Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones

For years, many Latter-day Saints have looked at declining activity rates and wondered the same thing:

Is the Church failing?

In this episode, I sit down with BYU Studies Editor-in-Chief Justin Dyer to examine what the data actually says about retention, religiosity, mental health, and why people leave faith. What we found surprised me.

While religious participation has declined dramatically across the United States, the data reveals that Latter-day Saints continue to retain active members at higher rates than nearly every other Christian denomination. The question may not be, “What’s going wrong with the Church?” but rather, “What is happening to religion, community, and identity as a whole?”

We discuss the four major groups of people who leave the Church, why many never completely close the door on returning, how politics increasingly shapes religious belief, and what predicts whether someone stays connected to faith over time.

We also explore a striking idea found in Doctrine and Covenants Section 1: that God foresaw the challenges of our day and provided guidance for navigating them. According to Justin’s research, the strongest predictor of whether someone remains connected to their faith isn’t simply church attendance or religious habits. It’s whether they consistently experience God in their lives.

Whether you are a parent worried about a child who has left the Church, someone wrestling with questions about faith, or simply trying to understand what is happening in our culture, this conversation offers both data and hope.

"I, Nephi . . . ." We’ve all read the beginning of the Book of Mormon.

Lehi is warned. Nephi is sent back. Laban is drunk. The story moves fast and feels familiar.

But what if we’ve been reading it without understanding the setting it's unfolding in?

In this episode, I sit down with church historian and former "ex-Mormon" atheist Don Bradley to explore a clue hiding in plain sight, one that tells us more about the "lost 116 pages" and reframes how we see the Book of Mormon's entire opening sequence - and the book itself. Not by changing its meaning, but by grounding it in its original sacred context.

The beginning of the Book of Mormon isn't just happening randomly. It’s taking place during a specific moment in the Jewish calendar, a festival setting that adds layers of clarity to what’s happening and why, refocusing the story from being about Lehi's escape from Jerusalem to being about your own deliverance and the redemption of the world.

Once you see it, the timing, the tension, and even the actions of key figures start to come into sharper focus.

We don’t just revisit the story. We slow it down, connect the dots, and explore what was there all along.

If you’ve ever felt like there’s more going on in the scriptures than what’s on the surface, this conversation will change how you read them.

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The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon's Missing Stories
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-116-Pages-Reconstructing-Mormons/dp/158958760X

"A Passover Setting for Lehi's Exodus," published in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Scripture
https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/a-passover-setting-for-lehis-exodus

Most people don't walk away from their faith in a dramatic moment. They don't deconstruct overnight. They slowly stop caring.

In this episode of Let’s Get Real, I sit down with David Snell from  @keystonelds   to talk about the quiet threat that is pulling more people away than doubt or hard questions.

What happens when your faith was built on other people and they let you down? What do you do when belief stops feeling simple and starts becoming complicated? Why do so many people get stuck right there?

We talk about why apathy matters more than controversy, the difference between borrowed belief and personal conviction, and how faith naturally moves through stages of simplicity and complexity. We also break down why testimony is something that must be built over time instead of relying on a single answer.

This is not a conversation about easy solutions. It is about what actually holds when things get difficult.

If you have ever felt your faith drifting, this episode will help you understand why and what you can do about it.

Some think healing means being kind, moving on, and keeping the peace.

But what if that approach is actually keeping people stuck?

We’re taught to avoid discomfort. We’re taught not to make things worse. We’re taught that compassion means letting things go. But over time, the same pain keeps coming back, and the same wounds never fully heal.

In this conversation, author and victim's advocate Sage Williams challenges that idea.

Real healing is not about pretending the past didn’t happen. It is not about avoiding hard things. It is about bringing things into the light, telling the truth about what is there, and embracing accountability, even when it feels uncomfortable.

Sometimes healing feels worse before it gets better. That does not mean something is wrong. It may mean you are finally facing what is real.

We talk about why being nice can sometimes make things worse, why accountability is often misunderstood, and what it actually looks like to heal in a way that lasts.

This is not the easiest path. But it might be the most honest one.

Buy Sage's book: 
https://www.deseretbook.com/product/6078641.html?srsltid=AfmBOor7biC4Pbce5FJ1sW5ok_bbDK9p8G4MHryQYoZTUcIJlGJpEcdP

https://a.co/d/044Hl04v

Many people think faith is declining.

Ben Hancock has worked behind the scenes on one of the world’s top podcasts, alongside voices like Chris Williamson of "Modern Wisdom" and interacting with some of the most influential thinkers in media.

From the inside, he noticed something unexpected.

Not open hostility, but a quiet dismissal of faith in certain elite circles.

At the same time, he is seeing something very different on the ground, especially among young people.

Not decline.
A quiet return.

In this episode, we explore:
• What it is like being a Latter-day Saint inside high-level media circles
• The gap between elite perception and lived reality
• Why the “faith is dying” narrative does not tell the full story
• What might actually be happening right now

If you have ever wondered whether faith is really disappearing, this conversation will challenge what you think you know.