Saints Podcast

In the final episode of season 4, we hear from Lisa Christensen, Scott Hales, James Perry, Lisa Olsen Tait, and Jed Woodworth as they reflect on the process of writing the books and what they hope Church members take away from Saints.

Willy Binene and his family fled their home in 1993 to escape widespread violence. They settled far away in another part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they found ways to share the restored gospel and participated in a life-changing water project supported by the Church.

In 1990, a terrorist attack in Peru left missionary Manuel Navarro gravely injured. In this episode, Manuel recounts what happened that night and how the Lord has been with him even in the darkest moments.

For fifty years, the Church operated a secondary school in Mexico City, shaping the lives of countless students. One of those students, Isabel Santana, tell us about her time at Benemérito in the 1960s and 1970s and reflects on the school's lasting legacy.

In this episode, we speak with Ike Ferguson to learn more about how the Church's worldwide humanitarian aid program began with a pressing need in East Africa.

The restored gospel blossomed on the island of Sicily thanks to women and men who heard and followed spiritual promptings. Ether Simoncini, a descendent of some of Italy's pioneers, shares more of the story.

As the Vietnam War raged, local Church members and missionaries worked side by side to hold the Saigon Branch together. Former missionary Lewis Hassell recounts seeing the hand of the Lord amid uncertainty and evacuations.

In this episode, Darius Gray, Marie Taylor, and Henry tell the unlikely story of how, in the 1990s, prison inmates led the effort to digitize a priceless family history record.

Join Allwyn Kilbert and Sonia Gupta as they talk about the Church in India and the dramatic changes to missionary work that came about when Preach My Gospel was introduced. Historian Taunalyn Ford shares additional insights.

Silvia Allred has spent her life in gospel service, from a teenaged Sunday School teacher to counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency. Learn from her experiences and testimony in this episode.

How does it feel to have to hide your religion from your neighbors? And how does life change when you are suddenly free to express your beliefs? In this episode, Olga Kovářová Campora talks about her experiences as a Latter-day Saint during Czechoslovakia's peaceful transition to democracy.

Hélio and Nair Camargo were beloved Latter-day Saint leaders in São Paulo, Brazil. Learn more about how they came to embrace the restored gospel and how the Church has grown in this part of South America.

In the 1960s and 1970s, thousands of Latter-day Saint students left their homes on Native American reservations to live with host families during the school year. Maeta Holiday Beck talks about the blessings and challenges she experienced in this Church program.

In this episode we talk to Stan Bronson and Jini Roby to learn more about the remarkable life of Hwang Keun Ok, who dedicated herself to improving the lives of orphaned girls in South Korea

Tobias Burkhardt experienced hardship as a young Latter-day Saint in the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War. But in this episode, he also talks about the blessings that came with trials as well as the faith of his parents, Henry and Inge.

The Young Women organization underwent significant changes in the 1970s and 1980s, helping Latter-day Saint girls better understand their divine identity and role in the Restoration. This episode highlights two Church leaders who were key to these developments.

Latin American Saints Emma and Hector David Hernandez reflect on their years juggling work, school, Church responsibilities, and young children. The Perpetual Education Fund provided a path to help them succeed.

James Perry and Tesia Tsai host this episode featuring Arthur and Lorine Jue, two children of Nora Koot, who was a pioneer of the Church in Hong Kong.

In this episode, learn more about how the Osmond family shared the restored gospel with fans around the world through their music and example. Guests include Jay Osmond and Susan Unklesbay, one of the many people who joined the Church because of the Osmonds.

Suzette and Geoff Dunning, featured in volume 4 as young adults in the 1960s, join us to talk about the impact the building program and "building missionaries" had on the Church in Great Britain.

Delia Rochon, who is featured in volume, tells us about joining the church as a teenager in Uruguay and the difference her Church service has made in her own life and the lives of countless others.

Welcome back to the fourth season of the Saints podcast. In this episode, learn more about how and why Saints came to be as James Perry and Lisa Christensen speak with Scott Hales, writer and literary editor on the Saints team, and Elder Kyle S. McKay, a General Authority Seventy who serves as Church Historian and Recorder.

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In this season finale, Jed Woodworth, managing historian of the Saints project, Scott Hales, the literary editor of the volume, and Lisa Olsen Tait, a general editor for this volume, join us to take a look back over volume 3 and to reflect on its production. We discuss the challenges of researching and writing this volume during COVID 19.

Today we are joined by Ray Kuehne, a historian of German Church History, and Christian Fingerle, the Europe Area Church History Manager, to discuss the significance of the Swiss temple and the improving situation that the Church found itself in Europe ten years after the Second World War.

As Latter-day Saints prepare for a temple in Europe there are practical considerations that Church leaders have to deal with. In today's episode we have Virginia Pearce Cowley, an author and former member of the Young Women General Presidency, and Christian Euvrard, a sociologist and historian of European Church History, joining us to discuss the state of the Church in Europe and Gordon B. Hinckley's efforts to start operations in the Swiss Temple.

In the early 1950s, German Latter-day Saint Henry Burkhardt has to navigate numerous pressures as he interacts with the German Democratic Republic as a Church leader. Joining us today is Matt Heiss, a manager in the Church History Department, and Tobias Burkhardt, the son of Henry Burkhardt. We discuss Henry's efforts to keep the Church going and the complicated topic of how he related to the government.

This week we are joined by Alan Parrish, an emeritus professor of religious education at Brigham Young University, and Melissa Inouye, an historian in the Church History Department. First we discuss Clemencia Pivaral's journey to the Mesa Arizona Temple from her native home in Guatemala and the significance of such a journey. We then talk about John A. Widtsoe, a prominent recurring character in the book and his role in facilitating a temple for Europe.

James Miller, a Church History Specialist in the Church History Department, joins us today to discuss the rising tensions in Central and Eastern Europe especially in Czechoslovakia. We also have Laura Paulsen-Howe, the Art Curator over global acquisitions in the Church History Museum, who shares additional insights into the Book of Mormon art created by Arnold Friberg.

Angela Hallstrom, a writer and former member of the Saints team, and Melissa Inouye, a historian in the Church History Department, join us to discuss the lives of two Latter-day Saint women in the years after the Second World War. We also discuss the different ways that Saints is used by readers and why we need a history such as this.

In today's episode we cover the restrictions on religious freedom in Czechoslovakia after the war and the implications these restrictions had on the Church and its members. Matt Grow, Managing Director of the Church History Department, joins us to discuss the efforts European Latter-day Saints went to as they sought to maintain their faith. We also take some time to talk about George Albert Smith and his mental health struggles.

Matt McBride, Director of Publications in the Church History Department, joins us this week to provide some further details about Pieter Vlam's involvement in the Dutch Potatoes project and Elder Ezra Taft Benson's mission to Europe to provide relief.

Europe was devastated after years of fighting. In today's episode we explore what the Church did to relieve the suffering of Latter-day Saints and others. Richard E. Turley Jr. a historian and founder of the Saints project joins us to share extra insights into the challenges facing the Church in the years after the war.

The final stages of the Second World War saw fierce fighting across the world. Cory Maxwell, a son of Neal A. Maxwell, and Bob Freeman, a Professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University, join us in this episode to discuss the conditions and circumstances of the war and to share extra insights into the experiences of Latter-day Saints who were caught up in the fighting.

The Second World War changed the Church and the lives of Latter-day Saints across the world. Nathan Waite, the Editorial Manager of the Saints project, joins us to discuss the role of language in the Church in Brazil and the ways Latter-day Saints adapted to life during the war.

Matt Heiss, a manager in the Church History Department, joins us this week to discuss the efforts of Dutch Latter-day Saint Pieter Vlam to share the gospel after he is taken prisoner during the Second World War. We are also fortunate to have Donna Ikegami, a daughter of David Ikegami, who joins us to share extra insights into her father's story as a Japanese-American member of the Church living in Hawaii.

Ryan Saltzgiver, a historian in the Church History Department, joins us to discuss the story of Helmuth Hübener and his friends in Nazi Germany as they sought to resist Nazi propaganda. We also talk about the Church's attitude towards the war and how to deal with the fact that there were Latter-day Saints on both sides.

Joining us this week is Petra Javadi-Evans, an Assistant Editor for the Saints project, and James Miller, a Church History Specialist, both from the Church History Department. In today's episode we address the Second World War and some of the different experiences of European Latter-day Saints.

Angela Hallstrom, a writer and former member of the Saints project who is also a General Editor of volume 3, talks to us about Emmy Cziep and her escape from Czechoslovakia as World War 2 began. Angela shares insights into the researching and writing of Saints as we also discuss President J. Reuben Clark and his efforts to improve religious education in the Church.

Tensions were high amongst Mexican Saints in the 1930s and 1/3 of the membership left the Church. James Goldberg, a writer and historian and Elisa Pulido, a Visiting Scholar at Claremont Graduate University, joins us to talk about the state of the Church in Mexico and what caused the split.

Harold B. Lee saw himself as an "inexperienced farm boy from a small town in Idaho." In this episode Brian Cannon, a professor of history at Brigham Young University, and Jeff Anderson, an archivist in the Church History Department, join us to share their insights into Harold and the birth of the welfare program.

Tarienne Mitchell, a professional archivist, and Scott Hales, the lead writer and a General Editor of Saints Volume three, join us in this episode to discuss marginalized Latter-day Saints and the ways in which they lived the gospel. We talk about how Latter-day Saints in different areas of the world maintain their faith despite the hardships they faced.

In this episode we discuss William and Clara Daniels who found a way to serve in the Church while Black Latter-day Saints experienced prejudice and were restricted from holding the Priesthood. Matt McBride and Ben Spackman join us to talk about the Daniels' and a major debate regarding evolution and science between prominent church leaders Joseph Fielding Smith and B. H. Roberts.

The Great Depression in the 1930s had a global impact with significant impacts for the Church and its members. Jill Mulvay Derr and Joseph Darowski join us to discuss the financial crisis and the ways that the Relief Society and Church leaders responded to it.

German Latter-day Saint Helga Meiszus is one of the characters we follow through much of the book. In this episode Lark Evans-Galli, a folklorist and biographer of Helga joins us with Jed Woodworth, the managing historian of the Saints project, to discuss the lives of Helga Meiszus and church president, Heber J. Grant.

Scott Hales, the lead writer and a General Editor of Saints, Volume 3, joins us to discuss the Church's efforts to expand its operations in South America. We also talk about German Latter-day Saint Otto Schulzke and the changing leadership role that American missionaries played in Europe.

Church education undergoes some major changes in the 1920s. Kenneth Godfrey and Casey Paul Griffiths, scholars and authors on the subject of religious education, share their insights into the challenges facing Church Education and the instigation of the institute program in the United States.

Scholars Frederick Williams and Jeremy Talmage join the podcast this week to talk about the genesis of the Church in South America and the efforts of Church leaders to start the work. In this episode we also discuss the restrictions faced by Black church members across the world and the implications it had on them, including the accompanying prejudice from hate groups.

Joining us this week is Emily Utt, a curator in the Church History Department, and James Goldberg, a writer and historian. In this episode we explore the exodus of Latter-day Saints from the Ottoman Empire to Aleppo and the trials they faced while fleeing danger. We then zip across to Cardston, Canada, to analyze the construction and dedication of the first temple outside of the United States of America.

In this episode we discuss church leaders adjusting to life after the war. Melanie Riwai-Couch, the Pacific Area Church History Manager for the Church History Department, and Jed Woodworth, the managing historian of the Saints project. We discuss Heber J. Grant's ascent as president of the church and the church in Pacific when Elder David O. McKay visits as part of his world tour.