A Thoughtful Faith - Mormon / LDS

Jay Griffith and I had the chance to sit with James (Jim) W. McConkie and speak to him about his personal history and family. As a nephew of Bruce R. McConkie and Joseph B. Wirthlin, Jim has a unique perspective of the Church and the brethren and a valuable approach to the Gospel. Speaking about his faith, parenting, and his views on the historical Christ, Jim explains his approach to doubt and difficult questions. He has written a book, Looking at the Doctrine and Covenants Again for the Very First Time, and is currently working on a book focusing on the inclusive Christ.

Jay Griffith and I had the chance to sit with James (Jim) W. McConkie and speak to him about his personal history and family. As a nephew of Bruce R. McConkie and Joseph B. Wirthlin, Jim has a unique perspective of the Church and the brethren and a valuable approach to the Gospel. Speaking about his faith, parenting, and his views on the historical Christ, Jim explains his approach to doubt and difficult questions. He has written a book, Looking at the Doctrine and Covenants Again for the Very First Time, and is currently working on a book focusing on the inclusive Christ.

I recently had the privilege of hearing one of the most concise, respectful, and thoughtful explanations and approaches to Mormon Feminism through this brilliant podcast by our friends at the Feminist Mormon Housewives Podcast. If you are new to the concept of feminism, and particularly how feminism fits into an LDS perspective, please enjoy this wonderful discussion between Lindsay Hansen Park, Danielle, Meredith, and Amanda. And please make sure you visit the podcast website and subscribe to enjoy their growing library of content.

The theory of Cognitive Dissonance is a well-established concept in the field of psychology that explains why we all experience discomfort and anxiety when we are exposed to new ideas and beliefs or engage in behavior that conflict with our pre-existing views, ideals, and beliefs. I've been extremely interested in producing an episode of A Thoughtful Faith that could explore the concept of Cognitive Dissonance as it relates to an LDS faith crisis / faith transition. When the opportunity came to produce a collaborative episode with the wonderful Nathasha Helfer Parker at the Mormon Mental Health Podcast, this seemed like a really good fit for both audiences. So, I couldn't be more thrilled about sharing my discussion with Natasha Helfer Parker and the amazing Jennifer Finlayson-Fife. Both Natasha Helfer Parker and Jennifer Finlayson-Fife are active Latter-Day Saints, as well as marriage and family therapists. Natasha and Jennifer each have experience with treating Mormon individuals and couples, and have observed the function of Cognitive Dissonance as it pertains to Mormon culture and ideals. Please visit their respective websites below. In the first part of this episode we explore the clinical definition of Cognitive Dissonance, including some of the history behind the theory, as well as common examples from day-t0-day life. Afterwards, we transition into how understanding Cognitive Dissonance can be useful in understanding and navigating faith transitions and crises. We hope you enjoy, and please share your thoughts and comments with us below. Thanks again to Natasha and Jennifer for sharing their experience and expertise with me and our audience.

I had the privilege of speaking with Brian Hales about his upcoming three-volume history of Joseph Smith's Polygamy, published by Greg Kofford Books. Brian is a practicing anesthesiologist, author and scholar of Mormon History, with emphasis on Mormon Fundamentalism and Plural Marriage. He is also an active, faithful Latter-Day Saint. In this interview, Brian discusses his research of the historical context, circumstances, and theology that gave rise to Joseph Smith's secret practice of polygamy in the Kirtland and Nauvoo periods. We talk about specific cases and incidents, including Fanny Alger, polyandry, Helen Mar Kimball, Emma Smith's struggle with the Principle, as well as Brian's perspective as a faithful Latter-Day Saint who embraces the theological necessity for the Mormon doctrine of Plural Marriage.

I had the privilege of speaking with Brian Hales about his upcoming three-volume history of Joseph Smith's Polygamy, published by Greg Kofford Books. Brian is a practicing anesthesiologist, author and scholar of Mormon History, with emphasis on Mormon Fundamentalism and Plural Marriage. He is also an active, faithful Latter-Day Saint. In this interview, Brian discusses his research of the historical context, circumstances, and theology that gave rise to Joseph Smith's secret practice of polygamy in the Kirtland and Nauvoo periods. We talk about specific cases and incidents, including Fanny Alger, polyandry, Helen Mar Kimball, Emma Smith's struggle with the Principle, as well as Brian's perspective as a faithful Latter-Day Saint who embraces the theological necessity for the Mormon doctrine of Plural Marriage.

We are incredibly excited to feature this fascinating interview by Daniel Parkinson at Gay Mormon Stories Podcast of John Gustav-Wrathall. John shares his amazing story, including his LDS upbringing, his wrestling with his sexual identity, his journey away from Mormonism, his sexual awakening, and the path that led him back to the LDS Church. John's story of courage, love, and faith is a wonderful example of the diversity and possibilities of Mormonism's future. Thanks again to Gay Mormon Stories and John Gustav-Wrathall for sharing this interview with our audience.

We are incredibly excited to feature this fascinating interview by Daniel Parkinson at Gay Mormon Stories Podcast of John Gustav-Wrathall. John shares his amazing story, including his LDS upbringing, his wrestling with his sexual identity, his journey away from Mormonism, his sexual awakening, and the path that led him back to the LDS Church. John's story of courage, love, and faith is a wonderful example of the diversity and possibilities of Mormonism's future. Thanks again to Gay Mormon Stories and John Gustav-Wrathall for sharing this interview with our audience.

We are incredibly excited to feature this fascinating interview by Daniel Parkinson at Gay Mormon Stories Podcast of John Gustav-Wrathall. John shares his amazing story, including his LDS upbringing, his wrestling with his sexual identity, his journey away from Mormonism, his sexual awakening, and the path that led him back to the LDS Church. John's story of courage, love, and faith is a wonderful example of the diversity and possibilities of Mormonism's future. Thanks again to Gay Mormon Stories and John Gustav-Wrathall for sharing this interview with our audience.

We are incredibly excited to feature this fascinating interview by Daniel Parkinson at Gay Mormon Stories Podcast of John Gustav-Wrathall. John shares his amazing story, including his LDS upbringing, his wrestling with his sexual identity, his journey away from Mormonism, his sexual awakening, and the path that led him back to the LDS Church. John's story of courage, love, and faith is a wonderful example of the diversity and possibilities of Mormonism's future. Thanks again to Gay Mormon Stories and John Gustav-Wrathall for sharing this interview with our audience.

Bob Rees and I recorded this interview a little while ago. I've been holding on to it, hoping to release it to our audience at the right moment. This past week I re-listened to our conversation and found myself moved and enlightened all over again by Bob's wisdom and insight. Though I don't know what's special about this week, for some reason the timing feels right. I hope you will enjoy Bob's perspective on Mormonism as well as his take on faith crisis and how to successfully engage with the Modern Church as an unconventional Mormon. Bob Rees is no stranger to the Intellectual Mormon community. He was the second editor of Dialogue, and has been contributing to to progressive Mormon thought and scholarship most of his life. We hope our listeners enjoy Bob's unique approach. Please leave us your comments and feedback below. DISCLAIMER: This audio was a low-resolution recovery of Bob's interview, and so the quality may be a little spotty. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with John Dehlin, creator and founder of MormonStories.org and the Open Stories Foundation, and talk about his own evolving faith and his Mormon Stories experience. In this riveting interview John shares what was occurring in his personal life behind the scenes of Mormon Stories, how his role as it's founder effected him both emotionally and spiritually, and how he is still evolving today.

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with John Dehlin, creator and founder of MormonStories.org and the Open Stories Foundation, and talk about his own evolving faith and his Mormon Stories experience. In this riveting interview John shares what was occurring in his personal life behind the scenes of Mormon Stories, how his role as it's founder effected him both emotionally and spiritually, and how he is still evolving today.

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with John Dehlin, creator and founder of MormonStories.org and the Open Stories Foundation, and talk about his own evolving faith and his Mormon Stories experience. In this riveting interview John shares what was occurring in his personal life behind the scenes of Mormon Stories, how his role as it's founder effected him both emotionally and spiritually, and how he is still evolving today.

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to interview one of my new favorite LDS bloggers Nathaniel Givens. A friend of mine introduced me to Nathaniel's series on the concept of Epistemic Humility that he wrote for Times and Seasons. Embracing epistemic humility allows us to be more open to new ideas, and better equipped to search for additional knowledge and truth. I felt Nathaniel's ideas here are especially applicable and useful in our LDS community, which is often a culture that shies away from uncertainty and doubt, and loves to frame discourse in the terms of "I know . . ." We apologize in advance for the audio quality from this interview. We had some Internet connection difficulties, which resulted in conducting the interview via telephone. Since recording this interview, Nathaniel has become a perma-blogger for Times and Seasons. He also maintains his own blog, Difficult Run. Please be sure to check out Nathaniel's writings and provide feedback and responses below. Many thanks to Nathaniel Givens for his contributions to A Thoughtful Faith.