Mormon Discussion Podcast

Today I want to talk about tribes and community.  About the “we” of family and friends.  The “we” of religious tribes.  How intimacy is the secret ingredient of small tribes (25 or less), gossip the secret of medium sized tribes(25 to 150) and myth for large tribes (150+) I talk about leaving a tribe when fitting in (presenting a false version of yourself) is too painful, and how we all want to “belong” ( be and present yourself fully and still be accepted).  And I end talking about my tribe right here and now! we mention briefly about how humans across the ages have navigated community and tribalism and why it is so crucial and inside our evolutionary DNA.  We have survived better in small tribes that trusted each other and as we grew we moved from Intimacy to Gossip to Myth.  And how once we remove the threats of the wild, we desire to move back to intimate tribalism. Resources:  Why Myth is useful and separates Humans from other animals More on Gossip and Myth and their usefulness More on Gossip as a binding force What gave rise to gossip Gossip as a social skill Intimacy as a binding force Intimacy within social relationships The post Mormon Discussion: 337: The Evolutionary Need for Community and A Better Tribe appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This Episode is Audio from outside the Mormon Discussion Podcasts.  This is a sermon from another faith on “Stages of Faith”. We revisit a series where we have taken audio where those of other faiths work to explain and teach the stages of faith.  Today is the South Edmonton Alliance. Here is a sermon given in their Church on the Stages of Faith The post PREMIUM: Stages of Faith: South Edmonton Alliance appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This Episode is Audio from outside the Mormon Discussion Podcasts.  This is a sermon from another faith on “Stages of Faith”. We revisit a series where we have taken audio where those of other faiths work to explain and teach the stages of faith.  Today is a Sermon from Adam Ellis Here is a sermon given in their Church on the Stages of Faith The post PREMIUM: Stages of Faith: Adam Ellis appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today I share with the audience my top 6 spiritual experiences that have occurred in my life. In telling these experiences, I recognize there will be voices on both sides who think they know better than me what they mean or how I should interpret them.  But I share them and often give other contextual details into my life as they surrounded these events.  I hope in this episode you might enjoy getting to know me better but that you also sense just how strong spiritual experiences can be and yet once faced with spirituality and where and when it occurs, be able to untangle it from the religious constructs of the system in which you experienced these spiritual moments. The post Mormon Discussion: 336: Sacred Experiences and Religious Context appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we Sit down with former LDS Area Authority Hans Mattsson. As Hans begin reading into the deeper history of Mormonism and as other approached him with their historical questions, Hans sensed that the Church’s narrative didn’t hold up and that the tough questions did not have satisfactory answers. Hans took his concerns to the upper leadership of the Church and on November 28, 2010 LDS Church Historian Marlin Jensen and assistant historian Richard Turley gave a presentation where they attempted to provide answers to questions asked by Hans Mattsson and other members in Sweden. Today We talk with Hans about all of that and where he is today and what he makes of Mormonism having stepped away. Mormon Stories Interview with MattssonNY Times ArticleSwedish Rescue The post Mormon Discussion: 335: Hans Mattsson – A Crisis of Truth appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we share what set us down the path to the events that led to my Excommunication.  Today I read a letter I sent to members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve 2 years ago.  In this letter I lay out what I believe are the top 5 issues facing the Church in the present moment.  LGBT issues, Women’s Issues, History, Prophetic Fallibility, and Transparency.  It was this letter that led top Church leaders to inform my Stake president at the time that they believed I was “in apostasy” and that “a disciplinary council may be needed”. RESOURCES: You can read the letter yourself HERE The post Mormon Discussion: 334: The Letter That started It All appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

We sit down with Jim Bennett, son of former Utah Senator Bob Bennett, to discuss Jim’s response to the CES Letter. This interview takes place over several different days and comprises looking at the troublesome issues the CES Letter presents and reviewing where Jeremy Runnells and Jim Bennett disagree. I try to play a mediator between Jim and the ideas of the CES letter. Granting ground where I think Jim offers a reasonable response as well as pushing back where I think the CES Letter presents a credible case. In part 7 we revisit our 6 part interview and talk about how tone and format plays a part in his response to the CES letter as well as a very different tone and format he had with our conversation. Very quickly Jim addresses how my publicizing the 6 part interview and my commentary and the commentary of other voices framed these 6 parts was frustrating to him as he felt he was misrepresented in what he conceded and what he didn’t. This sent us down an unplanned road of the discussing how tenable and vulnerable Mormonism’s narrative may be in a long form real time conversation. This was my favorite out of the whole set of conversations.The post Jim Bennett and Bill Reel and the Issues of the CES Letter Part 7 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

We sit down to complete the trifecta third part interview with my best of friends Mekael and Kelsey.  We pick up where these two meet and how their relationship blooms and what led them to have met me and our incredible friends Chris and Dawn.  We spend some time discussing what things look like on this side of the journey including growth and development,  how we have built a new tribe better than the one we left, and how important Authenticity and Vulnerability have been in creating community! IF you want to reach Mekael or Kelsey, email me at reelmormon AT gmail DOT com and I will forward it on and if your in Southern Utah and want to meet my awesome friends and me, let me know. The post Mormon Discussion: 332: Mekael & Kelsey Part 3 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

In episode 2 my beautiful friend Kelsey tells us her story.  How she was loved and supported by an incredible family and but inside Mormonism we still have to look a certain way and fit a certain mold.  Kelsey tells us how she knew she was lesbian very early but always shoved it down in order to please those around her as well as fit into her Mormon faith system.  She too married a man and and made a go of it trying so hard to do this Mormon thing.  In the end it didn’t work nor was it ever going to. The post Mormon Discussion: 331: Kelsey Part 2 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we sit down with my dear friend Mekael.  This episode is part 1 of a 3 part series.  Mekael helps us see into her life where from the time she is a child she seeks to fit in, to make her family proud and to make her faith system proud of her.  But she was destined not to fit.  Discovering she was a lesbian trapped in a religious system that simply could not sit comfortably with who she was at her core.  She tells us of her childhood and her struggle to fit in and how she in an effort to make those around her proud and to fit in she tried so hard to do this Mormon thing.  She married a man and for almost 20 years she tried to make that work.  Her emotional well being took hits along the way and eventually it became too much.  After consider taking her life, she made the decision to lean into who she was at her core.  Her marriage dissolved and we leave off at the end of episode 1 recognizing that we all deserve to have a safe space to be who we are and to be valued and seen and honored for our story. The post Mormon Discussion: 330: Mekael Part 1 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.