The Foyer

How do religious organizations and individuals contribute to local and global humanitarian, relief, and development efforts? In this conversation, Sharon Eubank, Director of Humanitarian Services for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, offers concrete examples and advice that will inspire anyone wanting to make the world a better place.

“The Psalm of Nephi” is a beloved passage from the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 4:16-35). In this special episode, Patrick Mason teams up with tenor Chris Machado and the Logan Institute Singers for a lecture and performance of three musical pieces with lyrics taken from the psalm.

Utah is a great state, but there are some important areas where it lags behind. One of these areas, unfortunately, is women’s equality. Utah statistically ranks toward or at the bottom of the nation when it comes to various gaps between men and women. And it turns out that the state’s trademark religiosity has something to do with it. In this episode, Patrick Mason talks with D

From its very founding, the United States has always featured a delicate balance of being home to an overwhelmingly religious populace while also rejecting a religious establishment. What does it mean to be a person of faith in a secular and pluralistic public sphere? Should religious people bring their values to the arena of politics – and if so, what are the limits? How can we

Mormonism’s beginnings are based on Joseph Smith’s remarkable claims that he saw God and angels and then retrieved golden plates from a hill near his home. The debate between believers and nonbelievers over the truthfulness of Smith’s claims has followed well-worn paths ever since. In recent years, however, new interpretations have emerged that attempt to make sense of the go

This special episode of the foyer is a live recording in front of a live audience. Join Patrick Mason, Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture, and Dallas Jenkins, Creator and Director of The Chosen, as they discuss the behind the scenes of creating the largest crowd-funded media project of all time.

No other issue is as publicly prominent or as vexing for contemporary Mormonism as the relationship between the LDS Church and the LGBTQ community. We will discuss the history of LDS teachings about homosexuality, the recent emergence of “queer Mormon theology,” and how LGBTQ Latter-day Saints navigate the complex tensions of their religion and sexuality. Patrick will be joined

American society is deeply divided. Our political culture is as fractured and dysfunctional as at any time since the Civil War. Latter-day Saints have not been immune to this polarization, but there have also been voices calling for a return to the “better angels of our nature.” Joining us will be two of those voices speaking out in favor of a distinctively Mormon way of engagi

There are some books you read that change the way you see the world. That was my experience reading the amazing recent memoirs by these two scholars and authors, who happen to be uncle and niece. Join us for a conversation about Mormonism, Zen Buddhism, raking, and cancer. Charles Shirō Inouye is Professor of Japanese Literature and Visual Culture at Tufts University and the autho

May 25, 2021, marked the one-year anniversary since the murder of George Floyd, which set off a nationwide wave of protests over policing and continuing racial inequalities in America. In addition to the broader American context, the LDS Church is in the midst of an ongoing reckoning with its own past of racial exclusion. In this episode guests LaShawn Williams, Mauli Bonner, and P