Matter by Ryan Shoemaker: Audio Story

In Ryan Shoemaker’s haunting and tender short story Matter, a young missionary in Italy finds himself alone with a stranger in desperate need. Over the course of one long night, he must confront his deepest questions about God, suffering, and the meaning of belief.

This episode of Dialogue Out Loud features a dramatic reading of Matter from the Summer 2025 issue of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, performed by Tanner Gilliland with original music by Daniel Foster Smith.

Trigger Warning: This story contains descriptions of violence.