Martin Tanner's Religion Today

In celebration of Pioneer Day, Martin shares some little known detail about the Latter-day Saint pioneer trek to the Salt Lake Valley.

Martin Tanner interviews his friend of over 35 years, Howard Storm, who shares his near-death experience (NDE) in great detail, and then answers questions about it. Howard Storm's NDE is widely considered one of the most profound, because when he died, he was initially led by evil spirits of the dead to Spirit Prison, or Hell. But when Howard cried out for help, Jesus took Howard out of there, and...

In June 2025, an 1886 John Taylor Revelation on plural marriage was published. Critics and fundamentalists say it means polygamy should never have ended, the 1890 Wilford Woodruff Manifesto should never have been issued, the LDS Church is self-contradictory and has been hiding the 1886 revelation.  Host Martin Tanner explains why this is not true, for example: The 1886 John Taylor revelation says...

The phrase "wall of separation" is not in the Constitution. It comes from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association, in which Jefferson congratulates the Baptists, and by implication all Christians, and people in other religions, on their ability to freely run for office, and participate in all governmental activities in the United States. Host Martin Tanner provides...

Evangelical Christians, other Protestants, and also Catholics, say God is a Spirit only, quoting John 4:24 "God is spirit[,]" and, John 1:18 "No man hath seen God at any time[.]" In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner goes through many Bible passages which which say not only is God a man, he has been seen many times. 

Why does Matthew's Gospel begin with Jesus's genealogy, traced through Joseph, who is not Jesus's biological father, and includes an adulterer, a gentile and two prostitutes. Other options for tracing Jesus's genealogy were available. Why start a Gospel with a genealogy? Why trace Jesus's genealogy through a gentile, an adulterer and a prostitute? Martin Tanner gives the explanation, which makes p...

Host Martin Tanner describes a few of the many ways the often neglected Dead Sea Scrolls are a treasure trove for all Christians, and especially Latter-day Saints. The DSS show there were ancient writings on metal which were hidden in the ground for future generations. The DSS show how dramatically the Old Testament has changed. The DSS were written by a Jewish sect which called themself the "Latt...

Critics of the LDS Faith claim there could not have been an apostasy because virtually all Christian denominations believe in the Bible, in Jesus, and can trace their history back to the first century AD. But Religion Today podcast host Martin Tanner explains that the core doctrines of Christianity have all dramatically changed since the first century to the point they are unrecognizable.    A few...

In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner provides information from scripture, early Christian writings and tradition, Jewish writings and traditions, and other sources, to lay out a compelling argument for the idea that Jesus was, in all likelihood, a married man with children.  

In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner provides a brief history of Israel, from 120,000 years ago to the present, showing that Israelites or Jews, have continuously occupied the land of Israel from at least 1,202 BC and likely much earlier, to the present. Since 1947, the internationally accepted and designated name for that land is the Country of "Israel." The name "Palestine" come...

In this Religion Today episode, host Martin Tanner describes the original oral sources that were apparently used by John Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark, which was likely the first written of the Gospels. Martin describes when, how, for what purpose and by whom the other three Gospels were written.

In this  Religion Today episode, host Martin Tanner outlines the archaeological evidence that 3 Nephi 8 is genuine history which happened in present day Guatemala. The volcanic activity described in 3 Nephi 8 has never happened in the United States anywhere east of western Texas, making a North-American setting for Book of Mormon event in North America impossible. However, volcanic activity in the...

In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner describes the Jewish and Christian beliefs in angels. He gives Biblical examples from the Old and New Testaments. He explains the meaning of the English word "Angel" derives from the phrase "God's Messenger" in both Hebrew and Greek. Ancient and modern examples of angel intervention in the lives of people to provide help and comfort are describ...

Martin Tanner interviews renowned Film-maker T.C. Christensen about his new film which tells the remarkable story of Alma Richards, who, as a high school student from southern Utah, won the Olympic Gold Medal in the funning high jump. This is a must see film. 

In this episode of Religion Today , host Martin Tanner describes the meaning of the atonement, as reconciliation between God and Man, and how it works, as the point in time when Jesus acquired a complete, perfect understanding of the entire life of each person, and then took upon himself our sins, because of his love for each of us. Martin also describes the meaning of the resurrection, as a compl...

Martin Tanner describes why, from Book of Mormon passages, Latter-day Saints believe in three Nephites who were "translated" and allowed to remain on earth until the Second Coming of Jesus. He provides several stories of intervention by one or more of the Three Nephites, and what their purpose seems to be. 

Catholics believe life begins at conception. Most others believe in a pre-earth life, pre-existence or a reincarnation into the current life. Martin Tanner describes the pre-existence from scripture, history and belief, from the perspectives of Judaism, Early Christianity, Catholicism, the Orthodox Church, Protestant faiths and from the Latter-day Saint perspective. Citing scriptures and examples...

Host Martin Tanner explores how literal or figurative these descriptions are, from scriptures, doctrines, traditions, near-death experiences, and other sources. He discusses what it means that humans are the children of God, and, what it means that God is our father.

After describing some Bible miracles, host Martin Tanner asks whether miracles still happen? He then answers his own question, "yes" and describes eight specific, well documented miracles, from 1965 to 2015, in which someone should have died, but for reasons that defy any scientific explanation, the person lived.

What happened in Jesus's life from the time he was born until his earthly ministry?  In this episode of Religion Today host Martin Tanner explains the various theories and the evidence for and against each, including, did Jesus visit India, Nepal, England or Japan?  How did Jesus interact with those in his hometown of Nazareth?  Martin explores the few, but significant New Testament verses that gi...

In this episode of  Religion Today Martin Tanner gives details of the Near-Death Experiences of Elane Durham, who saw major verified events in the future; John Hernandez, who simultaneously with other fire-fighters, had all an NDE in which they all stood above their bodies in the flames of a forest fire; and, David Chevalier, who survived a point-blank shotgun blast to his chest, resulting in an N...

Martin gives a short history of the Shroud of Turin. He explains how the latest evidence shows the Shroud is a painted image, on a linen sheet, inconsistent with the Gospel record, of a man who does not look like the real Jesus.

Host Martin Tanner explains why critics who claim the eleven papyrus scraps the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints obtained in 1967 from The Metropolitan Museum of Art are the documents from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Abraham, are demonstrably wrong. Martin describes what is on the eleven Joseph Smith Papyri, why they cannot be the papyri from which the Book of Abraham was...

Host Martin Tanner describes the traditional belief that Moses himself wrote the first five books of the Bible, with evidence from archaeology, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and internal documentary evidence. He also describes the new so-called "scholarly" approach which suggests the five Books of Moses were written and compiled by many others, who attributed their work to Moses for credibility.

In this episode, host Martin Tanner describes how Near-Death Experiences confirm Mormon doctrine.  He also describes the Near-Death Experiences of ten prominent Latter-day Saints, including Church Presidents Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and Apostles David B. Haight and Jeffrey R. Holland.