Latter-day Faith

This powerful episode, the 4th in Terri Petersen's series, "Women Outside the Garden," features an interview she did with Tonia Toole, who is the founder of a non-profit organization, Holding Out Help, that assists individuals in leaving polygamous communities in Utah. In it, Tonia shares her personal journey, including her experience with cancer and how it led her to this work. She described the various polygamous sects in Utah, the challenges faced by those leaving these communities, and the services provided by Holding Out Help. Tonia emphasized the importance of kindness and understanding towards those from polygamous backgrounds and expressed concerns about the decriminalization of polygamy in Utah. The interview also highlights the resilience and strength of those leaving polygamous communities. Listen in! Learn Much! Be Inspired!

Many Latter-day Saints long for a more inclusive church, including less of an emphasis on doctrines in favor of learning to listen better to each other and open our hearts to more diverse points of view. They are bored by and are unmoved by certainty. They want a deeper connection with the Divine (however they picture that). They want to be heard and understood for who they are and not feel they have to perform the role of "perfect" Mormon. This episode looks closely at the concept of "Big Tent" Mormonism. How can we help bring it about? What are the main obstacles standing in the way of us learning to be more welcoming to everyone? How can we broaden awareness of faith struggles and talk about them in genuine ways (and not just offering quick responses and rushing to get back to the lesson)? Listen in as LDF host Dan Wotherspoon engages with show regular Terri Petersen and the wise historian and church watcher Greg Prince! We think you will really enjoy the conversation!

Many Latter-day Saints long for a more inclusive church, including less of an emphasis on doctrines in favor of learning to listen better to each other and open our hearts to more diverse points of view. They are bored by and are unmoved by certainty. They want a deeper connection with the Divine (however they picture that). They want to be heard and understood for who they are and not feel they have to perform the role of "perfect" Mormon. This episode looks closely at the concept of "Big Tent" Mormonism. How can we help bring it about? What are the main obstacles standing in the way of us learning to be more welcoming to everyone? How can we broaden awareness of faith struggles and talk about them in genuine ways (and not just offering quick responses and rushing to get back to the lesson)? Listen in as LDF host Dan Wotherspoon engages with show regular Terri Petersen and the wise historian and church watcher Greg Prince! We think you will really enjoy the conversation!

"Hope" is a term often associated with Christmas. "A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices..." "The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight." But what is "hope"? And how is it tied to Jesus's birth and life? Is hope an expectation of a particular outcome, or is it something deeper--perhaps a quality manifest in the character of God as displayed by Jesus. So often in Christian culture, hope is tied to the hope for salvation and life with God after we've died. But that makes hope mostly a "then" thing rather than a character trait for the "nows" of our lives. We want hope "now"! In this episode, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon and his friend and one of his partners in the Faith Journey Foundation, Mark Crego, discuss hope from multiple angles. What is disclosed about God in the nativity narratives? Would "liberation" be a better word than "salvation" when discussing the power of Jesus's example in our lives (here and now without worries about life after this one)?  Their discussion might be a bit difficult for some Latter-day Saints who want Jesus to be "Christ" right from birth and someone who who rescues us from our pain and travail? But both Mark and Dan work from the perspectives inherent in LDS sensibilities about ourselves as already divine, as another introduction of God into the world. They find that emphasizing Jesus of "humble birth" and a very human life to be much more powerful than Jesus as categorically different than the rest of us humans. Ultimately, it feels more hopeful that understanding Jesus as totally "other" than us. We think you will enjoy this discussion and its connections to "hope" throughout! Listen in!

This episode is a far-ranging conversation between "Women Outside the Garden" host Terri Petersen and the co-hosts of the Meno-Moms podcast, Alyson Deussen and Susie Augenstein. In it, both Alyson and Susie share their LDS backgrounds and journeys toward wider views and deeper happiness. And how there are many things that they "just don't care about anymore." They talk about things that are extremely painful, but also what they've learned along the way. Overall, it's a fun, beautiful, and  incredibly insightful episode. Listen in! 

In this episode, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon follows up on Episode 223 that focused on obstacles that we face when we encounter surprising or disturbing things about scripture by focusing on its mythic elements. What is myth? What it its purpose? How can we appreciate it for its insights into life's biggest questions and themes, as well as the archetypal truths illustrated in such stories, along with their insights into human nature. Dan spends time talking about myth within scripture but then goes to mythic stories we all likely know, suggesting reasons we should value those as well. Listen in!

In the second episode of our special series, "Women Outside the Garden", host Terri Petersen interviewed an amazing Substack content provider Stephanie G., discussing women and priesthood power. In a church culture that emphasizes patriarchal authority embodied by "keys", Stephanie presents a parable of how a young princess is given a new car, but never really given the keys to operate it. It's a refreshing look at how our systems of authority and control can have a toxic effect on women in the church, and what we can do about it. Stephanie has discovered she can find access to Jesus without the need for "keys" at all. She, along with other women have the power to direct their lives, blessing all with whom they contact. Paradoxically, having her own keys has been able to enhance her family relationships, becoming a true equal partner with her husband in their journey. Stephanie's substack link is here: "More Questions Than Answers" Here is the link to her "Parable of Power and Priesthood"

During faith crises/shifts, one the most difficult things to renegotiate is our relationship with scripture. For most of our lives we have most likely thought that they portrayed an accurate history of things that happened in the past and that they were inspired by God in special ways, allowing them to portray the Divine will for our lives. As we discover scriptural contradictions, begin to question the possibility of miracles portrayed within them, or stumble on parallel stories from other ancient civilizations, their character begins to shift in our eyes. How do we face up to such things and still maintain faith in their messages? Can we still learn from them? Value them? Do we want to, or might it be easier to simply abandon them and allow them no more sway in our lives? In this episode, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon and primary partners in Latter-day Faith and the Faith Journey Foundation Terri Petersen and Mark Crego talk about these struggles and more! All three have gone through (and are still going through) these wrestles. What has been most helpful to each? Has their deep searching yielded perspectives that allow them to still value scripture? Perhaps even more than before? Listen in and find out!   

In this short episode, Latter-day Faith host Dan Wotherspoon reflects on this week's "No Kings" rallies and an idea that has begun to form in his mind that names something happening over the past decades (and specifically the last six years) that has led to the need for rallies of this type. Drawing very briefly on descriptions of James Fowler's second and third "stages of faith," he wonders if we are seeing an increasing number of people who had found purpose, optimism, and signposts for a healthy spiritual (hallmarks of a third-stage orientation to the world and others) move into despair and the kinds of preoccupations that are more characteristic of stage two: fairness, certainty, reciprocity and an ability to operate without a need for coherence in the stories they believe. Are there ways that this naming might help us clarify a way forward as we encounter and interact with those who seem to have forgotten those things that led to their earlier optimism? He offers one. We hope you have others!

As we announced a couple of weeks ago, the Faith Journey Foundation and Latter-day Faith Podcast are launching a new series of episodes with the title, "Women Outside the Garden," hosted by our wonderful friend and collaborator, Terri Petersen.  This episode contains a brief introduction to the series, with Terri outlining what she will (and won't) be doing with WOTG, and mentioning several of the key issues women face within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and why discussions like those that will be forthcoming in this new show are so important.  This is a compelling episode in itself and is also a fascinating preview for what lies ahead in the series. You will love it!

Many people feel unsettled these days. There seems to be a general unease in the air, some of it caused by the rapid changes the current president is making, many mean-spirited and cruel. For Latter-day Saints, add in the recent loss of President Nelson and the terrible tragedy in a Michigan chapel, and a sense of uncertainty and impending doom fills many hearts. In this episode, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon and LDF board member Mark Crego speak to this general malaise felt by so many. What is it? How is it manifesting? Is anyone, anywherd feeling settled at all? Most of all, what self-care strategies might help us? Their discussion doesn't contain a lot of answers, but they elucidate the issue, share personal stories, and offer their sense of how we can regain equilibrium. Listen in!

In this episode, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon shares a few thoughts on very important step in our spiritual maturation processes: shifting from a preoccupation with the question, "What is True?" to instead evaluating how various ideas "affect us." Does this or that story or presentation or truth claim expand our vision, make us want to be less judgmental, or transform us in some other good way?  Another big focus is on "What can we know anyway?" Is it even possible to "know" what we so often hear people testify that they know? Religious ideas do not translate into knowledge of objective, factual things. Religion and spirituality play in the realm of myth, symbols, archetypes, not hard and fast claims about "this is really how it is." Using personal experiences, a powerful spiritual passage, and a bit of William James and Kathryn Schultz, he makes the case that we put too much emphasis on truth and not enough on growth.

In this episode, Latter-day Faith co-host Terri Petersen shares with us about her life and spiritual journey with all its ups and downs. We get to know her as a perfectionist who loved everything about the church because it had answers to everything and laid out a great set of rules to follow. We then get to know her as a confused and pretty mad Mormon when she encounters issues and has to wrestle with new ideas. She then shares her reasons for continuing to stay engaged while still navigating her spiritual life "outside the garden" that she had once felt so comfortable within.   Listen in!

As we refresh our energies after a long summer, Mark Crego and LDF host Dan Wotherspoon take stock a bit about Latter-day Faith, its mission, and what its plans are going forward, including new kinds of offerings ahead. This is an unusual episode in that it contains a conversation that the two were having that Mark suddenly started recording. In addition to reaffirming what they think the podcast and community is about, including why they think "Latter-day" is still an appropriate title, their discussion of faith took them into a detour about Jesus and in what ways his life and emphases can be empowering if seen in a broader way than as "Son of God." They move to the new things ahead, including a new series, "Women Outside the Garden" hosted by Terri Petersen, and then finish with a few reflections on spiritual practices and how their effect on us can help us maintain faith and centering in this changing, confusing, and unstable world. Listen in to this peek into the kinds of things Mark and Dan talk about when no one else is around and aren't planned out in advance. Enjoy!

This terrific episode features a conversation between Kimber Poon and LDF co-host Terri Petersen about moving past our fears about our changing beliefs, attitudes, relationships with the Church, family and friends, and more. Kimber is a teacher, writer, and artist who shares about herself through the somethingforsundays.substack, which is where Terri discovered her. As they talk, Kimber allows us into her heart and mind with regard to her shifting faith and how she is negotiating many new terrains "imperfectly" (are are we all!). It's a journey that involves her claiming power and deciding that she has the right to meet the world as herself, to make a dent in the universe. An especially powerful piece of that journey is the influence of careful and sustained reading of the New Testament in which she sought to find out for herself what Jesus really taught. She and Terri also talk beautifully about Alma's ideas of planting seeds of faith and "experimenting upon the word." You will really enjoy getting to know Kimber, and also a bit more about Terri along the way. Listen in!

Religious topics and types of conversations about them change through the years: folks are all abuzz over particular topics, and then a new buzzy one comes along and the types of conversations about the others begin to be transform, and then the cycle repeats. A great place to get some hints about what's animating Latter-day Saints right now, and to notice shifts in ones that had their day (their years) in the spotlight is at the Sunstone Symposium, held each year in late-July/early August, and in the pages of Sunstone magazine. To talk about this year's symposium and how it mirrors and doesn't mirror some of the trends in the wider Christian world, we invited current (and for the past seventeen years!) Sunstone editor and Director of Communications, Stephen Carter, to talk with LDF host Dan Wotherspoon (and previous Sunstone editor). It's a fun discussion. These two old friends are a bit funny when they get together but they also have long histories working on the edge of Mormon trends. Check it out! In this episode, you can also learn more about what is coming up at the 2025 Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium being held at the University of Utah, July 31–August 2nd. But also learn about yourself as you examine what is going on with you right now by seeing what is capturing the attention of some fellow Latter-day Saints and others interested in Mormon cultural and historical topics. Listen in!

We don't like it when situations get complicated. We hate being confused. We want everything to go back to making sense again--and right away. One way to make this happen is to find someone to blame. It's that person's fault. Whew!  We label that person and never again consider them in their wholeness. Reducing someone to a label is a sure way to turn them into an object lesson rather than a complex human being who may a different story to tell rather than the one me make up so we can feel better.  A great example of an attempt like this shows up in the Book of Mormon story of Korihor, labeled "Anti-Christ" and someone who had done evil at Satan's bidding. Through touchstones with personal stories of theirs and other ones we often meet in LDS culture, Terri Petersen, Mark Crego, and LDF host Dan Wotherspoon dive into the Korihor story to name and expand on this basic dynamic of Fear/Blame/Label/Dismiss, and how it can be so harmful in our lives and culture.  What if we interrogate this phenomenon? Might we flip the script on the Korihor story? Who is writing it? Why are they telling it in the way they are? What might be missing from it? With such questions in mind related to the tale of Korihor, could that help us dive deeper into the stories we tell ourselves? And wouldn't it be good to give others the privilege of being more complex than a cautionary tale? We hope you'll find this conversation thought provoking!

We are delighted to welcome Valerie Hamaker back to the show! Early on in the discussion between Valerie and LDF host Dan Wotherspoon, we get caught up about the shake up this past March that was started by church leaders who disapproved of the content of her podcast, Latter-day Struggles. They couldn't understand see how her work was actually a boon for the Mormon community through its forthright conversations about matters troubling Latter-day Saints, and how she worked with them, using her background and skills as a licensed therapist, to see broader perspectives and find healing. Faced wth looming excommunication from the church, she and her husband, Nathan, withdrew their membership. Our main focus in relating a short synopsis of these events is to talk about reactions to the news by Latter-day Struggles listeners and members of discussion groups. Has it affected her work with those seeking understanding and healing. The bulk of the conversation in this episode focuses on how a person can differentiate in healthy ways from family members, institutions like the LDS Church, and most of all our spouses or partners. How can we be ourselves in places and situations in which people don't see things the same way? Why is differentiation so important? Ultimately the conversation focuses on marriage relationships that have been affected by differing views, or from trauma that is hard for a partner to recognize and understand. As couples work through these things in healthy ways, their love and commitment allows them to fully accept each other. Everything about being partnered is a crucible for change and growth! Though it talks about hard things, this conversation is upbeat and optimistic about all of us discovering ourselves and bettering our relationships. Listen in! There is lots of wisdom in this episode.

Every person who finds the Latter-day Faith podcast has wrestled and is still wrestling with Mormonism in some way. We each find ourselves in in our own unique relationship with the LDS church, its teachings, and its members (often including our family members). How did we end up where we are now? If we are still attending meetings, why? If not, why? What factors have tipped the scale for us in making that decision. Whether or not we are attending, how are we feeling about our decision? Are we enjoying our interactions? Are we holding good or ill feelings toward the church (even for those of us who do remain actively engaged)? Are we angry, sad, at peace? What keeps us wrestling the way we do? Our Latter-day Faith virtual firesides for the month of May focused on these questions, and each one was well attended and featured lots of sharing and active discussions. For confidentiality reasons we never record our firesides, but because these two were so special, Latter-day Faith hosts Dan Wotherspoon, Terri Petersen, and Mark Crego decided to bring the discussion into a podcast episode, which was recorded early in the morning Memorial Day Monday (fresh on the heels of the Sunday fireside). Listen in! What follows is a combination of discussions of the main topics they noted during the firesides as well as each panelist sharing their own experiences and thoughts about these plus several other issues related to Latter-day wrestling. Enjoy!

The famous creeds of Christendom focus solely on who Christ is, including his relationship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, his resurrection and role in bringing about salvation. But the do not include any of this teachings or personal qualities, or the principles he focused on during his ministry. This show's guest, Russ Hinckley, recognized this and decided to try his hand at creating a new creed, The Christ Creed, that focuses on how he interacted with people, institutions, and types of power during his ministry. For instance, the first two parts of this new creed are "Eat with Everyone" and "Restore Sight and Promote Healing." Russ and LDF host Dan Wotherspoon discuss in depth these and several others emphases in his creed. Each is rich, encouraging us to see in new ways, reminding us to rethink why we act the way we do with each other and the institutional church. Russ's approach is fresh and mixes good scriptural study with experiences from his life.  Listen in on this insightful conversation!