Latter Day Struggles

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: The Profound Impact of Feminine Suppression on Men & their Churches [Part V of VIII]. In this compelling episode Valerie and Nathan delve deep into the subtleties of benevolent patriarchy and how it places harmful pressures on men. They explore the unrealistic expectations for men to always be strong, the emotional and psychological costs of these societal norms, and how these pressures can lead to personal and relational breakdowns. Once again, Nathan lays it all out there with his own life experiences and talks about the debilitating pressure that he dutifully carried until he realized that this load was not only not necessary, but that it was not helpful, loving, or good for himself or his loved ones. Support the showListen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Subscription $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Subscription $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Donate: ⁠Venmo or Patreon⁠ Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: The Profound Impact of Feminine Suppression on Men & their Churches [Part III of VIII]Glad you're back! In this episode Valerie and Nathan delve into the impact that the overemphasis on masculine energy has on the ideas and practices within the LDS church because it is an institutional patriarchy. Today they focus on the masculine trait of competitiveness and explore how this plays out in unhealthy ways when not balanced with collaboration, its feminine counterpart. They then show how the masculine attribute of protection can also go sideways when not balanced with the feminine trait of emotional connection. In each case, they will offer on-the-ground examples that you might have felt uncomfortable about but never thought to connect to the deprivation of feminine energies within the church. This episode and series was designed to show that healthy humans and systems need the divine, balancing energies of the masculine and the feminine and that there are very real consequences when both are not honored and celebrated. As they say, once you see it, you cannot "not" see it. Val and Nathan are honored to be a part of this eye-opening and healing journey towards balance and personal and institutional healing. Support the showListen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Subscription $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Subscription $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Donate: ⁠Venmo or Patreon⁠ Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: The Profound Impact of Feminine Suppression on Men and their Churches [Part I of VIII]Val and Nathan's series tackling the common traits connecting psychologically/spiritually underdeveloped people with men strongly socialized in a patriarchy went NUTS in response, shares, and downloads (episodes 283-288) as expected.  Why?  Because our LDS faith expanding community seems to be STARVING to learn more about what health and wholeness looks like when women and men are both seen and treated as equals.  No fear, there is SO MUCH to say on this topic...at least eight more episodes!  In this opening episode of a new series diving even deeper into the on-the-ground costs exacted on men due to their patriarchal wiring, Val and Nathan start by creating a framework for what healthy masculinity and femininity could look like in every human being socialized as equals (no matter their gender!)  This episode focuses on how masculinity/maleness and femininity/femaleness are often used interchangeably and deeply misunderstood in this patriarchal world where we've all be raised.  This episode sets the record straight on this topic as a foundation of the rest of this series.   This entire 8-part series aims to foster a more balanced understanding of both masculine and feminine traits within all people regardless of gender, particularly within the context of the LDS faith community as we confront the relational and spiritual harm caused by patriarchal structures of every shape and size.  Support the showListen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Subscription $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Subscription $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Donate: ⁠Venmo or Patreon⁠ Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: Cutting Edge Research on the LDS Faith Journey Experience [Part I of II]You're in for a wonderful two episodes here as Valerie welcomes researcher and author Jana Reiss for a conversation brimming with details about Jana's current project (a forthcoming book!) centered around the diverse personal experiences of hundreds of people on the LDS faith spectrum. In order to not give too many spoilers for the next two episodes, you'll need to tune in to hear what she is learning in both her surveys and oral history interviews about people like yourself and also about people whom you love on different places of the spectrum. In this info-packed two part conversation they hit (among other things!): sociopolitical influences on the LDS faith journey navigating sexual ethics during/after the faith journeythe role of "edge" dwellers on potentially helping our LDS faith spectrum learn how to talk to one anotherJana's research is in part an effort to help us wherever we are on the LDS spectrum understand one another better...which we couldn't love more here on the Latter Day Struggles podcast! Jana's book The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church can be found HERESupport the showListen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Subscription $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Subscription $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Donate: ⁠Venmo or Patreon⁠ Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!When someone starts a podcast in the LDS faith journey space, one question that is often asked is this: "Have You ALWAYS had this much courage?" Join Valerie in this episode as she asks this question to friends and colleagues Susan and Cynthia of "At Last She Said It". In this episode Susan & Cynthia share very different stories about their journeys that led them to the airwaves. Their stories are each unique in part because their temperaments are totally different, and perhaps that is what makes their work so relatable, engaging, and inspiring. So whether you are an introvert (like Susan) or an extrovert (like Cynthia) there will definitely be something in this episode for you if you're looking to find that backbone and voice of your own to use in some realm of your life! Support the showListen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Subscription $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Subscription $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Donate: ⁠Venmo or Patreon⁠ Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Happy holidays Latter Day Struggles listeners!  For the next four episodes you will enjoy a few "Classic" episodes that have received some of the highest number of downloads and waves of feedback that these are among some of the most impactful episodes for many listeners.Also, as a way to share my love and gratitude for all of you during this holiday season, the classic episodes dropped on Friday 12/27/24 and Monday 1/3/25 will be open to ALL listeners!  Thank you for your support as your subscriptions make this podcast possible and sustainable in the long run.  Today’s Classic is episode 211: Show notes: Join Valerie as she explores a variety of topics connected to the 2024 rebirth of the Law of Common Consent demonstrated by LDS women throughout the world who recently voted "opposed" to claims that women in the LDS church have more authority than women of other church's worldwide. In this episode, Valerie processes a variety of topics including: **Several reasons why the LDS church has chronic struggles with allowing women equality. **A conversation about historical lack of collaboration with systems of learning, knowledge, and worldwide restoration enlightenment. **A maladaptive commitment to "immovability". **A conversation about the need to address intersectionality of the feminine divine and queer issues in LDS "eternal family" theology.**Encouragement to embody love as the foundational energy of lasting spiritually-empowering social reform. Support the showListen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Subscription $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Subscription $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Donate: ⁠Venmo or Patreon⁠ Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Happy holidays Latter Day Struggles listeners!  For the next four episodes you will enjoy a few "Classic" episodes that have received some of the highest number of downloads and waves of feedback that these are among some of the most impactful episodes for many listeners.Also, as a way to share my love and gratitude for all of you during this holiday season, the classic episodes dropped on Fridays 12/27/24 and  1/3/25 will be open to ALL listeners!  Thank you for your support as your subscriptions make this podcast possible and sustainable in the long run.  Today’s “Classic” is episode 125: Show notes: Join Valerie and guest Fiona Givens as together they discuss a true prophetess and mystic, Julian of Norwich.Father Richard Rohr has often called Julian his "favorite mystic" and Fiona attributes this woman as one of the most personally influential to her in the development of her own whole and holy theology of the divine.  If these two recommendations aren't enough for you...then I don't know what to say!A few highlights of this episode:**Julian's “showings” really shine a light on God’s inability to be angry with us for our humanness**Our current struggles with the nature of God in some brings up pain, anxiety, religious scrupulosity, and defection from the church**Our misunderstandings of the nature of God brings up generational trauma to the extent that we perpetuate a God concept that estranges us from Julian's God of infinite love**According to Julian's visions, sin is “no thing” in God’s eyes.  Our missteps are the education that endears us to God**As a committed Catholic, Julian too struggles with heavenly visions that did not align with the teachings of her “holy church” and she [as do we] does the work of differentiating her church’s imperfections with her personal revelations, choosing to align with the truth that was revealed to her directly from it’s sourceBook referenced in this episode:Julian of Norwich: The Showings: Uncovering the Face of the Feminine in Revelations of Divine Love, by Mirabai StarrThe God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life, by Terry and Fiona GivensSupport the showListen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Subscription $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Subscription $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Donate: ⁠Venmo or Patreon⁠ Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: The Shocking Correlation Between Men Socialized in Patriarchies & Psychological/Spiritual Underdevelopment [Part V of VI] In this episode, Valerie and Nathan continue to discuss how being spiritually formed in a patriarchy negatively affects men. This episode highlights how being raised in this "power-over model" hampers male emotional maturity, leading to issues like lack of empathy, rigid black-and-white thinking, and minimal self-reflection, making it tough for men to admit mistakes or be accountable to those around them both personally and institutionally. Valerie and Nathan emphasize their desire to highlight this topic, hoping that more knowledge will bring a greater capacity for individual, family, and institutional growth and healing.Breaking Down Patriarchy Podcast- Amy McPhie Allebest- "How to be an Anti-PatriarchistDisentangling from Emotionally Immature People- Lindsey C. Gibson PsyDThe Creation of Patriarchy- Greda LernerSapiens: A Brief History of Human Kind- Yuval Noah Harari The Weaker Sex? Science That Shows Women are Stronger Than Men- The GuardianSupport the showListen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Subscription $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Subscription $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Donate: ⁠Venmo or Patreon⁠ Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: The Shocking Correlation Between Men Socialized in Patriarchies & Psychological/Spiritual Underdevelopment  [Part III of VI]In this episode Valerie and Nathan continue to explore how patriarchal systems can negatively impact the spiritual and psychological development of men. They discuss why patriarchal men learn to see the world transactionally, why they might struggle with listening skills, and how this all impacts their capacity to find connection with their higher selves, others, and God. Nathan shares his personal journey of moving away from these norms, emphasizing the need for men to embrace a more emotionally aware and connected way of living. Join us as we dive deep into these critical issues and offer insights for creating healthier relationships.Breaking Down Patriarchy Podcast- Amy McPhie Allebest- "How to be an Anti-PatriarchistDisentangling from Emotionally Immature People- Lindsey C. Gibson PsyDAdult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents- Lindsay C. Gibson PsyDSupport the showListen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Subscription $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Subscription $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Donate: ⁠Venmo or Patreon⁠ Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title:  The Shocking Correlation Between Men Socialized in Patriarchies & Psychological/Spiritual Underdevelopment [Part I of VI] Join Valerie and Nathan as they kick off a new DEEP DIVE series exploring how patriarchy affects men in the LDS Church. This series compares the attributes that emotionally underdeveloped people have in common with men socialized in an institutional patriarchy.  In each episode Nathan candidly shares how he is slowly healing from the wounds that patriarchal teachings imposed upon his mind and heart.  Tune in to understand with even more clarity how patriarchal structures negatively impact the growth and development of everyone, not just women, and why addressing this topic is crucial for a healthier LDS church. Don't miss this eye-opening six-part conversation!Breaking Down Patriarchy Podcast- Amy McPhie Allebest: "How to be an Anti-PatriarchistAdult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents- Lindsay C. Gibson PsyDLDSS Patriarchy Series: Episodes 212, 213, 214LDSS Blog: Patriarchy's Effect on Men's Mental HealthSupport the showListen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Subscription $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Subscription $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Donate: ⁠Venmo or Patreon⁠ Visit our Website