Latter Day Struggles

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: The Sanctity of Dissent [Part IV of V]Join therapist Valerie Hamaker and her husband Nathan as they tackle the tendency to shame dissent and worship consent in the LDS faith. In this episode it is all about dissent and its power to heal blindness.  They start with how a "consent only" culture develops people who are not introspective, curious, or challenging to systems and programs that ought to be thought about, challenged, and innovated.…for the betterment of all. Then they move on to how institutions of ALL KINDS [all churches and all large organizations] are vulnerable to becoming blind to their weaknesses as they reward validation of the status quo and punish most different, complicating, or innovating ideas. They also delve into how large institutions of all kinds have a tendency to reinforce the values, ideas and opinions of those at the top by promoting lower level admins who look, act, and feel just like their superiors...thereby reinforcing systemic sickness and ongoing blindness. Support the showSupport the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Scholarship Download Free Resources Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: The Sanctity of Dissent [Part III of V]In this episode Val and Nathan address the consent/dissent idea as core to developing our own powers of personal revelation and then go on to discuss how a "consent only" church is one that get lost in the weeds of irrelevancies and blind to true worship of God.  And when we are not worshipping God but are worshipping anything or anyone else...that's called idolatry.Support the showSupport the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Scholarship Download Free Resources Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: The Sanctity of Dissent [Part II of V] In this episode they break how dissent is sacred as it is essential to our personal salvation projects and because it is the backbone of spiritual maturation and personal responsibility.  They highlight the need for us to both notice and gain personal courage as we engage in dissent as a an essential part of our spiritual journey while sometimes pushing up against a system that discourages or even punishes this beautiful and sacred process.Support the showSupport the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Scholarship Download Free Resources Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Series Title: The Sanctity of Dissent [Part I of V]Do you want fast-food-like religion, quick, simple, uncomplicated, black-and-white, and complete with all of the thinking and revelation done elsewhere?  In this series Valerie will explore the temptation to worship the idea of consent and demonize the idea of dissent.  Valerie will use the beautiful book titled "The Sanctity of Dissent" to argue that only through the ability to dissent can an individual or a faith community truly come closer to God.Support the showSupport the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Scholarship Download Free Resources Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!Join Val and Brannon this week as they talk about the gift of agency and how in principle it is taught as a concept fundamental to our faith tradition but how in actuality it is often not overly encouraged.  They share personal examples of growing in their own capacities to practice agency and how when practiced it can become a principle that really moves us from fearful to fearless in our life's choices, relationships, and in coming closer to our divine heritage. Support the showSupport the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Scholarship Download Free Resources Visit our Website

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 showSupport the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Scholarship Download Free Resources Visit our Website

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 showSupport the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Scholarship Download Free Resources Visit our Website

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 showSupport the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Scholarship Download Free Resources Visit our Website

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 showSupport the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Scholarship Download Free Resources Visit our Website

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 showSupport the show Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES Friday Episodes Annual Access $89 Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10 Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups Gift a Scholarship Download Free Resources Visit our Website