The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

How did the early revelation to Emma Smith and the organization of the Relief Society challenge the 19th-century cultural expectation of male leadership?

What does Brigham Young’s journal language about his wife being “admitted to the priesthood,” combined with his lifelong focus on temple ordinances, reveal about how he understood women’s spiritual authority?

The post Becoming Brigham Episode 30: Shared Burden, Shared Strength first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

How did living in a household full of wives and daughters reshape Brigham Young’s understanding of women’s capabilities, even while he held traditional views of male roles in society?

In what ways did plural marriage paradoxically expand Utah women’s legal rights (property ownership, etc.) compared with the rest of the United States?

The post Becoming Brigham Episode 29: Inside the Lion’s House first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

This episode is number two in a two part series of interviews with Jennifer C. Lane. The first discussed her work on redemption and the life of Abraham, while this episode focuses on exploring the idea of redemption in the Small Plates of Nephi. Dr. Lane in particular connects the teachings about Christ with the Old Testament notion of the kinsman-redeemer. The authors of this part of the Book of Mormon frame redemption in its connection to covenant and the covenant relationship we build with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. This episode discusses Dr. Lane’s paper “Knowing Our Redeemer: Christ as Kinsman-Redeemer in the Small Plates,” presented as a keynote at the 2026 Small Plates of Nephi Conference held on May 29-30th at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT.

The post Conversations with Interpreter: Jennifer Lane — Part 2: Jesus as Kinsman–Redeemer in the Small Plates first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

How did the early apostles’ expectation that they must personally see the Savior shape their understanding of what it means to be a “special witness”?

Why did the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society trigger such widespread doubt and apostasy, and how did Brigham Young’s response to the crisis reveal the difference between intellectual belief and deep spiritual conviction?

What does recent research reveal about the private, softer side of Brigham Young that is often missing from his public image as a fiery frontier leader?

The post Becoming Brigham Episode 28: To See God Face to Face first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

Review of Kyle Beshears, 40 Questions About Mormonism (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2026). 352 pages; $26.99 (paperback).

The post 40 Questions on Latter-day Saint Religion: Sincere, Frequently Respectful, Too Often Polemical first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.