The latest, greatest one-volume history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was published just in time for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential bid. It’s Matthew Bowman’s The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith. He’s been all over the place since the book came out, including appearances in Slate, the Huffington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, and on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

In this episode, Bowman talks about the genesis and production of his new book. Find out why he describes Bruce R. McConkie as a “Progressive-minded” leader, and why he sees the LDS Correlation department as being a sort of “catechism” constructor. We also discuss Bowman’s view of how the media has treated Mormonism during this, the latest of many Mormon moments.

Bowman earned his Ph.D. in American religious history at Georgetown University. He currently teaches that exact subject at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. He’s also the associate editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought and the author of a variety of award-winning articles on Mormonism.

Questions or comments about this episode can be sent to podcast@fairlds.org. Or, join the conversation in the comments here. 

Runtime: 69:48

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