th…

1
How near-death accounts became apocalyptic and why they attract Latter-day Saints | Episode 335 26:15

4M ago26:15

26:15

All kinds of believers and nonbelievers have described brushes with death in which they briefly left their bodies to see and feel otherworldly elements. While most scientists say these “near-death experiences” are the product of neurons firing in particular ways under particular stress, many who are religious view them as objective encounters, occu…

1
What happens inside LDS families when a loved one leaves the faith | Episode 334 54:39

4M ago54:39

54:39

Few conversations are as fraught as those among family members who disagree about ideas they hold dear, and none more so than religion.Such exchanges can be especially painful for believers in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a faith that can be all encompassing with strong teachings about here and the hereafter, especially about fa…

1
A conversation about General Conference | Episode 333 47:13

4M ago47:13

47:13

The recently completed 194th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may merit no more than a mere mention in the history books of Mormonism. There were no theological breakthroughs, no major policy changes, no sweeping shake-ups among the top echelons.But the sessions did feature significant speeches, memorable…

1
Who should decide when, where and how often Latter-day Saints wear temple garments? | Episode 332 45:25

4M ago45:25

45:25

Latter-day Saint leaders seem to be concerned about what they believe is the causal, even “cavalier” wearing of religious underclothing by devout members.Indeed, in a recent speech, a general authority Seventy reportedly condemned women who wear temple garments only on Sunday and to the temple and the rest of the week can be seen in “yoga pants.” H…

1
What LDS women want — in the wake of a controversial ‘priesthood power’ speech | Episode 331 34:40

5M ago34:40

34:40

A decade after the Ordain Women movement within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made national news, another feminist issue is getting lots of media attention.During a March 17 meeting to celebrate the creation of the church’s Relief Society, J. Anette Dennis, first counselor in the faith’s global women’s organization, declared that …

1
Preserving the Kirtland and Manti temples — through the eyes of LDS historians | Episode 330 32:15

5M ago32:15

32:15

In the past, historians and preservationists were not always pleased with how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints treated its treasured buildings. Bulldozing Utah’s Coalville Tabernacle and gutting the Logan Temple led to cries of anguish from insiders and outsiders alike.These days, though, the same groups are lauding the painstaking a…

1
A look at the Kirtland Temple’s past and its future under a new owner | Episode 329 25:20

5M ago25:20

25:20

The recent acquisition by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of Mormonism’s first temple — in Kirtland, Ohio — along with historic buildings in Nauvoo, Ill., similarly tied to founder Joseph Smith and his band of believers thrilled the global faith’s members.For followers of the Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Ch…

1
The Huntsman case, ‘copycat’ tithing lawsuits and expanding LDS Church wealth | Episode 328 27:50

5M ago27:50

27:50

Money talks. It makes headlines, too. Just ask The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The Utah-based faith’s finances have become a source of discussion, debate and, yes, dissent among insiders and outsiders.In recent weeks, the church’s chief investment arm, Ensign Peak Advisors, has seen its publicly reported stock portfolio shoot past $…

1
BYU’s racial history | Episode 327 25:25

6M ago25:25

25:25

Even in the 19th century, Brigham Young Academy (later Brigham Young University) welcomed students of both sexes, all nationalities, religions, races and colors.Nearly from the start, it included women, which made it distinctive among other American higher-education institutions. And the school — owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of …

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Joseph Smith Fletcher Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
The Middle of Things by Joseph Smith Fletcher

Loyal Books

1
The Middle Temple Murder by Joseph Smith Fletcher

Loyal Books

1
Mormon Land

The Salt Lake Tribune

1
Utah’s LDS sometimes discriminate — and are sometimes discriminated against | Episode 351 43:45

1
Latter-day Saints and body image | Episode 350 31:12

1
Big change for church’s young single adults could bring big benefits | Episode 349 34:20

1
Church can be painful for some Latter-day Saints. So what’s the answer? | Episode 438 53:40

1
After 50 years, feminist voice still rings out in the pages of Exponent II | Episode 437 32:27

1
A look at LDS missionary folklore and what it says about the faith | Episode 436 38:50

1
Did Joseph Smith practice polygamy? | Episode 345 36:50

1
"Leadership roulette" for same-sex LDS couples | Episode 344 40:00

1
The case for a group dedicated to protecting Latter-day Saint civil rights | Episode 343 34:00

1
Why a pastor is teaching evangelicals about the LDS Church | Episode 342 32:05

1
What happened behind the scenes before and after the Black priesthood ban ended | Episode 341 53:10

1
The surprising news about LDS Church growth | Episode 340 30:55

1
What was lost when the LDS Church started emphasizing covenants over community | Episode 339 39:05

1
The LDS Church isn’t dying in Germany, but it is changing | Episode 338 31:41

1
Why leaders’ efforts to keep women in the faith could backfire — and what could work | Episode 337 40:10

1
Will a top LDS women’s leader ever again be seen as a ‘13th apostle’? | Episode 336 26:35

1
How near-death accounts became apocalyptic and why they attract Latter-day Saints | Episode 335 26:15

1
What happens inside LDS families when a loved one leaves the faith | Episode 334 54:39

1
A conversation about General Conference | Episode 333 47:13

1
Who should decide when, where and how often Latter-day Saints wear temple garments? | Episode 332 45:25

1
What LDS women want — in the wake of a controversial ‘priesthood power’ speech | Episode 331 34:40

1
Preserving the Kirtland and Manti temples — through the eyes of LDS historians | Episode 330 32:15

1
A look at the Kirtland Temple’s past and its future under a new owner | Episode 329 25:20

1
The Huntsman case, ‘copycat’ tithing lawsuits and expanding LDS Church wealth | Episode 328 27:50

1
BYU’s racial history | Episode 327 25:25

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