Church History Matters

Lisa Olsen Tait, historian of Latter-day Saint women’s history, outlines how 19th-century women administered healing and bedside rituals. The conversation covers spiritual gifts, examples like Zina Huntington and Eliza R. Snow, temple and Relief Society practices, and shifting cultural and institutional responses to women’s healing roles.

Lisa Olsen Tait, historian of Latter-day Saint women’s history, traces 19th-century debates about women and priesthood using Relief Society minutes and archival sources. The conversation covers early meanings of ordain, Nauvoo temple roles for women, evolving language about women ‘holding’ priesthood, reforms that separated office from priesthood, and mid-20th-century shifts toward priesthood-motherhood ideas.

Lisa Olsen Tait, a Church History Department scholar specializing in women and priesthood, guides a historical tour of female spiritual authority. The conversation traces early Christian and 19th-century views, highlights Nauvoo temple innovations where men and women participated in sacred rites, and examines how rituals, sealing, and temple practice shaped evolving understandings of priesthood.

Lisa Olsen Tait, a historian of Latter-day Saint women who worked on Young Women history and the Saints series, helps lay a historical foundation for women’s connection to priesthood. Short takes cover 19th-century meanings of priesthood, Relief Society leadership, temple partnership of men and women, spiritual gifts and healing, and how language and roles have shifted over time.

Ben Spackman, a BYU religion professor and historian who studies LDS creationist thought, joins to map science and scripture debates. He traces shifting interpretations of Genesis, mid-20th-century institutional dynamics, and how biblical scholarship reshaped reading practices. The conversation highlights changing church responses to evolution, key historical figures, and why careful context matters.

A historical tour of how scientific ideas like evolution and geology have clashed with and been reconciled by Latter-day Saint leaders. They trace debates from early neutrality to midcentury anti-evolution pushes, BYU controversies, and later institutional moderation. The conversation highlights shifting church materials, surveys of member beliefs, and personal recollections of classroom and cultural influence.

A historical tour of the science versus religion debate through fundamentalist and modernist tensions. Short biographies of key figures and controversies that shaped Latter-day Saint responses. Explanations of how scripture, prophetic statements, and institutional actions influenced views on evolution and education. Reflections on authority, publication, and efforts to reconcile revelation with scientific inquiry.

A lively historical tour of how debates over evolution shaped American religion, using the Scopes Trial as a turning point. It tracks Latter-day Saint leaders’ varied responses, from literal readings to accommodation with science. The conversation highlights institutional neutrality, internal disputes among leaders, and how theology and scientific inquiry were kept in separate lanes.

They explore how Latter-day Saint scripture and leader statements interact with scientific ideas about evolution. They trace diverse historical views among church leaders and highlight official statements that leave mechanisms uncertain. They discuss reading scripture’s genre and urge avoiding literalist traps when science and faith intersect.

Join Jamie Jensen, a BYU biology professor who specializes in bridging faith and science, as she discusses how to reconcile evolution with spiritual belief. She explores common conflicts students face, emphasizing that science can actually deepen faith. Jensen shares personal insights on interpreting scripture in light of scientific understanding and addresses the philosophical differences between scientific and religious epistemologies. Through her journey, she emphasizes the importance of intellectual humility and the enriching effects of curiosity on both faith and science.