Latter Day Struggles
The Latter Day Struggles Podcast addresses beliefs and issues within the LDS faith that are challenging to talk about but vital to discuss for those trying to navigate their relationship in or around the church. Valerie and her guests invite psychological maturity, theological health, and institutional integrity.
Latest episodes
5 snips
Apr 29, 2022 • 38min
13: Does Disaffiliation Lead to 'Spiritual Death'?
Send us a Positive Review!In this episode, join Brannon and Valerie as they answer this question with an emphatic "NO" and develop this complex topic about staying and going. They talk about those who doubt quietly [and often judiciously] and finally need to step away, those who speak out, those who leave as an act of integrity, and those who might dissent and yet choose to stay as an act of integrity. And then there are those who are shown the door. Each of these reasons are unique, as deep as the ocean, and rarely if ever involve a person "spiritually dying".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
Apr 25, 2022 • 27min
12: Do you Speak Up? Walk Away? Suck it Up? or Check Out?
Send us a Positive Review!In this episode Valerie looks at an idea of organizational psychologist Adam Grant regarding 4 choices people make when confronted with challenging feelings in an institution that they care about (work place, church, etc). We either speak up, walk away, silently persist, or check out. Valerie breaks these down and talks a little about the impact that each choice has on us as individuals, on the institution, and on our ever-changing relationship with the divine. The bottom line? Institutions are messy and we all have our reasons for doing what is right for us. Maybe this conversation will help you see what choice you are making and assist you becoming the true authority in your own spiritual journey!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
Apr 22, 2022 • 41min
11: On Feeling Mutual Respect & its Relationship to Strong Leadership
Send us a Positive Review!In this episode Val and Brannon look at the example of Winston Churchill and talk about what made him a truly great leader. The bottom line? He was interested in the ideas, thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the people he led. And even allowed himself to be persuaded by them. How much do we feel heard as "normal people" sitting in the pews at church? How much do our experiences, beliefs, and struggles impact those leading us at headquarters? Are we allowed to feel that a collaborative relationship going both from the top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top is allowed? Acceptable? Welcome? Buckle up for this conversation as these therapists tackle a question that hits at the heart of the organizational structure that they both care deeply about and see as problematic to the health of any organization. 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
Apr 8, 2022 • 47min
9: On the Harm of Ignoring the Feminine Divine
Send us a Positive Review!Join Brannon and Val as they look at how history has been trying to demonize and then erase the feminine divine for thousands of years and how the divine stature of women has morphed from holy and revered to marginalized and subservient. The bottom line: It hasn't always been this way. Our LDS culture's current interest in this topic may just be part of the restoration of lost truths.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
Mar 31, 2022 • 37min
8: On General Conference, Complicated Feelings & LDS Faith Expansion
Send us a Positive Review!Join Valerie and Brannon this week as General Conference weekend approaches and they riff about the nostalgia of General Conference in years gone by with all of the accompanying orthodox "warm fuzzies" and how much more complex but also soul-stretching it is for them to watch, listen, and use our own God-Given discernment during these world-wide meetings as they discover sometimes differing truths--sometimes coming from those in the red satin chairs, but also from their own couches in their pajamas.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
Mar 23, 2022 • 38min
7: On Church Callings...Can They be a Problem?
Send us a Positive Review!In this episode, Valerie and Brannon break down the "subtle mandate" of church callings. They talk about how prioritizing callings over family can be problematic. They discuss the importance of being able to say no, to discern for oneself if a calling is really what God wants them to do. 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
Mar 14, 2022 • 36min
6: On Patriarchy's Impact on Healthy Development
Send us a Positive Review!Join Valerie and Brannon as they talk about Valerie’s experience awakening to the impact that patriarchy has had in her own development, choices, life experiences. 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
10 snips
Mar 11, 2022 • 48min
5: On the Value of Doubting Our Doubt
Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: Is Doubt a Sin? [Part II of II]In this episode Brannon and Valerie talk about the importance of doubt. They break down faith and why doubt is crucial to spiritual development. They also discuss why we are taught to not doubt but to "doubt our doubts" and why that can be problematic.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
6 snips
Mar 9, 2022 • 35min
4: On Doubt as Valuable to True Belief
Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: Is Doubt a Sin? [Part I of II]In this episode Brannon and Valerie talk about the importance of doubt. They break down faith and why doubt is crucial to spiritual development. They also discuss why we are taught to not doubt but to "doubt our doubts" and why that can be problematic. 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
Mar 7, 2022 • 46min
3: On Owning Our Mistakes
Send us a Positive Review!In this episode Valerie and Brannon dig into the recent incident regarding LDS Young Men's General Leader Brad Wilcox's awkward kerfuffle with the media and offer thoughts on tangled webs, evasion of uncomfortable truths, personal and institutional accountability, and the much simpler path of telling even unpleasant facts or owning our mistakes when we haven't been forthright in the past. Listen, subscribe, share! 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
