Women have always played a large role in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But how do women today, especially women of color, negotiate their faith through a historically patriarchal religion? And how can western scholars really probe this issue for women around the globe, without enforcing their own pre-conceived paradigms? On this episode of Scholars & Saints, Nicholas speaks with Dr. Caroline Kline, Assistant Director for Global Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University, about her 2022 book, Mormon Women at the Crossroads: Global Narratives and the Power of Connectedness. Dr. Kline engages oral histories from her ethnographic study of Mormon women of color in the U.S., Botswana, and Mexico. In so doing, she presents two major theoretical lenses that look at Mormon women's agency from their own perspective: through connectedness to loving families, strong communities, and a profoundly loving, personal God.

To find out more about Dr. Kline and her upcoming projects, click here.

This bonus episode of Scholars & Saints is taken from the Tenth Annual Joseph Smith Lecture, delivered by UVA's new Director of Mormon Studies, Laurie Maffly-Kipp at the Darden Center in Rosslyn, Va on October 19, 2024. Click here for more information about Prof. Maffly-Kipp and her lecture.

Each fall, the University of Virginia's Mormon Studies Program sponsors the Joseph Smith Lecture Series: a public lecture on religion in public life, with particular emphasis on religious liberty and civic leadership. The Lecture is designed to honor the legacies of both Thomas Jefferson and Joseph Smith but is not limited to either the American or Mormon experience. If you like or learn from what you hear, we would appreciate your support of the Joseph Smith Lecture Series Endowment Fund.

This bonus episode of Scholars & Saints is taken from the 2023 University of Virginia Mormon Studies research workshop entitled: "Mormonism in Africa and the African Diaspora." During the workshop, biomedical pathologist and LDS historian Dr. Gregory A. Prince delivered remarks on the depth of materials and research potentiality within the Gregory A. Prince Collection, a compilation of historical LDS documents and research materials Dr. Prince donated to UVA. To learn more about Dr. Prince and his collection, watch his interview with former Bushman Chair of Mormon Studies, Kathleen Flake, or browse his digital research excerpts.

For more information, including lecture slides and transcript, please visit this link: https://mormonstudies.as.virginia.edu/event/research-workshop-mormonism-in-africa-and-the-african-diaspora-open-to-the-public/