Mormon Mixed Faith Marriage Podcast

This is part 2 of a 3 part series on communication. Here I share a tool that will help you succeed in having a difficult conversation in your mixed faith marriage.

There are a few things to consider when you talk to your spouse about your or their faith transition. This podcast addresses a few key things to consider.

Guilt and shame almost invariably show up in a mixed faith marriage whether you are the active believing spouse or the spouse with the faith transition. The issue with guilt and shame is they do not motivate us and help us show up in helpful ways.

When faced with emotions in your mixed faith marriage there are a few ways you can respond. My recommendation is to process those emotions. Emotional processing is a skill anyone can develop. You just need to learn how and practice.

People pleasing is common in Mormon mixed faith marriages. It is one of the biggest blocks to emotional intimacy and causes tons of resentment.

We often default to certain roles when things get challenging in our mixed faith marriage. These roles may be undermining your goals and your marriage. Awareness of the roles is key to stepping out.

If you believe a mixed faith marriage is hard and not ideal, you will most like experience a marriage that is hard and not ideal. There is another choice.

We often have a set of rules on how we think our spouse should act, speak, dress, think, believe, and show up in our family. A faith transition can bring this to the surface fast!

If it feels like things are just happening to you in your mixed faith marriage it may be time to implement adulting- the art of being an adult. This means taking full responsibility for your emotional life.

If you find your attempts to talk with your spouse about faith and religion are a train wreck, it may be your emotions are being ignored.

Do you wish your spouse would change (go to church/not go to church, read this/don’t read this, believe something/don’t believe something) so you can feel better about them and your marriage? This can be an uphill battle. Here I talk about how to focus on what you can control in your marriage so frustration is not showing up on a regular basis.