Faith Matters

Faith Matters Foundation
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Faith Matters offers an expansive view of the Restored Gospel, thoughtful exploration of big and sometimes thorny questions, and a platform that encourages deeper engagement with our faith and our world. We focus on the Latter-day Saint (Mormon) tradition, but believe we have much to learn from other traditions and fully embrace those of other beliefs.

  1. 8H AGO

    When Your Faith Breaks: Tucker Boyle

    Today we’re grateful to share a conversation with our friend Tucker Boyle—a longtime seminary and institute teacher and the founder of Harmony Road Retreats, a nonprofit creating safe, supportive spaces for people in faith crisis. As a young missionary, Tucker fell in love with teaching the gospel and knew he wanted to become a full-time seminary teacher. He stepped into that role with his whole heart, and years later pursued a PhD, hoping to become an even better, more thoughtful teacher. But during his doctoral research into early Church history, his certainty began to fracture. And before long, the ground beneath him seemed to give way. His work, his community, his family—his entire life—was built around the faith he was now struggling to hold. And for the first time, Tucker wondered if he belonged. He describes sitting in church—once his sanctuary—and feeling his body surge into fight or flight. But in time, he learned that what felt like collapse was the beginning of a deeper, more conscious faith. Today, Tucker shares how that unraveling became an invitation into transformation. And though the questions didn’t disappear, his relationship to them changed. The groundlessness opened into something more spacious and alive, expanding his capacity for love, humility, and connection. Whether you’re in the middle of your own wrestle, loving someone through theirs, or simply trying to build a faith that can hold complexity, we think Tucker offers language and light for the journey. If you or someone you love is navigating a faith journey you can check out Tucker’s organization at harmonyroadretreats.com. Tucker created these retreats to offer the kind of support and community he needed—spaces where you can feel less alone, where you can connect with others on the road, and explore practices that cultivate inner harmony and peace. He has retreats coming up in both March and April, and you can find all the details on the website. As always, thank you so much for listening—we’re so glad you’re here. You can check out more at faithmatters.org. Join us March 6 in SLC for Interfaith REPAIR: a peacemaking workshop from Waymakers!

    58 min

  2. FEB 22

    When Faith Meant Trust, with Teresa Morgan

    We’re so excited to share a conversation that our friend and Executive Director, Zach Davis, had with Teresa Morgan, Professor at Yale Divinity School and a leading scholar of early Christian history. Teresa invites us to reconsider one of the most central words in Christianity: faith. She explains that for the first generations of Christians, “faith” didn’t mean signing on to a list of beliefs. It meant something more like trust—faithfulness, trustworthiness, the act of entrusting your life to God. Faith was less about what you thought and more about the kind of relationship you were living: a daily, embodied trust in a faithful God. But over time, as outside pressures mounted, Christian leaders drew clearer boundaries around belief. Creeds became markers of belonging, and faith—once rooted primarily in trust and lived allegiance—was increasingly defined by agreement with specific doctrines. That shift has shaped the Christian imagination ever since. In this conversation, Zach and Teresa explore how that evolution happened, what may have been lost, and what it might look like to recover a richer, more relational vision of faith today.  We also want to mention that this interview is featured in the upcoming Issue 7 of Wayfare, and that this is a special edition centering women’s voices on the theme of trust—trust in God, in ourselves, and in our communities. It’s a beautiful and thoughtful collection that we are really proud of. You can read this interview, and see the beautiful artwork that accompanies it, at WayfareMagazine.org. If you’d like to receive your own copy of Wayfare in the mail, you can become a Friend of Faith Matters or a paid Wayfare subscriber by March 31. Your support is what makes conversations like this possible, and we’re so grateful. Join us March 6 in SLC for Interfaith REPAIR: a peacemaking workshop from Waymakers!

    43 min

  3. FEB 15

    Bruce Tift: Already Free

    Today we’re so excited to share our conversation with Bruce Tift, author, psychotherapist and longtime practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism. This summer, our friends at Uplift Kids introduced us to Bruce’s fascinating book Already Free, and we’ve been thinking about it ever since. In this conversation, Bruce dives into some of the ideas in the book. He explores how to make peace with being human. He looks at two seemingly opposing paths—both Western and Eastern wisdom—and shows how each offers a vital piece of the puzzle. Where psychotherapy may teach us to bring our early wounds and disowned emotions into awareness, Buddhist practices help us recognize the deeper freedom that’s available when we stop identifying with the fixed self. We loved that Bruce talked us through the ways we organize around our core fears, why so many of our childhood survival strategies still run the show in adulthood, and why real freedom often begins with simply allowing ourselves to feel uncomfortable without trying to fix or escape. Bruce’s insights feel so useful for navigating seasons of growth—emotional, spiritual, and relational. This conversation really helped us see that personal growth isn’t about achieving some ideal version of ourselves—it’s about meeting our actual experience with curiosity, compassion, and presence. We found Bruce’s wisdom to be gentle, honest, and deeply liberating, and we’re so grateful he joined us. You can find Already Free on Bookshop.org, Amazon, or wherever you buy your books, and you can find even more from Faith Matters on this topic in this week's newsletter on our website, faithmatters.org. Join us March 6 in SLC for Interfaith REPAIR: a peacemaking workshop from Waymakers!

    52 min

  4. FEB 8

    Terryl Givens: Wrestling with the Word

    As we explore the Old Testament this year, we’ve found ourselves returning to a past conversation with our friend Terryl Givens. It felt grounding and expansive and we're really excited to share it with you again. The Old Testament can be incredibly rich—full of beauty, poetry, and profound spiritual insights. But it can also sometimes feel bewildering or even faith-shaking. We get glimpses of a loving, nurturing God—and turn the page to encounter a God that seems angry, even violent. It's a text that raises big questions and invites us into deep wrestles. And maybe that’s part of its sacredness—that it pushes us into such honest, meaningful conversation. In this episode, Terryl helps us navigate those tensions. Together, we ask: What is the Bible, really, and where did it come from? What do different translations of this text have to offer, and how can we engage with this scripture in a posture of reverence and discernment that allows for mystery, and honors the sacredness of the whole landscape. We loved Terryl’s insights in this conversation, and we’re so grateful to revisit them now. Thanks so much for listening—we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did. For more on this topic, and for weekly resources to accompany your Come Follow Me study, be sure to check out the Faith Matters newsletter at faithmatters.org. Join us March 6 in SLC for Interfaith REPAIR: a peacemaking workshop from Waymakers!

    46 min

  5. FEB 1

    Choosing Community over Ideological Purity: Lessons from Exponent II with Katie Ludlow Rich & Heather Sundahl

    Hey everyone, this is Aubrey Chaves from Faith Matters. Today I’m excited to share my conversation with Katie Ludlow Rich and Heather Sundahl about 50 Years of Exponent II, their new book tracing the history of a space where Latter-day Saint women have engaged the most urgent questions of their time—while also honoring the dailiness of life. The roots of this effort go back to 1872, when women began publishing the Woman’s Exponent to speak for themselves and stay connected across distance. A century later, Exponent II carried that work forward—not to create consensus, but to make room for complexity, difference, and the kind of deep listening that makes real community possible. And that’s what this conversation is about—what it takes to stay in relationship, even when ground we used to share—whether in belief, perspective, or experience—starts to shift. We’re probably all navigating this now in some spaces, in families, wards, or friendships. And so today, Katie and Heather explore the difference between discomfort and danger, how we can sit with the tension of disagreement without walking away, and what it means to listen not to persuade, but to witness—to be present with someone else’s experience, even when it’s different from our own. Katie is a writer and independent scholar of women’s history. Heather is a marriage and family therapist in Orem, Utah.  This was a deeply personal conversation, and we’re so grateful to Katie and Heather for showing up with such honesty and care. Their own lived experiences have led them down different paths, and it was a gift to sit with them in dialogue—watching the ways they do this together and make space for others to do the same. That kind of wisdom is hard won, and we’re honored to share it with you now. You can find their book, 50 Years of Exponent II, on Amazon, Bookshop.org, or wherever books are sold. Join us March 6 in SLC for Interfaith REPAIR: a peacemaking workshop from Waymakers!

    1h 2m

  6. JAN 25

    Jeff Strong: Un-Sifting the Saints

    We’ve all heard it called a sifting—the language that sometimes surfaces when someone is struggling or steps away from the Church. Wheat from tares, sheep from goats, a sorting in the last days that reveals truly elect. But today, our good friend and contributor Jeff Strong is back to invite us into a deeper reflection on that idea—and what he sees as the more essential question: Who is the Church for? Jeff shares how the way we answer that question has real implications—shaping how we respond to difference, and how we create (or close off) spaces for spiritual growth, belonging, and trust. In this conversation, he also brings new and fascinating findings from his large-scale survey of Latter-day Saints. Jeff introduces a framework of spiritual segments that emerged from the data—types like Seekers, Protectors, Cultivators, and more. It’s illuminating to see yourself in one of these groups—but maybe even more powerful to recognize how others might experience the same Church culture in radically different ways. He reflects on the tension people feel when their deepest values don’t seem to match what’s emphasized in their church experience. And he offers a way through that tension: wherever you fit, we each face the challenge to let go of fear—because fear, more than anything else, is what drives us apart. Ultimately, this conversation isn’t about disaffiliation or activity—it’s about relationships. It’s about how we respond to differences, how we hold tension as a community, and whether we’re building a church culture that reflects the expansive, welcoming love of Christ. And just a heads up: the story Jeff tells toward the end might sound familiar––in fact, Sister Dennis used it in conference this year, though we recorded this episode before conference, so we didn’t tie it in at the time. Also, there are some really interesting graphs and charts that Jeff mentions that are in the YouTube version of this conversation if you’d like to watch this one instead, or you can search the episode on faithmatters.org and see them there. Join us March 6 in SLC for Interfaith REPAIR: a peacemaking workshop from Waymakers!

    1h 8m

  7. JAN 18

    An Inconvenient Faith: Robert Reynolds and Patrick Mason

    Today we’re joined by our friend Patrick Mason and filmmaker Robert Reynolds. Rob is the director and producer of the new docu-series An Inconvenient Faith—a project that’s already opening hearts and starting some long-overdue conversations. This series is raw and honest. It takes on some of the most difficult and tender topics in our faith tradition—things like women and authority, LGBTQ belonging, race and the priesthood, and lots more. And it brings together voices from across the spectrum of faith—people who’ve stayed who are still engaging these issues, and people who have decided to step away. But all of them have one thing in common: they’ve wrestled with these big questions with their whole hearts. For many of us, this hits close to home. These aren’t abstract issues—this is about our families, our friends, our wards. And so it can be hard to hear a perspective that challenges your own. But Rob explains that his intention here is to help us love better. To help us listen longer and more generously. He hopes it’s a glimpse into the inner wrestles of people you may know and love, to remind us that behind every decision is a real human being, and behind these questions is a heart that wants to do what’s right. This episode is for anyone who loves someone who’s landed in a different place in their faith. If you’re looking for peace, for trust, for more compassion in the middle of complexity—we think you’ll find something meaningful here. We’re so grateful to Rob and Patrick for showing us what that can look like. Join us March 6 in SLC for Interfaith REPAIR: a peacemaking workshop from Waymakers!

    50 min

  8. JAN 11

    A Deeper Look at the Creation Story: an episode of Sanctuary with Jared Lambert

    Today, we want to introduce you to another podcast in the Faith Matters Podcast Network called Sanctuary: Discovering the Temple, hosted by Larkin Swain. Larkin brings a candid, curious, and thoughtful approach to conversations about the temple, and this episode felt especially fascinating and timely as we begin a new year studying the Old Testament. In this episode, Larkin speaks with historical linguist Jared Lambert, whose work focuses on language development, temple theology, and how translation and symbolism have reshaped biblical traditions. Jared brings a linguistic lens to the Genesis creation story, uncovering rich meanings that have evolved over time and even been lost in translation. His perspectives are both mind-expanding and spiritually moving. He reexamines the portrayal of God in Genesis, unpacks the symbolism of the temple endowment, and offers what feels like a powerful missing piece in our traditional telling of Adam and Eve’s story. We hope this conversation sparks fresh insight and deep reflection as you revisit these foundational stories.  Be sure to follow Sanctuary on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack, or YouTube for curious, open, and honest conversations about the temple! Join us March 6 in SLC for Interfaith REPAIR: a peacemaking workshop from Waymakers!

    1h 17m
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About

Faith Matters offers an expansive view of the Restored Gospel, thoughtful exploration of big and sometimes thorny questions, and a platform that encourages deeper engagement with our faith and our world. We focus on the Latter-day Saint (Mormon) tradition, but believe we have much to learn from other traditions and fully embrace those of other beliefs.

Information

  • Creator
    Faith Matters Foundation
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    320
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Faith Matters
  • Show Website
    Faith Matters

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