Pioneering Paradox: A podcast for conflicted saints

For the past 13 years Audra Phelps has been living with her family over seas working in international schools  in Azerbaijan, Kazakstan, Kosovo, and timor-leste which is a country I didn’t know existed but is near Indonesia.  Living abroad gave her the freedom to begin asking herself deeper questions about her faith and what she actually wanted in her own spiritual life. Naturally living abroad ga...

Entering new stages of faith can be frightening but it can also be very exciting. In this convo with our good friend Blake Muir we discuss how spirituality can mean many things and ritual can expand into territory that is unique to each individual.

I was fascinated to discover that two of my good friends who are also brothers were on two ends of the political spectrum. This made me curious how two brothers that I respect see things so differently. I am grateful they were willing to come on and discuss it in a way that was civil and respectful. We based this discussion on the Moral Foundations Theory as proposed by Jonathan Haight.

For almost 200 years, Latter-day Saints were taught that the Book of Mormon tells the story of the Native peoples of North and South America. One Church pamphlet distributed to Native Americans of all tribes stated, and I quote: “The best source of true information that tells you who you are, where you came from, and what you can achieve is found in an important book—the Book of Mormon.” Today we’...

Meagan Skidmore is the author author of TransparentSEE: How I Learned to SEE through My Journey as a Parent of a Transgender Kiddo It's a memoir that chronicles her journey as the parent of a transgender child. Through personal stories, reflection, and spiritual exploration, Skidmore examines how her understanding of identity, faith, family, and love evolved over time. The book invites readers...

Melissa de Leon Mason is a therapist in Cache Valley, Utah. She is a graduate of Notre Dame University. She has amassed a following of 10k people on her insta account @quilttallthethings and has spoken on the national level Melissa de Leon Mason is a therapist based in Cache Valley, Utah. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has built a following of over 10,000 on her Instagram ac...

As part of a roll out of our 2027 Tours we are excited to announce a tour to Southern Italy April 22-30 with McArthur Krishna and Amy Watkins Jensen. See details here: https://www.reliqtravel.com/tours/becoming

Many of you know that my wife Melanie and I experienced a very difficult and long faith upheaval that affected nearly every aspect of our lives. We can laugh about it now but those years of struggle were very serious and tense times for us. but they were also full of new ideas, unlearning false traditions, rebirth, and excitement. In this episode we talk about how we formed new framework and spiri...

"Every single one of us is selling something or trying to persuade someone multiple times a day. Whether it’s convincing your kids to eat their vegetables and finish their homework, or gently steering your spouse toward Mexican food instead of Italian on date night. The truth is, the art of persuasion is one of the most important skills we can develop. When done well, it strengthens relationships....

Eschatology is a word I didn't know prior to this convo with Chad Ford. It deals with theology of end times and how that changes behavior . Chad makes a case that the Latter Day Saint theology dictates that we are co builders with God and we are not to just sit around and let the world collapse around us. How do we balance social ills with inner peace? What can the Latter Day Saints do with the ca...

In 2013 one fast and testimony meeting altered the course of our neighborhood. Four families started something we didn't realize would become a yearly tradition, but last week we completed our 14th annual neighborhood National Park Trip. today we have visited 17 parks. I invited Peggy Craney and Corinne Kelly to join me and Mel to talk about how it all began, how it can be replicated (we hope) wha...

One day Celestial Marriage (Polygamy) was considered the "Capstone" of our religion, and the next day anyone who continued the practice with a new marriage or even showed favor toward it were excommunicated. That stands still today. The church went from fighting for "the principle" to helping the US government root our fundamentalists in our midst. All the while we never full s...

The Book of Mormon presents an interesting paradox: it is often placed on a pedestal, almost like a trophy, as a symbol that we possess the truth, while at the same time it cautions against that very kind of attitude. I haven't read the Book of Mormon in ten years (Casey). I called Will and told him the other day that Donald Trump is almost making me believe in the Book of Mormon again for rea...

MELANIE MCFARLAND of True Within You emotional wellness joins Wil Wood and Casey McFarland to have a discussion about how adults can model civility, hope and better communication for the next generation.

Seven years ago, a group in Cache Valley created  FHE for ALL , a community that provides a safe place for LGBTQ Mormons to simply be themselves. In this conversation, Jenny Mathews shares her story of her father coming out when she was in high school, an experience that was very difficult at the time but has since become one of the greatest blessings in her life. Many people contribute to making...

The paradox of Clark Gilbert is that he is both a preserver and a disruptor. He built his reputation on the logic of disruptive innovation arguing that institutions must be willing to dismantle parts of themselves to survive, yet his motivation has often been deeply conservative: to protect enduring values, faith communities, and long-term institutional purpose. He is willing to fire 40% of a news...

In the fall of 2023 , local leaders in the bay area were instructed by the Area presidency to no longer allow women sit on the stand during ward and stake conferences. While it is not something done in all wards or stakes it was something this area had done for nearly a decade to show respect and honor women leaders in their area. The sudden change was deeply hurtful and left a lot of members aski...

In this episode, we’re joined by the marvelous McArthur Krishna. McArthur has been on the front lines reminding Latter-day Saints that Heavenly Mother is not a side note to our story but rather essential and that without Her, we will always be out of balance. She has co-written 14 books, primarily focused on Heavenly Mother and women in the scriptures and she is heavily involved in the world of La...

Melanie and Casey sit down with Blake Muir for what we are calling Coffee Hour with Blake. Blake asks the question "If there is Eternal Progression, could there be eternal digression?" Without diversity in heaven would we progress? We also discuss what heaven would be like without our LGBTQ members. Would that be heaven? Is there sin in thinking you are going to heaven while thinking oth...

Many people know Patrick Mason as a scholar of Mormon and Christian history but not everyone knows he graduated also with a Masters in International Peace Studies at Notre Dame. Peacemaking is a topic that comes with baggage. It is often mistaken for passivity and a manipulative tool to keep people ifrom rocking the boat. Patrick argues the exact opposite. Peacemaking is anything but passive. We o...

We are joined by the articulate, intelligent, and courageous Valerie Hamaker of the Latter Day Struggles Podcast . As a therapist, Valerie has been a vital support to individuals and families navigating the complexities of faith in the 21st century. Through tireless effort, she has built an extraordinary network of resources—including therapy, workshops, and educational tools—designed to help thos...

We loved our conversation with Orlando so much, we had to bring him back for a bonus episode. In this second part, Melanie McFarland (@truewithinyou) sits down with Orlando Tsosie to explore his Navajo spiritual tradition. Orlando shares stories of helping his mother, a medicine woman, and speaks about the gifts and experiences that shaped his path. He also touches on elements of the Diné Bahane&#...

Casey saw a UFO. So what does that mean? Melanie joins me and Wil to discuss how in Latter-day Saint theology, this phenomena bumps up against a quiet but persistent paradox: a God vast enough to organize “worlds without number,” yet a religious culture often lived out in small wards, narrow social expectations, and very local ways of thinking. The cosmic scope of the plan of salvation stretches a...

From the earliest days of the Latter-day Saint movement, Native Americans have been part of our story—and, for better or worse, we have been part of theirs, especially in the American West. It’s not always an easy story to tell. It involves colonization, displacement, and at times even massacre. The full story may never be completely told, as it is often one-sided. But there are other stories—stor...

Welcome to Pioneering Paradox (@pioneeringparadox) , hosted by Wil Wood (@willywouldnt) and Casey McFarland (@caseymcfarlandphoto). Here, we explore the messy, meaningful, and often difficult conversations within the Latter-day Saint tradition. We believe paradox is not a problem to solve but a healthy way to hold the tension of complex issues. As Richard Rohr reminds us, “Paradox is the only lang...