A special episode for our podcast listeners! Steve speaks with Manuela Oja de Tzep, a native K’iché from Nahuala, Solola Guatemala, and Malcolm Botto, Associate Director of International Study Programs K’iché instructor at BYU, about their experience with the Popol Vuh. They're also joined by Malcolm Botto, the Associate Director of International Study Programs at BYU. He has also taught K’iché at BYU for over 15 years. He holds a BA in Lingusitcs and Anthropology and a Masters in Mass Communication and Media Studies from BYU.

Allen Christenson shares his experience translating the Popol Vuh, a sacred Mayan text. Allen Christenson is a Professor in the Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature at Brigham Young University. He is the translator of Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Maya. He completed a PhD in Pre-Columbian Art History at the University of Texas, Austin. He has worked as an ethnographer and linguist in highland Guatemala since 1978, principally with the K’iché-Maya and Tz’utujil-Maya.

John Canti has translated sacred Buddhist texts for most of his life. He is a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, a Tsadra Foundation Fellow from 2001-2012, and was awarded the 2016 Khyentse Foundation Fellowship. In 2009, he was appointed editorial chair of www.84000.co, a translation and publication venture for the Tibetan Buddhist canon, and became senior editor in 2023.

Rev. Dr. John F. Ross discusses the Saint John's Bible, sacred art, and religious imagination. He is the Executive Director of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He has also served as a United Church of Christ (UCC) pastor for 30 years. The Saint John’s Bible is the first handwritten, illuminated Bible in more than 500 years and includes more than 160 original illuminations. The Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible is the only full-size, illuminated, fine art edition that will ever be produced. In all, only 299 seven-volume sets have been created. The Heritage Program is an international initiative for individuals and institutions to explore the artistic and spiritual beauty of The Saint John’s Bible. Learn how this sacred art can be enjoyed in your community now and for generations to come. Please contact Rev. Dr. Ross at [email protected] or by calling 320-363-3209.

Tremper Longman shares the process of translating the Bible and how his conversion to Christianity as a young man. Dr. Tremper Longman is a Senior Translator of the New Living Translation. He has written over thirty-five books include Confronting Old Testament Controversies: Pressing Questions about Evolution, Sexuality, History and Violence. He is also Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College.

Chandra DeNap Whetstine shares how her international work led her home to make peace in the US. Chandra DeNap Whetstine is the Chief Operating Officer at the One America Movement, a national organization building a united American society by eliminating toxic polarization. She is currently a seminarian at Wesley Theological Seminary.

Rabbi Jack talks about how Jewish tradition centers on the home and family. Rabbi Jack Abramowitz, MS Ed, is a writer, editor and educator whose experience in Jewish outreach and informal education spans four decades. He has served in a number of capacities at the Orthodox Union, including a decade as a director of National Programs for NCSY, the organization’s youth movement. He also serves as Educational Correspondent for the website Jew in the City. He is the author of nine books, including The God Book, The Complete Targum Onkelos, and Ask Rabbi Jack.

Greta Bennett shares how she talks to Jesus and what she learned about God while caring for her mother with Alzheimers. Greta L. Bennett is a retired Lieutenant Colonel serving with distinction as a Medical Logistics Officer in the US Army for thirty years. She is a doctoral student in Public Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. At one time, she produced over 100 episodes of the Caregiving is a Ministry podcast, inspired by her experience with her mother.

Emily McGowin discusses how to build a Household of Faith and what that process looked like in her own life. The Rev. Dr. Emily McGowin is associate professor of theology at Wheaton College. She is also a priest in the Anglican diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others (C4SO). Her latest book, Households of Faith: Practicing Family in the Kingdom of God is now available from IVP. Dr. McGowin earned a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Dayton, M.Div. from Baylor University’s Truett Seminary, and a B.A. in biblical studies from Criswell College.

Maggie Siddiqi shares her experiences working in various governmental and faith-based community roles, emphasizing the strategic and moral necessity of cross-faith partnerships. Maggie Siddiqi is senior fellow at Interfaith Alliance. She recently concluded her appointment to the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Education, where she served as Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris administration, Maggie Siddiqi served as senior director of the Religion and Faith team at the Center for American Progress, where she led the organization’s work on religious liberty.