Mormon Land

Six years ago, the book “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation” hit shelves. A 75-year history of evangelical masculinity, The New York Times bestseller laid out the forces that, according to author Kristin Kobes Du Mez, turned President Donald Trump into a hero of the religious right.

Now the professor of history at Calvin University is out with a new book, “Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made.”

Precious Moments figurines. Purity culture. “Little House on the Prairie” and free enterprise. They’re all connected in Du Mez’s telling of a system that promised women everything — and often demanded the same.

Although primarily focused on white evangelicals, the names of women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are woven throughout the often biting history that has joined its predecessor on The New York Times’ bestseller list.

Despite their theological differences, the women from both traditions came together through the years to, she writes, “define conservative femininity for generations to come.”

This week, Du Mez traces the contributions of Latter-day Saint women past and present to this ideal.

President Dallin H. Oaks, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave a landmark address recently in a soaring cathedral at the nation’s capital to a packed audience of Washington politicos and insiders.

The former lawyer, law professor and Utah Supreme Court justice schooled his audience on how the U.S. Constitution offers a clear-cut manual for how to deal with profound differences — including political and religious ones — in a pluralistic society.

It is a message he has offered in several diverse venues, including to scholars in Virginia, Catholics in Rome and Latter-day Saints in their General Conferences.

He has brought his powerful mind to the topic, obviously believing it is an urgent issue at a chaotic and polarized time.

Retired federal Judge Thomas Griffith, a Latter-day Saint, was in the audience at the Washington National Cathedral when Oaks spoke.

On this week’s show, Griffith reviews the speech, Oaks’ counsel, and why it may be crucial for this time.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is opposed to gambling. … [It] is motivated by a desire to get something for nothing. This desire is spiritually destructive. It leads participants away from the Savior’s teachings.”

With those words, the faith’s position is clear. No gambling — of any type.

So when The Atlantic staked staff writer McKay Coppins, a practicing Latter-day Saint, $10,000 to place bets while investigating the booming business of sports betting, he felt the need to consult with his bishop.

Since the money wouldn’t be his own and the assignment was for research, the wary church leader gave Coppins the go sign but added a caution: “Be careful.”

During the ensuing months, Coppins learned the wisdom behind that warning as he came to understand the addictive nature of gambling and the odds against winning at it.

“I started with $10,000,” he said. “I ended with less than $200. I lost, basically, all of it.”

On this week’s show, he discusses his article, titled “Sucker: My year as a degenerate gambler,” along with what he discovered about the industry, himself and the implications of sports betting for Latter-day Saints.

Scott Howell is a well-known figure among Utah Democrats. He served for a decade in the state Senate and was twice the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.

During the past dozen years, though, Howell donned a different mantle: service missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He and his wife, Linda, spent their days teaching workshops on self-reliance, addressing the problems of homelessness, helping those living on the margins get the care they need, even helping a toothless member get dentures.

On this week’s show, the Howells discuss the church’s program, its challenges and rewards, and what they learned along the way.

Sexual standards set by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seem clear — no sex before marriage, total fidelity during marriage.

Guidelines for sexual activity are set out for young Latter-day Saints in publications like “For the Strength of Youth.”

But what about older singles who have never wed or those whose marriages end in divorce or death? How do they then navigate the possibility of intimacy?

Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, a well-known Latter-day Saint sex therapist and author of “That We Might Have Joy: Desire, Divinity & Intimate Love,” addresses older singles as they encounter complex realities that don’t fit neatly into a pamphlet.

She talks about these realities and how to understand the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.