A Thoughtful Faith - Mormon / LDS

Over the last couple of years, Michael Wright has discovered his spiritual self anew in the LDS Restoration tradition.  A descendant of Mormon pioneers he spent years trying to make himself straight in the LDS Church so he could be everything that was expected of him.   But, despite his efforts, nothing worked and his religious and spiritual life went on hold.

Then he discovered Community of Christ, (not an offshoot but a Restoration cousin of the Utah Mormons) a Christian church that offers full inclusion to LGBTQ people and women.

Now, the newly baptized Michael participates fully in the spiritual and missional life of Community of Christ from his home in Rome, Italy.   He has discovered, God and Jesus Christ and the Spiritual life as a gay man married to the love of his life, Antonio.

For most people, General Conference is a pleasant ritual.  

But General Conference over the years has become less straightforward, particularly for women. Sara Hughes-Zabawa a licensed mental health worker, and Carrie Salisbury, a board member and moderator at Exponent II share their reflections on the General Conference fall out.

What kind of claim does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have to the proposition that they are a faithful continuation of the church Joseph established?  What kind of character was Brigham Young anyway?  What did he really want with a church and a people?  

Dr David Mason is the author of Brigham Young: Sovereign in America and he joins me to discuss the man who made the Mormons.

The perennial question is where, how and what do we teach our children about sex and sexuality? What is appropriate, and what isn't? Additionally, those who have come from orthodox faith traditions are often on the back foot and at a loss as to how to re-think sex let alone teach their children about sex and sexuality.

Our Whole Lives (OWL) is life span sexuality programme that caught my attention after being mentioned in 'Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free' by Linda Kay Klein. The premise of OWL is that the more informed we are, the better positioned we are to make holistic, healthy decisions about our sexuality.

OWL is based on four key values: Self-worth (everyone has worth); Sexual Health; Responsibility; Justice and Inclusivity.

Dr Melanie Davis is the OWL Program Manager for the Unitarian Universalist Association and joins me to discuss OWL a lifespan sexuality program that takes nothing for granted.

Those who grew up in the Restoration tradition will be familiar with the songs of Zion;   That place where God and community meet. 

But, despite his original intentions Joseph Smith was corrupted by his 'Kingdom' ego.  Kirtland and Nauvoo failed as intentional communities, and Utah has not been faithful to the promise and hope of Zion either.

So, can Zion ever be realized?

Andrew Bolton, former apostle of Community of Christ certainly likes to think so.

Nick Literski discusses the many and varied ways that he has found a vibrant spiritual life after leaving active involvement as a family man in this LDS Church.   It has surprised and delighted him that having a deep and rewarding spirituality did not depend on him denying his sexuality.   

Nick and I talk early faith needs; fundamentalism; faith changes and renewal.

After Debra Brown Gordy discovered that her husband, a BYU Professor, was gay her world fell apart.   They tried to keep the marriage together but it wasn't to be.   

After the divorce, Debra went back to graduate school and conducted research about the experience of women in relationships with gay men. She joins me to discuss her personal experience being married to a gay man;  the results of her research and the reconstruction of the lives of women divorced from gay men.

How can our service to the dying be improved?  What pastoral practices are helpful in order to help our loved ones or those to whom we’ve been called to minister pass away in peace.

Sue Bergin, a hospice chaplain and spiritual carer, with more than 10 years of experience in Salt Lake City and Utah County, joins me to offer helpful suggestions for ministering to the dying.

Alexandre Christoyannopoulos is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Loughborough University.   He’s of French and Greek parentage and without a religious upbringing arrived out of curiosity at the door of Christian anarchism and ended up writing his PhD thesis on the topic.

Alex’s book, 'Christian anarchism: A Political Commentary on the Gospel' brings some of the most important thinkers together in one volume.  Alex's book highlights the underlying revolutionary intention of the gospels that gets so lost in the business, ideologies, and the financial exchanges of the church.  

Alex joins me to discuss the radical character of the Jesus Way that has shaped Christian Anarchist thinking

Dr Matt Frizzell (former Dean of the Graceland University Seminary) and I get deep and animated about theology.

Theological conversations by their very nature are porous, expansive and self-reflexive.   Theology is all about breathing in the mystery and letting the mystery discover the words that have always pulled at our souls.  Theology is profoundly intimate and deeply transformative, wonderfully elusive, and ever-changing.   

But, it's ideal to be trained in theology, as our robust discussion reveals!