Faith Matters offers an expansive view of the Restored Gospel, thoughtful exploration of big and sometimes thorny questions, and a platform that encourages deep...
How to Have the Conversations You're Avoiding - A Conversation with Joseph Grenny
This week, we are so thrilled to bring you a conversation with Joseph Grenny. If you’ve ever read Crucial Conversations, Influencer, or Change Anything, then you already know the immense impact of Joseph’s work. His books have sold millions of copies and become essential texts for building trust, improving relationships, and transforming the way we communicate in every area of life—from families to Fortune 500 companies.Joseph is more than an author. He’s a social scientist, a business leader, and a force for good. He’s co-founded organizations like VitalSmarts and The Other Side Academy, the latter of which has redefined what it means to help people rebuild lives after addiction and incarceration. Joseph’s work is deeply practical and profoundly humane—it’s about understanding the moments that shape us, the conversations that define us, and the courage it takes to truly connect with each other.In this episode, we explore how to navigate the most emotionally charged and high-stakes conversations—what Joseph calls "moments of disproportionate influence." He shares insights on why avoiding hard conversations only compounds harm, how to speak honestly without losing relationships, and the unexpected ways crucial conversations can lead to healing and deeper connection.Joseph even offers tools for the moments we dread most: when values clash, when trust has eroded, or when we’re afraid our words will only make things worse. This conversation is full of wisdom, heart, and, yes, practical strategies you can use right away. Whether you’re looking to strengthen a marriage, or navigate a family faith transition, or just get better at work relationships, this one’s for you.We are so grateful Joseph joined us to share his hard-won insights, and we can’t wait for you to hear this. And with that, here’s our conversation with Joseph Grenny.
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The Power of Serving Together - A Conversation with Rebecca Glazier
Today, we’re excited to share our conversation with Dr. Rebecca Glazier, a Professor at the School of Public Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and author of the new book, Faith and Community: How Engagement Strengthens Members, Places of Worship, and Society. For over a decade, Rebecca has been researching how religious communities engage in their broader communities, and the findings are incredibly compelling.Rebecca’s work offers a powerful perspective on how congregations can heal divisions—not just within their walls but across society. Her research shows that when faith communities serve together and engage in meaningful outreach, they create what she calls “congregational warmth,” fostering deeper connections, stronger faith, and even healthier, more united communities generally.In this conversation, we discuss why service with our congregations, outside of the four walls of our church can be transformative, why young people today are more eager than ever to engage in meaningful service, and how worship spaces can be vital places for bridging political divides. Rebecca also shared insights on how interfaith partnerships and sustained community engagement can do the deep work of depolarization and create lasting impact.Her insights feel particularly relevant and important right now, and they’re also deeply hopeful. They show that small, consistent acts of service—especially when done together—can strengthen both our faith and our communities in profound ways.We absolutely loved this conversation and hope you come away from it as energized and inspired as we did. And with that, here’s our conversation with Rebecca Glazier.https://tupress.temple.edu/study-guides/faith-and-community.
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Gracing - A Conversation with Hannah Crowther
This week, we’re thrilled to share a conversation with Hannah Packard Crowther about her new book, Gracing, the latest release from Faith Matters Publishing. We love Hannah's profound wisdom, lyrical writing, and her invitation to reflect on grace in entirely new ways, the book also features stunning, original, artwork by J. Kirk Richards. Hannah asks—what if grace is not a gift we passively receive, but a dynamic process we actively engage in and co-create with God? Drawing from life’s ordinary moments and its most difficult experiences, she demonstrates how grace can infuse our actions, relationships, and even our struggles with meaning and beauty. The title, Gracing, reflects this vibrant view of grace as a verb—alive, present, and always moving through our lives.In this conversation, Hannah shares profound insights into creativity, community, and resilience, especially through the lens of her experience living with chronic illness and a body that sometimes resists her plans. She opens up about how those experiences have deepened her understanding of grace and shaped a more compassionate way of being. We also explore her heartfelt call to rethink how we care for those on the margins of our faith communities, including gender and sexual minorities, and to discover creative, courageous ways to embody grace in all our relationships.This conversation is warm, vulnerable, and full of wisdom and we hope you enjoy it!
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Our Beautiful, Messy, Unfolding Story - A Conversation with Lisa Olsen Tait and Scott Hales
This week, we’re thrilled to share a conversation with Lisa Olsen Tait and Scott Hales, two of the historians and general editors behind Saints, the Church’s official history series. With the release of Volume 4 which covers the years of 1955 to 2020, this monumental task of recounting the Church’s story from its founding to the present day is now complete.And in this candid discussion, Lisa and Scott reflect on the Church’s evolving approach to its own history through the years. They both share a deep commitment to transparency and accuracy and discuss how this volume takes deliberate steps to address challenging topics—including the priesthood and temple ban, the Church’s rapid global growth and subsequent correlation efforts of the 1960s, and how those changes shaped women’s roles and autonomy within the community.They share powerful stories of ordinary members navigating these pivotal moments. From Black Latter-day Saints who held onto hope during the painful years before 1978 to those who quietly and actively worked for change, these stories offer a vision of discipleship that embraced courage, resilience, creativity, and deep faith—a model that feels especially relevant today.This conversation was a beautiful reminder that each of us is part of a rich, unfolding history—a history that connects us to generations of Saints who faced their own challenges and whose courage and faithfulness have blessed us today. We hope it inspires you to see your own place in this story. And with that, here’s our conversation with Lisa and Scott.
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Loving God & Neighbor - Jared Halverson
Today, we're bringing you a special episode recorded live from the Restore gathering, where we were joined by Jared Halverson. Jared, who’s become a familiar voice to many of us here, spoke on what he calls “contraries” or paradoxes that are inherent in a life of faith. His message felt like a breath of fresh air and especially timely.He offers the powerful image of the cross as a symbol of wholeness in our discipleship. One axis, reaching vertically, represents our connection to God, while the horizontal beam represents the love and care we extend outward to embrace those around us. True discipleship, Jared explained, is this centerpoint. It requires both beams—it's a deep grounding in God that inspires us to reach out in love to others. And so, in this election week, Jared’s session feels like an invitation to love our neighbor. He boldly reminds us that the means matter, that "being right with God, does not justify being wrong with other people." So rather than allowing our differences to create distance, he challenges us to see the ways that truth is found in the tension of the paradox. This “both-and” approach allows us to see each other more fully and generously, creating connection that transcends our differences and reflects god's love.We’re so grateful for Jared’s wisdom in this session, and we hope his message helps you feel connected and inspired this week.
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.
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