Episodes

When people tried to understand Jesus, some compared him to Jeremiah. What might they have recognized in common between the two prophets? J.B. Haws explores parallels in their words and actions, from their challenges to religious leaders to their warnings about the temple. Their example points beyond boldness alone to a deeper call: confronting self-deception and looking beyond outward appearances.

In this reflection on Isaiah 60, Rosalynde Welch explores homecoming as a scriptural image for the gathering of Israel, the Savior’s return, and God’s desire to dwell among his people. Tracing seven moments of divine presence—from Eden to the Restoration—she invites readers to see the world as God’s home and Christ as its homecoming.

Dr. John B. White, a visiting research fellow at BYU’s Maxwell Institute, joins Rosalynde Welch to discuss his remarkable journey to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He reflects on the spiritual experiences that influenced his conversion, including reading the Book of Mormon, visiting the Sacred Grove, and finding a welcoming community among Church members. Despite significant personal and professional sacrifices, these experiences led him to choose baptism. Drawing on his backgr...

Katie Paxman reflects on Isaiah 50–57, exploring shame, divine nearness, Christ’s redeeming work, and the hope of restoration.

Morgan Davis explores how Isaiah 40–49 contrasts God’s true creation with human-made idols and what that contrast teaches about self-deception, repentance, and God’s enduring care.

J. B. Haws reflects on Isaiah 35, President Gordon B. Hinckley’s words at Neal A. Maxwell’s funeral, and poetry’s unusual power to offer hope and consolation.

Joseph M. Spencer examines the structure of Isaiah 1–12 and how its shape, reflected in the Book of Mormon, reveals a story of covenant, disaster, promise, and redemption.

Philip Barlow explores Ecclesiastes, its poetic form and pessimistic outlook, and what its realism, skepticism, and uncertainty can contribute to Latter-day Saint faith.

This is Episode 1 of Faith in Every Footnote, a mentorship podcast for graduate students. All 10 episodes of the series can be found on the Faith in Every Footnote show on Apple Podcasts, as well as on Spotify and YouTube. As a preview of the series, this episode is being shared on the Maxwell Institute Podcast. In this inaugural episode of Faith in Every Footnote, Spencer Fluhman, historian and former director of the Institute, joins Rosalynde Welch, Shawn Tucker, and graduate student co-host ...

This episode of the Maxwell Institute Podcast features the trailer for Faith in Every Footnote, a separate ten episode podcast miniseries from The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Listen to and follow Faith in Every Footnote on Apple Podcasts Faith in Every Footnote is a mentorship podcast for graduate students navigating the challenges of academic life while strengthening their faith in Jesus Christ. Hosts Rosalynde Welch and Shawn Tucker, alongside student hosts Noah Adam...

Rosalynde Welch reflects on Psalm 102, showing how lament can become praise and deepen discipleship amid suffering.

Thomas B. Griffith reflects on Psalm 69 and the difficult psalms of complaint and vengeance, exploring how honest, inherited prayers can deepen discipleship, reshape the heart, and strengthen a believer’s relationship with God.

Kim Matheson reflects on the Psalms as prayers for every human season, showing how lament, fear, anger, gratitude, and praise can all draw us toward God.

Steve Peck reflects on Job, suffering, creation, and ancient bristlecone pines to consider how God’s world can humble, unsettle, and enlarge our search for meaning.

Rosalynde Welch reflects on Esther through a 1985 Relief Society performance by her mother, showing how scripture takes on new meaning as each generation interprets, performs, and applies it to its own time.

Rosalynde Welch examines Ezra and Nehemiah as a story of rebuilding religious authority through scripture, covenant renewal, temple worship, and the people’s renewed trust in God.

Morgan Davis reflects on Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Passover to explore the difference between prideful presumption and humble covenant-seeking when imperfect circumstances complicate obedience.

Morgan Davis reflects on the prophet Huldah’s crucial role in 2 Kings 22, where her prophetic witness confirmed the authority of the rediscovered book of the law and helped shape Josiah’s reforms. Though often overlooked, Huldah stands as a significant figure in the formation of biblical faith and sacred history.

In this essay on 2 Kings 2–7, Philip Barlow reflects on Elisha’s miracles and asks what miracles are for, how we should understand them, and what place they ought to have in a life of faith.

Morgan Davis reflects on Elijah’s encounter with the still small voice in 1 Kings 19, exploring how God’s quiet instruction challenges zeal, violence, and spiritual overconfidence. In a world often drawn to loudness and certainty, Elijah’s story invites us to listen again for the voice of perfect mildness.

Avram Richard Shannon reflects on the complex story of David, Bath-sheba, and Uriah, inviting readers to seek moral and spiritual lessons from scripture without oversimplifying the lives of real people.

In this reflection on 1 Samuel 25, Kristian Heal explores Abigail’s courageous peacemaking between David and Nabal and invites readers to consider how Christ can transform foolishness, resentment, and offense into wisdom, reconciliation, and peace.

Kristian Heal considers Saul’s calling, the Spirit’s role in shaping Israel’s leaders, and the deeper theological debate over kingship in the books of Samuel. Drawing on Deuteronomy, Judges, and later texts, he explores what Saul’s rise and decline reveal about covenant responsibility, prophetic authority, and the kind of king Israel was meant to have.

Rosalynde F. Welch explores the book of Ruth through the lens of “costly love,” considering the beautiful and complicated ways Orpah, Ruth, and Boaz each respond to need, loyalty, and covenant. The article asks what faithful self-giving looks like when sacrifice is both spiritually powerful and morally risky.