We’re excited today to talk about the temple. It’s a topic we love—one that sits at the heart of our faith—but because of its sacred nature, it can sometimes be difficult to explore openly.
We’re so happy to welcome back Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife—someone whose voice and work have shaped our thinking in really lasting ways.
Nearly 200 years ago, Joseph Smith gave us a holistic code of health called the Word of Wisdom. But over the next century, we largely reduced that revelation to a list of don’ts—one that came to define us as a church and serve as a kind of status marker within the Church. As we look ahead to the next hundred years, we’re asking: is it time to rethink how we see this revelation? Today, we face an overwhelming number of choices about what we put into our bodies—some deeply harmful, others profoundly nourishing—and we now understand far more about health, nutrition, and the body itself. Are there principles in section 89 that transcend the context in which it was given? What did we miss when we transformed it from a principle with promise to a set list of prohibitions that defined worthiness? Is our current approach a stumbling block as we take the gospel to people in other cultures? And what about that curious issue of hot drinks? That’s the conversation we’re having today with Bill Turnbull, one of the founders of Faith Matters, and Ali Essig, a nutritionist and founder of PlantWhys. Ali’s journey with the Word of Wisdom began after her husband suffered a stroke at age 37—a moment that launched her into a deep study of Section 89 and a reimagining of what it really means to nourish the body. We’ll also be studying this section in Come Follow Me in just a couple of weeks, and so we hope this conversation adds some depth and energy into your personal study and that you see not a list of rules, but a radical invitation into a path of wisdom and wholeness. In an era in which technology and media seem determined to disconnect us from embodied experience and presence, maybe it’s time to take a fresh look at a 200 year old revelation that challenges us to do exactly the opposite.*The Word of Wisdom in Its First DecadeThe Word of Wisdom: From Principle to RequirementAssociation Between Dietary Fiber and Lower Risk of All-Cause Mortality: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort StudiesHigher-fiber diet linked to lower risk of death
Today, we’re so excited to share a powerful session from last year’s Restore gathering, given by Astrid Tuminez, president of Utah Valley University.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Untold Story of the Church’s Young Women Organization - Lisa Olsen Tait and James Goldberg
