At Last She Said It

"Thomas Merton says, 'To be a saint means to be myself,'" says Rev. Dr. Cassidy Hall. "My experience is so much of God lives ... in the liminality and the unknown and the questions. The more I lived outside of norms or expectations, the more I met God, and myself. Because I was more free to be who I am and to me, that's God's image—God made us in God's image." In Episode 280, Cassidy joins Cynthia and Susan for a conversation about contemplation, and everything else. As Cassidy explains, "Queer is the way I tilt my head to look at the world."

What Do You Say? That's what Susan and Cynthia ask Pat, Melinda, and Jere In Episode 279. It's a conversation about everything, inspired by 3 Latter-day Saint women's answers to a handful of randomly picked questions exploring their memories, insights, and beliefs.

What about heaven? It's a broad word with which everyone has personal associations. Ask people what 'heaven' is to them, and you might hear about anything from walking on a beach to time spent with family to a rainy day with a good book. But The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has specific doctrine detailing what happens after earth life. Many—but not all—members find comfort and answers to their questions in Church teachings about how heaven is organized, how and by whom we are judged, who we'll spend eternity with, and how we can qualify for exaltation by keeping covenants now. In Episode 278, Cynthia and Susan discuss voicemails from ALSSI listeners sharing personal questions, ideas, hopes and beliefs about what comes next.

Is there a link between "being good" and "being happy?" Author Natalie Brown writes that for Latter-day Saints, "Again and again, happiness is scripted as the result of making the right choices, keeping the commandments, or following the proper path." In Episode 277, Natalie joins Susan and Cynthia for a conversation about happiness: what that word might mean (or not), what we're taught about where and how to find it, and trusting ourselves to pursue happiness in our own ways and places. Natalie asks, "How do we find the courage to make visible our own desires and claim our spiritual authority in a culture that has so many techniques for discouraging yearnings that fall outside the sanctioned formulas for happiness?"

If faith is a moving thing, that implies change. To say you're on a journey means you're actively engaged in going somewhere. In the ALSSI community, the word faith often gets paired with the word journey, but also with deconstruction, shift, or transition. None of us are standing still, but it can feel frustrating or even lonely when we're each moving at our own pace. Fueled by recent conversations with listeners, Episode 276 is a check-in with Cynthia and Susan: an honest look at where we've been, where we are, how we've gotten here, and where we want to go.