Scholars & Saints

David O. McKay is one of the most famous presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But what about his writing and service make him, in the minds of many, the quintessential prophet? And how did his impact on the Church change its trajectory from previous generations? BYU History Professor Brian Q. Cannon, author of the most recent biography of David O McKay, Building a Global...

The Latter-day Saint tradition features a prodigious number of eloquent speakers and famous speeches — from Brigham Young's sermons to Mitt Romney's "Faith in America" address. But how does this tradition, especially with its lack of formal homiletical training, boast such a rich, deeply ingrained, and democratic culture of public address? On today's episode of Scholars &a...

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have received special undergarments as part of their temple endowment ceremonies since the days of Jospeh Smith. But what are these garments? How do they fit and feel? How have they changed with fashion trends over the years? And how do Latter-day Saints perceive and experience these garments as an embodied practice of their religion? Rese...

Perhaps no religion has had a more contentious or complex relationship with American law than Mormonism: from 19th century debates over polygamy to questions of church affiliated states. So how has Mormonism, particularly the Latter-day Saint tradition, negotiated the Western legal tradition within its own belief systems? And what is the Latter-day Saint legal tradition, whether explicit or implic...

Religious identities have shifted dramatically in the last quarter century. But how, and it what ways? Is religion as we once knew it dying in the U.S.? Or are people finding other ways of expressing the same kinds of needs for affiliation and meaning in different forms? What do people really mean when they say they are spiritual but not religious? Or religious but not affiliated with any traditio...

This bonus episode of Scholars & Saints is taken from the Eleventh Annual Joseph Smith Lecture, delivered by author and journalist Jana Riess at Newcomb Hall in Charlottesville, Va on October 24, 2025. Click here for more information about Dr. Riess and her lecture. You can follow along with the lecture slides here . Each fall, the University of Virginia's Mormon Studies Program sponsors...

On today's bonus episode of  Scholars & Saints , host Nicholas Shrum sits down with UVA's Richard Lyman Bushman Chair of Mormon Studies Laurie Maffly-Kipp. The two discuss Professor Maffly-Kipp's academic background and entrance into Mormon Studies, her goals and ongoing initiatives within the program, and what makes UVA such a unique place for the study of Mormonism. If you&apo...

Latter-day Saint temples and their rituals have been an oft discussed and frequently misunderstood element of Mormon practice. But how can scholars hope to understand Mormon temples when their rituals are exclusive to members, and their liturgies kept secret? Historian and scientist Jonathan Stapley discusses these questions on today's episode of Scholars & Saints . Drawing on his brand-n...

Our 21st century digital age provides countless and unprecedented opportunities for identity development and cultural engagement. But how might these new means of social interaction impact religious institutions and their public image? On today's episode of Scholars & Saints, host Nicholas Shrum seeks out these answers with the help of Oklahoma State University's Professor of Media a...

200 years later, Joseph Smith, Jr. continues to draw popular and scholarly interest within the American imagination. But how can modern historians navigate diverse and controversial religious perspectives to offer a fair record of such a man's life? John G. Turner, Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at George Mason University, is the latest historian to undertake such an endeavor in his...

In a world where new forms of media have enabled the artistic expression of numerous cultures and experiences, the question must be asked: how do the millions of Latter-day Saints around the globe define themselves artistically? This question is tackled by many Mormon Studies scholars in the 2024 book, Latter-day Saint Art: A Critical Reader . The book's editors, Mason Allred and Amanda Beard...

Mormonism has been stereotypically conceived of as a patriarchal, heteronormative religion, from its past polygamy to its male-only priesthood. But what happens if you apply a queer studies lens to the faith? This task was taken up by Kalamazoo College's Chair of Religion Taylor G. Petrey in his recent book, Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos . On today's episode of Scholars & Sai...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has always been a great case study in the limits of religious liberty and tolerance in America. But what can the history of Mormonism tell us about U.S. tax history? According to Loyola University Chicago School of Law Professor Sam Brunson, quite a lot! Kicking off this new season of Scholars & Saints, Dr. Brunson sits down with host Nicholas Sh...

Women have always played a large role in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But how do women today, especially women of color, negotiate their faith through a historically patriarchal religion? And how can western scholars really probe this issue for women around the globe, without enforcing their own pre-conceived paradigms? On this episode of Scholars & Saints, Nicholas speaks...

This bonus episode of Scholars & Saints is taken from the Tenth Annual Joseph Smith Lecture, delivered by UVA's new Director of Mormon Studies, Laurie Maffly-Kipp at the Darden Center in Rosslyn, Va on October 19, 2024. Click here for more information about Prof. Maffly-Kipp and her lecture. Each fall, the University of Virginia's Mormon Studies Program sponsors the Joseph Smith Lect...

This bonus episode of Scholars & Saints is taken from the 2023 University of Virginia Mormon Studies research workshop entitled: "Mormonism in Africa and the African Diaspora." During the workshop, biomedical pathologist and LDS historian Dr. Gregory A. Prince delivered remarks on the depth of materials and research potentiality within the Gregory A. Prince Collection, a compilation...

For over a century, the LDS Church forbade Black Latter-day Saints from temple ordinances, and Black men from the priesthood. How did Black Latter-day Saints experience this discrimination, and what effects and consequences of these restrictions carry over to today? On this episode of Scholars & Saints, Nicholas speaks with Dr. Matthew L. Harris, Professor of History and Director of Legal Stud...

This bonus episode of Scholars & Saints is taken from the 2023 University of Virginia Mormon Studies research workshop entitled: "Mormonism in Africa and the African Diaspora". During the workshop, Dr. W. Paul Reeve, Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Utah, delivered this lecture detailing how data allows us to ask and answer n...

How is it that Mormonism can be considered "America's most successful, homegrown religion" and yet have undergone vast assimilation to American culture in the late 19th and 20th centuries? Dr. Benjamin Park, Associate Professor of History at Sam Houston State University, details Mormonism's evolutions and transitions from its inception to today on this episode of Scholars &...

This bonus episode of Scholars & Saints is taken from the 2023 Ninth Annual Joseph Smith Lecture, delivered by UPenn's Dr. Anthea Butler at the University of Virginia. Click here for more information about Dr. Butler and her lecture. Each fall, the University of Virginia's Mormon Studies Program sponsors the Joseph Smith Lecture Series: a public lecture on religion in public life, wi...

Global Mormonism is an ever-growing field of study for scholars as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership has exploded throughout the Global South, especially in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. But how has Mormonism fared in Europe, especially in historically Catholic nations? Sociologist Hazel O'Brien takes host Nicholas Shrum on a tour of two pseudonymous LDS wards...

How did early Mormons relate with African Americans and Native Americans in the 19th Century West? This is just one of the many questions tackled by the extensive research of W. Paul Reeve, the Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies at the University of Utah. In today's episode, Dr. Reeve discusses his academic journey from Western U.S. history to Mormon Studies, the University of Utah's progra...

What do an archeologist, historian, philosopher, and literary critic have in common? They're all members of the Department of Religion at Claremont Graduate University! Continuing our series on Mormon studies in the academy, Dr. Matthew Bowman, the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at CGU joins host Nicholas Shrum to discuss his own journey to Mormon studies as a trained historian, how...

What is Mormon Studies? How does one do it? In what way does it fit into the broader field of Religious Studies? In this all-new season of Scholars & Saints, UVA Religious Studies Ph. D. student Nicholas Shrum goes back to the basics of the discipline with renowned LDS historian and Utah State University professor Patrick Q. Mason. The two discuss Dr. Mason's personal journey to Mormon St...

The mysterious gold plates are the gravitational center of the Latter Day Saint tradition. Although twelve people other than Joseph Smith claimed to have seen or handled the plates, Smith said he returned them to an angel soon after completing the translation of the Book of Mormon. Even now, nearly 200 years later, the plates continue fascinate and confound interpreters in American culture. Today...