Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: A Sweeping Conversation on the New Mormon History, Hierarchy, & Social Justice [Part I of IV] Welcome back to "Latter Day Struggles," for another not-to-be-missed four-part series with distinguished guest, Greg Prince—an influential voice in progressive Mormon circles and a man of diverse expertise and deep compassion. In today’s episode, we explore Greg's seven generations of Latter-Day Saint heritage and his application of scientific principles to t...
Dec 25, 2023•49 min
Send us a Positive Review! In this thought-provoking episode Valerie delves into the topic of women and church hierarchy, focusing on the symbolic and practical implications of women seated at the stand in church leadership. Valerie shares her personal connections to the San Francisco Bay Area (where the recent "seating chart" debacle took place) with her experience as a missionary in that area. She contrasts gender policies within the LDS framework to those of other denominations and unpacks so...
Dec 18, 2023•42 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: A Sketch of the Life & Work of Mormon Feminist Maxine Hanks [Part III of IV] In this beautiful episode 3, Valerie continues the deep dive into the beautiful life story of special guest, Maxine Hanks. From exploring her theological journey into early Christian gnosticism, to her experiences in Christian liturgy, to her studies at Harvard, to her work as a Chaplain, and finally her return to the LDS Church, Maxine's journey offers a unique perspective o...
Dec 11, 2023•47 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: A Sketch of the Life & Work of Mormon Feminist Maxine Hanks [Part I of IV] In this first of a compelling four-part series, Valerie welcomes Maxine Hanks, editor of the groundbreaking feminist book "Women and Authority" which led to the infamous "September 6" purge of 1993, where many LDS feminists and scholars were disciplined by the LDS church for their scholarship and advocacy work. In the next four episodes, Valerie welcomes Maxine Hanks to the Lat...
Dec 04, 2023•48 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Exploration of GC Address ‘For the Sake of Your Posterity’ by E. Godoy [Part I of II] In this episode Valerie and Nathan discuss Elder Godoy's talk 'For the Sake of Your Posterity'. In this episode they focus on the following: Support of the fundamental importance of the influence of parents Deep concerns about fear and guilt tactics used to motivate behavior of church members The importance of understanding stages of faith development to offer context an...
Nov 27, 2023•36 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Exploration of Adam Miller's Book “Original Grace” [Part III of IV] In this episode studying Adam's fascinating book "Original Grace", Valerie and Adam dive into the challenging concept of suffering as linked to God's wrath. They address the damaging theology of viewing suffering as punishment and explore the doctrine of original grace. Adam differentiates between justice and suffering within this doctrine. Val discuss how beliefs about God's nature impac...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Exploration of Adam Miller's Book “Original Grace” [Part I of IV] Welcome to an exploration on a book that has truly changed the way to see ourselves, God, grace, and a healthy gospel of Jesus Christ. Val has invited Adam Miller on a deep exploration of his ideas connected to the atonement of Jesus Christ covered in his book "Original Grace". In this first episode of this series Valerie and Adam dive into a thought-provoking discussion about the concept o...
Nov 13, 2023•36 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: A Tribute to Lavina Fielding Anderson [Part I of II] In this heartfelt episode, Valerie and guest Christian Anderson reflect on the life and legacy of Lavina Fielding Anderson, Christian's mother: a writer, scholar, and passionate believer in protecting the vulnerable and champion for a more inclusive Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Join Valerie and Christian as they explore Lavina's early life, her convictions, and her eventual confrontation...
Nov 06, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Faith Expanding Parenting through “Uplift Kids” Program [Part I of II] In this first episode of a two-parts series, Valerie and guest Jon Ogden delve into the topic of raising spiritually literate children within and beyond the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jon's online program UPLIFT KIDS focuses on providing options and resources for families to incorporate ritual and tradition into their lives, creating a safe space for children to learn...
Oct 23, 2023•35 min
Send us a Positive Review! In this episode of Latter Day Struggles, Valerie visits with Aimee, a Canadian seminary teacher, to discuss her experiences as a progressive thinker in the Latter Day Saint space. Aimee shares her journey of personal growth and how this translates into her approach to seminary teaching-prioritizing inquiry over dogma and allowing her students to become creators of their own spiritual learning experience. Valerie and Aimee explore the challenges of teaching with a churc...
Oct 16, 2023•46 min
Send us a Positive Review! If the LDS faith expansion journey is messy, just add parenting to the mix and you've got more complexity than many parents feel they can tolerate! That is why we produced this episode! We get it! In this episode, Valerie is joined by Julie Hanks to discuss some of the challenges faced by parents of adolescents in and around the LDS church. They answer a handful of questions submitted by listeners to both of their podcasts including thoughts about making boundaries wit...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Send us a Positive Review! Join me for an hour learning about the body's response to painful words. This will happen THIS Monday October 9th, 2023 10:30a Central Time for a FREE virtual webinar. This gathering is especially for those wanting to know if a trauma, processing, growth, and support group through the Latter Day Struggles Platform is right for you. Those in my current or former groups of course welcome to jump in as well! Enroll HERE!https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrdu2gqjw...
Oct 06, 2023•14 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Guiding & Trusting LDS Young Adults as They Navigate their Faith [Part I of II] Welcome to a beautiful two-part conversation between Valerie and Patrick Mason, who talk about the often-unaddressed issue of conflict in religious congregations and how tough conversations can be turned around to propel spiritual growth. Patrick has a unique perspective in this issue as a university professor who has recently begun holding gatherings in his home, helping ...
Oct 02, 2023•59 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Analysis of E.Corbridge BYU Devotional “Stand Forever [Part I of II] In the next two episodes Valerie and Nathan respond to a BYU address titled “Stand Forever” by E. Corbridge, where he proposes to university students that there are only four questions that even matter in one’s quest for spiritual knowledge in the LDS church. According to him, once these “primary questions” are answered, no “secondary questions” need be asked. In this series Valerie and ...
Sep 25, 2023•40 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: “On the Inside of the Edge” Exploration w/ Christian Kimball [Part III of IV] In this episode Chris and Val talk about dangers of MAGICAL THINKING and how pervasive this is in the LDS church. They discuss how compelling a transactional understanding of life might feel (as all people crave certainty) but how damaging this is when churches offer simple if/then promises that crumble for many of us when things fall apart. What follows failed promises made by ...
Sep 18, 2023•35 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: “On the Inside of the Edge” Exploration w/ Christian Kimball [Part I of IV] Welcome to the first of a WONDERFUL four-part mini series with guest Christian Kimball, author of the beautiful book Living on the Inside of the Edge . In today’s episode Chris and Val will focus on the topic of how prone we as Latter Day Saints (as are others in early stage spiritual and psychological development) are to think in BINARIES: good/bad, right/wrong, in/out. Their inv...
Sep 11, 2023•52 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Valerie’s 2023 Sunstone Symposium Address [Part I of II] In the next two episodes Valerie will share with you her findings following hundreds of intense hours working with members of the LDS church in faith and trust crisis this past year since she opened up her first growth, processing, and support groups as a trauma therapist serving her own faith community. These observations might be of particular interest as they come exactly 10 years following the c...
Sep 04, 2023•45 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Tribute to Carol Lynn Pearson's Groundbreaking Play "Mother Wove with Morning" [Part I of II] Following last week’s deep dive into the talk “To the Mothers in Zion”, you are likely struck by the need to better understand the fraught roll of women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the 20th and 21st century. However, the struggle to understand the unequal status of women is not just an LDS in nature. It is MUCH bigger than that. And it i...
Aug 28, 2023•43 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Analysis of Ezra Taft Benson's "To the Mothers in Zion" Infamous Address [Part I of II] This week on Latter Day Struggles we are diving into an address that rocked the worlds of many women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The talk? “To the Mother’s in Zion” given by Ezra Taft Benson clear back in 1987. This talk became a sort of priesthood-directed “Mormon motherhood position statement” for all women of the church for several decades. T...
Aug 21, 2023•29 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: How & Why Power Hierarchies Were Created [Part V of VI] In today’s and Friday’s (final) episode of this series we will be covering several recommendations given by the brilliant scholar Gerta Lerner on how we as individuals within our own systems can break down hierarchical systems of oppression. The recommendations explored today are as follows: Accept differences in others. Don’t just tolerate them. Val and Nathan go into some detail about how this ...
Aug 14, 2023•48 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: How & Why Power Hierarchies Were Created [Part III of VI] Welcome to part three of this diving into why and how human beings create hierarchies of power. So far in this series we have explained the psychological phenomenon itself, zoomed in on how this plays out on the ground in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and now we are going to spend the next two episodes walking through the six-step process of how humans create those groupings ...
Aug 07, 2023•33 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: How & Why Power Hierarchies Were Created [Part I of VI] In this mini-series Val and Nathan will be covering in-depth one of Val’s recent Sunstone Symposium presentations exploring the psychology around human civilization’s tendency to organize themselves into hierarchies. These hierarchies consist of an empowered group whose authority is dictated by selecting a different group over whom they dominate. These disempowered groups are sometimes called “ou...
Jul 31, 2023•38 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: "Tabernacles of Clay” Analysis with Taylor Petrey [Part III of IV] In this portion of their conversation exploring the history of gender and sexuality in the LDS church from post WWII until present, Valerie and Taylor Petrey do a deep dive into gender, sexuality and how the following historical developments, policies, and political engagement are each connected to the LDS Church’s attempts to keep in place heteronormativity due to the contagion theory of ...
Jul 24, 2023•42 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: "Tabernacles of Clay” Analysis with Taylor Petrey [Part I of IV] In this first episode in a fascinating four-part mini-series, Valerie and special guest Taylor Petrey break down the historical shifts in the theology of gender and sexuality in the LDS church beginning in the post-WWII era through the present as outlined in his excellent book Tabernacles of Clay (linked below). Questions addressed in this episode [among others]: How historical racial oppres...
Jul 17, 2023•46 min
Send us a Positive Review! I see you! You're missing your Friday morning fix with Valerie and the Latter Day Struggles Podcast! Well, I gotcha covered :) This quick bonus episode walks you through step by step HOW to subscribe to the Friday episodes of this podcast no matter what provider you use (you do NOT need to listen on Spotify but you DO need to subscribe THROUGH Spotify...just to answer a question asked many, many times!) Here is the link on how to subscribe This episode will walk you th...
Jul 14, 2023•17 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: End of LDS Growth Analysis [Part V of VI] We’ve made it to episode #5 of this six part mini-series exploring LDS church growth struggles as studied in the recent journal article titled, “End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion” (article in full linked below) In today’s episode, the focus of analysis is on the following three points: The historical ‘gathering to Zion’ mentality has created isolationist culture to those gathered; has ...
Jul 10, 2023•41 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: End of LDS Growth Analysis [Part III of VI] In the next three episodes of this six part series analyzing the article titled “End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion” (article in full linked below) Nathan and Val work through 10 reasons social scientists postulate the LDS church did not grow (as forecasted about 40 years old) into the “the next Islam”. This episode focuses on the following: The church’s emphasis on “building from cen...
Jul 03, 2023•42 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: End of LDS Growth Analysis [Part II of VI] Join Nathan and Val this entire series analyzing the article titled “End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion” published recently in the Journal of Mormon Social Science Association (article in full linked below) where Nathan breaks down some incredibly fascinating data about the growth of several Christian churches in sub-Saharan Africa to offer some context and critique regarding the "mass...
Jun 30, 2023•29 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: End of LDS Growth Analysis [Part I of VI] Val and Nathan are so excited to jump into a VERY FASCINATING six-part podcast mini-series analyzing a recently published journal article titled, “The End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion”. In the mid 80’s a team of social scientists predicted that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was on track to become “The next Islam”, projecting that if the LDS church stayed on track wit...
Jun 26, 2023•30 min
Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Valerie’s Personal Journey [Part I of II] Join Val and fellow therapist Brannon Patrick this week as Brannon interviews Valerie about her first year accidentally diving into the deep end as a professional voice speaking respectfully but directly on behalf of thousands of individuals in the LDS faith and trust crisis and expansion space. In those two episodes Valerie responds to a variety of personal questions including (but not limited to): Her own experi...
Jun 19, 2023•46 min
