The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

How did a failed military-style relief mission like Zion’s Camp become one of the most important spiritual training experiences in early Church history?

What does Brigham Young’s witty courtroom defense during a lawsuit against Joseph Smith reveal about his character and his emerging role as a defender of the young prophet?

How did the intense shared hardships of Zion’s Camp influence the selection and preparation of the original Twelve Apostles—and what parallels (and/or differences) exist with apostolic callings today?

The post Becoming Brigham Episode 27: Zion’s Classroom — Apostles in the Making first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

This is the first of a two-part discussion with Dr. Jennifer Lane, professor emerita from Brigham Young University-Hawaii on two recent studies about redemption in the scriptures. Over her career, Dr. Lane has worked extensively on the presentation of redemption in the scriptures and this discussion is another entry into that impressive body of work. In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Lane speaks about the role that redemption and God’s performance of hesed is illustrated in the life of Abraham and his family. The paper under discussion in this episode was given at an Interpreter conference on Abraham in the scriptures and history. The episode explores the how and why of Abraham’s redemption and what that can mean for Latter-day Saints today.

The post Conversations with Interpreter: Jennifer Lane — Part 1: Hesed and the Redemption of Abraham first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

Review of Jeff Strong, Torn: Why People We Love Are Leaving the Church and What We Can Learn from Them (Midway, UT: Coolstream Publishing, 2026). 300 pages. $21.95 (paperback).

Abstract: Torn provides a mountain of new data on disaffiliation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based on the author’s deeply personal research efforts. Those efforts allow him to present insights into how and why people report exiting the faith, and how loved ones can stay connected with those who turn away. But the picture he paints of disaffiliation trends and Church culture suffers from an overreliance on shaky data. His excellent pastoral prescriptions will be of value to faithful Saints, but those looking for a clear-eyed view of disaffiliation may need to turn elsewhere.

The post Probing Our Culture with Problematic Data first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

Review of Ben Witherington III, Rethinking Biblical & Systematic Theology (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2026), 232 pages, $39.00 hardback; and Ben Witherington III, The Problem with Evangelical Theology: Testing the Exegetical Foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism and Wesleyanism (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2005), 332 pages, $52.24 hardback.

The post Theology as Pretext first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

How did Brigham Young’s leadership during the Missouri exodus demonstrate both practical organization and deep compassion?

What does the kindness shown by the citizens of Quincy reveal about human goodness in times of crisis, and how did it impact the Saints’ faith?

How did the experiences of the Saints fleeing Missouri shape the identity and resilience of the early Church?

The post Becoming Brigham Episode 26: Interpreter’s Witnesses — Behind the Scenes first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.