At Last She Said It

David French wrote, “We live in an age of misplaced certainty, when even the smallest expressions of doubt or the slightest of disagreements break institutions and fracture families." In Episode 201, Cynthia and Susan take on certainty as it contributes to the development of a Church monoculture. Is there room for existential or intellectual humility in a "True" church? And as members of an organization built around checklists and worthiness assessments, can Latter-day Saints allow individual conscience to function as a holy disruptor?

Our spiritual lives are our own, but they don’t exist in a vacuum. We can do all the inner work we want, but as Latter-day Saint women our personal journey is always going to intersect with our Church membership, theology and history, our marriages, friendships and families, our communities, education and politics, and all the messaging we absorb in these interactions. In Episode 200, Cynthia and Susan discuss how looking at our journey in context can help us better understand our individual story.

“All dogma begins in mysticism,” says Rob Bell. But by the time programs, practices, and policies filter down to Church members, it’s little wonder the criteria for determining what really matters in the long term—and why—can feel a bit fuzzy. In light of recent changes, in bonus Episode 199 Cynthia and Susan revisit their conversation from Episode 102, Did It Ever Matter? What’s the point of all the trappings of our religious practice as Latter-day Saints? Why do some changes bring so much emotion? And who gets to determine what’s important to us?

An August 2024 Church Handbook update includes instruction inviting “Young Women class presidencies to organize youth to minister by welcoming visitors and members as they enter the chapel.” Does this baby step represent leadership’s awareness of the need for Latter-day Saint young women to have some kind of systematic responsibility at the ward level? In Episode 198, Cynthia and Susan discuss this change in the context of research detailing historic shifts in religious engagement for Gen Z men and women. This episode also revisits a previous exploration of the question many of the Church’s children are asking: “When will girls be able to pass the sacrament?”

As a finale to this season of conversations about women’s spirituality, in Episode 197 Susan and Cynthia revisit some ideas that stood out to them, discuss personal takeaways, and chat about what’s on each of their minds now.

“For me, broadening my thinking about ritual has given me more freedom to bring my whole self and my creativity to my spiritual life, as well as meet my unique and evolving spiritual needs,” explains Selina Forsyth, who joins Cynthia and Susan to discuss ritual in the lives of Latter-day Saint women. What about when the rituals provided by our religion no longer fit? Even if they do remain deeply meaningful, in a church where women have not been involved in creating official sacred rituals—and sometimes participate in them only as observers—it can be hard to feel we have authority to create personal sacred rituals for ourselves. Episode 196 is a conversation about the intentional making and marking of meaning in the big and small moments of our lives.

Every Latter-day Saint woman’s walk is unique. Cynthia and Susan are joined in Episode 195 by Candice Clark, who shares a glimpse of her personal path and some valuable insights she’s picked up along the way. She reminds us, “As a mother raised in the Church, one thing I’m grateful to have finally learned is that my desires matter. They don’t matter more than anyone else’s; they also don’t matter less. It’s good to know what I want, whether or not I get it. And it’s okay for me to get what I want sometimes.”

“If one is religious but not spiritual, it will not enhance mental health,” says therapist C.A. Larson. In Episode 194, C.A. joins Susan and Cynthia for a conversation at the intersection of religion and spirituality. What are the differences between the two? How do they function together, and separately? And what influence might each one have on our overall wellbeing?

Bad things happen to good people—good works cannot protect us from the natural consequences of being human in an imperfect world. But in a church where the narrative often draws connections between worthiness and blessings, it can be hard to avoid internalizing the idea that we’re special and can achieve control by doing the right things. “How do I reconcile my life experiences with the things the Church teaches about blessings?” This prompt from a listener frames Susan and Cynthia’s discussion in Episode 193. It’s a conversation about one of life’s biggest questions, and the spiritual havoc members sometimes wreak by meeting suffering armed with well-meaning answers.

“We can do things a little differently and still be okay,” says Anne Pimentel. She’s a natural—but also intentional—space-maker, devoted to the idea that one can be a “good member” of the Church without fitting the mold. In Episode 192 Anne joins Susan and Cynthia for a conversation about how she learned and has internalized this lesson for herself. She’s a Latter-day Saint woman whose desire to be an ally in all areas continues to shape the way she shows up in her ward and in the world.