Scholars & Saints Season 4 Episode 2 Releases on Mormon Temple Garments

The fourth season of Scholars & Saints continues! Host Nicholas Shrum (PhD Student in American Religions at the University of Virginia), will continue to explore some of the most pressing issues, unique histories, and cutting-edge methods in Mormon Studies.

Season 4 Episode 2 – Mormon Temple Garments (feat. Nancy Ross & Jessica Finnigan)

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have received special undergarments as part of their temple endowment ceremonies since the days of Jospeh Smith. But what are these garments? How do they fit and feel? How have they changed with fashion trends over the years? And how do Latter-day Saints perceive and experience these garments as an embodied practice of their religion?

Researchers Nancy Ross and Jessica Finnigan sit down with host Nicholas Shrum to discuss these and many other questions from their brand-new book (co-authored with Larissa Kanno Kindred) Mormon Garments: Sacred and Secret (University of Illinois Press). Having surveyed thousands of Latter-day Saints, Ross and Finnigan discuss their findings on the gendered difference in garment wearing, the ways in which garments make Mormonism feel embodied, the social costs of wearing — or not wearing — garments, the complexities of researching such a taboo topic, and the impact of these garments on the individual Latter-day Saints’ relationship to the Church and God.

Nancy Ross is an associate professor and the department chair of the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Department at Utah Tech University. She was also a 2024 Clyde Research Fellow in Mormonism and Gender in the UVA Mormon Studies Prince Collection.

Jessica Finnigan is the founder of Fractional Project Manager and a seasoned researcher and data analyst. She has been researching and writing about Mormonism — particularly the experience of Mormon women — for over a decade.

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What is Scholars and Saints?

Scholars & Saints is the official podcast of the University of Virginia’s Mormon Studies program, housed in the Department of Religious Studies. Scholars & Saints is a venue of public scholarship that promotes respectful dialogue about Latter-day Saint traditions among laypersons and academics. On this podcast, we dive into the academic study of Mormonism, engage recent and classic scholarship, interview prominent and up-and-coming thinkers in the field and reflect on Mormonism’s relevance to the broader study of religion.

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