Every religion has many dilemmas when it comes to its history. How does a group incorporate the idea of a God or Universal force or will that acts in the development of that group and/or the unfolding of world events when such things are not acceptable claims in academic disciplines? How does a tradition balance the doing of history for the purposes of community and faith building through the creation and maintenance of a shared story with other ideals, such as telling the truth about missteps and all the humanness and frailties that are also present in each event? Should a religion’s history be told primarily in terms of what its founders and leaders do, or should the focus be on how it is received and lived among adherents in different social situations? What is a group’s responsibility toward making records and documents public that were originally intended only for private purposes?
In this two-part episode, historians Ben Park, Matthew Bowman, and Ron Barney join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in a discussion of the way Mormonism has negotiated these dilemmas in the past, as well as how it seems to be facing them now and into the near future. What kinds of progress have been made in the relationship between the Church and the academic community? How has the Church professionalized its history division while still honoring the role of history and sacred narrative for vital community cohesion and faith? What are some of the debates and who have been the major players in shaping the place Mormonism finds itself now in relationship to its own history and the presentation of its history?
Mixed into all of these inquiries are also explorations of the relationship between history and faith crisis, including the ways that that panelists themselves negotiation the tensions between human frailty and divine workings? The discussion also goes a bit broader into the immediate horizon of Mormon studies in general. What is happening now and how might the increased interest in Mormonism from all sorts of academic disciplines affect our understanding of the Mormon story going forth? The panel also reflects briefly on the leadership tenure of Elder Marlin K. Jensen as Church Historian, who will be stepping down from this role in the next few months.
We invite you to listen and then join in the discussion below!
Suicide affects all of us, and involves so many devastating emotions. Grief (as one of the panelists refers to it, a very “complicated” form of grief), guilt (“What did I do wrong?” “I should have seen signs and intervened”), and, often, an element of concern for the deceased’s soul state (“Can they ever be forgiven?” “Were they accountable when they did this?”).
In this two-part episode, panelists Natasha Helfer Parker, Charn Burton, and Nicholas Maughn join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in an thorough discussion of suicide—offering education about its primary causes (what to look for if the person has given subtle clues about her or his intentions, how to best serve and be present for loved ones of the person who died, its many ripple effects pertaining to marriages and other relationships, survivor’s own mental health, etc.)—confronting bad information, cultural attitudes, and harmful theology, and suggesting helpful and healing notions about God and the type of universe in which we live. The discussion concerns all aspects of suicide and is conscious of the phenomena as a whole, but in the second part especially speaks directly to particular Mormon teachings—the hopeful ones as well as the ones that deserve being confronted and sent into oblivion. This is a very personal episode with powerful things in it for every person.
We look forward to your joining in the conversation below.
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Links and Helps:
Elder M. Russell Ballard, “Suicide: Some Things We Know, and Some We Do Not” (Ensign, October 1987)
The Mormon Therapist (Mental Health and Straight Talking about Difficult Subjects blog by panelist Natasha Helfer Parker)
The Trevor Project (Crisis and suicide prevention organization especially for LGBTQ youth)
Suicide Hotlines you can call when you’re in crisis or are with someone in crisis
Like many other religious traditions today, Mormonism is wrestling with questions raised by homosexuality. And while both LDS rhetoric and many members’ affirmation of homosexuals as beloved children of God to embrace as fellow citizens in the household of faith are moving forward in many ways, these developments have been fed primarily by the inroads being made through political and pastoral discourse. Very little attention has yet been paid to theological questions raised by these relationships. Can Mormon theology accommodate homosexual relationships into its larger views of the cosmos, God, and divine sociality?
In a groundbreaking article in the Winter 2011 issue of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Taylor Petrey outlines several key areas in which Mormon thought might be able to be understood as capable of affirming homosexual relationships in the eternities in the same way it does heterosexual couples. Petrey finds possible room for important conversation in three main discussion areas: (1) LDS views of how we each are said to be literal spirit “children” of Heavenly Parents, re-examining the assumption that spirit conception and birth processes are analogous to that of humans; (2) the various ways Mormons now or in the past have practiced “sealing” as a way of building families, including creating many types of kinship relationships that do not involve bloodlines or the possibility of the relationships involving biological reproduction; and (3) the claims, ingrained most recently by “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” that gender is eternal.
In laying out many important questions in these areas, Petrey provides a great service to the Mormon tradition. It is now up to us to actually have these vital discussions–which is what this podcast attempts to do and encourage. In this episode, Petrey and Dialogue editor Kristine Haglund join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in introducing the article’s key questions and then engaging them and LDS theological possibilities in vigorous ways. It’s a high level discussion very much worth listening in on and then having with those in one’s circle of acquaintances. And also here in the comments section, of course!
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LINKS:
Taylor G. Petrey, “Toward a Post-Heterosexual Mormon Theology,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 44, no 4 (Winter 2011): 106-141.
Letter to the Editor by Joseph M. Spencer in the following issue:
Selected blog discussions of the article:
At By Common Consent
At Times and Seasons
At Zelophehad’s Daughters
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The documentary film Cleanflix tells the story of the dramatic rise and fall of businesses (based primarily in Utah) that rented and sold versions of Hollywood movies in which they had edited out bad language, nudity, sex scenes, gore, graphic violence, and anything else that they considered not a match for community standards. In telling the story from its origins to the court case that declared the practices as in violation of copyright agreements to the continuing saga of stores that refused to shut down even after the businesses were declared illegal, the film highlights deeply embedded attitudes in Mormon culture. What are the peculiar aspects of Mormonism that helped give rise to an industry that seemed fully intent on exploiting moral gray areas: letter versus spirit of gospel teachings, trying to eliminate guilt for wanting to be “part of” the world rather than fully “apart from” it, judging ones views of the value of certain art forms and messages as superior to that of the persons who created the art in the first place?
In this episode, Cleanflix filmmakers Joshua Ligairi and Andrew James, join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon and panelists Richard Dutcher and Brent Beal for a lively discussion of these and many other aspects of this story. Could this industry have arisen and grown to be as huge as it became anywhere other than inUtah? Why do so many Latter-day Saints seem incapable of contextualizing artistic choices, failing to see that sometimes a swear word does not simply reveal a lack of linguistic imagination or that nudity is not always presented in order to excite libido? What doctrinal or cultural messages make it hard for many Mormons to want to really explore the human condition–including its dark and difficult aspects–in ways that film is ideally suited to?
We look forward to you listening and then sharing below your ideas on these and the many other areas explored in this fascinating film and discussion.
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Cleanflix is now available on DVD! http://www.cleanflixthemovie.com/
It is also available through iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, and Video On Demand.
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Richard Dutcher’s film Falling will be playing in Salt Lake City at the Broadway Center Theatre beginning 27 April.
Please attend the premiere that evening, or any other showing especially that weekend. Box office performance in the opening days determines its chances to stay in the theaters extra weeks, plus its ability to attract theaters to play in around the country.
The LDS Church recently restructured its “singles” wards, effectively shutting them off to unmarried people who are 31 years old or above. In many ways, this move formalized even more than previously the “limbo” of sorts that unmarried but still quite young Mormons find themselves in with relation to their church. Do they best fit or will they be most edified in “family” wards or huge “mid-singles” wards that weekly draw as large a crowd as a typical stake conference? Are they to be seen and celebrated as the highly accomplished, dynamic, active creators of meaningful lives that most of them are, or are they best understood as delayed developers, people to be pitied for the spouse and family that they lack? They don’t “fit” the LDS-idealized mold, that’s for sure (even as single-in-one’s-thirties is becoming more and more typical in society in general).
What is it like to be a “mid-single” in today’s Mormonism? How does their liminal status affect their relationships with themselves, with those they date and associate with at church and in their day-to-day lives, with God? How do they negotiate the challenges of celibacy and sexual desires when most persons in their age group are having sex? How do the issues of divorce and the prospects of marrying someone who already has children come into play in their thinking? All the panelists in this podcast discuss how Mormon mid-singles are forced to confront faith and church issues that perhaps never come up for married Latter-day Saints who live more typically normative Mormon lives. Are the some advantages to facing up to faith questions when one is single? Advantages to delaying marriage until much later than what is typical in LDS culture?
In this podcast, three dynamic LDS mid-singles—Lauren Johnson, Garred Lentz, and Jenny Morrow—join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in discussing these and other issues facing them and others in this type of LDS limbo. They offer open-hearted, insightful perspectives that will connect with others in their cohort, with those who love and associate with mid-singles, and in their humanness and connections with life journeying in general, with all of us. Another group of amazing hearts to learn from and be inspired by!
Please listen and then join in the conversation below!
This two-part episode features a fascinating, dynamic, and soaring discussion that takes us into the experiences, cultures, and elements of the worldviews of Latter-day Saints from Pacific Island nations. We learn pieces of the history of two of these nations as it relates to the LDS Church taking hold there, what elements resonate with those who are from the “islands of the sea” (D&C 1:1; 2 Nephi 29:11), and the ways that Mormonism integrates into the daily lives of, especially, Maori and Tongan Saints–including places where Polynesian culture does not allow white Mormon practices and ways of seeing to penetrate, such as with the ceremonial use of kava, notions of family and various power dynamics within families, and funeral practices. In letting us into their lives and perspectives, the panelists also take us deep into the experience of forming identities shaped by both Polynesian and white cultures, which also allows us to see very clearly how there truly are no “neutral” spaces–how “whiteness” carries values and perspectives that are often invisible if not explored through the comparative process. In this Mormon Matters episode, we are privileged to have powerful and open yet charitable guides into these (often wonderfully evocative) tensions.
Some of the specific topics discussed in this episode: Polynesian views of passages in the Book of Mormon that seem to tie darker skin with unrighteousness; the Church-run Polynesian Cultural Center, “performing indigenity,” and both the difficult tensions some experience related to different modesty standards as well as the positive ways that performing culture for entertainment purposes can lead to increased opportunities for people from these island nations; mixed views among Tongan Mormons about the film The Other Side of Heaven; the hyper-sexualization and sometimes infantilizing of Polynesian peoples; how gender roles often play out in much more balanced ways in Maori and Tongan cultures than they do in typical U.S. Mormonism; grieving styles; and some of the consequences for Polynesian youth in Utah and the U.S. of identity diminishment from language loss and separation from one’s family’s roots and cultural history. Then in the podcast’s transcendent final twenty-five minutes, we are privileged to hear firsthand from our panelists telling about their lives and work exactly what it means to claim an identity and embrace the responsibilities that come with that choice.
This episode features panelists Gina Colvin, a Maori Latter-day Saint living and teaching in New Zealand, and Anapesi Ka’ili and Luana Uluave, two Tongans with strong roots in both Tongan families and Utah Mormonism who share a great love for the gospel and each part of their identity but also have wonderful independent perspectives. Mormon Matters friend Joanna Brooks and host Dan Wotherspoon facilitate the discussion, but they are mostly simply thrilled to play a small part in bringing this discusion to listeners. One of the best Mormon Matters episodes of all time–informative, humbling, inspiring!
Please listen and join the conversation in the comments section below!
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Link to Gina Colvin’s blog, KiwiMormon
For many Mormons, their faith and relationship to the LDS Church has forever changed from what they were growing up. And this is how it should be. We’re all called to growth and to assuming responsibility for our own life choices, including the most compelling vision of what existence is all about, how we want to live, with whom do we want to associate, what it is that brings us (or promises us, we sense if we keep going) the greatest joy. In the faith and spirituality arena, religions all contain visions of what it means to be a fully flourishing human being (including, for some, divine potentialities), and they outline practices and create communities designed to help foster growth toward their particular vision. The rub comes when communities and leaders, out of utility (trying to meet the needs of the most people or its especially fragile members), or from fear, ideals of protective love, or simply being deeply engaged in day-to-day operations fail to encourage the kind of maturation that life (and even their community’s highest teachings) points people toward. What is someone in the community to do when the greatest focus is on the spiritual needs of children and others who seem to need continuing dependence upon the institution when they themselves are ready to venture into new views, enter into that new relationship with the institution and its founding scriptures, sacred narratives, and communal forms? How does this person live into greater richness when all the messaging seems to call for “safety” within the fold or continued reliance on others’ wisdom and authority?
This seems to be one of the main crossroads faced by listeners to and conversation partners within this and other Open Stories Foundation podcasts and online forums, as well as other places in the LDS “bloggernacle.” In these discussions, the term “Middle Way Mormonism” has arisen (though not without its limitations as a term) as a way to describe the path that some are attempting, which is to negotiate the tensions between no longer accepting all the foundational claims and narratives in their simplest formulations, feeling the need to develop one’s own authentic faith and mature relationship with the LDS church and family members who may not yet feel the same call to explore the rich thickets of ideas and stories and sensibilities that don’t fully align with institutional forms, yet still hoping to remain within and fully engage the Mormon community. It is a path in between the extremes of pure conforming and giving primary responsibility for our religious ideals and the direction we walk to others, and formally leaving Mormonism.
In this episode, Scott Holley hosts a panel discussion on the possibilities, promises, and perils involved in the attempt to live and flourish within these tensions. On the panel are Jared Anderson, Andrew Ainsworth, and Mormon Matters’ usual host Dan Wotherspoon, who, along with Scott, have each spent a great deal of time and concentrated effort in seeking the ideal balance for them. Following a framing that takes them into Middle Way tensions regarding beliefs, behaviors, and ones sense of belonging, what are the prices they see someone is called to pay when she or he walks a path outside the tradition’s well-worn center groove? What are the rewards of staying engaged with a community that one finds oneself out of sync with? What better way might be out there for someone who chooses to disengage from Mormonism? Where are the signs of hope for greater peace and comfort, and where are places of support found for those who choose a Middle Way Mormon walk?
This episode features four different temperaments, four different journeys. Every one who listens will have their unique stories to tell, as well–and we hope you all will in the comments section! We also promise that we’ll soon host similar discussions with those whose social locations differ from the four white, straight men who constitute this panel.
ON “MASTURBATORY RAGE”: A THEATRICAL CALL TO REPENTANCE
By Allan Davis
In this episode of Matters of the Heart, Allan Davis shares a short meditation about a call to repentance related to his transitioning relationship to Mormonism that he received last fall while attending the theatrical performance of a play called Church. A great listen for all who are undergoing the process of re-evaluating their own religious identity and stance related to their childhood faith and religious community. And everyone must, of course, listen to find out what the author means by “masturbatory rage”!
This episode explores both the difficulties of creating more comfortable spaces for unorthodox Mormons in wards, stakes, and families, as well as the benefits. What are some of the tensions that arise in LDS communities when engaging those who hold less-literal beliefs or embody idiosyncratic approaches to spirituality, religion, and community norms? What are some positive ways the community or family can welcome and honor those persons? How might these Latter-day Saints assist in their own positive and joyful integration? What are the benefits of having persons from many points on the spectrum be fully integrated in a community?
In this two-part episode, Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon and panelists Meredith Lesueur, Ronda Callister, and Kevin Elkington share experiences and perspectives gained as non-normative Mormons who choose to remain engaged in their LDS wards even as they are recognized by many ward members as being somewhat non-traditional in their approaches? What reasons do they have for choosing to continue to serve, teach, and worship alongside others with whom they might strongly disagree?
Please listen and then share your own stories and experiences in the comments section below!
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Articles/Essays mentioned in podcast:
“The Institutional Church and the Individual” by J. Bonner Ritchie (Sunstone, June 1999)
“Enduring to the End . . . in Joy” by Jim Sawyer (Sunstone, October 2002)
“For Better, For Worse, For Apostasy? How Faith Issues Affect Couple Relationships” by Ronda and Mike Callister, Page and Tom Kimball, Ruth Ogden and John Halstead (Sunstone, November 2006)
Technological advancements in recent decades have drastically altered human experience, with computing power and many other technologies growing at exponential rates. Our lives will continue to change, and most likely in ways that are presently incomprehensible. “Transhumanism” is a relatively new movement that is carefully considering this immanent future, paying particular concern to how humanity will be changed—for already, and certainly in a more thoroughgoing way than ever before, it is poised to be a primary actor in its own evolution. How can we increase the likelihood that this future will better than the present, that we as transforming, evolving humans (“transhumans”–people on the way to being something more) and societies will become more benevolent, more concerned with alleviating suffering and having compassionate concern for all? And given that many scientists and technological innovators have primarily secular orientations, is there a role for religion and spiritual traditions to inform Transhumanist discussions and help shape this future? What can religious mythologies, terminologies, concepts, and social forms bring to the table that secular-based ethics and perspectives cannot?
Into this fray comes the Mormon Transhumanist Association (MTA), which in 2006 was admitted to the World Transhumanist Association as its first religious special-interest affiliate. MTA leaders, two of them panelists in this podcast, see in Mormonism many sensibilities and views of humanity and God that match well with Transhumanist perspectives. The LDS ideas of eternal progression, including the description of Gods as once being like us and our call to become just like them and emphasis on “worlds without end,” along with its strong naturalism, optimism, universalism, and sense of the importance of community/society building, all make Mormonism a great conversation partner for and bridge-builder between the religious and scientific/technological worlds. Can Mormonism and other religions that have long been discussing human transformation, deification, concern for others, and ways to mitigate human tendencies toward selfishness and evil serve the emerging future well by contributing their energies and ability to move and inspire us to active faith and action in creating a future in which we flourish rather than destroy ourselves?
In this episode, Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon and panelists Tyson Jacobsen, Lincoln Cannon, and Christopher Bradford discuss the future, especially as it is and promises to be even more impacted by technological advancements, along with several other major themes in Transhumanist debates. They discuss the relevance of religion in a world increasingly dominated by science and secularism, and they pay particular attention to how Mormon and other religious concepts and terms can be given new life when informed by Transhumanist themes. They also examine the type of actors the world needs as it hurdles toward completely unprecedented forms of life and sociality.
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ALERT: This episode will be the first introduction to Transhumanism for many, and it is likely to present a significant barrier for some in terms of both new terminology and a startling awakening to where science and technology seem to be taking us. Our strong hope is that listeners will stick with this episode, as the terms and ideas will begin to become more and more familiar. The discussion ultimately ends in a terrific introduction to familiar concepts brought into great new life through considering Transhumanist themes.
A STRONGER WARNING: This episode contains altogether far too many usages of the word “robust,” mostly by the host. He sincerely apologizes!
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Mormon Transhumanist Association website. Includes information about the association’s April 6, 2012 conference in Salt Lake City and that is also available through livestreaming.
The New God Argument website.
“Transfiguration: Parallels and Complements Between Mormonism and Transhumanism” (Sunstone, March 2007)
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