Sunstone Podcast

The largest massacre of Native Americans by federal troops in the history of the United States took place in Cache Valley, Idaho, and it was both invited and condoned by the Mormons settling the area. Darren Parry, author of “The Bear River Massacre: A Shoshone History,” tells the story of that day on this episode of the Sunstone Podcast. This episode comes from the 2020 Sunstone Summe...

Heather Robertson and Christina Dee, both practicing members of the LDS Church, have experienced a significant shift in their approach to the LGBTQ community. This is their story. This episode comes from the 2020 Sunstone Summer Symposium.

Most people see their faith journey as taking them away from religion. But, using The Matrix, The Hobbit, and Star Wars, Stephen Carter uncovers evidence that faith journeys have something completely different up their sleeves.

It seems like every general conference is the same, but data analytics tells us otherwise. Quentin Spencer talks about the surprising things the prophets have stopped talking about during the past 80 years. This episode is a recording from the 2020 Sunstone Summer Symposium.

Susan Meredith Hinckley used to feel like she needed a bigger church, but behind that need was a more fundamental one: the need for a larger God. Regaining her spiritual footing after her children left Mormonism has required a new kind of faith: a turning away from the confines of what she had been taught and toward what she has seen and lived for herself. This episode is a session from the 2020 S...

What is it like to grow up as a “Lamanite” in the LDS Church? Sarah Newcomb talks about her complicated history as a seventh-generation Native American Mormon in this recording of a 2020 Sunstone Summer Symposium session.  

The LDS Church has an actual policy of never apologizing. Is it just to ward off lawsuits, or is something deeper going on? In this episode, Stephen Carter uncovers the roots of this policy and its surprising consequences.

In 2019, Kyle Ashworth released the “On the Record” project (lattergaystories.org/record), a detailed chronology of quotes and messaging about LGBTQIA+ issues from the LDS Church. In this episode, Ashworth takes us on a whirlwind tour of that history. Recorded at the 2021 Sunstone Symposium.

Most discussions about faith transitions center on adults. But what about the children of these parents? After his own faith transition, Jon Ogden wrestled with how he and his wife could best raise their kids — particularly while living in Utah County. In this episode, recorded at the 2021 Sunstone Symposium, Ogden shares lessons he and others have learned while building a new community and curric...

Many people who transition from orthodox Mormonism to either post or nuanced positions often look back on their sexual journey and feel that a lot of their decisions were co-opted by the Church. And now they’re dealing with grief, anger, feelings of betrayal, and the “what if?” syndrome. This episode addresses some of the common “what if’s?” that people deal with and how to move into healthier par...

To believe is to be human. But belief has a price—one that has risen higher and higher in recent years. Can we afford it anymore? That’s the question Stephen Carter asks as he explores Amanda Montell’s book “Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism.”

“Queer polygamy” is probably one of the most provocative phrases you could throw into an LDS conversation. But Blaire Ostler thinks it can open up constructive new ways of reimagining the ways we relate to each other. In this episode, Ostler and professor of religion Taylor Petrey unpack this phrase and explore its possibilities.

The idea that our spirits are the literal offspring of heavenly parents is found nowhere in LDS scripture or the writings, sermons, and contemporaneous teachings of Joseph Smith. In fact, the theology of Smith’s King Follett Discourse undermines the doctrine. Drawing from LDS scripture and Smith’s famous sermon, Rob Lauer presents a Mormon theology that fully embraces and celebrates people of all...

Liz Brown MacDonald interviewed fifteen young adults from rigidly religious homes who had left the LDS Church and was amazed by how many similarities their stories had. For example, the lengths the children would go to to cover up their disaffiliation with the church; the way their parents would blame themselves for the children’s disaffiliation; the heartbreak that attended both parents and child...

Displays showing the remains of Native Americans were pretty normal in LDS museums for many decades. In this episode, Thomas Murphy gives a brief history of how these displays came to be, who protested them, and why repatriation is finally starting to happen. This episode is from the 2021 Sunstone Symposium.

Is an LGBTQ worldview more Mormon than Mormonism these days? After reading Blaire Ostler’s book “Queer Mormon Theology,” Stephen Carter thinks so. In this episode, Stephen follows some of Ostler’s concepts to discover some startling compatibilities between the LGBTQ and LDS worldviews.

The LDS Church used to run on belief. But things have changed so drastically in the past five years that Stephen Carter believes only doubt can save it now. But it must be a very deep kind of doubt. One that would change the church forever.

It’s incredibly frustrating when groups construct a version of history that ignores documented facts. Why do we do it? Stephen Carter analyzes a recent article from the Atlantic showing why the descendants of Confederate veterans, Mormons, and the rest of us ignore facts.

In his new book, Patrick Mason argues that the best way to move the Restoration forward is to start … the Renovation? In this episode, Stephen Carter delves in to Mason’s ideas to see if a renovation will be enough to move Mormonism forward, and, if so, how we might actually go about it.

One of the biggest stars of the Netflix documentary “Murder Among the Mormons” is Shannon Flynn, who was Mark Hofmann’s close friend. In this episode, Bryan Buchanan and Lindsay Hansen Park talk with Flynn about his relationship with Hofmann, and Flynn’s behind-the-scenes role in the making of the documentary.

Mormonism has long been suspicious of the concept of grace, choosing to focus instead on worthiness. But worthiness culture was toxic for Katie Langston. During a 10-year spiritual journey, Katie learned about, experienced, and finally embraced grace. Stephen Carter talks with Katie about her journey and the book she’s publishing about it.

Interviewed by Jimmy Rex, Sunstone gathers some of the people who appeared on the Netflix documentary “Murder Among the Mormons” to talk about what it was like to be there during the time of Mark Hofmann’s forgeries and bombings. Panelists include Brent Ashworth, Curt Bench, Brent Metcalfe, and Sandra Tanner.

How do you go about making a movie about the notorious bombings committed by Mark Hoffman? Especially when Mormons are not your audience? Lindsay Hansen Park talks with Jared Hess and Tyler Measom about how they went about making the Netflix documentary “Murder Among the Mormons.”

In this recording of a Sunstone UK Fireside, Jane Christy talks about the difficulties and rewards of being an active member of a small LDS ward while being a feminist and bi-sexual.

Why is the doctrine of eternal polygamy so painful to so many Mormon women? Stephen Carter turns the question around, exploring why eternal polyandry would be a painful prospect to Mormon men. The answers lie in the limbic layer of the brain, which has a lot to teach us about the delicate workings of love.