Episode 123: The Sail before the Trail—The 19th Century Latter-day Saint Gathering to America (Fred E. Woods)
Release Date: 03/01/2025
Episode 11: Creating Relevance and Application (Susan Porter & Scott Esplin)
Y Religion
How do we help students take the gospel from the classroom and into their own lives? In this episode Sister Susan Porter and Dean of Religious Education Scott Esplin discuss ways teachers can help students take what they learn in class and apply it to their daily lives. Y Religion Presents: Gospel Teaching is a limited series podcast where, each week during summer 2025, expert teachers share insights that highlight key principles and practices of effective gospel teaching.
info_outline
Episode 10: Teaching the One (Phil Allred & Camey Andersen)
Y Religion
How do we find meaningful ways to connect one-on-one with our students? Teaching the gospel means more than delivering lessons—it means ministering to individuals, just as Christ did. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught, “We are to be our brother’s keeper. We cannot neglect this commission given by our Savior. We must be concerned for the one.” In this episode, professors Phil Allred and Camey Andersen explore how gospel teachers can fulfill this sacred charge. By reaching out with compassion, adapting their teaching to individual needs, and creating a space where everyone feels valued,...
info_outline
Episode 9: Answering Difficult Questions (Jenet Erickson & Brian Mead)
Y Religion
How do we respond with grace when faced with questions that challenge our deepest beliefs? In this episode, Professors Jenet Erickson and Brian Mead offer valuable insights into how we can lean into and thoughtfully respond to difficult questions. They explore a variety of approaches that emphasize addressing these questions with clarity and loving-kindness. Y Religion Presents: Gospel Teaching is a limited series podcast where, each week during summer 2025, expert teachers share insights that highlight key principles and practices of effective gospel teaching.
info_outline
Episode 8: Actively Engaging Learners (Tyler Griffin & Anthony Sweat)
Y Religion
What do we want learners to know, feel, and do with each lesson? In this episode professors Tyler Griffin and Anthony Sweat discuss strategies for incorporating active learning—ways to boost learning, motivation, and critical thinking by engaging participants in the educational process. By incorporating a variety of active learning techniques, teachers can lead students to intentional and meaningful ways of learning and participation. Y Religion Presents: Gospel Teaching is a limited series podcast where, each week during summer 2025, expert teachers share insights that highlight key...
info_outline
Episode 7: Asking Good Questions (Jan Martin & Jared Halverson)
Y Religion
How can teachers transform their classrooms into collaborative learning spaces? In this episode professors Jan Martin and Jared Halverson discuss the power of guiding discussions with open-ended, scripture-anchored questions. Not only does this approach spark exploration, but it also invites students to become co-teachers and share the learning journey. Y Religion Presents: Gospel Teaching is a limited series podcast where, each week during summer 2025, expert teachers share insights that highlight key principles and practices of effective gospel teaching.
info_outline
Episode 6: Amplifying Prophetic Voices (Barbara Morgan Gardner and Matt Richardson)
Y Religion
How can prophetic voices shape our teaching? In this episode Barbara Morgan Gardner and Matt Richardson explore how to teach with power by amplifying the words of prophets, seers, and revelators. They highlight how we can use the words of Church leaders to present key principles, explore prophetic invitations, and realize promised blessings. Y Religion Presents: Gospel Teaching is a limited series podcast where, each week during summer 2025, expert teachers share insights that highlight key principles and practices of effective gospel teaching.
info_outline
Episode 5: Teaching with the Scriptures (Gaye Strathearn & Joe Spencer)
Y Religion
The scriptures are our most powerful tools for teaching. President J. Reuben Clark Jr. explained that "[we] are to teach this Gospel using as [our] sources and authorities the Standard Works of the Church and the words of those whom God has called to lead His people in these last days." In this episode Professors Gaye Strathearn and Joe Spencer discuss the power of teaching with the scriptures. They highlight ways teachers can draw knowledge from and incorporate the scriptures into their teaching. Y Religion Presents: Gospel Teaching is a limited series podcast where, each week during...
info_outline
Episode 4: Teaching by the Spirit (Hank Smith & Ryan Sharp)
Y Religion
How does the Holy Ghost assist in our preparation and delivery of lessons? In this episode professors Hank Smith and Ryan Sharp demystify what it means to teach by the Spirit. They discuss ways to invite the Spirit to guide both teachers and learners. Y Religion Presents: Gospel Teaching is a limited series podcast where, each week during summer 2025, expert teachers share insights that highlight key principles and practices of effective gospel teaching.
info_outline
Episode 3: Organizing a Lesson (Mark L. Pace and Ken Alford)
Y Religion
The Lord has invited, “Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand” (Doctrine & Covenants 88:78, emphasis added). In this episode President Mark L. Pace and Professor Ken Alford discuss resources and methods for organizing ourselves and preparing to teach a lesson. Y Religion Presents: Gospel Teaching is a limited series podcast where, each week during summer 2025,...
info_outline
Episode 2: Knowing Your Audience (Emily Belle Freeman & Brad Wilcox)
Y Religion
How do you prepare and adjust a message to connect with those you are leading? What methods can teachers—from all backgrounds and experiences—use when preparing for different teaching moments? In this episode, sister Emily Belle Freeman and Professor Brad Wilcox discuss tips on knowing and connecting with your audience when preparing and leading lessons. Y Religion Presents: Gospel Teaching is a limited series podcast where, each week during summer 2025, expert teachers share insights that highlight key principles and practices of effective gospel teaching.
info_outlinePrior to their exodus west, nearly 90,000 converts journeyed across the seas to join the saints in America. In this episode Fred E. Woods, professor of Church history and doctrine, details the faith and immigration experiences of these saints as he discusses his recent publication Ports to Posts: Latter-day Saints Gathering in the Nineteenth Century. Professor Woods explores the port of Liverpool, England, the main point of embarkment for many converts, examines sailing conditions across the Atlantic for converts and non-converts alike, and details the arrival of these early pioneers into American harbors and the various posts they made contact with along the way. In addition to exploring how these converts gathered unto Zion, Professor Woods shares why so many members left their homelands to “be gathered in unto one place” (Doctrine & Covenants 29:7).
Publications:
-
Ports to Posts: Latter-day Saint Gathering in the Nineteenth Century (University of Nebraska Press, 2025)
-
“The Saints of Las Vegas” (Y Religion, episode 82, 2023)
-
Bright Lights in the Desert: The Latter-day Saints of Las Vegas (University of Nevada Press, 2023)
-
The Latter-day Saint Image in the British Mind (Greg Kofford Books, 2022)
-
Saints of Tonga: A Century of Island Faith (Religious Studies Center, 2019)
-
Kalaupapa: The Mormon Experience in an Exiled Community (Religious Studies Center, 2017)
-
Sacred and Historical Places Hawai’i: A Guide to LDS Historic Sites in Hawai’i with Mary Jane Woodger and Riley Moffat (Mormon Historic Sites Foundation, 2016)
-
“Launching Mormonism in the South Pacific: The Voyage of the Timoleon” in The Growth and Development of Mormon Missionary Work (Religious Studies Center, 2012)
Click here to learn more about Fred E. Woods