Bruce R. McConkie left a lasting legacy as an Apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. People still talk about his mastery of the scriptures, the controversial impact of Mormon Doctrine, and his correspondence with Eugene England. Elder McConkie’s final testimony also remains profoundly influential, having marked a shift in the way Latter-day Saints talk about Jesus Christ. We’ll cover all of these things and more in our introduction to the life of Bruce Redd McConkie.
The “gods” of Psalm 82 were originally divine beings who governed foreign nations in the Hebrew Bible. In the scripture’s heavenly courtroom scene, YHWH stripped the lesser deities of their godhood as a punishment for failing to protect the poor and needy. In doing so, he asserted himself not just as the god of Israel, but also as the sovereign Lord of all nations. Centuries later, Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6 in John 10 to defend himself against a charge of blasphemy. By citing the famous line, “I said, ‘You are gods,'” Jesus leveraged a rabbinic tradition that applied the text to human beings, influencing the way we now view humanity and divinity. In this interview, Bible scholar Dan McClellan walks through the psalm’s historical context, its New Testament reinterpretation, and its modern legacy among Latter-day Saints.
Brigham Young is one of the most influential figures in the history of the American West. As the prophetic successor to Joseph Smith, he engineered a westward exodus of tens of thousands of pioneer Latter-day Saints, earning the nickname “American Moses.” Young’s subsequent leadership in Utah evoked both praise and scorn. On one hand, he founded 350+ settlements, built the Salt Lake Temple, and testified of Christ. On the other hand, the pioneer prophet married 55 wives, instituted a racial priesthood ban, and used violent rhetoric that sparked the Mountain Meadows Massacre. In the end, he was a complex man who could inspire both love and fear.
Marion D. Hanks was called as a general authority in 1953 at the age of 31. During his 40 years of service, he cleaned up the mess left by “baseball baptisms,” worked with youth, and trained general authorities such as Dallin H. Oaks, Russell M. Nelson, and Jeffrey R. Holland. Hanks also developed a reputation as someone who advocated for Christlike service over institutional statistics. His son, Richard D. Hanks, talks about the first biography of his father in this interview.
The Pharisees were a group of people at the time of Christ with a set of beliefs recognizable by outsiders. However, exactly what those beliefs were remains a hotly debated question. Scholars have begun to agree upon several common characteristics of Pharisees, can clearly distinguish them from Sadducees, and often note that the sect receives unfair treatment in the gospels. In this interview, New Testament scholar Thomas Wayment discusses what scholars currently think about who the Pharisees were.
In the Bible, ḥesed signifies a bond of steadfast loyalty and kindness that defines a relationship’s enduring commitment. While the word is often rendered as “mercy” in the King James Version, it more accurately describes a “pact” requiring mutual fidelity between Israel and God. This bilateral bond is especially exemplified in the Book of Ruth and the Psalms, where human devotion mirrors the unbreakable nature of God’s covenant: even in moments of exile or despair, ḥesed offers a reassuring promise of God’s empathetic concern. In this interview, translator Robert Alter discusses the nuanced meanings of ḥesed in the Hebrew Bible.
Joseph F. Smith (remember the “F”) was not only the son of Hyrum Smith, but an important leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his own right, whose quotes are important, even today. He was known for his focus on Church organization and the cosmology of the afterlife and the resurrection, as well as for laying the foundations for the systematic theology that would later be expressed through his son (Joseph Fielding Smith) and his grandson-in-law (Bruce R. McConkie). Much like the Dallin H. Oaks Quotes page, this page is a curated collection of quotes dealing with topics ranging from advice to the priesthood, the scriptures, and more.
The Bells at Temple Square is a premier handbell ensemble in Salt Lake City that performs intricate music with hundreds of handbells and handchimes as part of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Since its founding in 2005, the ensemble has inspired audiences through its musical skill and spiritual purpose, performing in semiannual concerts, at national events, and in broadcasts such as Music and the Spoken Word. In this interview, Conductor Geoff Anderson explains what the group is, recounts how he got involved, and discusses the evolving legacy of the Bells at Temple Square.
Utah pioneer music was a sophisticated and cosmopolitan blend of European tradition and local ingenuity that went far beyond simple folk tunes or choral hymns. While early settlers are often associated with rustic campfire songs, archival discoveries demonstrate a thriving culture of brass bands, theatrical orchestras, and virtuosic instrumental performances. From the recovery of a lost march once thought to be buried in the Salt Lake Temple capstone to the complex arrangements used in the Salt Lake Theatre, these scores demonstrate the high technical standards maintained in Latter-day Saint settlements. In this interview, BYU trumpet professor Randy Lee explains how he is reviving these forgotten 19th-century manuscripts through his Legends of Deseret project.
Genealogy in early America functioned as a vital legal and political infrastructure rather than a simple personal hobby. While Revolutionary leaders publicly rejected inherited political power, they still relied heavily on family trees to dictate property rights, establish social credit, and enforce the laws of coverture and slavery. From George Washington tracking inheritances on a two-sided chart to everyday citizens recording lineages in almanac margins and on stitch samplers, ancestry acted as an inescapable cultural currency. In this interview, historian Karin Wulf explores how tracing these deeply embedded family connections reshapes our understanding of the nation’s founding.