Category: Come Follow Me

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Latter-day Saint History Theology

What Did the First Presidency Say About Evolution in 1909 and 1925?

Sepia illustration of early 20th-century Latter-day Saint leaders symbolizing the Church’s evolution discourse—featuring Joseph F. Smith, B.H. Roberts, James E. Talmage, and Joseph Fielding Smith, with background elements representing science and scripture.

In 1909 and 1925, the First Presidency stated that the Church has no official position on evolution. Shaped by their historical contexts, these statements reflected a range of views among Church leaders at the time. Decades later, Joseph Fielding Smith reinterpreted the statements, promoting a rigid anti-evolution stance that was not originally intended. Due in part to his prominence, this interpretation soon became the prevailing view among many Latter-day Saints. In this interview, Dr. Ben Spackman discusses his chapter about the First Presidency statements in a new BYU evolution book.

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Quotes

Wilford Woodruff Quotes: A Prophet’s Insights

A side by side graphic featuring Wilford Woodruff next to a prophetic quote.

This collection of Wilford Woodruff quotes highlights his teachings on revelation, temple work, record keeping, the Holy Ghost, and more. He kept a detailed journal that has served as a core resource for historians, enabling the compilation of Woodruff sayings similar to our Dallin H. Oaks quotes page. This curated collection deals with topics ranging from the afterlife to true religion. Please leave a comment if there’s a quote you’d like considered for inclusion.

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Ancient history New Testament

How Close Were Jesus and the Pharisees?

A painting of Jesus healing a blind man while surrounded by Pharisees, as portrayed by Jorge Cocco in "I was Blind, but Now I See."
"I Was Blind, but Now I See," by Jorge Cocco. Used by permission.

The relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees is often reduced to hostility and hypocrisy. But the New Testament tells a more complicated story—one of shared meals, theological debate, and overlapping commitments to the Torah. Far from being outsiders to Judaism, Jesus and the Pharisees were part of the same religious world, sometimes clashing, sometimes converging. In this interview, New Testament scholar Jens Schröter helps unpack that complexity.

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Latter-day Saint History Scriptures Theology

Are There 3 Degrees in the Celestial Kingdom?

A symbolic depiction of layered heavenly light representing the possible degrees within the Celestial Kingdom, with radiant tiers ascending into celestial blue.

Did Joseph Smith teach that there are three degrees within the Celestial Kingdom? Modern Latter-day Saints often interpret Doctrine and Covenants 131 as supporting that view, referencing “three heavens or degrees.” However, historical evidence—including the original William Clayton journal entry—suggests this interpretation may be based on a misunderstanding of early terminology like “celestial glory.” In this interview, Bryan Buchanan builds on Shannon Flynn’s research to explore what Joseph Smith may have actually meant and how the idea of levels within the Celestial Kingdom evolved over time.

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Intellectualism Latter-day Saint History Theology

What Should Latter-day Saints Know About BYU’s Evolution Book?

Composite image showing a DNA strand, open scriptures, and the BYU campus—representing the themes of faith, science, and education in the BYU evolution book.

The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and Evolution is designed to help students reconcile faith in the Savior with scientific understanding of evolution. Published by BYU Life Sciences, the book affirms the Church’s neutral stance on evolution, corrects common misconceptions, and offers practical tools for bridging religion and science. In this interview, co-editor Jamie Jensen shares the book’s origins, purpose, and why this kind of reconciliation matters.

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Bible

“The Bible Says So”: An Interview with Dan McClellan

A headshot of Data Over Dogma podcast host, Dan McClellan, who also authored the religion book, "The Bible Says So."

Biblical scholar Dan McClellan invites readers to reconsider the idea that the Bible speaks for itself in his new book, The Bible Says So. Driven by a love for the ancient text, McClellan works to make scholarship more accessible, both through his writing and his “data over dogma” approach on social media. In this interview, he explains why the Bible’s meaning depends on interpretation, how authority is understood, and how readers sometimes bring their own assumptions to the text.

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Quotes

Latter-day Saint Quotes About Faith

Latter-day Saint quotes on faith include stories like Jesus walking on water.

Joseph Smith echoed the words of Paul to the Romans in an 1839 discourse: “Faith comes by hearing the word of God.” Similarly, it was New Testament teachings about faith that led him to the Sacred Grove, and President Russell M. Nelson teaches that faith in God will move mountains. These Latter-day Saint quotes on faith in Jesus Christ include selections from BYU Devotionals, general conferences, and the standard works.

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Devotional Theology

The Resurrection We Didn’t Expect

Symbolic painting of Christ’s empty garden tomb at dawn, with golden light pouring from the entrance—evoking the miracle of resurrection and new life.

Paul’s thought did not run from plight to solution, but rather from solution to plight. -E. P. Saunders

Jewish people did not see themselves as in a dire predicament from which they needed rescue. By virtue of their place in the covenant, God’s loving care was the precondition in which they found themselves; their task was to honor the law as a pledge of their desire to maintain their blessedness. Neither did the apostle Paul “perceive himself to have a ‘plight’ from which he needed salvation.”

That is a version of Christianity we have rather imposed upon the past, largely a heritage of the fourth century, when it became common to think of the human condition as one in need of rescue.

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Book excerpts Devotional

Easter Weekend: An Essay by Eugene England

An abandoned theater with an empty stage illuminated by a single spotlight, evoking themes of self-reckoning and existential struggle in Eugene England’s Easter Weekend essay.

It might have been 1986, because Easter came in March and I was on my way to Montreal. But I went to see Dustin Hoffman in The Death of a Sales­man (bought a ticket at the last minute from a scalper), so it must have been two years earlier on my way to Boston.

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Doctrine and Covenants

Agency: Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants

The Last Judgment (Washington D.C. Temple Mural) painting of the Savior with the righteous on his right hand and wicked on his left, reflecting the importance of agency as a theme in the Doctrine and Covenants.
The Last Judgment by John Scott. Image courtesy churchofjesuschrist.org

The Doctrine and Covenants includes discussion about agency and free will. A volume from the Maxwell Institute’s Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants series looks at what agency means, the extent to which it exists, and what that means for disciples of Jesus Christ. In this interview, author Terryl Givens discusses his new book, Agency.

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