Latter Day Struggles 119: Is Your God Disappointed, Demanding, & Punishing?
Series Title: Healing our Ideas about God's Nature [Part I of II]
Today's episode is the first half of a fascinating conversation between Valerie and fellow therapist/podcaster Brannon Patrick where Val is guest on Brannon's new podcast "The Brannon Patrick Show”
In this two-part conversation they dive into how some of our received ideas about God may hurt us here in and around the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. These harmful [though possibly unintended] ideas includes the following:
- God is unapproachable until we are worthy enough and we need an intermediary to protect us from him
- We increase in lovability according to our righteousness
- Fear of God’s anger or disappointment is an effective motivator for obedience
- Pressure to “follow the covenant path” creates a high anxiety relationship with self, others, and God as well as a low sense of personal confidence, autonomy, struggles with perfectionism, and struggles with shame.
In response to these fraught ideas about God, Val and Brannon talk about how a new understanding of God can heal us both psychologically and spiritual. They discuss the following:
- The only motivation that is transformative in our growth and development is love
- Mistakes do not estrange us from God, they draw us towards God, provide experiential learning, embodied growth, and compassion for others’ struggles
- Our natural disposition is towards goodness
- When we experience ourselves as lovable, we simply become more of who we always were and therefore fear and shame have no healthy part in our life’s experiences
- God blesses every part of our personal journey
- Spiritual maturity creates resilience and decreasing need for validation
Next episode in this 2-part series: The White Man's Creation of the White Male God
To check out Brannon’s new podcast:
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