In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner describes from the original, primary sources, how Joseph Smith likely translated the Book of Mormon. Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, David Whitmer and others speculated that Joseph Smith saw words or letters in his seer stone or in the Nephite Interpreters. This cannot be true, because Joseph Smith made revisions to the completed manuscript, which he would never have done if the words were God's alone. Joseph Smith told Joseph Knight that he "could see anything" in the Nephite Interpreters. This implies Joseph Smith could literally see the events in the Book of Mormon text, along with emotions, untranslated words, clothing, animals, buildings, way of life, and other details of Nephite life in the Nephite Interpreters.

In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner describes the groundbreaking psychological research of Columbia Professor Allen Bergin, which has been replicated, and shows religious people are happier and healthier than the general population. Specifically, religiously active people have lower rates of depression, anxiety, suicide, substance abuse, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Bipolar disorder, PTSD, and eating disorders, than the general population. And, religious people with these problems are more likely to improve.

As recently as 20 or 30 years ago, most leading scientists believed science demonstrated God does not exist. But in the last twenty years, leading scientists have come to believe life and the Universe itself cannot be explained, without an intelligent designer, namely, God. In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner highlights many reasons leading scientists in many fields now say only an intelligent designer. or God, is the only explanation for the existence of life, and for way the Universe works.

The Tower of Babel described in the Book of Genesis is not a myth. It did exist. It has been found. It was a ziggurat, or stepped pyramid, located about 56 miles south of present day Bagdad, Iraq. Its name was "Etemenanki" with means "Temple of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth." It was dedicated to the pagan god Marduk. It was built about the14th century BC. It was a 7-layered pyramid, meaning it had seven stories, or steps. The earliest pyramids were not smooth-sided like the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt. The descriptions, ancient and modern, of Etemenanki are so similar to the descriptions of the Tower of Babel in Genesis, there is no doubt they are one and the same.

In this Religion Today episode, host Martin Tanner shows from many passages in the Bible and Book of Mormon, that God has a sense of humor. Examples of exaggeration, hyperbole, sarcasm and humorous situations, in the Bible and Book of Mormon, are given by Martin in this rarely discussed topic.

Host Martin Tanner shares the narrative of the birth of Jesus, in modern English, from the Good News Translation of the Bible, with explanations of seeming contradictions, such as: When Joseph found out Mary was expecting, why would he need to divorce her? They weren't married yet. Who were the Wise men? Why are they part of the Gospel story of Jesus's birth?

In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner looks at the Atonement, and answers questions, including: (1) Does every world have a savior, or is Jesus the Savior of all worlds? (2) What does and word Atonement mean? How or in what way or sense did Jesus take upon himself the sins of the world? (3) Does the Atonement cover more than sins, including losses, sicknesses, physical and mental defects, etc.? and, (4) How can a person know if the Atonement works for her or him?

The Gospel of Mark can be read in about an hour and a half. The show's host, Martin Tanner, suggests that during the Christmas season everyone should read the Gospel of Mark. It is the earliest Gospel, and in effect, the Gospel of Peter, because John Mark, the author was writing Peter's description of what Jesus said and did. The Gospel of Mark is a marvelous testimony of Jesus as the Messiah promised by God, to save his chosen people. This is what people are celebrating at Christmastime.