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From convert, to anti-mormon, to reconversion – Interview with Dusty Smith

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Dusty Smith with Elder L. Tom Perry
Dusty Smith (right) with “pen pal” Elder L. Tom Perry (left)

Welcome to the LDS MissionCast. To those of you who are new listeners to our show, thank you for listening. We hope you enjoy what this podcast has to offer as education and inspiration for missionary work in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Each week we try to bring you interviews that can help you to be a better missionary, or to help you feel inspired in missionary work. This week features an interview with Dusty Smith. While that may not be a name you immediately recognize, this is a story you won’t want to miss. This story is filled with the hand of God, and is an amazing, extraordinary example of how simple acts of missionary work can have a profound impact on literally hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world.

Shawn Rapier Ryan Snarr Latter-day Lives Podcast LDS MissionCast
Shawn Rapier (left) host of Latter-day Lives Podcast, Ryan Snarr (right) guest for the Latter-day Lives segment.

Occasionally we have Shawn Rapier from the always entertaining, Latter-day Lives podcast who records a special side interview with his guests about their mission experiences, or missionary-related experiences that can make you laugh, feel nostalgic for your own mission, or just leave you feeling inspired. This week Shawn had on artist Ryan Snarr, who tells a story about the enduring relationships that can be created from serving a mission, and how rich and fulfilling those relationships can be as they extend beyond the years of missionary service.

Each episode we try to feature different music or different LDS Musicians. This week we are showcasing a website and service called Music For Missionaries.net. Heather Bosshardt arranges and performs some great arrangements of the hymns. She sends you firesides in your inbox each and every week. It is FREE to missionaries while they are on their missions. This is music and spiritual messages that are sent to you each week that you can use for your own inspiration or you can share it with those being taught, or wards where you serve. Check out, www.musicformissionaries.net

Thank you to FairMormon for the continued sharing of LDS MissionCast.

Music for LDS Missionaries

Videos of Dusty Smith’s story:

 

Church History as a Missionary Tool with Casey Griffiths

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Casey Paul Griffiths - LDS MissionCast
BYU professor of church history Casey Paul Griffiths discusses the 100 most important events in Latter-day Saint history at his Education Week class.

Welcome to a select episode of the LDS MissionCast right here on FairMormon. This episode is hosted by Nick Galieti. The guest on this podcast is Casey Griffiths a professor from BYU, and one of the contributing authors to the book, What You Don’t Know about the 100 Most Important Events in Church History. We discuss the importance of knowing the history of the church and how our unique history can be used as a proselyting tool.

After that interview we have a funny segment from Shawn Rapier from the Latter-day Lives podcast. Shawn interviews a hilarious comedian, Steve Soelberg, who tells a funny story from his mission when he was…shall we say, caught in an awkward moment.

Music for this episode comes from Anne Britt. You can find her beautiful piano arrangements and this music on her site, http://annebrittmusic.com.

 

What you don't know about the 100 most important events in church history

Make sure to check out the full interview with Steve Soelberg on Shawn’s podcast, Latter-day Lives. 

Shawn Rapier and Steve Soelberg
Shawn Rapier and Steve Soelberg

Thank you for listening to the LDS MissionCast. You can reach out to LDS MissionCast on their Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram pages.

Race and the LDS Church – What do we know, and how do we teach it?

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Russell Stevenson Mormon Scholar
Russell Stevenson – Author of “For The Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830-2013

The LDS MissionCast is a podcast designed to educate and inspire in the great cause of Missionary Work. This episode is all about Race and the LDS Church. Some of the episodes of the LDS MissionCast feature content for those preparing to serve a full-time mission, some episodes are directed towards those that have returned home, or are wanting to be more inspired in member-missionary work. Episodes like this one are unique in that we occasionally need to take the time to learn the gospel, to learn our history better, so that we can better members of the church, and better ministers to those around us.

On June 1st, 2018 there will be a celebration in the conference center in Salt Lake City, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1978 revelation on the Priesthood, or Official Declaration #2. This topic is often referred to as being the “Priesthood Ban.” In an effort to explain or even justify this policy, it is common for members of the church to say things about this issue that are either wrong, possibly hurtful, incorrect, you name it. So we will spend some time in this episode learning the history, and coming to some understanding of this often controversial topic.

The scholar for this episode, Russell Stevenson, has dedicated years of his life to the study and understanding of the issues surrounding Race and the LDS Church. He talks about how his mission experience inspired this work, and informs much of what he does in his academic studies.

For further reference, please refer to the Race and the Priesthood essay at LDS.org


LDS MissionCast Podcast for Mormon Missionaries

Intro to Islam with Daniel Peterson

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Dan-Peterson-and-Nick-Galieti-LDS-MissionCast
Daniel Peterson and Nick Galieti with LDS Mission Cast

FairMormon would like to introduce to our podcast audience a new podcast called LDS MissionCast. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nick Galieti. The LDS MissionCast is designed to educate and inspire in missionary work. This could include those preparing to leave, those that have come home from full-time mission service, or member missionaries. One could make the case that missionary work is the underlying effort fueling apologetics. Part of missionary work is answering critical questions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; part of apologetics is helping to defend the doctrines to build faith and bring people unto Christ–these two efforts are two sides of the same coin.

We all have the opportunity to interact with people all over the world and discuss our faith with them, but we may not always be as conversant with gospel principles or in answering controversial subjects as we might like. For that matter we may not always understand the culture or religions of those we call our neighbors. This is where LDS MissionCast comes in.

FairMormon is sharing select episodes of the LDS MissionCast in our podcast feed. From time to time, as episodes fit the mission and purpose of FairMormon, we will share them with our podcast audience.

This first episode is an interview with Daniel C. Peterson on what missionaries and members should know about Islam (Intro to Islam – What Members and Missionaries need to know). As a professor at BYU for Islamic Studies, Dan Peterson shares his years of expertise in this matter. Islam is a rich and sometimes controversial faith tradition–one of the largest in the world. It is not uncommon for members of the LDS Church to have a neighbor who is Muslim, and one of the best ways to build bridges of fellowship is to know more about their history and some of the differences and similarities between our two faiths.

LDS MissionCast Podcast for Mormon Missionaries

Interview with Dr. Louis C. Midgley

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louis-midgley2

This week’s interview on the Mormon FAIRCast is with is with Dr. Louis C. Midgley. He was born and raised near Salt Lake City. He received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Utah, and, after teaching for a year at Weber State University, he and his wife moved to Providence, Rhode Island, where he received his Ph.D. from Brown University in the political science department. He taught the history of political and legal philosophy for thirty-six years at Brigham Young University, from which he retired in 1996.

Dr. Midgley has had an abiding interest in the history of Christian theology. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on Paul Tillich, the then-famous German-American Protestant theologian and political theorist/religious-socialist activist. Midgley also studied the writings of other influential Protestant theologians such as Karl Barth. Eventually he took an interest in contemporary Roman Catholic theology, and was also impacted by the work of important Jewish philosophers, including especially Leo Strauss and his disciples.

Beginning with its first issue in 1989, he was a regular contributor to the FARMS Review, which soon became the flagship publication of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He eventually also had the pleasure of serving as one of its associate editors until it was cancelled in 2011. He then began serving as a contributing editor for Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture in 2012.

Dr. Midgley served two missions to New Zealand—the first in 1950-52 and the second, with his wife, in 1999-2000, during which they directed the Lorne Street Institute of Religion, in Auckland.

He is married to the former Ireta Troth, of Bountiful, Utah. They are the parents of two sons and a daughter.

Dr. Midgley’s wife passed away on 3 February 2014 from an unexpected catastrophic event following successful surgery at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital. He is now without the immediate companionship of his beautiful wife. He lives with a firm hope that he will eventually be reunited with her.

Dr. Midgley’s testimony can be found at Mormon Scholars Testify.

 

President Scott Gordon Reviews the 2016 FairMormon Conference

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FFMM

“If we can’t have a discussion, then we might as well not have a conference” –Scott Gordon

In this edition of the Mormon FairCast, President Scott Gordon reviews the 2016 FairMormon Conference held at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Utah. Gordon offers three themes from this year’s conference:

  1. Women in the church
  2. The Book of Mormon
  3. How to do apologetics

Gordon also discusses how speakers are chosen and why FairMormon invites Dr. Daniel Peterson to deliver the closing address year after year.

Gordon

President Gordon retains his belief in “Big Tent” Mormonism and says we can all be good members yet have differing opinions on topics such as feminism, Book of Mormon geography, and LGBTQ issues. Gordon says FairMormon is dedicated to standing as a witness of Christ and His restored church.

SLT

Scott Gordon has an MBA from Brigham Young University, and a BA in Organizational Communications from BYU. He is currently an instructor of business and technology at Shasta College in Redding, California. Scott has held many positions in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints including serving as a bishop for six years. He is married and has five children.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton  is the recipient of FairMormon’s 2016 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. She has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Television Host, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Faith and Reason 75: Deification

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael R. Ash

Joseph Smith taught that we are of the same lineage and race of God. As God’s children, we have the potential to reach spiritual maturity and become like him. Most other Christians are shocked or outraged at such a suggestion. But this is what the scriptures tell us. The Psalmist wrote: “Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High” (Psalms 82:6). Many ancient Christians in the primitive Church also understood that we are to follow Christ’s example in a literal sense. Gregory of Nazianus taught: “I may become God to the same extent as He became man”. Likewise, the early Christian Irenaeus wrote that Jesus Christ became “what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself”. Even as late as the early part of the fourth century, Athanasius said that Christ “was made man that we might be made God”.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Faith and Reason 74: Degrees of Glory

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From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

by Michael Ash

Christ spoke of many mansions (John 14:2) and Paul compared the difference between the glory of the sun, moon, and stars with the different glory of those at the resurrection. Richard Anderson explains, “[Paul] sometimes wrote ‘heaven’ of the place where God dwells, but he used ‘heavens’ twice as much. Paul normally used the plural, even though the King James Version sometimes writes the singular for the Greek plural. For Paul, Christ is exalted ‘far above the heavens’ (Ephesians 4:10). If Christ is literally ‘higher than the heavens’ (Hebrews 7:26), he is in the highest heaven.

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Faith and Reason 73: Salvation for the Dead

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Baptismal font in the Copenhagen Denmark Temple.
Baptismal font in the Copenhagen Denmark Temple.

Jesus Christ taught that baptism is essential to the salvation of all who have lived on earth (see John 3:5). Many people, however, have died without being baptized. Others were baptized without proper authority. Because God is merciful, He has prepared a way for all people to receive the blessings of baptism. By performing proxy baptisms in behalf of those who have died, Church members offer these blessings to deceased ancestors. Individuals can then choose to accept or reject what has been done in their behalf.

From LDS.org: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/salvation-for-the-dead?lang=eng

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.

Faith and Reason 72: Sacred Vestments

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garment

To those outside a particular faith, the rituals and clothing may seem unfamiliar. But for the participants they can stir the deepest feelings of the soul, motivate them to do good, even shape the course of a whole life of service.

The nun’s habit. The priest’s cassock. The Jewish prayer shawl. The Muslim’s skullcap. The saffron robes of the Buddhist monk. All are part of a rich tapestry of human devotion to God.

Not all such religious vestments are on public display. Some are seen only in places of worship. Temple robes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known as the robes of the holy priesthood, are worn only inside Mormon temples and reserved for the highest sacraments of the faith. White symbolizes purity. There is no insignia or rank. The most senior apostle and the newest member are indistinguishable when dressed in the same way. Men and women wear similar clothing. The simple vestments combine religious symbolism with echoes of antiquity reflected in ancient writings from the book of Exodus.

From the LDS Newsroom: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/temple-garments

Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.

Julianne Dehlin Hatton has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, News Anchor, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.

Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.