Although some Latter-day Saints fly American flags on July 24th to celebrate settling in the Rocky Mountains, the irony is that the pioneer Saints were desperately trying to flee the USA. After years of being persecuted, Church leaders concluded that the existing US government would not protect their civil and religious rights as a minority group, and the Saints decided to leave. In this fascinating episode, Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat shares his research on this history, along with lessons learned for today.

Each year, Brigham Young University Religious Education professors produce hundreds of publications on subjects related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This podcast brings this research into one place to enlighten the everyday seeker of truth. Interviewing the author, we discuss why the study was done, why it matters, and why the professor chooses to be both a scholar and a disciple. This is Y Religion: Research to Enlighten Your Mind.

Y Religion podcast episodes are available every two weeks and can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Pandora, and on the web at https://rsc.byu.edu/media/y-religion