Episode 591: Tyler Johnson, Navigating Complicated Church Topics, Extended the Tent of Zion

Listen, Learn & Love Hosted by Richard Ostler

My friend Tyler Johnson (married father of 3, active LDS, Oncologist and Assistant Professor Stanford Medical School), joins us to talk about principles that can help build a long-term foundation to remain in the Church and process the complicated topics (history, prophetic infallibility, imperfect members, etc) Tyler shares his upbring where his father didn’t create a fairly-tale type narrative of our church history—but on honest discussion about the warts that are part of the beautiful restoration of the gospel. Because of this, Tyler didn’t ever have to deconstruct and then reconstruct—it has always been about construction. For Tyler (and I believe many others) this is a more sustainable framework to move forward as a Latter-day Saint. He also talks about the love present in his home that help form his feelings about his Heavenly Parents and their love for all of us. It also created a safe environment to process honest questions. Tyler shares his vision for what each of us can to in our area of influence to “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes” (Isaiah 54:2). He talks we can follow the example of Jesus—who brought the tent of the gospel to everyone—and how we can look to do that in our areas of stewardship. You can read more about Tyler’s work and insights in this BYU article: https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/a-teachers-plea/ If you are processing the warts of the restoration or current issues—or helping others—please listen to this podcast. This is one of the very best episodes we’ve done on this subject, and I was deeply moved by Tyler insights, principles and gospel perspectives. Thank you, Tyler, for being on the podcast and all your good work in many circles to improve the lives of others!