'Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris': Glenn Beck on how his Mormon faith saved him

By Paula Faris

In a new episode of "Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris," a podcast featuring conversations about how faith has guided newsmakers and celebrities through their best and worst times, ABC News' Paula Faris sits down with conservative commentator Glenn Beck.

Listen now -- new episodes available every Wednesday.

Here is Paula, in her own words, about the episode.

Glenn Beck is polarizing. He understands that all too well. But he says he is having a moment of reckoning.

At one point, Beck was "tied between the pope and Nelson Mandela" in a poll for the most admired man in the world. "A year later, half the country despised me. You can't have that kind of swing without it hitting you in the face, saying, 'Which are you?'"

Beck realized which one he wanted to be -- after finding himself unable to move, crying in a bathroom.

"I understand now the cry for mercy, and it is something that I have given too seldom," he said.

On this edition of "Journeys of Faith," the self-described "arrogant" radio show host says we're making a sport of who we're going to destroy these days.

And it was not that long ago that Beck was actively trying to destroy his own life -- drugs, alcohol, suicidal tendencies. He remembers thinking that he "screwed everything up" and that "people would be better off without me."

Beck credits his wife and his Mormon faith for saving him.

But his journey with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started with plenty of skepticism, saying that "it's such a maligned religion, and I know because I was one of the people who maligned it."

In this episode, we explore Beck's personal evolution, what Billy Graham once told him about the Mormon church, and why you'll find Beck and his family cleaning bathrooms on Saturdays.

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