Latter Day Struggles

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Hey listeners of the Latter Day Struggles podcast!  Join Val in this bonus episode as she answers audience questions that will help you feel like you've come to the right place for psychologically sound resources and community on your LDS faith expansion journey.    We're not about burning anything down.  We are about bridging.  Building. Expanding.  Transcending. Including.  Becoming.  
In this bonus episode Val answers a couple of questions about relationship struggles that inevitably come up when our relationship with the LDS church is evolving.  She also shares her vision for the future of the LDS church if faith expanding people continue to gather and practice a more radical, inclusive, and non-polarized love than currently exists in our present LDS culture as groups gather at the opposite poles.  
To be a part of a movement that actively practices critical thinking and personal growth--join Valerie & others leading out in a new way to manifest what true faith expansion is.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and Purpose
02:07 How We Are Different
05:09 Beyond Binary Healing
07:45 Transcend and Include
12:18 Monday vs Friday Episodes
14:32 Friday Spiritual Expansion
21:57 Live Fellowship Overview
24:36 Fellowship Topics and Schedule
30:11 Upcoming Mission Mental Health Series
34:52 Why Groups Matter
42:52 Talking Across Ladder Rungs
52:15 Enrollment and Closing
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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part VI of VII]
In this episode Val & Nathan break down what religious institutional silent is communicating in times of social unrest.  Don't miss this episode or series if you want to more deeply understand why religions are simply never neutral!  They are loudly communicating what they stand for when they choose silence over speaking truth to power.  
Timestamps:
00:00 Series Recap Setup
02:12 Religion Meets Politics
05:24 Legitimacy vs Transformation
06:59 Silence Equals Complicity
08:48 Why Churches Stay Quiet
13:23 Truth Claims Block Reform
20:05 Faith as Moral Reform
26:01 Rethinking Prophets
29:37 Prophetic Not Partisan
31:30 Closing and Next Episode

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Friday Episodes Annual Access $89
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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part V of VII]
In this episode exploring the intersection of religion and politics, Val & Nathan explore several specific areas where politics and religion are addressing the exact same fundamental questions around human dignity & worth; justice & injustice; and the appropriate use of power.  
They then compare how these fundamental issues are confronted in real time on a world stage as Politician Donald Trump and Religious Leader Pope Leo XIV prove powerfully that politics and religion cannot be dissociated but must dialogue in order to find common ground in questions of human value, safety, and basic dignity.  They also each demonstrate (through their respective approaches and value systems) two very different levels of human moral & consciousness development.  
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and Setup 
00:33 Religion Meets Politics 
02:33 Same Core Questions
06:21 Human Dignity and Rights 
11:22 Consciousness Development and Political Behavior 
13:35 When Laws Protect the Wrong Values
14:40 Christian Nationalism and the LDS Church's Silence 
20:42 LDS Shadow History and the Epstein Files 
22:52 Justice and Accountability 
26:07 Power Morality and Resistance 
28:18 Rosa Parks and Inner Authority 
30:03 Early Faith vs Transformation 
33:08 Follow the Leader vs Follow the Divine Within 
33:21 Elder Gilbert, ICE Raids, and LDS Silence 
35:07 Legitimacy as the Highest Value in Mormonism 
41:45 Pope Leo vs Trump 
51:33 Episode Wrap and Next Steps
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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part IV of VII]
In this episode Val & Nathan continue to build a case that it is impossible for religious systems to be "neutral" on political issues. They explore how society evolves as religions & political systems engage in the dance of shaping and being shaped by one another and how in every era brave individuals lead out in inviting social change & can come from either spiritual realm as both politics & religions confront how to dignify human life.  
They also talk about how some churches lead the charge of social justice (confronting longstanding dominator hierarchies) and some churches are society's great "feet draggers" (defending dominator hierarchies). Why the feet-dragging?  And why do the "feet draggers" often finally begrudgingly jump on the enlightenment train?  
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and Series Setup
01:44 Legitimacy vs Transformation Religions
05:43 Silence and Power Structures
09:42 Why Churches Cannot Condemn
11:37 Article of Faith 12 Obedience
13:54 Moral Consequences and Neutrality
18:38 Religion and Politics Interwoven
19:55 Civilizational Development Framework
22:50 Center of Gravity in Mormonism
24:13 Leading Edge Reformers
25:54 Civil Rights Awakening
27:52 Laws Versus Hearts
30:17 Legitimacy Church Trap
31:19 Pressure Forces Change
37:06 BYU And Wyoming Seven
39:27 Social Capital And Attrition
42:47 Patriarchy Next Frontier
44:17 God Beyond Hierarchy
47:18 Why Churches Catch Up
48:03 Spiraling Toward Transformation
49:00 Next Episode Preview
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Join The Live Fellowship
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Friday Episodes Annual Access $89
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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part III of VII]
In this episode Val & Nathan go more "macro" and explain how churches (just like human beings and human civilizations) go through stages of development and that a church will choose its stances of "significant moral consequence"  accordingly.  In short, if a church is focused on earlier stage legitimacy--its all about preserving its favorite form(s) of dominator hierarchy.   If the church has matured into a focus on personal transformation--it moves towards a stance of dismantling dominator hierarchies.  And it is in moments of social unrest that one can see more clearly where a church is developmentally.  
Listen in and keep in mind--both type of church are necessary and serve a role in the development of the human race.  As these topics are explored, it is fundamental to the growth of our culture at large to recognize that later stages of development (in the human being and in the church) are built on earlier stages of development.  So lean into this, even if it's uncomfortable! 
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and Series Setup
00:46 Recap Political Neutrality
02:35 Statement Versus Practice
06:42 Why the Silence Now
08:51 Faith Leaders Speaking Up
14:20 Solidarity Over Self Preservation
20:32 Legitimacy Seeking Religion
27:59 Transformation Seeking Religion
31:18 Jesus Versus Christian Nationalism
32:43 Personal Stakes and Closing
Support the show
Support the show
Join The Live Fellowship
Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES
Friday Episodes Annual Access $89
Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10
Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups
Gift a Scholarship
Download Free Resources
Visit our Website