The shadow and light of the church are a part of the same story. Integrating the suffering and the healing that the church created is part of our necessary preparation for the next part of our journey.
Acceptance of our past life in church with its blessings is a wholesome alternative to staying locked in the fight with what has been. In which case, there’s no freedom to move on.
Some years ago, Tali Aitofi found Mormon podcasts and became hooked. But Tali isn’t Mormon, he’s Pentecostal. Yet, his own spiritual and religious journey has played out with the hum of Mormon faith crises in the background.
Tali recently came out as gay; he left his family church, and is currently suffering from a life threatening illness. All of this has caused deep and searching questions.
Tali joins me to talk about his life journey and how the Netflix series Midnight Mass spoke to his larger questions about church, God, Jesus, shame and forgiveness.
The 2022 A Thoughtful Faith Podcast season kicks off with a conversation about faith deconstruction and life reconstruction!
Utah based life coach, Jana Spangler, reflects on her extensive work with Mormons who are in the thick of deconstruction and reconstruction. She argues that being in healthy relationship with our bodies will yield precisely the wisdom we need to make critical life decisions.
If you love Christmas, then this episode isn’t for you.
But, if you or someone you know doesn’t approach Christmas with merriment and cheer, then this conversation between me and my good friend Nicola Petty might be worth listening to.
Both of us are avowed Grinches. As a concession to those who have to put up with our annual disagreeableness, we try to identify our points of dislike for Xmas.
We tackle the question, ‘Can Christmas be redeemed?’
When I began questioning the LDS Church, I did not expect the Stake Relief Society president to join me.
Nicola Petty went from orthodox and loyal member guided by the priesthood to a Stake Relief Society President who had been woken up by the Ordain Women movement. It was in this capacity that I watched her press priesthood button after priesthood button advocating intelligently and determinedly for the women in our stake.
When the church was no longer reconcilable, rather than spit the church out, Nicola planned her exit well, and took up the challenge to build a new life. Nicola’s story is a story of integrity, integration, and extraordinary grace for a church she once loved deeply but no longer sees as essential to her human becoming.
Photo Credit: Shellie Evans
Link to Dr Nick’s Maths and Stats Youtube Channel
It’s one thing to know that letting go is possible and even necessary. But it’s another to stand at the threshold of leaving without feeling fear. Most of us will carry some fear. In this …
In this episode: “Letting go needn’t be feared. Letting go can become a friend to us, releasing us into the flow of an abundant and growthful life.”
This episode opens up the last chapters of my time as host of A Thoughtful Faith Podcast. I aim to hang up the mic at the end of 2022. The remainder of my time with …
Painter and documentary film maker Nathan Florence joins me to discuss ‘Bright Spark: The Reconciliation of Trevor Southey’ For eleven years, artist Nathan Florence documented Trevor Southey’s life with his heart and with his lens in …
At Syracuse University, moral injury is defined as, “… the damage done to one’s conscience or moral compass when that person perpetrates, witnesses, or fails to prevent acts that transgress one’s own moral beliefs, values, …
Child sexual abuse in the church is pernicious and confounding. Why anyone purporting to be Christian would sexually abuse a child is beyond the imagination of many. Yet it happens, and far too often to …
