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Summary
- Ken Jennings is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; in August 2025 KUOW described him as a practicing member.
- He served two years as a volunteer missionary in Madrid and graduated from Brigham Young University in 2000.
- After his 74-game Jeopardy! run in 2004, the Associated Press reported he would give 10 percent of his $2,520,700 in winnings to his church.
- In 2015 he criticized the church’s new policy on same-sex couples and their children, while saying he had no “fundamental urge” to leave.
- The church changed both parts of that policy on April 4, 2019.
- In 2023 he told The New Yorker he still believes in heaven and hell “to some degree.”
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Libby Denkmann and Sarah Leibovitz, “‘Jeopardy!’ host and WA native Ken Jennings ponders questions big and small,” KUOW, 5 August 2025. https://www.kuow.org/books/2025-08-05/jeopardy-host-and-wa-native-ken-jennings-ponders-questions-big-and-small
- Sarah Larson, “Ken Jennings Has Some Questions About Death,” The New Yorker, 8 June 2023. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/ken-jennings-has-some-questions-about-death
- “Ken Jennings,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Jennings
- “The Mission of Brigham Young University,” Brigham Young University. https://aims.byu.edu/byu-mission-statement
- “Q&A: How Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings’s Latter-day Saint roots fueled his love of knowledge,” LDS Living, November 2011. https://www.ldsliving.com/just-asking-ken-jennings/s/66437
- “‘Jeopardy!’ Whiz Meets His Match,” Associated Press via CBS News, 2004. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeopardy-whiz-meets-his-match/
- “Tithing,” Gospel Topics, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/tithing?lang=eng
- “Word of Wisdom,” Gospel Topics, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng
- Jana Riess, “Thank you, Ken Jennings, for speaking out against new Mormon policies on same-sex families,” Religion News Service, 1 December 2015. https://religionnews.com/2015/12/01/thank-you-ken-jennings-for-speaking-out-against-new-mormon-policies-on-same-sex-families/
- “First Presidency Shares Messages From General Conference Leadership Session,” Church Newsroom, 4 April 2019. https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/first-presidency-messages-general-conference-leadership-session-april-2019
- Bible quotations: Mark 10:14; Matthew 18:6 (King James Version). https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+10%3A14%2CMatthew+18%3A6&version=KJV
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