Latter Day Struggles

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Faith Journeying Parents of Adult Children [Part III of IV] In this tender episode Valerie has a conversation with special guest, Kim, who shares the intense emotional experience of entering into her own faith journey in the face of terror that she might lose the love and trust of her children and grandchildren.   This episode walks us through the steps she...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Faith Journeying Parents of Adult Children [Part I of IV] In this series Val is joined by therapist, colleague and friend Liz MacDonald to dive deeply into the world of the faith expanding Latter-day Saint with more traditionally believing adult children.  They explore the unique stressors of this parent/child dynamic when the parent “goes first” on a faith...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Embracing Anxiety, Ambiguity & Ambivalence as a Grown-A** Adults [Part III of IV] Remember when things were so simple? Back in the day when we were experts on pretty much everything related to life and eternity?  Well, if you’re listening to Latter Day Struggles, you’ve likely let that go and are learning to embrace ambiguity.  This episode tackles why...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Embracing Anxiety, Ambiguity & Ambivalence as a Grown-A** Adults [Part I of IV] Join Val and Nathan in this fast-paced 4-part conversation walking you through some hard evidence that you ARE, in fact, growing up!  This series tackles why humans long for certainty, and how early life is mainly focused on avoiding anxiety.   It goes on to help you see tha...

Send us a Positive Review! Join Val and colleague Dr. Julie Hanks as they dive into the topic of differentiation and how being differentiated is the key to our making healthy choices related to our relationship with the church. This episode is a wonderful “teaser” for those who want to jump into their FINAL 4-week Q&A session, focused on supporting those people perplexed about how to relate to...

Send us a Positive Review! A couple of months ago Valerie was invited by the Faith Matters Podcast to speak about one of the toughest topics they’ve ever covered—how to navigate the faith journey of a loved one when that faith journey seems to be costing a marriage or family eternal life together with that loved one.  When that episode dropped, both the Latter Day Struggles and the Faith Matters p...

Send us a Positive Review! Join Valerie and fellow podcaster Aubrey Chaves of the Faith Matters podcast as together they discuss the vision and purpose of the Restore Conference.  A common belief among these two brave and compassionate women?  True growth and connection is about being welcome and accepted wherever you are on your faith journey.  No fine print.  In their unique ways each are involv...

Send us a Positive Review!  Series Title: Plato's Allegory of the Cave & the LDS Faith Expansion Journey [Part III of IV] In this episode, Valerie and Nathan delve into how faith journeys can be compared to the transformative experience of seeing the sun for the first time and the internal and external struggle that comes with returning to the cave. How does the hero of Plato’s story reco...

Send us a Positive Review! Series title: Plato's Allegory of the Cave & the LDS Faith Expansion Journey [Part I of IV] What could Plato and "The Matrix" possibly have in common?? In episode one (of this four part series), Val and Nathan discuss themes that echo throughout ancient philosophy and modern day society. They begin this series by introducing Plato’s “Allegory of the Ca...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Vertical Development & the LDS Faith Journey with Ryan Gottfredson [Part III of IV] In this episode, Valerie and Ryan expand on the characteristics of a vertically developing mind. This episode highlights the characteristics of the most psychologically developed mind--characteristics that embody only 1% of the population!   This "mind 3.0" val...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Vertical Development & the LDS Faith Journey with Ryan Gottfredson [Part I of IV] In this opening episode [of a four-part series], Valerie welcomes organizational psychologist Ryan Gottfredson for a fascinating study of how our level of psychological development impacts how we (our loved ones, our friends, and our church!) navigate religion and spiritua...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Redefining Spiritual Experiences [Part I of II] In this episode of Latter Day Struggles, Valerie and Nathan respond to a very common question that people in early faith crisis often ask:  "What do I make of my former spiritual experiences?"   This two part series tackles many aspects of this perplexing aspect of faith expansion.  Val and Nathan ta...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Moving Beyond the Transactional Gospel [Part I of II] Is it time to graduate from your "Pee Wee" (aka "beginner level" for all of you non-football players) level of discipleship?  If you're listening to this podcast, we are pretty sure the answer is a resounding YES!  Bring on the Pro-Level!  In this enlightening episode of Latter D...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: A Study of Loyalty [Part I of II] In this episode Valerie and Nathan delve into the delicate relationship between love, loyalty, and integrity. They discuss how loyalty, when prioritized over love, can lead to moral conflicts, confusion and systemic issues.  The conversation centers around recognizing loyalty as a near enemy to love, particularly within pol...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Atonement & the American Criminal Justice System [Part III of IV] Welcome to this episode where Valerie and special guest Fiona Givens dive deep into each of their favorite topics:  neuroscience & trauma (looking at you Valerie!) & healthy atonement theology (now looking at you Fiona!).  A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the imp...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Atonement & the American Criminal Justice System [Part I of IV] Welcome to a podcast series that has been months in the making and one that you will NOT want to miss if you desire to find health and healing in your relationship with God, atonement, hope, and healing.   In this four part series, Valerie welcomes return guest and gifted LDS theologian Fio...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title:  Exposing the Near Enemy [Part III of IV] In this episode Val and Nathan continue their deep dive into applications of the Buddhist concept of the near enemy, shining a light on how this concept might apply to how the LDS and surrounding community might grow in light and truth as these ideas are understood and embraced.  They focus on how behaviors like sel...

Send us a Positive Review!  Series Title: Exposing the Near Enemy [Part I of IV] In this opening episode of this new series Valerie and Nathan delve into the profound concept of the "Near Enemy," highlighting how certain behaviors that superficially resemble virtues actually hinder personal growth and damage interpersonal relationships.  Drawing from Buddhist wisdom and Brené Brown'...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Healing from Spiritual Scrupulosity [Part III of IV] In this episode Valerie welcomes fellow therapist colleague Brannon Patrick for a discussion highlighting the profound impact of OCD scrupulosity on individuals within the LDS community.  In an unexpected turn of events, both Val and Brannon realize that they each struggled in their adolescence with the s...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Healing from Spiritual Scrupulosity [Part I of IV] In this opening episode  focused on OCD spiritual scrupulosity in the context of the LDS church, Valerie begins by interviewing Taylor Kerby, author the the book "Scrupulous: My Obsessive Compulsion for God".  In this episode Taylor shares his journey with spiritual scrupulosity, explaining how th...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Exploration of Camille Johnson’s Address about Modern Mormon Motherhood [Part II of II]  In preparation for Friday's sensitive-content exclusive episode 230, Valerie offers a detailed overview of the entirety of General Relief Society President Camille Johnson's recent address given at the 2024 BYU Women's Conference.  This address was both i...

Send us a Positive Review! Big News! Listen in and rest assured that more info is coming! Thanks for being here on our mutual faith expansion journey!  Support the show Stories of Healing: Live Event July 30th in SLC Support the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Schola...

Send us a Positive Review! In this thought-provoking episode Valerie is the guest on the fabulous podcast "At Last She Said It" with hosts Cynthia Winward and Susan Hinckley. In this conversation this dynamic trio dives deep into the challenging concept of "good hard" vs. "bad hard" within the LDS community.  They highlight the crucial difference between actions drive...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: The Feminine Divine, Nature, & Radical Healing [Part III of IV] In this enlightening conversation, Valerie and special guest author Kathryn Sonntag delve deeper into the enriching concepts presented in "The Mother Tree: Discovering the Love and Wisdom of Our Divine Mother."  In this episode they continue using the metaphor of a tree to help us...

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: The Feminine Divine, Nature, & Radical Healing [Part I of IV] In this enlightening part one of this new series Valerie welcomes author and feminist scholar Kathryn Knight Sonntag to explore the themes of growth, development, and spiritual connection through Kathryn's book, "The Mother Tree."  Their discussion encompasses the significance...