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Morgan Davis explores how Isaiah 40–49 contrasts God’s true creation with human-made idols and what that contrast teaches about self-deception, repentance, and God’s enduring care.

J. B. Haws reflects on Isaiah 35, President Gordon B. Hinckley’s words at Neal A. Maxwell’s funeral, and poetry’s unusual power to offer hope and consolation.

Joseph M. Spencer examines the structure of Isaiah 1–12 and how its shape, reflected in the Book of Mormon, reveals a story of covenant, disaster, promise, and redemption.

Philip Barlow explores Ecclesiastes, its poetic form and pessimistic outlook, and what its realism, skepticism, and uncertainty can contribute to Latter-day Saint faith.

This is Episode 1 of Faith in Every Footnote, a mentorship podcast for graduate students. All 10 episodes of the series can be found on the Faith in Every Footnote show on Apple Podcasts, as well as on Spotify and YouTube. As a preview of the series, this episode is being shared on the Maxwell Institute Podcast. In this inaugural episode of Faith in Every Footnote, Spencer Fluhman, historian and former director of the Institute, joins Rosalynde Welch, Shawn Tucker, and graduate student co-host Noah Adams to discuss what it means to be a disciple-scholar. Together, they explore how scholarship centered on Jesus Christ can deepen discipleship, build Zion, and bring greater purpose and joy to graduate study.

This episode of the Maxwell Institute Podcast features the trailer for Faith in Every Footnote, a separate ten episode podcast miniseries from The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Listen to and follow Faith in Every Footnote on Apple Podcasts Faith in Every Footnote is a mentorship podcast for graduate students navigating the challenges of academic life while strengthening their faith in Jesus Christ. Hosts Rosalynde Welch and Shawn Tucker, alongside student hosts Noah Adams and Lara Buckwalter, sit down with leading scholars for candid conversations about faith, doubt, family life, the job search, and the joys and difficulties of graduate study.

Rosalynde Welch reflects on Psalm 102, showing how lament can become praise and deepen discipleship amid suffering.

Thomas B. Griffith reflects on Psalm 69 and the difficult psalms of complaint and vengeance, exploring how honest, inherited prayers can deepen discipleship, reshape the heart, and strengthen a believer’s relationship with God.

Kim Matheson reflects on the Psalms as prayers for every human season, showing how lament, fear, anger, gratitude, and praise can all draw us toward God.

Steve Peck reflects on Job, suffering, creation, and ancient bristlecone pines to consider how God’s world can humble, unsettle, and enlarge our search for meaning.

Rosalynde Welch reflects on Esther through a 1985 Relief Society performance by her mother, showing how scripture takes on new meaning as each generation interprets, performs, and applies it to its own time.

Rosalynde Welch examines Ezra and Nehemiah as a story of rebuilding religious authority through scripture, covenant renewal, temple worship, and the people’s renewed trust in God.

Morgan Davis reflects on Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Passover to explore the difference between prideful presumption and humble covenant-seeking when imperfect circumstances complicate obedience.

Morgan Davis reflects on the prophet Huldah’s crucial role in 2 Kings 22, where her prophetic witness confirmed the authority of the rediscovered book of the law and helped shape Josiah’s reforms. Though often overlooked, Huldah stands as a significant figure in the formation of biblical faith and sacred history.

In this essay on 2 Kings 2–7, Philip Barlow reflects on Elisha’s miracles and asks what miracles are for, how we should understand them, and what place they ought to have in a life of faith.