The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

Our hosts continue their discussion with Matt Grow, managing director of the Church History Department. Was Brigham a man of violence? He did use inflammatory rhetoric at times. But interestingly the actual evidence points toward his being a man of peace. And what do we know about whether or not Brigham Young was a racist? The post Becoming Brigham Episode 5 first appeared on The Interpreter Found...

In this episode of Conversations with Interpreter , Thora and Avram speak with John Thompson about his paper from the 2025 Abraham and His Family Conference held at BYU in May 2025. Thompson, an Egyptologist who is a retired teacher for Seminaries and Institutes and a content creator for Scripture Central, discusses the idea that the life of Abraham as described in both Genesis and in the book of...

Abstract: For more than a century, Alma 29 has been read as a direct quotation from the prophet Alma. Yet, unlike every other extended quotation in Mormon’s record, this passage lacks attribution, framing, or transition. This anomaly has gone largely unnoticed because of a chapter break, added in 1879, that masks the continuity of Mormon’s voice from Alma 28 into chapter 29. This paper challenges...

In the February 19, 2026 episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast, our host Martin Tanner describes how Mark Smith, PhD, Harvard researcher, now a professor at NYU, in his book The Early History of God: Yahweh and Other Deities in Ancient Israel , demonstrates ancient Israel, and early books of the Bible describe God (YHWH) as a divine human. This looks like Joseph Smith's descriptions of God i...

Is there any purpose to revisiting the life and times of Brigham Young? Don’t we already know everything there is to know about this sometimes-controversial historical figure? Camrey, Dan and John are joined in a roundtable discussion by Matt Grow, who is the managing director of the Church History Department. The post Becoming Brigham Episode 4 first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation .

In this episode of Conversations with Interpreter , our hosts, Avram and Thora Shannon looks at the second part of an article by Jeff Lindsay, a long time contributor to Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship , titled “Parallels between the Book of Moses and the Book of Mormon.” Where the previous episode looked at the methodology employed in finding parallels between the...

Review of Samuel T. Wilkinson, Purpose: What Evolution and Human Nature Imply About the Meaning of Our Existence (New York: Pegasus Books, 2024). 338 pages. $29.95 (hardback). Abstract: Many believers in God are troubled by assertions that the theory of evolution means life on earth is accidental and has no purpose. Additionally, some people worry that the theory’s implied selfishness and “surviva...

In the February 12, 2026 episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast, our host Terry Hutchinson and his guest Mark Johnson discuss President Oaks’ first BYU devotional, Noel Reynolds and his work, concluding with Mark's comments about his Interpreter article about Moses Chapter 1 and its similarities to ancient Hebrew literary techniques as they are found in Genesis. The post Interpreter Insights...

In this episode, host Camrey Fox continues her visit with shorthand expert LaJean Carruth. LaJean compares Brigham to Enoch rather than Moses. She points out that many of the transcripts have never been translated before, and they give us new insights into his character and personality. Host John Wilson continues his discussion with Sam Weston about the assassination of Joseph Smith, and whether B...

In this episode of Conversations with Interpreter , our hosts, Avram and Thora Shannon speak with Jeff Lindsay, a member of the Board of Directors of the Interpreter Foundation. Lindsay’s article was published in two parts in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. This episode looks at the first part, where we discuss the methodology behind the article and the implicatio...

In the February 5, 2026 episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast, our host Martin Tanner discusses how near-death experiences have influenced the Restored Gospel. The post Interpreter Insights Podcast — February 5, 2026 first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation .

In this episode, host Camrey Fox visits with 19th century shorthand expert LaJean Carruth and finds out some surprising things about the differences between previously published statements by Brigham and the actual original transcripts. Meanwhile host John Wilson meets with Sam Weston, an expert on the assassination of Joseph Smith. The post Becoming Brigham Episode 2 first appeared on The Interpr...

In this, the inaugural episode of Conversations with Interpreter , our hosts, Avram and Thora Shannon speak with Dennis Newton about his article, “The Islamic Jesus” in Volume 66 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship . The article is a review of the book by Mustafa Akyol, The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims . Dennis is a long-ti...

Abstract: What does it mean for the Church to be “true and living”? Is it prideful to make such a claim? Why is it important that the Church be both? The post True and Living first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation .

In the January 29, 2026 episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast, our host Terry Hutchinson discusses the new Becoming Brigham video series with Dan Peterson, President of The Interpreter Foundation. The post Interpreter Insights Podcast — January 29, 2026 first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation .

In this inaugural episode, hosts John Wilson and Camrey Fox, along with Professor Dan Peterson, visit the Carthage Jail to discuss a theory by some enemies of the Church that Brigham Young was behind the death of Joseph Smith. The post Becoming Brigham Episode 1 first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation .

Abstract: The name Helam , attested as a place name in the Bible is also attested as a personal and place name in the Book of Mormon. Evidence suggests that this name is derived from the Hebrew noun ḥayil/ḥêl , which has a wide range of meaning, including “wealth,” “abundance,” “power,” and even “army” (including Pharaoh’s “army” or “host”). The form of Helam suggests the meaning, “[God is] their...

In the January 22, 2026 episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast, our host Martin Tanner discusses the book of Genesis from the viewpoints of Judaism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Latter-day Saints. The post Interpreter Insights Podcast — January 22, 2026 first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation .

In the January 15, 2026 episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast, our hosts Terry Hutchinson and Martin Tanner interview Jeffrey Bradshaw about Abraham, Enoch, and Melchizedek. The post Interpreter Insights Podcast — January 15, 2026 first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation .

Abstract: This article seeks to shed light on an under-researched subject: the more negative public responses to the first five years of the Latter-day Saint mission in Britain, from 1837 to 1842. Sufficient research attention has not been given, to date, to the full range of responses of the British people to the arrival of the new Church on their shores. These responses were often—although by no...

In the January 8, 2026 episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast, our hosts Martin Tanner and Terry Hutchinson interview Jeffrey Bradshaw about the Book of Genesis. The post Interpreter Insights Podcast — January 8, 2026 first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation .

Abstract: In exploring the connections between the texts of the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses, several updates to previously published parallels need to be made, including the discovery of even more apparent parallels. The total number of proposed parallels that cannot readily be explained by the language of the King James Bible now stands at 146. In this article I present the current list...

In the inaugural episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast, our hosts Martin Tanner and Terry Hutchinson discuss the new podcast, its focus and format. The post Interpreter Insights Podcast — January 1, 2026 first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation .

Abstract: In previous work, unexpected textual relationships between the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses that seem consistent with a brass-plates version of Genesis with similarities to the modern Book of Moses were explored. However, there is a need for further research to examine the nature of the distribution of the parallels in the Book of Mormon to the Book of Moses to assess, for exampl...

Abstract: The Christmas season evokes tender feelings within us as we contemplate the newborn Christ child, whose life and mission would change the world forever. Many retellings of the nativity story include the unusual—the awkward boy/innkeeper who impulsively offers his own room to Mary and Joseph or the Herdman kids who unwittingly impart a realistic view of the Christ child’s birth. The Chris...