When Charles Darwin first published On the Origin of Species in 1859, he may not have understood the intense debate it sparked then would continue to rage more than 150 years later.

Charles Kingsley, a priest of the Church of England and university professor who supported Darwin, stated that he found it “just as noble a conception of Deity, to believe that He created primal forms capable of self development… as to believe that He required a fresh act of intervention to supply the lacunas which he himself had made.”

Less enthusiastic was a council of German Catholic bishops who proclaimed in 1860 that the notion that “man as regards his body, emerged finally from the spontaneous continuous change of imperfect nature to the more perfect, is clearly opposed to Sacred Scripture and to the Faith.”

Latter-day Saints have stood on both sides of this argument as well; while Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine clearly opposed the theories of natural selection over millions of years, Brigham Young (who was President of the Church when On the Origin of Species was published) said:

“In these respects we differ from the Christian world, for our religion will not clash with or contradict the facts of science in any particular…whether the Lord found the earth empty and void, whether he made it out of nothing or out of the rude elements; or whether he made it in six days or in as many millions of years, is and will remain a matter of speculation in the minds of men unless he give revelation on the subject. If we understood the process of creation there would be no mystery about it, it would be all reasonable and plain, for there is no mystery except to the ignorant.”

Joseph Smith said it perhaps more simply when he stated: “Mormonism is truth.”

But while we may take comfort that true doctrine and true science will never contradict each other, big questions remain:

Firstly, is the idea of natural selection rooted in good science?

If homo sapiens did come to exist by natural selection, who were Adam and Eve, and what role did they play?

And if man and woman are formed in the image of heavenly parents, then what of the continuing evolution our species is bound to experience in subsequent geological eras?

To help us gain deeper understanding as we grapple with these questions, we invited Dr. Heath Ogden to steward this Big Question. Dr. Ogden is well-suited to the task: he’s not only a professor of evolutionary biology, he’s also a Latter-day Saint of deep faith currently serving as bishop of his ward.

His article, “Accepting Truth with Joy,” dives straight in, addressing what modern science really has to say about evolution, comparing that with the Church’s stance, and giving insight on what role our “first parents” may have had to play.

Next, we invited Terryl Givens to sit down with Dr. Ogden and talk through some of these issues. Their conversation centered around two central questions: “Can Our Faith Embrace Evolution?” and “Does Evolution Enrich Our Theology?” We hope you enjoy their graceful and reflective discourse.

Also, consider watching one of our earlier episodes in the Conversations with Terryl Givens series featuring Dr. Steven Peck, “The God Who Marvels”, where he shares how Mormons need not fear scientific discovery and inquiry but can instead be used to become more acquainted with God.

Many think that the restored gospel and evolutionary biology cannot coexist. I’m convinced that not only can they coexist, but that they can mutually enrich each other in profound ways.

The restored gospel “embraces every principle of truth and intelligence. . . We are open to truth of every kind, no matter whence it comes, where it originates, or who believes in it.”1

Apostle James E Talmage’s grave monument echoes his core belief:

Within the gospel of Jesus Christ there is room and place for every truth thus far learned by man or yet to be made known.2

Truth, no matter where it originates, should be accepted and embraced by the Latter-day Saints. God has revealed, is revealing, and will yet reveal many great and important truths, including “things of the earth, by which it was made” (D&C 101:32-33).

How does God reveal these truths?

In matters regarding the stewardship and the direction of His church and its members, He works through prophets. Church leaders possess the keys to receive this kind of direction, and it is their primary responsibility and focus.

But God is not silent on a whole range of other realms of knowledge—far from it. He can enlighten scientists, artists, musicians, poets, writers, philosophers, historians, etc. Our opportunity is to see how all truth “is circumscribed into one great whole,” no matter the source.

My concern here is how God has chosen to reveal how life evolved on the earth, including human life. It’s a fascinating story.

The highly-respected LDS scientist and chemist Dr. Henry Eyring wrote:

Some have asked me: ‘Is there any conflict between science and religion?’ There is no conflict in the mind of God, but often there is conflict in the minds of men . . . A young man asked: ‘In high school we are taught such things as pre-Adamic men, and that kind of thing, but we hear another thing in Church. What should I do about it?’ . . . I think I gave the right answer. I said, ‘In this Church, you only have to believe the truth. Find out what the truth is!’3

Does the Church Have a Position on Evolution?

The closest thing to an official position is probably the packet of information called “Evolution and the Origin of Man”4, which was approved by the First Presidency and the BYU Board of Trustees to guide teaching on the subject at BYU.5

The 1910 statement from the BYU evolution packet indicates that “Our religion is not hostile to real science. That which is demonstrated, we accept with joy.” If evolution has been demonstrated (scientific consensus), then should it be accepted with joy? If the Church’s current position of evolution is that there is no official position6, then we can assume that on this, as on other issues, the Church is leaving space for science to reveal how the diversity of life was created on this planet, including the origin of the physical body of man or Homo sapiens.

A Mountain of Evidence

So has science revealed anything truly compelling regarding the how live on earth has developed? Yes, very compelling, actually. Evolutionary theory is supported by a mountain of evidence. Let me give just one example of the many I could give. Hang with me here. This is going to require a little careful thought, but I promise it will be worth it.

First, a bit of background. Genes determine everything about the bodies of living things—how they develop, how they look and how they function. Here are some fun facts: DNA analysis shows that we humans share at least 99% of our genes with our closest relatives the chimpanzees and bonobos (yes, that 1% we don’t share makes quite a difference in the family photos); we share 92% of our genes with mice (OK, that’s surprising), 44% with fruit flies (yikes), and 26% with… wait for it… yeast. We seem to be related, to one degree or another, with all kinds of other life.7

But here’s where it gets interesting. Although our DNA is 98% identical to that of chimps, there is an intriguing difference. We humans have 23 chromosome pairs in each cell in the body, while the other great apes all have 24 chromosome pairs. Why do humans have one less pair of chromosomes than chimps, gorillas and orangutans if we have common ancient ancestors, as evolution indicates?8

Losing a pair of chromosomes, and all of the associated genes, is generally lethal to a species because the lost genes are essential for life. Could the human species have “lost” a chromosome pair and survived? Evolutionary scientists said no, and they had a really plausible explanation. At some point in evolutionary history, two great-ape chromosome pairs must have fused end to end to form one human chromosome pair. But scientist had no way to definitively test this hypothesis—until the early part of this century.

Using microscopy and sequencing technologies, we can now clearly see exactly what scientists had predicted. We see a longer chromosome in humans that matches up precisely with two smaller chromosomes in the other great apes. (Illustrated below in this fascinating little video)

This is just one powerful example demonstrating that our physical bodies share common ancestry with the other great apes. The evidence for evolution is simply overwhelming. (If you want to investigate more of this evidence, I would recommend the NY Times Bestseller The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by world-renowned geneticist Francis Collins. He lays out evidence in a very compelling, highly readable way. Check out chapter 5 in particular.)

To deny the abundant evidence for evolution, we would have to hypothesize that God is some kind of trickster, going about planting false evidence everywhere in nature, including in every cell in our bodies, making it look like DNA evolved when it didn’t. I don’t know about you, but it would be tough for me to imagine God going to all that trouble to create such an elaborate deception.

So What About Adam and Eve?

If all life arose from previous generations of simpler forms, as it apparently did, how are we to understand the story of Adam and Eve? Our species, Homo sapiens, seems to have first evolved in Africa around 200 thousand years ago. The Church has no official position on how, when or where Adam and Eve may have come onto the scene. Again, in the 1910 statement, The First Presidency interpreted “formed from the dust” to include the possibility that “mortal bodies of man evolved in natural processes.”

If, as seems very likely, other homo sapiens (Adam and Eve’s biological relatives) were living before and/or contemporary to “the first man of all men” (Moses 1:34), what made Adam and Eve different? It seems possible to redefine “first man” as having three main characteristics: 1) inhabits a Homo sapiens physical body; 2) possesses a spirit body that is a spiritual offspring of Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father; and 3) was taught the gospel and made covenants with God.

With this definition of “first man,” Adam and Eve could have lived at any time during the last 200 thousand years; the important thing, it seems to me, is that they were the first humans who, as spiritual offspring of God, made covenants with God. The timing or geographical range of Adam and Eve’s existence is not nearly as important as the fact that they began a covenant-making process (exemplified in the current temple ceremony) that will eventually enable spiritual offspring of God, independent of when or where they occupied their physical bodies, to come into true relationship with God and be exalted. Is it possible that our covenant theology and Christ’s atonement are more encompassing than we had imagined?9

There are, of course, other ways to try to reconcile what we know from both faith and science. Some adopt more symbolic interpretations of scripture, including the notion that in the biblical story, Adam and Eve are simply symbolic representations of man and woman. Their story is our story. In any case, it seems that covenant making and covenant keeping is at the heart of the story

In Summary

For me, evolution does not decrease the value of faith and belief in God or in Christ. Rather, it brings me joy and it enriches my worldview of the greatness of a God who operates patiently in deep time and in perfect harmony with the laws of this universe. After all, isn’t evolution “simply the scientific study of the underlying mechanics of the creative process”? In my experience as a college professor, I have learned and shown that an increase in evolutionary knowledge (along side a believing scientist role model) leads to reduced conflict between religion and science. So let’s just accept that which has been demonstrated with joy!

One thing seems clear. It does not help the cause of truth to defend unsupported ideas with bad arguments. Dr. Henry Eyring wrote: “There are few ways in which good people do more harm to those who take them seriously than to defend the gospel with arguments that won’t hold water. Many of the difficulties… would be avoided if parents and teachers were more careful to distinguish between what they know to be true and what they think may be true.”10

If you liked this article, be sure to watch this two-part conversation that was held between Dr. Heath Ogden and Terryl Givens where they responded to the following questions: “Can Our Faith Embrace Evolution?” and “Does Evolution Enrich Our Theology?”

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Join us for an illuminating discussion with renowned scholar John Durham Peters (Yale), as he and Terryl Givens explore profound theological insights regarding the nature of God, humanity, light, and truth—concepts at the heart of Latter-day Saint scripture and cosmology.

​We invite you to participate, either in person or virtually, as we discuss some of the most fascinating theological and historical questions that will come up during this year’s study of the Doctrine and Covenants. We hope you find these conversations enriching and supportive as you walk the journey of faith.

​In-person attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of these remarkable speakers. It’s an opportunity you won’t want to miss!

JOIN US!

John Durham Peters is María Rosa Menocal Professor of English and of Film and Media Studies at Yale and is the author of Speaking into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication (1999), Courting the Abyss: Free Speech and Liberal Tradition (2005), The Marvelous Clouds: Toward a Philosophy of Elemental Media (2015), and Promiscuous Knowledge: Information, Image, and Other Truth Games in History, co-authored with the late Kenneth Cmiel (2020). He taught for thirty years at the University of Iowa before moving to Yale.

If attending Big Questions is cost-prohibitive, please email events@thecompassgallery.com for details on need-based discounts. Standby seating is available for free (subject to availability) to students and young adults.

Stay up-to-date with future Faith Matters events at The Compass by subscribing to our in-person events newsletter:

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The origin of the Book of Abraham ranks among the biggest problems for many who begin to question our faith.

From the beginning, the book was loved by the saints. It lays down, in quite a dramatic and beautiful way, some of the most distinctive doctrines of the restored gospel.

But it’s origins, it turns out, are quite murky. We don’t have most of the papyri that were in Joseph Smith’s possession during the translation process of Book of Abraham, but the ones we have show that Joseph’s “translation” bears scant resemblance to the papyri.

Many of the papyri acquired by Joseph from Michael Chandler in 1835 in Kirtland were eventually sold by the Smith Family after Joseph’s death and probably perished in the Chicago fire of 1871. Other fragments ended up in the Metropolitan Museum of New York and were eventually acquired by the church in 1967.

The church’s official position (as detailed in a very thoughtful gospel topics essay on the church’s website) acknowledges the possibility that what we have as the Book of Abraham may not have much to do with the Chandler papyri. Quoting from the church’s essay:

Joseph’s study of the papyri may have led to a revelation about key events and teachings in the life of Abraham, much as he had earlier received a revelation about the life of Moses while studying the Bible. This view assumes a broader definition of the words translator and translation.

According to this view, Joseph’s translation was not a literal rendering of the papyri as a conventional translation would be. Rather, the physical artifacts provided an occasion for meditation, reflection, and revelation. They catalyzed a process whereby God gave to Joseph Smith a revelation about the life of Abraham, even if that revelation did not directly correlate to the characters on the papyri of the papyri as a conventional translation would be. Rather, the physical artifacts provided an occasion for meditation, reflection, and revelation. They catalyzed a process whereby God gave to Joseph Smith a revelation about the life of Abraham, even if that revelation did not directly correlate to the characters on the papyri.

To a significant number scholars, this is the view of “translation” that seems most likely to have produced the Book of Abraham. But the issue is far from settled.

We have asked Terryl Givens to lead our exploration of this Big Question. Dr. Givens recently published an excellent book with Oxford University Press entitled The Pearl of Greatest Price: Mormonism’s Most Controversial Scripture.

He begins his exploration with this remarkable little essay, in which, among other things, he explodes common assumptions about scripture and about how God can reveal profound truth:

Then, Givens sits down with one of our faith’s most accomplished scholars on the subject, Dr. Kerry Muhlestein, for a deeper exploration of the topic:

We are honored to welcome Jonathan Stapely to join Terryl Givens in an exploration of priesthood within restoration theology. We’ll be exploring questions such as:

• What really is priesthood?

• Is there a difference between ecclesiastical priesthood and temple/familial priesthood?

• What is the relationship between priesthood and priestess-hood?

Whether a lifelong student of doctrine or the newly curious, we hope this conversation will help you engage more deeply with priesthood and its significance.

In-person attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of these remarkable speakers. It’s an opportunity you won’t want to miss!

Jonathan A. Stapley is an award-winning historian and scientist. He is the author of Holiness to the Lord: Latter-day Saint Temple Worship (Oxford University Press, 2025) and The Power of Godliness: Mormon Liturgy and Cosmology (Oxford University Press, 2018).

We invite you to participate, either in person or virtually, as we discuss some of the most fascinating theological and historical questions that will come up during this year’s study of the Doctrine and Covenants. We hope you find these conversations enriching and supportive as you walk the journey of faith.

GET TICKETS NOW

If attending Big Questions is cost-prohibitive, please email events@thecompassgallery.com for details on need-based discounts. Standby seating is available for free (subject to availability) to students and young adults.

Stay up-to-date with future Faith Matters events at The Compass by subscribing to our in-person events newsletter:

The Compass

News related to gatherings and events at The Compass Gallery.

By Faith Matters

We are deeply grateful to our Faith Matters donors for providing the financial support that allows us to host events like this—as a thank you, please enjoy access to the livestreams and recordings of this series:

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We decided to take up Sagan’s challenge. We have asked George W. Handley, a terrific nature writer and BYU professor, to spearhead this project. He invited Jani Radebaugh, a fellow BYU professor and renowned planetary scientist, to join him.

The creation story handed us by the writers of Genesis is rich in metaphor and meaning. Like all great stories, it has been interpreted in various ways at various times. But is it time in the unfolding of the Restoration to tell an even richer story that incorporates what humanity has since learned about the cosmos, about earth and about life on earth?

Our exploration of this question starts with George Handley’s wonderful article on the unfolding story of creation and stewardship:

We also have a terrific video conversation with George Handley and Jani Radebaugh:

Then, Handley and Terryl Givens explore our deep spiritual connection in the natural world in this conversation called Can Creation Heal Us?

Finally, there’s this little piece written by a young mother, Andrea Weaver, about the story she tells her children about the earth:

Also, be sure to check out this wonderful video called “Journey of the Universe,” which represents one way scientists from other faith traditions tell the earth’s story–a deeply spiritual narrative filled with insight and wonder.

It has been said that Mormons don’t have a theology, we have a history.

• What does this mean?

• Is it true?

• Is it a helpful way of thinking about it?

What can and can’t history do for us, especially in relation to faith?

Have we asked or claimed too much of history?

​​Come explore these questions and more with Terryl Givens and guest, Dr. Lisa Olsen Tait, as we continue The Big Questions series.

Lisa Olsen Tait, PhD, is managing historian for women’s history in the Publications Division of the Church History Department. She served as a general editor and historical advisor for the Saints series and is co-author of the new history of the Young Women organization, Carry On. She also worked on the Gospel Topics essays, Revelations in Context, and many other internal projects, all of which have led her to think deeply about the uses and meanings of history. Her personal scholarship has focused on Susa Young Gates, the history of Latter-day Saint magazines, and women’s experiences in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

We invite you to participate, either in person or virtually, as we discuss some of the most fascinating theological and historical questions that will come up during this year’s study of the Doctrine and Covenants. We hope you find these conversations enriching and supportive as you walk the journey of faith.

In-person attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of these remarkable speakers. It’s an opportunity you won’t want to miss!

GET TICKETS

If attending Big Questions is cost prohibitive, please email events@thecompassgallery.com for details on need-based discounts. Standby seating is available for free (subject to availability) to students and young adults.

Stay up-to-date with future Faith Matters events at The Compass by subscribing to our in-person events newsletter:

The Compass

News related to gatherings and events at The Compass Gallery.

By Faith Matters

We are deeply grateful to our Faith Matters donors for providing the financial support that allows us to host events like this—as a thank you, please enjoy access to the livestreams and recordings of this series:

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At Faith Matters, we take inspiration from D&C 58:26-28:

We are also inspired by Elder BH Roberts’ admonition to us all to take part in the ongoing Restoration:

Here are a few thoughtful conversations on how change happens in the Church, what the role of ordinary members might be, and if there are deeply faithful ways to work for change:

Tim Chaves shares his thoughts in an essay called “Is it ok to try to fix the Church?”:

Patrick Mason shares his thoughts (inspired by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich) in “Imagining a Four-Stage Church”:

Lisa Olsen Tait and Scott Hales, two of the author-historians behind Saints, share examples from Church History in “Our Beautiful, Messy, Unfolding Story”:

Learn from the example of Elder Marion D. Hanks in our conversation with his son:

McArthur Krishna shares her perspective alongside Michal Thomas in “The Cherished Doctrine of Heavenly Mother” and alongside Anne Pimental in “Changemakers”:

Terryl Givens shares insights from the life of Eugene England in “When Conscience and Authority Seem to Collide”:

And George Handley shares insights from the life of Lowell Bennion in “Integrity and Institutions”

When can advocacy cross a line?

Consider this talk by Ahmad Corbitt:

What do you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Leave a comment

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Doctrine & Covenants 1:30 famously alludes to “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth with which I, the Lord, am well pleased.” Given the offense and difficulties this language presents to many, what does this passage actually mean?

• What might “ONLY” mean?

• What about “TRUE”?

• What about “LIVING”?

• If there were to be a softer interpretation of the church’s uniqueness, how would this affect our mandate toward missionary work and vicarious ordinances for the deceased?

​​Come explore these questions and more with Terryl Givens and Phillip Barlow as we continue The Big Questions series. We invite you to participate, either in person or virtually, as we discuss some of the most fascinating theological and historical questions that will come up during this year’s study of the Doctrine and Covenants. We hope you find these conversations enriching and supportive as you walk the journey of faith.

In-person attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of these remarkable speakers. It’s an opportunity you won’t want to miss!

GET TICKETS

If attending Big Questions is cost prohibitive, please email events@thecompassgallery.com for details on need-based discounts. Standby seating is available for free (subject to availability) to students and young adults.

Stay up-to-date with future Faith Matters events at The Compass by subscribing to our in-person events newsletter:

The Compass

News related to gatherings and events at The Compass Gallery.

By Faith Matters

We are deeply grateful to our Faith Matters donors for providing the financial support that allows us to host events like this—as a thank you, please enjoy access to the livestreams and recordings of this series:

Read more

This is one of the most painful and controversial issues facing the Church of Jesus Christ.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a “pearl of great price.” The growth and peace the gospel promises can come at great cost and sacrifice. Jesus constantly challenged us to shed all that keeps us from experiencing God’s presence and from truly loving each other.

So how does the gospel of Jesus Christ apply to the issue of sexuality? Though we hold gender to be an aspect of our eternal nature, we have very little idea of what role sexuality might play in the eternities, if it plays any role at all. There was a fair amount of speculation on this topic early in our church’s history, but very little has been revealed. We would do well to question our assumptions on a subject about which we actually know so little.

We know much more, of course, about how we experience sexuality in mortality.

Virtually all of us have LGBT acquaintances or family members. It is clear, as the church itself seems to affirm, that for the majority of our LGBT brothers and sisters, sexual identity/attraction is not a choice. It is a fact of life.

However, sexual identity need not define us. It is an important, but not THE most important, feature of our identity. Both we and our LGBT sisters and brothers will be best served to keep in mind our core eternal identity: daughters and sons of Heavenly Parents.

Until relatively recently, homosexuality was driven by societal shame into the dark corners and margins of society, with predictable, often devastating, results. Times have obviously changed.

Our younger generations seem to have little problem accepting gay people and gay couples as friends and neighbors. The sex lives of their gay friends and neighbors are of little concern to them, just as their own sex lives are presumably of little concern to their gay friends. It is seen as simply one aspect of their lives; it does not define them as people.

Still, we as a church remain deeply conflicted on this issue. We want to embrace and include our LGBT brothers and sisters, but in many ways, these members feel that they’re expected to check an integral part of who they are at the church door.

We need to at least recognize that this is a lot to ask. Whether we want to admit it or not, sexuality is a big deal in all our lives. It emerges rather early in life as an important piece of our individual identities. Sexuality goes much deeper than mere preference, the color of our hair or eyes, or even the color of our skin. It is always operating, if not in the foreground, at least in the background of our awareness.

One often hears that since the standard of chastity applies to all, LGBT members are in the same boat as people who never marry. That may be true in one respect. But remember that marriage always remains a hoped-for possibility for single heterosexual members. Their desire for intimate union with a spouse, even if unfulfilled in life, is deemed a righteous and proper desire. It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is not, and is not seen as, a defect. Most of our LGBT brothers and sisters who remain active struggle to find equivalent earthly hope.

As we engage the material provided in response to this Big Question, and as we contemplate the reality faced by our LGBT brothers and sisters, we should ask ourselves the following questions. (Note: These are not rhetorical questions with right or wrong answers. They are real, honest, soul-searching questions that challenge us to engage the dilemma faced by many of our fellow members.)

• Do I imagine I could ever feel truly accepted or whole in a religious community that insisted that any expression of something so much a part of my nature is morally wrong? Could I grow up in such an environment without feeling somehow fundamentally defective?

• If a child or other loved one told me he or she is gay, am I prepared to tell them they must live out their life without a companion–a relationship they may urgently yearn for? How does God’s counsel that “It is not good for man to be alone” apply to them?

• Imagine the tables were turned. Would I, as a heterosexual, chose to affiliate with a religious community that required me to completely leave my sexuality behind–with likely no prospect of sharing my life with an intimate partner? Maybe the right answer is “Yes, the Kingdom of God is worth any price?” But have we each at least considered the sacrifice entailed in that requirement? As disciples of Jesus Christ, do we have sufficient empathy?

These are hard, soul-searching questions. They are good questions. They are questions that each of us in the Church should wrestle with as we mix counsel with conscience and covenant.

So the question of “What about our LGBT brothers and sisters?” is a Big Question.

We invited Tom Christofferson to host this conversation. Tom has seen this issue from both sides. His book That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Faith and Family exemplifies the shift taking place in the conversation on this issue within the church. His perspective is truly unique, and his faith and presence are an inspiration to all who know him. Tom Christofferson has had his own unique journey. He is careful to note that he is not prescribing his path as a template for others to follow.

In this post written for our Big Questions project, Tom raises, in his gentle and faithful way, important questions with which we must wrestle individually and institutionally.

In addition to Tom’s wonderful post, here are some other great resources:

This delightful conversation with Ben Schilaty and Charlie Bird, two very well-known gay Latter-day Saints, is full of great insights and advice on how we can make our LGBT brothers and sisters part of our community.

In this remarkable conversation, Tom sits down with his former Stake President and Bishop in Connecticut how they supported him both while he was in a relationship with his long-term partner and as he contemplated returning to full activity in the church.

In this video conversation with Terryl Givens, Tom shares a very personal account of his journey and spiritual life:

We also had a conversation with Liz and Jordon Sharp. Their family story is near and dear to our hearts at Faith Matters. So often, we don’t have answers to know how we all belong in the family of God; we only have our conviction that we do belong and a willingness to figure it out along the way. Our conversation with Liz and Jordon gets deep into their personal story, including their ongoing spiritual learning and efforts to build conversations about the LGBTQ experience in the Church. We found them to be incredible examples of how to plow into uncharted territory with humility and a simple trust in one fact — that we are all beloved children of God.

And finally, Faith Matters’ Tim Chaves shares a story, a metaphor, and an entreaty for us all to live up to the promises we’ve made in our unique faith community:

The assertion made in D&C 1:30 that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “the only true and living church on the face of the whole earth with which I, the Lord, am well pleased” is a classic two-edge sword.

A good many devout saints reaffirm the “only true church” claim regularly in testimony. They find the idea exciting, empowering and deeply true. It adds great vitality and meaning to their faith.

For other members the claim strikes an exclusive tone. Plus, it seems inconsistent with their observation and experience of the broader world. To many younger members especially, the “only true church” narrative feels deeply uncomfortable. Surveys show it as a principal cause of many young members’ disaffection with the church. It seems to imply that God is not doing important work elsewhere in the world and among other faith traditions. It seems to make God too small.

Not surprisingly, many outside the church hear the claim as exclusive and divisive. But most are probably just indifferent. People aren’t asking “Which church is true?” much these days. More commonly they are asking “Why church?”

Maybe whether or not we are the “true church” isn’t the most important question. Maybe the question we should be asking is: How can we 1) confidently affirm our church’s unique calling and offer its unique gifts to God’s children while 2) affirming and embracing all the other diverse and important ways the Lord is working in the world?

So let’s unpack and examine D&C 1:30, the passage that seems to hold the power both to inspire and to vex readers. We have brought together a brilliant team to take up the question.

First, we invited one of our advisory board members, Philip Barlow, to give us his perspective. In his deep dive into the subject, he starts by sketching out some of the problems that attach to the “only true church” narrative, and then suggests a productive path forward:

Wayfare

The Only True and Living Church?

Joining the One True Church in all the land has spawned gratitude in millions of adherents to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across time. This is common among both converts and long-term members reaffirming their convictions. Yet when members testify that the Church is true, also noting or implying that it is the…

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a year ago · 33 likes · 5 comments · Philip Barlow

Patrick Mason, who currently holds the Arrington Chair at USU, also weighs in on the question in a wonderful essay, which is also a chapter in his book Restoration:

Patrick also sat down for a conversation on the issue with our Faith Matters Podcast hosts. You can watch, listen, or read a transcript here:

The late Eugene England, a popular professor of literature at BYU and a prolific writer, wrote a classic essay on this question that he titled “Why the Church is as True as the Gospel.” It’s been appreciated by many thoughtful saints over the years and well worth a read.

And our emeritus advisory board member, Melissa Inouye, addressed this subject in a fun and creative way at a Faith Matters gathering in January 2020. You can watch a clip here:

And you can watch the full event here:

The doctrine of a Heavenly Mother is a cherished and distinctive belief among Latter-day Saints. The Church’s essay on the topic can be found here. Based on that essay, we have published the following videos, podcast episodes, and articles you can peruse as you study this cherished doctrine:

Check out the book

We asked two intelligent and articulate women and one couple to respond to this big question.

YES, says Carol Lynn Pearson, well known-poet, author and playwright. In her thoughtful and passionate response to our Big Question, she reflects on her own painful relationship with the subject of polygamy throughout various stages of her life. Here’s an excerpt from her piece, in which she’s reflecting on a time just after the breakup of her marriage:

When heaven has an earthquake you fall to your knees and feel through the rubble to find the pieces of God. In 1978 when my eternal, temple-blessed marriage shattered and everything that had been meaningful lay in jumbled shards around me, I had to slowly and carefully pick up every single piece and examine it, turning it over and over, to see if it was worthy to keep and to use in building a new house of meaning. As I gathered the broken pieces of God, I used only my own authority, only my own relationship with the divine, and the good, small voice that speaks inside me, to appraise them. I threw away many, and I kept many, assembling the bright pieces into One Great Thought that asked only, “Do I see God’s fingerprints on this? Does this piece feel godly? Does it speak of love?” That made it easy. I was forever finished with the insane attempt to love a God who hurts me. When I picked up the little piece of God-ordained polygamy, I smiled because there was no question. I thanked the God of Love, and I threw that piece away.

In her book The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men, Pearson points out that, as painful as polygamy was to women, it was also spiritually and emotionally damaging to Mormon men.

So, we should just renounce polygamy, past, present and future, and move on?

Not so fast, says Jessica Brown. Let’s especially not be too hasty in summarily condemning its past through our presentist lens. And let’s prudently examine the side effects that wholesale renunciation of plural marriage would produce in the present.

Renouncing plural marriage sounds like an easy solution to this uncertainty. But it’s worth exploring the side effects that would ripple in all directions in the push to get rid of this doctrine that can be so uncomfortable. Renouncing plural marriage would require more than just saying, “it was a mistake and no longer exists.”

In their response, Susan and Bill Turnbull make a strong case against plural marriage in principle while also holding space for its practice in our history:

We honor the early saints, including Susan’s ancestors, who took this very difficult thing they were asked to do and did their best to invite God’s blessings into it. And we know from their stories that God was very much present in their lives. Whatever we might say about their practice of polygamy, it was not enough to separate them from God’s grace and influence.

To be sure, the practice of polygamy in the early history of the church, and the ongoing “doctrine” of eternal polygamy, is perhaps the single biggest challenge to the faith of Latter-day Saints in our modern era. Many of us wrestle with this topic for years, often shelving it in basement storerooms of our mind because we don’t quite know how we should feel about it or how we can reconcile it.

There are many ways a person might view and judge polygamy. Here are some examples:

1. “I believe plural marriage is an eternal doctrine, called “Celestial Marriage” in D&C 132, and we might still be living it if laws allowed.” Since this position puts the believer directly at odds with Jacob 2 in the Book of Mormon, this view can be difficult to defend. And as generations pass, it’s a view that seems to be fading fast.

2. “I believe polygamy was instituted by God for a time, but for most of us, it will not be our destiny here nor in the hereafter. Perhaps God instituted polygamy as some kind of ‘Abrahamic test.’ (A good example of this argument can be heard here. A strong argument against the “Abrahamic test” view can be read here.)

3. “While I don’t personally like polygamy, I resist looking at its practice in the early church through a ‘presentist’ lens. I have to try to understand the context and seek to respect the choice of those who practiced it.”(Jessica Brown elaborates this perspective in her essay.)

4. “Though it was implemented and practiced very imperfectly, maybe it served a unique and important purpose for its time. Maybe, as Jacob 2 suggests, it functioned to build a particular kind of people. ” (This is one of the views examined in the Susan and Bill Turnbull’s essay).

5. “I don’t know quite what to make of polygamy, but maybe God’s hand was in it. I’m sure God will work things out in the hereafter so I’m not going to let it trouble now.” (This view may strike us as a bit intellectually and morally lazy, but it’s a common one).

6. “I think polygamy was a mistake, an especially pernicious one since it objectifies women by putting men eternally at the center of the gospel plan with women in orbit around them. It’s hard for me to hear Christ’s authentic voice in Section 132. And the way it was practiced by Joseph and others confirms that suspicion.” (This position is articulated by Carol Lynn Pearson in her response).

However we feel about the origins and practice of polygamy, we can have some sympathy and respect for the early saints who were asked to practice it. So, in that spirit of generosity, and with open minds and hearts, let’s take a deeper look at the restored church’s complicated relationship with polygamy.

There is much to explore here.

Carol Lynn Pearson’s essay, Jessica Brown’s essay and Susan and Bill Turnbull’s essay are good places to start.

The church’s own official position is published here. In addition, the church deals with the issue of plural marriage in a remarkably candid fashion in its new, and very readable, Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days.

If your primary interest is in how Joseph Smith instituted and practiced polygamy, we think Brian and Laura Hales gave us an invaluable resource in their faithful, balanced and very open examination of the subject. You can dive into that here.

There is no tidy or pretty answer to this question. But it is a question that, if openly engaged, can teach us a great deal.

We invited Paul Reeve, the Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies in the History Department at the University of Utah, to be our guide. If there is a definitive book on this subject, it may be Reeve’s Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness, which received three best book awards. Deseret Book also published Paul Reeve’s book Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood in 2023.

You can read this essay Reeve wrote for us titled Making Sense of the Church’s History on Race. It’s a terrific, well-balanced summary of the history.

And you can watch or listen to his conversation with Terryl Givens on the subject titled The Real Story of the Priesthood-Temple Ban:

The church’s official essay on the subject is also a very good resource.

And here is our conversation with Matthew Harris on how and why the ban was finally lifted:

What did Joseph Smith mean when he declared the Book of Mormon “the most correct of any book on earth”? What did he mean by “correct?” Factually correct? Historically correct? Theologically correct? Did “correct” in Joseph’s mind mean the same as “true?” (Note that “most correct” implies that the book falls short of total “correctness”—i.e. neither Joseph nor the book’s purported authors considered the book flawless).

Over the years, the question of whether or not the Book of Mormon was actually written by ancient people about ancient people has produced a mountain of research and writing. Some very able minds have devoted much of their lives to demonstrating the historicity of the Book of Mormon, with some impressive, if not always entirely persuasive, results. Much of the best of this research is published on websites like FAIR and Scripture Central.

Critics and skeptics have made the opposite case, with equal passion if not equal levels of sophistication. They have raised substantial questions that, it must be granted, pose some interesting challenges to the claim of Book of Mormon historicity.

For believers, the primary feature of the Book of Mormon is what Joseph said in the next breath after declaring it the “most correct book”—i.e. that readers “would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” If that is true, all other questions, including historicity, are second-order questions. In other words, say the faithful, if the book serves to genuinely connect the reader to God and Christ, as it has for millions of readers, it is true (and perhaps correct?) in the most meaningful sense of the word.

So does the issue of historicity really matter? What is at stake in the question of Book of Mormon historicity?

To explore that topic, we brought together Terryl Givens and Joseph Spencer, a philosopher and professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University for a recorded conversation. You can watch or listen to it here:

We also asked Terryl to share his personal view on the subject, which you can read here:

We’ve also had two podcast conversations that touch on this topic:

We also recorded a live conversation between Terryl Givens & Rosalynde Welch at the Compass, discussing “Do the Gold Plates Matter?” Thank you to our Faith Matters donors for making these events possible! You can watch the recording below:

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It’s easy to see why this is a Big Question. This is an age of widespread disaffiliation from religion, especially among younger people. And most of us have a loved one or friend who has decided to step away from the church. It’s important to understand why. It’s important to understand how this transition feels from their point of view. It’s important to understand what part we might play, for good or ill.

Our friend Joseph Grenny explored this question in a very personal way in a wonderful presentation at Restore in 2024:

Our good friend, the late Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye, wrote a really helpful post which includes some great resources to dig into:

She also recorded a wonderful conversation on this topic with Jana Riess, author of The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church:

Melissa also interviewed David Ostler about how we as family, friends and fellow ward members can unknowingly contribute to people leaving the flock. David wrote a terrific book on the subject titled Bridges: Ministering to Those Who Question.

As a bonus, we also have this really insightful conversation between Patrick Mason and Spencer Fluhman, prominent scholars and writers who have published and spoken widely on this subject:

We also discussed this topic with Jeff Strong:

This topic also came up during a live discussion at The Compass between Jared Halverson and Terryl Givens:

This was also the topic of a recent episode of Article 13, a narrative podcast from Faith Matters:

Wayfare

A Church Where We Belong

For the past several decades, Americans have been leaving Christian churches in record numbers. This phenomenon has been dubbed “The Great Dechurching” by pastors Jim Davis and Michael Graham. What’s surprising is that many of those Americans didn’t leave the church because they stopped believing. They left because their church stopped feeling like a pl…

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10 months ago · 7 likes · 1 comment · Zachary Davis, Ryan Burge, Jake Meador, Jim Davis and Michael Graham, and Jen Wilkin

And James Goldberg wrote about his experience with this topic for Wayfare issue 5:

Wayfare

Sealing & Salting

I The last time the Young Women presidency in my ward got released, a young woman got up to bear her testimony. It was probably the first time she ever had—she had only been coming to church for a few months. You could tell she was nervous, but you could also tell it was important to her to speak. As she expressed her gratitude for the outgoing leaders, conviction strengthened her voice. She knew that those women had made a difference in her life…

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10 months ago · James Goldberg

Do we have a dysfunctional relationship with doubt?

Faith and doubt are often seen as diametrically opposed forces in our lives. But are they? Discussion among religious people on this topic tends to generate more heat than light — an often emotionally charged debate that seldom seems to end in resolution. Why is that?

Is it possible we just misunderstand each other. What if we discovered that we mostly agree on this subject of faith and doubt, But we’re just talking past each other because we mean slightly different things when we talk about “faith,” “belief,” “doubt”, “doubts”, etc.? Failure to truly communicate is behind most conflict and relationship issues. Maybe we agree more than we think we do.

The influential writer and theologian Paul Tillich famously pointed out that doubt is not the opposite of faith, but is actually an element of faith. He thought the opposite of faith is actually certainty — especially a sort of premature, untested confessional certainty. Perhaps the kind of certainty that we sometimes encourage our children to claim in “testimony bearing.”

Ultimately it is faith that matters. It is faith that moves us. It is faith that gives power and vitality to our lives. We are taught that faith is the engine of growth in this existence and beyond. We know this by experience. Faith is a muscle that grows and strengthens as it pushes up against doubt.

So is doubt friend or foe — or maybe both?

BYU religion professor Jared Halverson would say “both.” He gave this incredibly insightful and stirring address entitled “Don’t Let a Good Faith Crisis Go to Waste” at Faith Matters Restore 2022 gathering:

Faith and doubt are not issues that affect people of our faith only. We hosted two very prominent Christian writers on our podcast to talk about two extremely important books on this topic. Peter Enns joined us to talk about his book The Sin of Certainty and Brian McLaren joined us to explore his book Faith After Doubt.

We asked Terryl Givens, who (with wife Fiona Givens) has written brilliantly on the topic in The Crucible of Doubt and elsewhere, to weigh in. The first thing Terryl did was develop a little glossary of terms to at least get clear on what we’re arguing about. See if it doesn’t help clarify things for you as you delve into this topic. Then Terryl Givens gets insightfully to the heart of the matter in this remarkable little essay in which he argues, among other things, that “Fixating on doubt can be not just unproductive, but paralyzing and spiritually toxic. On the other hand, denying doubt its legitimate place and function in the development of faith can be equally damaging.”

Then, in this short video, artist Brian Kershisnik and Terryl Givens talk about why doubt has always been part of the story of discipleship.

We also offer this brief, remarkable conversation between Terryl Givens and one of the church’s best young scholars, Spencer Fluhman, executive director the the Neal A. Maxwell Institute.

We also had a conversation with our friend Thomas McConkie on what the Buddhist tradition has to teach us about faith’s relationship with doubt:

You can also explore this topic more in articles from Wayfare magazine:

We hope this offering gives us a healthier, more constructive way to approach this sometimes uncozy topic.

The Christian world generally is struggling to understand Christ’s atonement. The old doctrines and explanations sound primitive and do not ring true to many would-be believers today.

Richard Rohr, the very influential Catholic teacher and theologian, points to what he sees as the limits and problems with a long-standing notion of “substitutionary atonement.” Rohr explains that, for most Christians, atonement is understood as

…a one-time transactional affair between Jesus and his Father, instead of an ongoing transformational lesson for the human soul and for all of history. I believe that Jesus’ death on the cross is a revelation of the infinite and participatory love of God, not some bloody payment required by God’s offended justice to rectify the problem of sin. Such a story line is way too small…

Rohr wants to see Christ’s atonement not as an event but as a redemptive process that plays out over time in the lives of individuals and in the broader “body of Christ.” (Read Rohr’s entire post here.)

We asked Terryl Givens, perhaps the most respected and influential theologian in today’s church, to explore what the restored gospel adds to our understanding. Terryl, with wife Fiona Givens, addressed this question in their groundbreaking book All Things New: Rethinking Sin, Salvation, and Everything in Between. You can listen to a remarkable chapter from the book, challenging us to understand and experience Christ’s Atonement in more profound ways, here:

Terryl also gives this exquisite and expansive response:

He then invites other important voices into the conversation, including this conversation with Spencer Fluhman:

Then Adam Miller sits down with Aubrey and Tim Chaves in this conversation to talk about his paradigm-shifting book Original Grace:

Finally, if you want to hear an amazing story about how atonement and redemption can happen in life’s dark and hopeless places, you’ll want to watch Joseph Grenny’s incredible talk at the Faith Matters Restore 2022 gathering:

It’s difficult to think of another religious organization that holds its leaders in higher esteem and trust. For millions of church members, the witness and ministry of prophets and apostles are living waters. They are experienced as a source of frequent inspiration in good times and a light of hope to the soul in dark times.

But when a generation that has grown up singing “Follow the Prophet” encounters church history and comes face to face with real mistakes past prophets and apostles have made, issues of trust can arise.

To address this question, we invited historian and author Patrick Mason, author of a number of exceptional books, including Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt, and Restoration: God’s Call to the 21st Century World. Patrick is the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University.

First, Patrick offers a short, deeply insightful essay titled Searching for Infallible Prophets? It’s a must-read, and it ends by challenging us to face some very probing questions.

Then, Patrick sits down with a couple of very bright millennials for a very candid conversation on the topic. You can watch that conversation here:

We also recorded a great conversation on this topic between Patrick and his good friend Spencer Fluhman, Executive Director of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at BYU:

Tim Chaves from Faith Matters offers his really insightful perspective in this post on the subject:

Read “What the Prophet Saw” by Tyler Johnson here:

Wayfare

What the Prophet Saw

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a year ago · 18 likes · 2 comments · Tyler Johnson

And you can watch a conversation we recorded between Terryl Givens & Matthew Bowman on the subject of prophets at The Compass Gallery here:

And you can read Matt’s Wayfare essay on the topic here:

Wayfare

The Prophet and the Priest

“If you start a church with a prophet in it everybody will be against you,” Smith’s friend W.W. Phelps wrote ruefully in 1835. People had been calling Joseph Smith a prophet since before he organized his church in April of 1830, and the revelation that he presented to the group of people there that day claimed the title. “Behold there Shall a Record be …

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a year ago · 19 likes · Matthew Bowman

January - How “Great” Was the Great Apostasy? with Ariel Bybee Laughton

February - Do the Gold Plates Matter? with Rosalynde Welch

March - What is a Prophet? with Matthew Bowman

May - Is Ours the Only True and Living Church? with Philip Barlow

June - Does Church History Matter? with Lisa Olsen Tait

July - What is Priesthood? with Jonathan Stapley

August - What is the nature of God? with John Durham Peters

September - What is the relationship between ancient and modern temples? with Matthew Grey

November - What is the legacy of Joseph Smith? with Jenny Reeder

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