The Best Books: A Podcast for Latter-day Saints

The Law of Consecration has always been a central doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But since the 1830s, some Latter-day Saints have misunderstood how the Law of Consecration applies to them. Historian Steven Harper joins me today to discuss the Law of Consecration and how we can live it better. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bestbookspod.substack.com

In 1978, President Spencer W. Kimball received a revelation that ended a 130-year practice of excluding women and men of Black African descent from receiving Latter-day Saint temple ordinances, and Black men from being ordained to the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Today I’m chatting with Professor Paul Reeve about the challenges of confronting antiblack racism in our collective past and in ourselves today.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bestbookspod.substack.com

We tend to think of religious conversion as exchanging one faith for another, but it’s not always that simple. Jason Olson never thought he’d become a Latter-day Saint, and even after being baptized, he has always retained a deep connection to his Jewish identity and the covenant God made with his ancestors at Sinai. Join me today on our first episode as Jason and I explore The Burning Book: A Jewish-Mormon Memoir  (BCC Press, 2022).  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bestbookspod.substack.com

We often refer to our daily routines like exercise or nutrition as “rituals.” They’re ways we have of marking time, engaging with space, and remembering what’s most important. Our religious life is full of rituals too: from baptism to the sacrament, to the ordinances of the temple. Today I’m chatting with Jennifer Lane about how understanding the ins and outs of “ritual” can enrich our temple worship and help us to take upon ourselves more fully the name of Jesus Christ.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bestbookspod.substack.com

Since the beginning of the Restoration, Latter-day Saints have shared the good news with our Christian sisters and brothers through both testimony and reasoned arguments. Many Christians don’t accept Latter-day Saints as Christian because we do not follow the creeds and other standards of Christian orthodoxy. But if Terryl Givens is right, what counts as orthodox might be changing. In fact, several prominent Christian theologians are recovering long rejected teachings of the early Church Fathers that happen to resonate with key Restoration revelations. Givens argues Latter-day Saints have much to contribute to broader Christian conversations, especially about God’s love.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bestbookspod.substack.com