Podcast
Maxwell Institute Podcast
Hosted by Maxwell Institute Podcast · EN
Where faith and scholarship have a nice dinner conversation.
38episodes
Episodes
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Abigail in Between: Reflections on 1 Samuel 25
6d ago00:15:43Tap to summarizeIn 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.
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Saul Among the Prophets: Reflections on 1 Samuel 8–16
2w ago00:17:35Tap to summarizeKristian 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.
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The Beauty and Risks of Costly Love: Lessons from Ruth
3w ago00:14:20Tap to summarizeRosalynde 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.
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Longing for a Better Way: Reflections on the Book of Judges
4w ago00:10:04Tap to summarizeJ. B. Haws examines the story of Gideon in Judges, highlighting its moral tension and unanswered questions. This reflection invites readers to consider how faith, power, and human weakness intersect—and why these ancient stories leave us longing for a higher, more Christlike way.
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“As I Was with Moses”: The Book of Joshua and Filling Prophetic Shoes
May 1800:06:32Tap to summarizeScott Esplin reflects on Joshua’s calling to succeed Moses and the Lord’s promise, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.” This essay explores how faith in God’s constancy helps us move beyond comparison and find courage in our own callings.
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“Hear, O Israel“: Reflections on Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34
May 1100:09:37Tap to summarizeAndrew Reed reflects on Moses’s final teachings in Deuteronomy, highlighting covenant remembrance, holiness, care for the poor, prophetic succession, and trust in God’s promises.
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Perceiving the Wild Abundance of the Wilderness: Thoughts on Numbers 11–14, 20–24, 27
May 400:08:20Tap to summarizeIn the wilderness of Numbers, suffering and abundance exist side by side. Robbie Taggart explores how God’s grace can feel both daily and overflowing—and how our ability to perceive divine abundance, even in hardship, shapes whether we wander in despair or awaken to the promised land already before us.
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Beginning Again: Reflections on Exodus 35–40 and Leviticus
Apr 2700:08:55Tap to summarizeWhat does it mean to begin again? Drawing on Exodus 35–40 and Leviticus, Jennifer Champoux shows how ancient patterns of covenant and cleansing reveal Christ’s power to offer renewal, healing, and fresh starts.
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Maxwell Institute Podcast #203: Student Spotlight, with Melissa Jensen and Sam Petersen
Apr 2200:36:08Tap to summarizeTwo research assistants at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University join Rosalynde F. Welch to reflect on the questions, ideas, and mentorship that shaped their work. Melissa Faith Jensen shares what her study of miracles in the Book of Mormon taught her about divine help, faithful action, and the way scripture shapes how we see God at work in our lives. Sam Petersen explores Joseph Smith’s teachings on sacred matter, pointing to a vision of the world in which material things can hold deep spiritual meaning.Together, they discuss disciple scholarship as a way of seeking truth with Jesus Christ at the center through curiosity, rigor, and faith. Their conversations offer a thoughtful look at how serious study can shape belief, deepen discipleship, and prepare people to live lives of service and purpose.
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God’s Trustworthiness and Becoming a Kingdom of Priests: Reflections on Exodus 19–20
Apr 20Tap to summarizeIn Exodus 19–20, God invites Israel into a covenant relationship built on trust, not transaction. Avram Shannon explores how this covenant was meant to shape Israel into “a kingdom of priests” and what that vision means for us today as we learn to trust God—before we even know what He will ask.
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