Latter Day Struggles

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...

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 gr...

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"...

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...

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 f...

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...

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...

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 grou...

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...

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...

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/th...

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 spi...

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 communi...

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 str...

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...

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: Accep...

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 s...

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 sel...

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...

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...

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 answ...

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:...

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...

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 se...

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 S...