Mormon Discussion Podcast

Today We sit down with Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye. She is a scholar and has been around the world in many capacities. She currently lives in Hong Kong. She shares with us her perspective of the Global Church, how the Church itself doesn’t fit a mold, and how each of us might benefit from being aware of such diversity. We end the podcast talking about malnutrition among LDS children in other co...

Today we talk by Unrighteous Dominion and all its forms. The resources are awesome and so please check them out. We talk about all the ways that we as God’s children diminsh others and take away others moral agency.     – http://bycommonconsent.com/2010/09/20/courage-revelation-and-unrighteous-dominion/ – http://www.modernmormonmen.com/2013/03/institutional-unrighteous-...

https://mdpodcast.org We are in our classes taught the creation, the fall, God’s dealings with his first two mortal children Adam and Eve. Many LDS see these accounts as absolutely literal with little room for deviation. Sticking with the MormonDiscussion Mantra…. We tear it down and build it back up again. Let’s hold on tight… and let’s take a closer look Resources:...

We sit down with Janet Eyring. She tells her story of being a seeker, losing faith and leaving the Church, the sense of loss from having missed out on the faith of her youth while spending 20 years outside the Church, and her return the LDS Church. We talk about how her advice for those with similar journeys and where her faith has brought her. Janet L. Eyring (BA Spanish, Brigham Young University...

Today I want to express my Gratitude for what “The powers that be” (First Presidency, Quorum of the 12 Apostles, Curriculum committee, and others who impact what I hear and learn on Sundays) have done to help me in my trial of faith.  I also want to ask and offer ideas on behalf of me and all who struggle for things that seem reasonable and which would lessen one’s trial of faith...

[[[ WARNING — WARNING — WARNING ]]] – This episode contains mature conversation that may be inappropriate for young listeners. Today we sit down with Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, licensed psychotherapist, who Specializes in Individual and Couples Counseling. We talk today about LDS sexuality, how it is affected by LDS Culture and Doctrine and how to battle sexual suppression foun...

Today’s episode focuses on discussing some assumptions about what we know about the 12 Apostles in the Meridian of Time.  We use as a backdrop for this episode an article titled “Fishers of Fish, Fishers of Men” where non LDS author Jerome Murphy-O’Connor discusses the Historical context of these men were.  We end this episode then relaying how this understanding changes ou...

Today we talk about the far reaching repercussions beyond the sole issue of the priesthood ban.  I attempt to show our Church is growing up and while this announcement provides problematic issues to work on such as defining Doctrine and how we as members dissent it also shows great maturation of the Church and may indeed usher in a whole new paradigm in which we view what the Church is and how we...

I sit down with Valerie Hudson and discuss feminism and being who you are in spite of the pressure to conform. we also touch on subjects like mental illness, her conversion, and the ordain women movement. Dr. Valerie Hudson joined the faculty of the Bush School in 2012 as the George Bush Chair. An expert on international security and foreign policy analysis, she received her PhD in political scien...

Today we spend time discussing the narrative and timeline of the Priesthood ban, it subsequent rescinding. We also talk about the wider breadth of its impact on Doctrine http://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng http://www.pbs.org/mormons/interviews/holland.html https://mormonstories.org/other/Lowry_Nelson_1st_Presidency_Exchange.pdf http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/t...

In today’s episode we explore who is called of God and where those called of God can be found. We end correlating this with understanding how we should treat those of other faiths. – Are only leaders in the LDS church “called” of God? – Is there a valid reason to be arrogant on any level because God has placed you in the LDS Church? – Does LDS Doctrine and theol...

Todays episode is an interview with Mark Ashurst-McGee. He is an employee of the Church History Department. He is also one of the editors on the Joseph Smith Papers project. Bro. Ashurst-McGee received a B.A. and B.S. from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1994,[4] and an M.A. in History from Utah State University (USU) in 2000. His master’s thesis on Joseph Smith’s religious developme...

Today I sit down with Seth Payne.  A religion and Mormon Studies scholar.  We discuss why people leave the LDS faith and what ways we could better support them Seth was one of the presenters at the 2013 FairMormon Conference and his paper he presented is included below http://www.sethpayne.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2013/08/Pastoral-Apologetics-FAIR-FINAL.pdf http://www.sethpayne.com/ex-mormon...

Unity vs Diversity Are these two ideals on two opposite ends of the Spectrum or are these two compatible allies in a Christlike effort to bring all unto Christ.  I weigh in on these two ideals and attempt to show the following – Why we sometimes feel the need to make others fit a mold simply because they are different? – Where that false premise comes from? – What does the Gospel...

My interview with Blair Hodges.  He works in Public Affairs with the Neal A Maxwell institute.   We discuss the changes at the Maxwell institute, the general status of faith struggles in the Church, along with his working alongside Richard Bushman and Terryl Givens.  We discuss faith and how we each are different in how we implement faith in our lives. http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/ http://www.m...

We sit down with LDS author Susan Swann author of the book “Coming Home: A Mormon’s Return to Faith” Description of her book: Susan’s story of her painful journey away from her Mormon faith and her road back home delivers a message of hope and encouragement that will help others also struggling to find their way. The lovely scenes of family relationships that were so instru...

Critics cite The Church as intentionally creating a simple sanitized view of the Translation of the Book of Mormon.  But what really happened?  Here is my personal take on the Translation process and what I think is a very good shot at the real storyline.  Did the Church intentionally hide information?  What are we to make of Joseph’s “Treasure Digging”?  We discuss this and much...

Last week we discussed my faith transition model.  This week I share with you my personal journey working through those three phases.  This is based on a paper I was asked to contribute to Terryl and Fiona Givens and hope that in understanding the three phases and the real life application in my personal faith journey, you might have added strength and support in your trials of faith.  Thanks for...

Faith is not constant and the transitions of faith are very natural.  Today we talk about how faith develops.  We try to create a model that is helpful to those who are in a faith struggle but desire a reconciliation to faith.  We split faith development into 3 phases to simplify it and discuss at length what each of those phases entail and how to reflect on them in a way that allows faith to triu...

Nick Galieti steps in this week to guest host this episode of MormonDiscussion.  He has put together a masterful gospel discussion on the Atonement using James R. Rasband’s talk “Faith to Forgive Grievous Harms: Accepting the Atonement as Restitution” The complete talk can be found here http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2075 https://devotional.byuh.edu/media130219 Nick...

Terryl Givens, professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond, where he holds the James A. Bostwick Chair in English.  He is the author of several books including “By The Hand of Mormon” and has a book approaching publishing called “The Crucible of Doubt”.  Terryl has been part of a series of firesides given to helps doubters address their framework and...

A fireside I did on God’s Grace and my view of the Doctrine of Christ.  There is a powerpoint associated with this episode that is available for sale on the products page which is great for Firesides. Premium subscribers get the powerpoint for free, email me for that – reelmormon@gmail.com Brad Wilcox – His Grace is Suffcient Stephen Robinson – “Believing Christ&#8221...

Richard Bushman – The foremost scholar on Joseph Smith and author of “Rough Stone Rolling” sits down with me and discusses Faith Crisis.  What helps and What doesn’t and how we need to deal with the historical issues head on!!!!   Thank you for subscribing Read the 2008 article referenced in the Episode here – http://www.lifeongoldplates.com/2008/08/bushmans-introduct...

Today I sit down with Karin Mecham.  She recounts her story of growing up with a very dogmatic Grandfather who was well known in the Church in his home area.  She also shares how her parents offered balance with their support and non-judgemental approach.  She shares her bad choices which led to a teenage pregnancy and recounts how she handled it.  This story goes to show that while generally poli...

I sit down and have a discussion with Jon Westover over What is Doctrine and What isn’t.  We attempt to try and excavate doctrine amidst the culture.  Using statements from leaders and our own unauthoritative insights, we try to establish ways the average member can navigate “What is Doctrine”. – How big is the “Box” of Mormon Doctrine? – What is the Churc...