Faith Matters

• The Last Voyage—A conversation with Brian McLaren

  Today we’re so happy to share a conversation with our friend Brian McLaren about his brand-new novel, The Last Voyage. The book is set in the future, as Earth nears collapse and a final crew is sent to Mars in a last-ditch effort to begin again.It’s a compelling story on its own, but it also opens up space for deeper questions—about what happens when we try to leave everything behind, only to discover we’ve brought all our baggage with us. So in this conversation, we got to explore some of those ideas with Brian. We talked about conflict in close relationships, and what it looks like to stay connected even when worldviews differ in really important ways. He shared why curiosity can be such a powerful act of love in these situations especially when we’re tempted to protect ourselves through certainty.We also talked about the dark night of the soul, and the way it can become a womb for something new—a space where real transformation begins, both personally and even within our faith communities.Brian speaks candidly about the role of religion—not as a static institution, but as something alive, always holding the tension between honoring the past and nourishing our future. This conversation felt like a companion for the messy middle—a reminder that even when the path isn’t clear, growth is still possible, and it’s holy work.We’re so grateful to Brian for this time, and we’re really excited to share it with you. 

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• Leap of Faith: Mauli Bonner at Restore 2024

  Today we’re sharing another fun session from last year’s Restore gathering—one of the most unforgettable moments from the whole weekend—featuring Mauli Bonner.Mauli has spent the past two decades in the entertainment industry, developing and writing for Grammy-winning artists and directing music for film and TV, and he also co-founded the nonprofit Lift Up Voices to empower young voices through creativity and community.In this session, Mauli shares a wild, personal story that starts with a quiet spiritual prompting and ends with an act of radical trust that left the entire room stunned. He offers a moving look at what it really means to live a faith-filled life—one that’s non-transactional, that doesn't guarantee we’ll see the fruit of our actions, but that still says yes to being God’s hands.We hope this session helps you catch a glimpse of the kind of spirit and depth you’ll experience at Restore this year, happening September 25–27 in Orem, Utah. Learn more and get your tickets at faithmatters.org! 

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• A Candid Portrait of Joseph Smith - A Conversation with John Turner

  Today, we’re really grateful to share a conversation with historian John Turner about the brand new biography he’s just published: Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet.John is a professor of Religious Studies and History at George Mason University. While  not a member of the the Latter-day Saint faith, he has had a particular fascination with the early history of Mormonism, and wrote an earlier biography of Brigham Young. Some of the interpretations and conclusions John draws in his book may differ from our own, but we found this new biography on Joseph to be meticulously researched and engagingly written.In this book, John doesn’t aim to settle all debates between Joseph Smith’s supporters and his detractors, but with more primary sources available than ever before, he hoped to provide a fuller picture of a figure who continues to shape who we are today. John says that while the question of “Whether God actually spoke to [Joseph] Smith is a matter of faith… there is no question about his prophetic self-conception.”We assume most listeners are familiar with the general contours of Joseph’s life, so in this conversation we talked with John about some topics we felt needed more exploration: his family’s early hardships and how they might have shaped his resilience as a spiritual leader; what the historical record tells us about the gold plates and Joseph’s visions; and whether Joseph truly instigated and lived plural marriage.What struck us most was John’s portrayal of Joseph’s constant evolution—his willingness to revise, to explore, and to ask better questions. It made us wonder if Joseph’s boldness and openness to change could serve as inspiration to us in today’s church.We know that talking openly about Joseph—his humanity, his complexity, even his mistakes—can be challenging. But we hope this episode helps create more space for recognizing the humanity of our leaders, both past and present.

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• Holy Envy - David Butler at Restore

  Today, we’re excited to bring you a special episode—a replay of one of our favorite sessions from last year’s Restore Gathering, featuring Dave Butler.We’re also thrilled to let you know that Restore 2025 is happening this September 25–27 in Orem, Utah, and this episode is a great preview of the kind of experience you can expect—thoughtful, joyful, expansive, and rooted in a deep desire to love and understand more fully.In this session, Dave explores the idea of Holy Envy—a concept that invites us to not just tolerate other faiths, but to find deep beauty and truth in them. He shares beautiful personal stories and wrestles with how to honor the uniqueness of our own tradition while also recognizing the divine fingerprints in others. He ultimately offers a powerful vision of restoration—not as something narrow or exclusive, but as a healing and gathering work that makes room for the whole human family. This session made us laugh, think, and feel more committed to becoming people who love well, across all kinds of differences. We hope it does the same for you—and that it gives you a taste of what’s coming at Restore this year. You can find all the details and registration info at faithmatters.org.

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• The Untold Story of the Church’s Young Women Organization - Lisa Olsen Tait and James Goldberg

  Today we’re so excited to share a conversation about the new book Carry On, a rich and thoughtful history of the church’s Young Women organization. This project has been ten years in the making, created by historians Lisa Olsen Tait, James Goldberg, Amber C. Taylor, and the late Kate Holbrook. Joining us today to talk about the project are Lisa and James.In this conversation, they trace the arc of the organization’s beginnings and evolution—from a small association founded among Brigham Young’s teenage daughters in the Lion House, through decades of change that continually adapted to meet the evolving spiritual and cultural needs of young women of the churchOver the years, sixteen general presidents—along with their counselors, boards, and local leaders—used their gifts to create programs that nourished the young women in their care. These programs taught not just spiritual values, but also public speaking, leadership, drama, music, recreation, and practical life skills. For many, the organization became a gateway to confidence, connection, and a sense of divine purpose.Lisa and James also address some of the more difficult parts of our past, including the ways young women have often carried the weight of the community’s fears—especially around modesty and worthiness and the way this sometimes played out in the Young Women Organization. They reflect on the effects of the Correlation movement and the changes that came as the organization was placed more directly under a priesthood line of authority. But through it all, they highlight how young women and their Young Women leaders have responded with courage, creativity, and spiritual initiative.We hope this conversation serves as an invitation to reflect on what we might want to reclaim or reimagine for this global and spiritually hungry generation today—and to ask, with real intention, how each of us, in the spirit of the legacy of this organization’s, use our own gifts, to carry on what matters most. We’re so grateful to James and Lisa for offering their insight, scholarship, and heart to this important story.

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