Mormon Land

At least four aspects of the just-completed General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stood out:

• The Easter weekend focus on the death, resurrection and Atonement of Jesus Christ.

• A solemn assembly combined with Dallin H. Oaks’ first conference sermon as the 18th church president.

• A record number of convert baptisms in 2025.

• The choice of an African woman to lead the faith’s Primary organization ...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently announced that women could now serve in Sunday school presidencies, a position that has traditionally been filled by men.

Allowing women to oversee the teaching of scriptures and church doctrine to members was seen by many as a further move toward gender equity.

The news, though, came with a caveat: If a woman were named as president, her two counselors would also have to be ...

It has been the month of breaking news surrounding reality television in Utah. From Season 4 of 'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' premiering, to Taylor Frankie Paul's 'Bachelorette' season being cancelled, to Jessi from 'Secret Lives' getting divorced to then sending flowers to a friend for kissing her ex-husband...there is a lot to unpack!

On this 'Mormons in Media' crossover, we discuss what ties back to religion and what is just dr...

Mitt Romney may be the most famous Mormon politician, but the title of highest-ranking elected Latter-day Saint in U.S. history belongs not to a rich Utah Republican with a patrician background and deep ties in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but rather to a self-made Nevada Democrat with hardscrabble roots who converted to the faith.

His name: Harry Reid. Passionately partisan, fiercely loyal and discreetly devout...

As a young man, Troy Williams wore a missionary name tag for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Great Britain — all the while fighting against the growing realization he was gay.

Afterward, he interned with the Utah Eagle Forum and learned the ways of backroom politicking at the feet of one of the state’s most effective conservative lobbyists, Gayle Ruzicka.

Thus, an advocate was born.

After embracing his sexual ori...

Born in Salt Lake City, John Dinkelman has spent nearly four decades working as a U.S. diplomat in countries as far away as the former Yugoslavia and Turkey, and as close as Nogales, Mexico.

He currently serves other diplomats as president of the American Foreign Service Association.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dinkelman served a two-year mission in Argentina and graduated from church-owned Brigh...

For decades, the Temple Square mission in Salt Lake City has operated unlike any other run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The smallest mission in the world geographically, it is arguably also one of the busiest, acting as an introduction to the Utah-based faith for millions of visitors from across the globe — as well as a place of spiritual rejuvenation for members.

Temple Square is also the only mission compos...

Note to readers and listeners • In a tribute to Salt Lake Tribune guest columnist Ardis Parshall, who died earlier this week, we are replaying this “Mormon Land” episode from last July in which the noted research historian discussed one of her favorite topics: Latter-day Saint pioneers. So enjoy once again hearing Parshall’s words, wit and wisdom. Ardis, we will miss you.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints h...

Faithful Salt Lake Tribune readers know Eli McCann well. He’s the award-winning columnist who has them cracking up about coming out as a coffee drinker one minute and tearing up about the Latter-day Saint youth group in the western Pacific who won his heart the next.

Now his monthly humor columns have been compiled into one bright, breezy book. Titled “We’re Thankful for the Moisture: A Gay Guy’s Guide to Mormon Faith, Family, and ...

By all accounts, Richard Bushman could be considered the patriarch of Mormon history.

For more than nine decades, he has lived it, studied it, analyzed it, shared it with fellow believers and explained it to nonbelievers.

The soft-spoken scholar — with three degrees from Harvard and a drive toward understanding truth — has been writing about Mormonism for much of his academic career. He is a giant in his field and a mentor to many ...

Daily life in and around Minneapolis has taken on a sharper edge since the federal government unleashed a mass deportation campaign in the city.

Raids on suspected immigrants have become a common occurrence, observers on the ground report. Gas-mask-wearing protesters take frequently to frozen streets. Twice federal agents have shot and killed U.S. citizens, 37-year-old Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Amid this chaos, members of The Chu...

For most of its nearly 200-year history, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints considered temple clothing — including what are known as “garments,” worn under everyday attire — too sacred to discuss, even within families or among friends.

That has slowly changed. In 2015, the Utah-based faith posted photos and videos of garments on YouTube to show the outside world that there is “nothing magical or mystical about temple g...

Enter many a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the U.S. and you will find a pew-packed chapel next to a ready-made sports court separated only by an accordion-like folding wall.

That pairing says a lot not only about how the faith views the intertwining of the spiritual and the physical but also about the vaunted place in Latter-day Saint culture held by this particular sport: basketball.

From i...

The new year started and so did the reality television. On this 'Mormon Land' and 'Mormons in Media' crossover, we unpack TLC's new docuseries The Cult of the Real Housewife. This takes a deep dive into Mary Cosby, from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and how she runs her Utah church. It brings up uncomfortable questions about tithing, how it's regulated and what exactly that money goes towards. Is "cult" too strong a word i...

With the recent deaths of Russell Nelson and Jeffrey Holland, apostle Dieter Uchtdorf moved two steps closer to the top rung on the leadership ladder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The 85-year-old Uchtdorf is now the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and stands second in line — behind 92-year-old Henry Eyring — to take the reins of the global faith. While certainly not wishing death on any c...

Picking new apostles is a significant and solemn responsibility for presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

After all, any of the men (and, in the patriarchal faith, they must be men) selected for this lifetime assignment could one day rise to the presidency of the global religion.

Choosing new apostles also represents a way in which Latter-day Saint prophet-presidents can leave their mark on the church long ...

December marks the 220th anniversary of the birth of Mormonism’s founder, Joseph Smith, who was born Dec. 23, 1805, in Sharon, Vermont.

In recognition, we are revisiting this “Mormon Land” podcast about one of the most significant developments in the research surrounding this major American religious figure: the stunning 2022 announcement that a descendant had discovered in a locket what is purported to be the only known photograph...

In the 1960s, the NAACP was among the loudest critics of the policy by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time to exclude Black members from its all-male priesthood and its temples.

In 2018 — 40 years after the church had eliminated the policy — national leaders of the country’s oldest civil rights organization held a joint meeting with top Latter-day Saint officials.

The groundbreaking alliance of the two organ...