Exploring Sainthood

FamilyFirstWeddings.com is a letter writing campaign that will serve as a request to Church leadership to prayerfully consider removing the current one year waiting period between civil ceremonies and temple sealings. Michael and Paul Barker, who also run the RationalFaiths.com blog, are the organizers of this campaign. I consider Mike and Paul good friends, and I had the opportunity to interview them together about this new project. Many Latter-Day Saints often forget how painful the one-year wait can be on their fellow Mormons and the non-LDS family members of couples whose wedding they are unable to attend. Paul and Mike share their personal evolution on this subject and answer some common questions and concerns about the Church's current policies and some specifics about the Family First Weddings campaign. Please have a listen, visit their website, and support their new project.

Please enjoy this amazing discussion between myself, co-host Jay Griffith and BYU biology professor Steven L. Peck. Steven is an evolutionary biologist, ecologist, and an active, faithful Latter-Day Saint. In this two-part installment we hear Steven's intense love of science and religion and how this influences his perspectives on faith, Mormonism, and the natural world. In Part 1, Steven shares his thoughts on human evolution and how the Church's approach to this and other sciences has adapted to new discoveries. In Part 2, we examine how dogmatic materialism can be just as close-minded as religious fundamentalism, as well as how the reality of climate change/global warming and the Mormon view of stewardship and a weeping Earth should motivate Latter-Day Saints to be the world's best environmentalists. Please continue this discussion in the comments here as well as our Exploring Sainthood Facebook Community, and please add Steven Peck's wonderful books to your Mormon library: Artwork courtesy of Teach the Controversy.

Please enjoy this amazing discussion between myself, co-host Jay Griffith and BYU biology professor Steven L. Peck. Steven is an evolutionary biologist, ecologist, and an active, faithful Latter-Day Saint. In this two-part installment we hear Steven's intense love of science and religion and how this influences his perspectives on faith, Mormonism, and the natural world. In Part 1, Steven shares his thoughts on human evolution and how the Church's approach to this and other sciences has adapted to new discoveries. In Part 2, we examine how dogmatic materialism can be just as close-minded as religious fundamentalism, as well as how the reality of climate change/global warming and the Mormon view of stewardship and a weeping Earth should motivate Latter-Day Saints to be the world's best environmentalists. Please continue this discussion in the comments here as well as our Exploring Sainthood Facebook Community, and please add Steven Peck's wonderful book's to your Mormon library: Artwork courtesy of Teach the Controversy.

It just wouldn't feel right to launch a Mormon podcast without hearing the sagely wisdom of Greg Prince. I had the privelege of talking to Greg about the religious and cultural experiment afoot in Mormonism right now: Pluralism. Is it possible for a typically hemogenous religious community to become more accepting and inclusive of differing opinions and approaches to politics, theology, and religious practice? If so, what would that look like in LDS culture? How would these differing views and experiences be grafted into mainstream LDS culture? I hope you'll enjoy hearing mine and Greg's discussion where we attempt to address and answer these questions. Please enjoy, and continue the discussion here in the comments section, and make sure you buy Greg's amazing contributions to Mormon studies:

In the context of the recent US Supreme Court decision, Greg Prince shares his reflections on the decision and how it will affect the Church's evolving position on homosexuality.

We are so excited to launch the Exploring Sainthood project. In this introductory podcast episode, Micah Nickolaisen and Sarah Collett explain the vision and mission of the project, share a little about themselves, and what to expect in the future. For those who are following Micah and Sarah from the A Thoughtful Faith podcast, they a brief explanation of both why they decided to start an independent project and how Exploring Sainthood will be distinct from their efforts at A Thoughtful Faith. We will have more exciting content available for you after the launch of the podcast on tomorrow July 1, 2013. But for now, please join our Exploring Sainthood Podcast Community on Facebook, and provide your feedback and questions here. Thanks and stay tuned!