Jessica Nelson is a historian and documentary editor for the Joseph Smith Papers. She completed a BA in American studies at Brigham Young University and an MS in history at Utah State University, where she held the Milner/Butler Editorial Fellowship at the Western Historical Quarterly. Her thesis, titled “‘The Mississippi of the West’: Religion, Conservatism, and Racial Politics in Utah, 1960–1978,” was awarded the Lester E. Bush Best Thesis Award by the Mormon History Association in 2018. Previous to joining the Joseph Smith Papers, she worked as a research assistant for the women’s history team at the Church History Department.

Sunday on Monday guest

Suzanna Erickson is from Utah but has lived outside the state. She longed for a mountain view and, luckily, her family found a house with a mountain in their back yard. They have become quite the redneck farmers from the chickens to the dogs to the cows and horses and the goats next door, and husband and sons honking train horns they installed on their trucks. Thankfully, they are blessed with kind patient neighbors! Suzanna has learned to embrace it and wouldn’t change a thing. She has six of the best kids and a husband who tries to desensitize them every once in a while, but they don’t budge.

Dallyn Vail Bayles is a professional actor, singer, recording artist and teacher. His performing credits include leading roles in national and international Broadway tours, regional theater productions across the country, and feature films. As a soloist, Brother Bayles has performed with the Tabernacle Choir and other distinguished musical artists, and has recorded several albums. He is a seminary teacher, and has worked as adjunct faculty at Brigham Young University. Brother Bayles is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory and BYU. He and his wife Rachel were sealed in the Mount Timpanogos Temple and are the parents of five children.

Dr. LaShawn C. Williams is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Relational Change Strategist focusing on the interactions between people and across differences where connection matters most. Her anti-oppression work centers on the effects of marginalization, isolation, and disconnection in personal and professional spaces. She specializes in interpersonal and organizational change from the margins to the center. Grounded in Relational Cultural Theory, Dr. Williams works with leaders at every organizational level to help them engage the taboo concepts of interpersonal shame and humiliation then commuting to create pathways toward mutual empathy and empowerment. She is an accessible consultant to local, regional, and national organizations. She is passionate about Relational Transformation and eagerly supports individuals, couples, families and groups through her practice, Relational Spaces at The Utah Center for Connection in Orem.

Jason R. Combs is an assistant professor in the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. He holds master’s degrees in Biblical Studies from Yale University Divinity School and in Classics from Columbia University, and he earned his Ph.D. in Religious Studies, specializing in the New Testament and early Christianity, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When he isn’t teaching and writing, you’ll find him attending the theater—most commonly, musicals.