Latter Day Struggles

Send us a Positive Review! In this episode Valerie welcomes Dr. Brad Reedy, colleague, author, and fellow psychotherapist working primarily with an LDS audience in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Brad has spent decades helping LDS families find peace and connection when life gets complicated and the LDS belief system and practices no longer can hold a family together and sometimes threaten to tear them apa...

Send us a Positive Review! In this not-to-be-missed episode, Val interviews Michael McLean (of The Forgotten Carols and Mr. Kruger's Christmas) and his delightful son Jeff about a book they just co-wrote recounting their journey to unconditional love for self and one another in a religious tradition that still struggles to embrace the reality that the worth of EVERY soul (not just the married...

Send us a Positive Review! In this episode, Val is joined by Greg Prince, and their focus begins with Hugh B Brown’s legacy of gutsy leadership & expands to an exploration of the broader implications of the LDS Church's aging leaders (due to their succession-by-seniority-policy multiplied by advancements in medicine in the past several decades).  Does modern science about increasing life...

Send us a Positive Review! The news is getting out.  Patriarchy harms everyone in its clutches. The women and children of course. But men too. Actually, it hurts them a lot. The more we have words for how this hurts us, the more we can advocate for change but also embody change in how we see ourselves, treat one another and live our lives.   If you are just realizing that much of your faith crisis...

Send us a Positive Review! In this special Office Hours recording, a couple dozen people joined Valerie to talk about the emotional experience that only the former devout Mormon will understand.  Why does this weekend bring up so much?   Listen to Val & four of the guests that attended this Office Hours recording as they talk about grief, loneliness, fear, and confusion.  They hit topics that...

Send us a Positive Review! Just a quick announcement to start a process of changing my philosophy here on Latter Day Struggles. I care deeply about two things: YOU... And offering psychologically healing content for your Mormon faith expansion journey. If time or resources have ever been a barrier in joining one of my deeply healing groups--this upcoming pilot experiment group is for YOU.  To all...

Send us a Positive Review! Very few of us doubt that we have been profoundly impacted by the imprints of patriarchy in our early personality development. What most do not know is that this is not a 'life sentence'.  In this episode Val walks through her passion, approach, and even a few specific activities built into her updated Healing from Patriarchy group curriculum. If you are not su...

Send us a Positive Review! Patriarchy impacts people at a soul-wrenching level, and perhaps no other group is more stricken than our LGBTQ+ community. Please join us for a re-drop of a beautiful episode looking at Carol Lynn Pearson's breathtaking book, Goodbye, I Love You, which Valerie references to describe a 5 messages internalized by LDS queer people AND 5 healing counterpoints- deep tru...

Send us a Positive Review! In this priceless short series, Val & Carol Lynn delve into Carol Lynn's deepest passion: feminism.  Listen is as she delights us with stories about her unforgettable one-woman play "Mother Wove the Morning" and even moves into her amazing actress role and performs 2 of her characters!   Then join Val & CLP as they talk about another version of &ap...

Send us a Positive Review! In honor of our very beloved Carol Lynn Pearson (a bold, sassy woman and the dearest of mentors to me) I wanted to share this beautiful two-part conversation that we had early in the podcast. Listen in and take in what true wit, wisdom, courage, healthy personal authority and value of one's community looks like all wrapped up in one glorious woman.   Timestamps: 00:...

Send us a Positive Review! Join Val as her audience while she does a final run through on a topic that has come to be a passion project for her on Latter Day Struggles.  In short, what can we do as faith-expanding people in and around the LDS church to ease the polarization between the fiery fundamentalist Mormon and the fiery Ex-Mormon?   Oddly enough, these two "poles" exist as counter...

Send us a Positive Review! Have you ever done something for the first time and feel that pit in your stomach as it approaches?  Well, here at Latter Day Struggles, pretty much EVERYTHING  that we do is a first!  And it always brings that insecure "what have I gotten myself into?" sensation!   This episode is Val's candid reflections about an evening shared with over a hundred "...

Send us a Positive Review! Lately there has been a lot of talk about the LDS disaffiliation crisis in the 21st century. Here at Latter Day Struggles we support open dialogue about what happening in our LDS homes and congregations.   Please enjoy this special "audiobook" addition of a Latter Day Struggles series unpacking some groundbreaking research done by therapist Liz Macdonald explor...

Send us a Positive Review! In this episode Val digs into the concept of prophet worship [or any time humans hand over their discerning power to a formal authority figure] from the context of psychology and the “shadow”.  While we tend to talk about our “shadows” from the context of that which we are ashamed of, sometimes we actually disown our greatest divine attributes.  Tune in to this episode t...

Send us a Positive Review! In this episode Valerie tackles a seemingly contradictory pair of claims:  The LDS church is experiencing record-breaking growth!  The LDS church is experiencing record-breaking defection!  Is one narrative simply not true?  Interestingly, the answer is no, both narratives are true. Join Val as she unpacks these seemingly contradictory claims & breaks down how these...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Torn: Why People We Love are Leaving the Church & What We Can Learn from Them [Part III of III] In this final episode of this beautiful series featuring guest author Jeff Strong & his bestselling book Torn: Why People We Love are Leaving the Church & What We Can Learn from Them, Val & Jeff cover four "culture imbalances" that thous...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Torn: Why People We Love are Leaving the Church & What We Can Learn from Them [Part II of III] In this fascinating episode, guest author Jeff Strong & Valerie tackle several key points that Jeff courageously and gently addresses in his bestselling book Torn: Why People We Love are Leaving the Church & What We can Learn from Them. Today, Jeff &am...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Torn: Why People We Love are Leaving the Church & What We Can Learn from Them [Part 1 of 3] In this three part series, Valerie is joined by Jeff Strong- friend, colleague, and author of the best-selling book Torn: Why People We Love are Leaving the Church & What We Can Learn from Them. In this opening episode, Jeff shares his personal experience as...

Send us a Positive Review! In this episode, Valerie & colleague Jana Spangler are guests on Dan Wotherspoon's Latter Day Faith podcast where they talk about a little known version of the human shadow.   Many of us know about the 'classic shadow'...you know...parts of ourselves that we are ashamed of and seek to hide.  What about parts of ourselves that we also hide...even though...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: "Latter Day Missionaries": A Mental Health Resource for LDS Missionaries & their Families [Part II of II] In this episode Dr. Bryson Ensign joins Valerie again to unpack OCD & scrupulosity in the LDS mission field. This episode first explores how Dr. Bryson covers OCD/scrupulosity in his "Mental Health Training Center". It also e...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: "Latter Day Missionaries": A Mental Health Resource for LDS Missionaries & their Families [Part I of II] Do you know anyone who experienced issues with anxiety, depression, homesickness, getting along with that annoying companion, or struggles with shame and perfectionism on their LDS mission? Was that you? Your child? If you have been touched...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part VII of VII] This final episode of this series is our response to the point of view that Jesus did not ‘get political’. Jesus (and each of us) cannot avoid being political. We state our “politics” with each stance to either uphold or resist dominator hierarchies. And Jesus’ whole ministry can be defined by resistance to any system...

Send us a Positive Review! 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.  Transcendi...

Send us a Positive Review! 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 ov...

Send us a Positive Review! 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 f...