Guy: [00:00:00] Hey Guy Powell here with the backstory of the Shroud of Turin, and today we're doing a series of interviews promoting the upcoming Shroud of Turin conference that's taking place in St. Louis at the end of July. Beginning on July 31st and going through August 3rd. Today we're speaking with Myra Kahn Adams, and she is, uh, a great friend of mine, but she's also a longtime speaker on the shroud.

And she'll be, uh, speaking as well at the conference. But more importantly, she is the executive director of the National Shroud of Turrin exhibit. So let's dive right in. Welcome, Myra. So good to have you today.

Myra: Thank you for having me guy, and thank you so much for you and all the work your team is doing.

Cindy Meyer, it it, this is her full-time job for the last year [00:01:00] and every one of you is just to be so commended because this is going to be a spectacular event and is gonna make a lot of news and it's gonna have ripple effects for years to come. So a great applause for all of you.

Guy: Yeah. Myra, thank you so much.

That's, uh, you're, you are so right. Cindy has been, oh man, has she been working hard And, uh, and, and the attendance actually has, uh, definitely exceeded our expectations. We actually had to widen some, uh, the number of tickets that were available. We had to, you know, blow out one of the rooms. And so it's just been awesome.

And this is gonna be a. Nationally recognized event. So anyway, let's, uh, talk about, uh, a couple of things here. So what first drew you to the shroud of Turin?

Myra: Oh, I love, I love that question. The only thing I can really point to was a, a church in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. It's a Civil War [00:02:00] church on the top of a hilltop overlooking the Shenandoah River, and they had a, what I know now is called a wiki crucifix.

Now, what a wiki crucifix is, is a light. Size crucifix of Jesus on the cross, but it's not sanitized as most crucifix are, which are just basically shows the palms and the palms, which are incorrect of course, and the crown of thorns and the maybe the spear and the side and the piercings and the feet. But the weaky crucifix actually reflects all the torment and all the torture and all the markings of what appear on the shred of turn, uh, that are on the body of Jesus.

That, uh, when he laid in the tomb, this is really. You know, what he looked like. And according to, of course, the gospels mirror accounts of the shroud. So this crucifix really freaked me out. I, I had never seen anything like that. And I noticed at the bottom it said this was made in Italy and it represents the [00:03:00] markings from the shroud turn.

I was like, shroud turn. I never heard of that. And so that was probably maybe in the, um. Eighties sometime. I can't even remember when it was, but that's the first time I'd really ever heard of the shrouded term. So that kind of got me just on a little path of, of interest. And one thing led to another and, uh, we ended up seeing the shroud twice, uh, when it was on public display in, um, 2010.

And then also in 2015. In 2010, we met Barry Schwartz, who was our teacher for our, um, one of the first. Um, meetings that my tour group had and, uh, I got into a very interesting conversation with Barry Schwartz as he and I are both Jewish and I won't tell you about that conversation. I'll save it for, for my little talk because it is really a very fascinating first conversation with this person I just met and we became really good friends after that.

But, um, really fascinating little story. So stay tuned for that one. But we are a national try to turn exhibit. Uh, [00:04:00] is the goal is to have a permanent longtime exhibit in Washington DC um, but now that may be changing too, so I may have some. Big news. Actually, I will have some news to announce about that.

So news that, um, you can hear at the conference and all this really reflects what is going on with the shroud. It has never been more popular. It is reaching heights of popularity and what we say in the political world. There is no ceiling for its popularity. It will keep growing and growing and growing.

Just like faith in Jesus keeps growing personally for all of us and for the world. So the shroud just is a, is an amazing mystery that people cannot get enough of. And when I always tell the people, I always say to people, you know, if you don't think the shroud is real, it's because you don't know anything about the shroud, or you don't know enough about the shroud.

And so the more you learn about the shroud. The more you wanna learn about the shroud, the more [00:05:00] you realize you don't know about the shroud. It is endless in its mysteries, and I do believe that's why people are just fascinated by it and it's never been more popular.

Guy: Yeah, it sure is. Uh, uh, endless mysteries and endless areas to be able to explore, and at the conference there will be so many things to learn for anybody, even if you're a seasoned shroud person or if you're new to the shroud.

There is a lot there to, uh, to learn about. So what kinds of things you kind of hinted at one, uh, what else can you share that, uh, kind of tease us with, that you'll be talking about at the, uh, at the Shroud 2025 conference? Mm-hmm.

Myra: Well, I wanna talk about the shroud really in general terms. Um, you know, why people find it so fascinating and why the National Shroud Turin exhibit, um, will in fact be, it will, it will be an exhibit that will, I believe, you know, change people's.

Hearts and minds. Um, [00:06:00] I always like to assume that people don't know anything about it, uh, because I always do my own little focus groups all the time. If I'm in an Uber or something like that, people ask, you know what I'm involved in and I'll mention the Shroud tour and nine times outta 10 they go, what?

Never heard of it. There is, there's so many millions of people out there who have no idea what the shroud is. So National Shroud, ur Exhibit, our real, our goal is to educate people about the shroud and leave it. To them to determine if they think it is real or not. But it's a, it's a tool evangelization.

It's just all about getting to know the Lord Jesus Christ and what he did for us on the cross. That is the essence of the shrouded term. But embodied in all that is just these mysteries that cannot be explained. Science can never explain them. Um, who knows if they'll ever really. Really be unraveled. Um, but that's what I wanna talk about in general.

Yeah. What, what our general mission is at National Stratton exhibit and why, um, the [00:07:00] news that I will announce is actually gonna be, um, a kind of, a, kind of a big deal. So, yeah.

Guy: Yeah. Well, I'm definitely looking forward to, we're hearing exactly, uh, what you've got, uh, to announce about the, uh, national Shroud of tour exhibit.

So, you know, one challenge that, uh, always as, as a shroud atheist, like me and for you, is. Quite often people will say, well, I, my, I have my faith. My faith is strong enough. I don't need a relic. I don't need something like the shroud for my faith. How do you respond to that?

Myra: Uh, my answer to that is really simple.

I refer them back to doubting Thomas, uh, in the Bible because doubting Thomas was not gonna believe that Jesus was crucified until he saw the piercings and could stick his finger in him. And, and Jesus said, you know, bless those who you know who have faith. That, that don't need this physical proof to believe in me, but for those who do not have enough faith and need the physical proof, I believe that is why the Shroud UR [00:08:00] exists to this day is, as all of us know, the shroud really should not exist.

It should have been obliterated somehow. It should have been on fire. It should have been lost. It it, I mean, there's so many reasons why and so many places in history, it really, it, it could have just not. Existed, and it does exist to this day. And there is a reason for that. The Lord just did not want this to, to disappear off the face of the earth.

And that, you know, statistically wt still lives in it's, I guess it's tomb I used to say, or vault in. Um, it's c it's, it lives in its coffin. Coffin. I don't wanna use the word coffin. Um, but why exists today? Is a mystery and itself is miraculous and that really backs up the story of why. Yeah, you don't, you don't need proof, but maybe other people do need proof and that's [00:09:00] why it exists is he's the doubting Thomas of our age.

So yeah, that, that's my, that's always my kind of. Brief answer. 'cause a lot of people don't really know the story of doubting Thomas. It's one of those cliches that come from the Bible, but most people have no idea what it really is, doubting. So we explain it a little bit.

Guy: Yeah. No, absolutely. And doubting Thomas was there with Jesus while he was alive, and yet he still doubted.

And it wasn't until he saw Jesus, uh, you know, resurrected that, uh, you know, he was able to, uh, put his fingers in the wounds. And, um, and the shroud is kind of a representation of that. What a great answer. I really like that. So

Myra: you heard about that a few times because I, I've used that quite a bit because I think it's really understandable and it's relatable to people.

Mm-hmm.

Guy: Yeah, absolutely. So how has the shroud affected your faith?

Myra: Oh, let's see. Um, I would say it just makes me love the Lord more. Uh, my faith is an ongoing journey all the time, uh, because I was born and [00:10:00] raised Jewish and, um, I, I'm now Catholic, but it was a, it's been a journey, but the shroud just makes me understand.

Better. I mean, what Jesus did for us on the cross, it's a mirror of the gospel, and it just makes me love him more, makes me believe in him more. Uh, it makes me want to just be a promoter of the shroud because I, I do believe it really can't impact people's faith. I. In just a profound way. And the fact that it exists is, is itself a, an act of God.

So it's, it's impacted my faith in, in just that it just makes my faith even stronger and gives me more reason to just, um, you know, keep going. And particularly being Jewish. I mean, I obviously have some issues with, um, my fellow tribes, men who just think it's a joke. In fact, I'll tell you a funny story about.

About Barry. Uh, he and I talked about that one time. He said, what do your Jewish friends think about you involved with the shroud? He goes, well, most of 'em just say, Hey, nice. Glad you're happy. You know, that's it. You know, [00:11:00] it's like they really didn't want anything to do with it. He said The only people that really care about it my are people like you that are Messianic Jews.

Other that the rest of 'em say. Yeah, Mary. Good. Glad you're happy, glad you found something to do. You know, I always love that way you said that to me. It was so funny, but it's, but it is so true. So my fellow tribesmen, um, for some reason they, they just think it's a bunch of junk. I don't know. You know, who, how can that be true?

You know? And, and it's, it's just like they didn't even want to go there.

Guy: Yeah. Yeah. Which takes me a lot. Well, it's so good that you, uh, that you brought up Barry Schwartz. So we will be, he just recently passed away. Uh, and he was kind of the, the really the face and the embodiment of the shroud, uh, for so long.

He was part of the original stir shroud of Turrin research project. And we are going to have a tribute, uh, to Barry and certainly our, you know, our thoughts and are always with Barry and, uh, and so I'm so glad you brought him up, uh, as we're talking [00:12:00] here.

Myra: Mm-hmm. Well, it's been a year. He passed away last June.

Guy: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. It's been done. Yeah. Just a few days over a year. Yeah. So, uh, wow. Myra, that's been, uh, such a great story and such interesting perspectives and definitely very interested in hearing all of you, all the stuff you're gonna tell us about the National Shroud of Turin exhibit that's coming up.

And man, oh man, that's, uh, it will be wonderful to have a permanent exhibit of the shroud. Uh, somewhere in Washington DC and, and that'll just be fantastic. So, uh, for the audience, definitely we're gonna do a couple of more of these personal interviews about the upcoming conference. For you, please visit Shroud 2025 conference.com, shroud 2025 conference.com to learn more.

See the full lineup of speakers. And then of course, please register to attend. We want to get to meet you. We want to get to know you, and we want to tell you more and more, so much about what we know about the shroud and help you to, uh, see how [00:13:00] valuable of a relic that that really is and how valuable it is to all of our faith and to the world.

Myra, again, thank you so much for, uh, this morning.

Myra: Thank you so much for having me, guy.

Guy: Absolutely.