Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones

What if the reason you’re not seeing miracles is that your goals don’t require them? Blake Erickson details a counterintuitive principle taught in the restored gospel: God gets involved when your goals are bigger than what you can accomplish on your own. From missions and business to family, faith, and personal growth, Blake shares why “realistic” goals often keep us spiritually stagnant and how setting goals that force dependence on God changes everything. This isn’t about hustle. It’s not prosperity theology. And it’s not passive faith. It’s about aligning ambition with belief, letting go of control, and discovering why miracles tend to show up only after faith is stretched. If you’ve ever felt stuck, if you’ve wondered why effort alone isn’t enough, or if you’re trying to live your faith as a Latter-day Saint in a demanding world, this conversation will challenge how you think about goals, faith, and what it really means to “let God in.” If you'd like to support our content, consider making a donation. https://scripturecentral.org/donate

Every day, millions of people around the world are turning to FamilySearch, not because of marketing or trends, but because of something much deeper happening beneath the surface: a global movement of identity, belonging, and human connection. In this conversation with Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, former Executive Director of the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we explore why 98 percent of the people who use FamilySearch are not Latter-day Saints, yet are contributing to one of the most ambitious projects in human history: building the family tree of humanity. This is not just a story about genealogy. It is a story about roots, memory, resilience, and what unfolds when technology, spirituality, and human longing intersect. Inside this episode, you will learn: • Why hundreds of millions use FamilySearch every year  • How global archives, AI tools, and more than 130 years of record gathering fuel the world’s largest family history database  • The emotional science behind family narratives and resilience  • How wars, disasters, and endangered archives have created urgent preservation efforts  • Why nonreligious users are powering a movement with profound spiritual implications  • What “gathering Israel” looks like in the digital age  • How African oral genealogies, Ukrainian archives, and worldwide records are reshaping family identity This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered: “Where do I come from?”  “Who do I belong to?”  “And why does family history matter now more than ever?” Whether you are religious or not, whether you have used FamilySearch or are hearing about it for the first time, this conversation looks at what it means to be human and why the world is suddenly flocking to discover its story. If you'd like to support our content, consider making a donation. https://scripturecentral.org/donate

Have you ever wondered how the early Saints understood the temple? Or what the Kirtland Temple dedication can teach us about Christ today? In this conversation, Don Bradley walks through some simple but powerful connections between the temple, scripture, and the Savior. He also shares openly about his time away from the Church, his involvement in the "ex-Mormon" community, and the experiences that led him back to faith. This episode isn’t dramatic or sensational — it’s just thoughtful, clear, and centered on Christ. I’m grateful for Don’s honesty and the insights he brought to this discussion.

Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants is one of the most talked about and debated revelations in scripture. Some people say it just doesn’t sound like Joseph Smith, which has left a lot of questions about who actually wrote it. Dr. Paul Fields, an expert in stylometry — the statistical study of writing style — joins Stephen Jones to take the emotion out of the debate and look at the evidence. Using data, history, and faith, he puts this revelation to the test to find out who really wrote Section 132. What he discovered might not just answer a question about authorship. It might change the way we think about revelation itself. Knowhy: https://scripturecentral.org/knowhy/what-does-the-science-of-stylometry-indicate-about-the-authorship-of-doctrine-and-covenants-132

It blew our minds when we found out this connection President Oaks has to church history. Don Bradley—a Latter-day Saint historian who once left the Church and became an atheist, then found his way back—joins us to talk about some mind-blowing connections between Martin Harris and President Dallin H. Oaks. Don walks us through hidden pieces of Church history that show how God’s hand was moving in more people than just Joseph Smith. We talk about Martin Harris’s early revelations before the Church was even organized, the meaning behind the Feast of Tabernacles, and how those same patterns show up again with President Oaks. It’s one of those conversations that makes you realize the Restoration isn’t just a story from the past. It’s still unfolding today.