Mormon Land

For many early Utah pioneers, James Brown Jr. was a hero of sorts. He led a Mormon Battalion company into the Salt Lake Valley just days after Brigham Young. He and his family settled Ogden, which became known for a time as Brownsville, and he served as a Latter-day Saint bishop. As a prominent leader, he married 13 women — all sealed to him in temple rites — and fathered 28 children. What most church members didn’t know was that James Jr. had Black grandparents — and that carries significance, given that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had a policy barring Black members from holding the priesthood or entering temples from 1852 to 1978. On this week’s show, Brigham Young University history professor Jenny Hale Pulsipher, a descendant of Brown, discovered his racial ancestry, and W. Paul Reeve, who is head of Mormon studies at the University of Utah and has done the most scholarly research on African Americans in the church, discuss this finding and how it helps modern believers understand the messiness of the past and the “impossibility of policing racial boundaries” through profiling.

Gordon B. Hinckley, then president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stepped up to the microphone in General Conference in the fall of 2000 and solemnly denounced tattoos as “graffiti on the temple of the body.” The following year, the faith’s “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet pointedly counseled young people not to “disfigure” themselves with tattoos. With those words, body art — no matter how innocent, innocuous or ingrained in one’s cultural heritage — joined a list of forbidden fruits for faithful Latter-day Saints. A quarter century later, though, that prophetic prohibition has been silenced, or at least softened, and the explicit condemnation of tattoos removed from the latest youth guidelines. Is the tattoo taboo, unlike that indelible ink, fading in mainstream Mormonism? Is such artwork no longer a mark of rebellion but rather, with the emerging embrace of Latter-day Saint symbols in some tattoos, now a symbol of that very faith? On this week’s show, Ethan Gregory Dodge, co-founder of the former MormonLeaks website, a devotee of body art, editor of Tattootime magazine and an occasional Salt Lake Tribune contributor, explore this evolution, if not revolution. He also discussed the topic at a recent Sunstone Symposium.

On the fourth crossover episode between ‘Mormon Land’ and ‘Mormons in Media, ’ Rebbie and Nicole dissect the latest dating show to come out of Provo — The Altar. Rebbie fills Nicole in on the history of the show and Nicole can't seem to figure out why these 21-year-olds are so worried about marriage. Turns out, it's a lot deeper than she thinks. Plus, what IS a "basic Utah girl?" Let's discuss.

To Christians everywhere, the story of refugees is a part of Scripture. It is sacred. Adam and Eve, Moses and the Israelites, the Book of Mormon’s Lehi and his family, even Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus. The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes an epic journey of migrants fleeing persecution to find a promised land. Latter-day Saints, then, have a natural affinity for immigrants. On top of that, modern Mormonism attracts converts seeking a better life. Uprooted from their homes, many immigrants find a safe haven in the religious and congregational life of Latter-day Saints. What should the church and its members think and do about current U.S. efforts to round up and deport immigrants who lack current legal status and even, in many cases, those here legally? On this week’s show, Charles Kuck, a Latter-day Saint immigration attorney in Atlanta who has served as a bishop of a Spanish-language congregation, discusses the church and immigration.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a standard crossing-the-Plains narrative: Pioneers traversed the Mississippi River on the ice led by Brigham Young. Everything was well organized, and everyone was well behaved. They trekked hard by day and prayed together at night. They sang “Come, Come, Ye Saints” around the campfire and then delighted in dancing to the tunes of fiddles. Sure, there was hardship, so the story goes, but all the suffering was mostly ennobling. The names varied but the stories for these religious migrants were pretty much interchangeable. For Latter-day Saint historian Ardis Parshall, however, the pioneer saga is so much wider, richer and, at times, even more entertaining when members search for and honor experiences that differ from the oft-repeated accounts. Parshall, who revels in being a historical sleuth, seeks out the little-known and unexpected episodes in the faith’s past. In advance of Utah’s Pioneer Day on Thursday, July 24, she shares some of the gems she has discovered about the Latter-day Saints’ epic 19th-century pilgrimage.

The latest word from the IRS is that, contrary to popular belief, churches and other houses of worship can endorse political candidates from the pulpit without threatening their tax-exempt status. When asked to comment on the tax agency’s stance, a spokesperson for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pointed, perhaps tellingly, to the faith’s official policy of political neutrality, which states matter-of-factly that that the church “does not endorse, promote or oppose political parties and their platforms or candidates for political office.” But could that change someday? Might the time come when President So-and-So, sporting a red tie, or apostle Such-and-Such, donning a blue one, gets up in General Conference and urges members to vote for a Republican presidential candidate or a Democrat seeking the White House? Is the IRS’ position really revolutionary? Could it dramatically alter the delicate balance between church and state? Will most clergy even want to wade into partisan politics from pulpit? On this week’s podcast, Sam Brunson, a Latter-day Saint tax law professor at Loyola University Chicago and author of the recently released “Between the Temple and the Tax Collector: The Intersection of Mormonism and the State," discusses those questions and more.

This nonpartisan Latter-day Saint group has called out President Donald Trump for continuing to spread the false narrative that the 2020 election was rigged and for targeting those who have reported the truth about his electoral defeat that year. It has denounced the present federal administration’s quest for greater power and Congress’ unwillingness to act as a constitutional check against such executive overreach. It has opposed Trump’s push for mass deportations. It has pleaded with Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a fellow member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to cease his online bullying. It has encouraged reasonable reforms to reduce gun violence. It has even sued the Utah Legislature, accusing lawmakers of gerrymandering and undermining the will of voters in approving new congressional districts for the Beehive State. Given all that activity, to say that Mormon Women for Ethical Government has been quietly sitting on the sidelines would miss the mark. So what does this grassroots group, with thousands of Latter-day Saint followers and with the stated goal of “building a more peaceful, just and ethical world,” hope to accomplish during this time of U.S. political upheaval? On this week’s show, Laura Lewis Eyi, the organization’s public relations manager, addresses that question and more.

On the third crossover episode between ‘Mormon Land’ and ‘Mormons in Media, ’ Rebbie and Nicole are joined by Meg Walter, host of the ‘Hive Mind’ podcast. After watching the ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ reunion, the three talk about the heaviness of it. Nicole asks the question: If faith is so important to these women, why stay in the LDS Church where they don’t follow the rules versus choosing a different denomination? We also talk about the “Mormon Hacks” Nick Viall brought up.

On Sept. 28, 2017, The Salt Lake Tribune premiered a new podcast, “Mormon Land,” and its first guest was Tom Christofferson, a prominent LGBTQ+ member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a brother of apostle D. Todd Christofferson. Deseret Book had just published Tom’s memoir, “That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Faith and Family.” As hosts, we were definitely neophytes, but the power of Tom’s narrative and his openness carried the moment. Now, as “Mormon Land” approaches its 400th episode — and a decade after the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage the law of the land and the Utah-based church enacted a policy (later rescinded) labeling same-sex married couples “apostates” and barring their kids from baptism — we caught up with Tom Christofferson, who was in Utah for the Gather Conference in Provo, to explore how far the church has come, in his eyes, on LGBTQ+ issues and and how far it has yet to go.

Stassi D. Cramm did not spend her childhood fantasizing about becoming the first female prophet-president in the Community of Christ’s 165-year history. Indeed, Cramm did not originally plan for a life of ministry in the church, which, like the much-larger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, traces its origins to Joseph Smith. But sometimes, Cramm says, God has other plans for you. Earlier this month, Cramm was ordained to the highest office in the Community of Christ after nearly a quarter century of full-time ministry. She is ready to help the faith, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, move forward boldly into an even more inclusive, global church. On this week’s show, Cramm discusses her background; the challenges her church faces; its position on a number of issues, including climate change; the faith’s finances and its relationship with the Utah-based religion, especially after selling the historic Kirtland Temple; and her hopes for the future.