Church History Matters Podcast — Episode 184 Summary

Title: Merry Christmas! What's Next for Church History Matters with Scott and Casey? (E52 December 22-28)
Date: December 16, 2025
Hosts: Scott and Casey (Scripture Central)

Overview: Main Theme and Purpose

In this special holiday episode, Scott and Casey reflect on their year-long journey through the Doctrine and Covenants, express gratitude to listeners, and discuss exciting changes coming for 2026. The hosts announce a transition from the "Come, Follow Me" format to their original deep-dive series exploring complex and controversial topics in Latter-day Saint Church history. They outline upcoming topics, explain the reasoning for the shift, and invite active listener participation going forward.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Reflecting on the Doctrine and Covenants Series

• Both hosts express appreciation for the collaborative learning and audience engagement over the past year.
  • “Doing a deep dive into every single section and going over almost every single verse has just been a joy and a pleasure.” — Casey (00:46)
• Scott cites the value of communal study:
  • “Scripture was written to be read in community….the more I’ve thought about that, the more I just have to wholeheartedly agree.” — Scott (01:20)
• The sense of gratitude extends to the audience:
  • “Those of you that have invited us into your home or community, we are really, really grateful to have had the opportunity.” — Casey (01:42)

2. 2026 Changes: No “Come, Follow Me” Old Testament Series

• After much deliberation, Scott and Casey announce they won’t be leading the Old Testament series for "Come, Follow Me."
  • “We made the decision that we are not going to do the Old Testament. Come, Follow Me.” — Casey (02:06)
• Instead, their friend John Hilton III will spearhead a new Old Testament format for Scripture Central, described as a “classroom with a live studio audience.”
  • “Enjoy the Old Testament with our friend John Hilton. We can’t endorse him enough. He’s fantastic.” — Scott (03:10)

3. Returning to Deep-Dive Church History Series

• The hosts return to the podcast’s original mission: exploring difficult, nuanced topics in church history.
  • “Our original vision for Church History Matters was not to do Come, Follow Me, but to do series that do deep dives into really challenging issues in church history.” — Casey (04:01)
• Past topics have included polygamy, race and the priesthood, multiple First Vision accounts, violence in Church history, the Book of Abraham, and Church finances.
  • “We’ve tackled some of the big ones...We did polygamy. We’ve done race and the priesthood. We’ve done multiple accounts of the first vision.” — Scott (04:12)

4. Purpose of Tackling Challenging Topics

• Scott emphasizes their intent is to help people navigate faith and complexity:
  • “Faith and complexity can coincide. So at the end of the day, we’re just trying to be helpful.” — Scott (05:21)
• Casey mentions the importance of equipping listeners:
  • “One of our series was actually called Good Thinking in Church History and Doctrine, which was kind of a teach-a-man-to-fish effort to give you the tools...” — Casey (06:09)
• Audience feedback and requests have heavily influenced their upcoming plans:
  • “One of the reasons why we’ve decided to go back to doing series on tough questions is listeners and viewers...have been reaching out to us and asking us to do series on specific topics.” — Casey (07:00)

New Deep-Dive Series Topics for 2026

Highlighted topics for upcoming multi-episode explorations:

• Women and the Priesthood
  • “Maybe that’s our number one most requested topic, isn’t it, Casey?” — Scott (07:43)
• The Word of Wisdom
  • “Let’s do the entire history of the Word of Wisdom throughout the history of the church and how it’s changed and developed over time.” — Casey (08:09)
• The Church in the Holy Land
  • Discussion of missions to Palestine, the BYU Jerusalem Center, and future prospects
• Brigham Young: Life and Controversies
  • “No shortage of controversy there…” — Scott (09:07)
• The King Follett Discourse and Nauvoo Discourses
  • Emphasis on the significance and the controversies surrounding these teachings
• History of the Salt Lake Temple
  • To coincide with its rededication and upcoming open house
• History of Polemics Against the Church
  • Exploring anti-Mormon arguments from early critics to present day, with potential participation from non-LDS scholars
  • “Another one I’m pretty excited about is the history of polemics against the Church…” — Scott (10:31)
• Historical Shifts on Zion
  • Lighthearted exchange joking about their disagreements on the topic

“There’s so much to talk about in church history that, I mean, I think we’ve got decades, if not centuries of material to go through…” — Casey (12:46)

First Series for 2026: Science and Religion

• Set to launch in early 2026, this new series will tackle the perceived conflicts (and potential harmony) between scriptural accounts (esp. Genesis/Creation) and scientific discovery.
• Guest interviews feature people of both faith and science.
  • “One of the most classic attacks on people of faith is to say that the Bible is contradicted by science… We want people to know that you can be both. You can be both a person of reason and be a person of faith…” — Casey (13:26)

Community Engagement and Feedback

• Listeners are encouraged to submit topic requests and participate in ongoing conversations, particularly through YouTube comments or via email through Scripture Central. Casey reads every YouTube comment and enjoys engaging with listeners.
  • “We just really love to hear and interact and we think of this whole venture as a big collaboration…” — Casey (15:34)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the show’s enduring mission:
  “Faith and complexity can coincide. So at the end of the day, we’re just trying to be helpful.” — Scott (05:21)
• On upcoming content:
  “We have decades, if not centuries of material to go through.” — Casey (12:46)
• On science and faith:
  “You can be both a person of reason and be a person of faith, the two are not enemies, that they can coexist and they can flourish together.” — Casey (13:43)
• Holiday Message:
  “Christmas is a time to remember that we are all children of a Father in heaven who gave his only begotten Son that all would be redeemed from death, and who has offered the blessings of salvation and exaltation to all mankind on the same conditions.” — President Dallin H. Oaks, quoted by Scott (15:54)

Technical and Channel Updates

• YouTube Listeners:
  The Church History Matters podcast will move to its own dedicated channel on YouTube for 2026 ("Church History Matters" channel).
• Audio Listeners:
  No changes; continue using existing podcast platforms and feeds.

Closing: Hosts’ Christmas Reflections

• The episode concludes with the hosts sharing gratitude, Christmas wishes, and reaffirming that their shared commitment is to help listeners find wisdom and faith amid the complexities of church history.

“What really started the history of the church was the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the founder and the true head of this church.” — Casey (16:36)

“Merry Christmas, everybody.” — Scott (17:59) and Casey (18:01)

[End of Episode 184 Summary]