Hidden Wisdom

Mormon patriarchy, Heavenly Mother, and the lived experience of LDS women take center stage as Meghan Farner welcomes Amy McPhie Allebest, founder of Breaking Down Patriarchy and author of “Dear Mormon Man, Tell Me What You Would Do.” Together, they explore Mormon feminism, faith transitions, and how inherited gender roles shape our relationships, spiritual identities, and sense of possibility.

Amy shares the personal experiences behind her viral essay, including her struggle with gendered temple language and her desire to help men understand women’s experiences. She explains the difference between benevolent patriarchy and misogyny, why women sometimes defend patriarchal systems, and how rigid expectations can limit both women’s individual development and men’s emotional connection.

The conversation also explores motherhood, meaningful work, biblical interpretation, and the relationship between images of God and women’s understanding of their own worth. Meghan and Amy share distinct perspectives on Heavenly Mother while considering what equality and partnership could make possible.

For listeners navigating faith expansion, questioning religious authority, or seeking language for experiences they have struggled to name, this episode offers compassionate conversation and resources for reflection. Amy closes with feminist theology recommendations for those who want to challenge patriarchy while remaining connected to their own faith traditions.

In this episode:

• How Amy’s personal questions became Breaking Down Patriarchy
• What distinguishes benevolent patriarchy from misogyny
• Why loving intentions and unequal authority can coexist
• How inherited gender roles affect women and men
• Motherhood, personal gifts, and the freedom to develop both
• Patriarchy, biblical context, and earlier egalitarian societies
• Heavenly Mother and the influence of exclusively masculine God imagery
• Resources for reclaiming your place within your faith

Timestamps

(00:00) Introduction to Amy McPhie Allebest and her work on patriarchy

(01:18) Amy’s upbringing, BYU years, marriage, and early motherhood

(03:45) The unnamed pain of confinement and losing individuality

(04:45) Temple language, spiritual injury, and years of wrestling

(06:36) Writing Dear Mormon Man and the viral response

(07:59) Stanford, self-teaching patriarchy, and starting the podcast

(09:20) Breaking Down Patriarchy as a public learning project

(12:17) Meghan’s own faith journey and why the topic matters now

(13:53) Feminist awakening without political motivation

(15:06) Patriarchy as the water Western civilization swims in

(16:32) Defining patriarchy through etymology and hierarchy

(18:19) Misogynistic patriarchy versus benevolent patriarchy

(20:04) Hierarchy, power, and why women can still benefit inside patriarchy

(22:01) Race, class, disability, and how patriarchy intersects with other harms

(23:37) Pyramid structure, elite men, and women as enforcers

(26:44) Why patriarchy is hard to see from inside culture and religion

(29:06) Why the LDS Church is patriarchal by definition

(31:09) Utah, church demographics, and women’s awakening

(35:05) The soul-level harms of patriarchy for women and men

(38:25) Women’s self-actualization versus men’s relational loss

(40:33) Divine feminine and divine masculine as balance, not roles

(43:29) Women, education, birth rates, and the false feminist stereotype

(45:03) Motherhood, joy, and rejecting the demeaning of caregiving

(46:46) Biblical patriarchy and why the written record is male-centered

(48:31) Egalitarian societies, hunter-gatherers, and the rise of agriculture

(54:38) Why a Mother God matters for self-concept and divine balance

(58:59) Amy’s personal view of Heavenly Mother and spiritual mystery

(62:58) Staying in faith while reclaiming women’s voices

(64:50) Where to find Breaking Down Patriarchy and Amy’s work

Amy McPhie Allebest is a writer, speaker, and educator, and the founder and host of the Breaking Down Patriarchy podcast and YouTube channel. She is the author of the widely shared essay Dear Mormon Man, Tell Me What You Would Do. As introduced in this episode, Amy holds a master’s degree in liberal arts from Stanford University and is pursuing a PhD in education, culture, and society at the University of Utah. She and her husband have four children.

Connect with Amy: Explore Breaking Down Patriarchy, watch the project’s videos, and read Dear Mormon Man, Tell Me What You Would Do. Find Amy’s work on Instagram at @bdownpatriarchy. The essay’s official website confirms this spelling of the Instagram handle. Essay by Amy McPhie Allebest

Join the conversation: What expectations about gender have you reconsidered in your own spiritual journey?

Subscribe to Hidden Wisdom for more conversations about faith expansion, divine identity, and spiritual growth.

Reclaim your spiritual authority, practice discernment, and develop your spiritual gifts at the Sacred Knowing Workshop on November 13th in Huntsville UT. 

Learn more at: https://meghanfarner.com

Connect with us:
• Instagram: @hiddenwisdompod
• YouTube: @hiddenwisdomldd

Nervous system regulation, embodied spirituality, and sacred rituals come together in this conversation with somatic herbalist and certified astrologer Allie Christensen. We explore how herbalism, astrology, anointing oils, and a relationship with Heavenly Mother have shaped her journey from burnout toward greater self-understanding, restorative rest, and spiritual connection.

Have you ever tried so hard to connect with God that your spiritual practice became another source of pressure? Or assumed you were resting when you were actually escaping, scrolling, or shutting down? Allie shares her personal experience of navigating ADHD, autism, fearful avoidant attachment, and the desire for connection while learning to recognize what feels supportive in her own body.

Together, we discuss the difference between habit and intentional ritual, the role of sensory experiences in Allie’s spiritual life, and the permission to approach the Divine through movement, singing, gardening, herbal baths, and anointing. We also explore the fear that can arise around unfamiliar spiritual practices, especially for women from an LDS background, and what it means to trust your unfolding relationship with your Heavenly Parents.

Allie introduces her approach to moon sign embodiment, elemental exploration, and creating a neurosupportive lifestyle. This conversation invites you to become curious about your needs, release the pressure to force spiritual connection, and discover small, meaningful practices that help you feel more present with yourself and the Divine.

Explore Allie’s offerings through Living Wisdom Apothecary, including ritual consultations, anointing oils, moon sign embodiment kits, and her online ritual library.

Timestamps

• 00:00 Sacred Knowing workshop invitation
• 01:12 Allie’s path from relationship struggles to self-discovery
• 01:46 Introducing Allie Christensen and Living Wisdom Apothecary
• 02:52 Burnout, astrology, and neurodivergence
• 04:41 The difference between shutdown and nourishing rest
• 05:11 Creating anointing oils and finding herbalism
• 06:46 Letting a business go—and rebuilding it with her husband
• 10:08 Feminine spiritual traditions, oils, herbs, and astrology
• 11:58 Releasing fear and trusting a direct relationship with the divine
• 15:19 Movement, chanting, and neurodivergent spirituality
• 17:26 Following Christ beyond institutional expectations
• 21:00 Divine Mother, healing, and spiritual belonging
• 25:19 Nervous-system safety and connection with God
• 30:38 Signs of chronic dysregulation
• 34:09 Shutdown versus restorative rest
• 37:34 Building safety through astrology, herbs, and ritual
• 41:54 What ritual means—and how to make it supportive
• 47:07 Living Wisdom offerings: oils, moon-sign kits, and ritual resources
• 53:14 Upcoming workshops and events

UPCOMING EXPERIENCES

• October 28: Free virtual workshop on ecstatic dance and self-discovery through intuitive movement. Register through the Hidden Wisdom app.
• November 13: Sacred Knowing with Meghan and Camille in Huntsville, Utah. Explore spiritual authority, discernment, and spiritual gifts through teaching and guided practice.
• November 19: Self-anointing and abhyanga workshop with Allie.
• December 17: Somatic herbal baths workshop with Allie.

The November 19 and December 17 workshops are included for app members, with individual tickets available for $15, as announced in this episode.

Living Wisdom Apothecary
Hidden Wisdom app and event registration
Sacred Knowing information and registration

What helps you feel present, supported, and connected to the Divine? Share your experience in the comments, and subscribe to Hidden Wisdom for more conversations on spiritual awakening, transformation, embodiment, and ascension.

Reclaim your spiritual authority, practice discernment, and develop your spiritual gifts at the Sacred Knowing Workshop on November 13th in Huntsville UT. 

Learn more at: https://meghanfarner.com

Connect with us:
• Instagram: @hiddenwisdompod
• YouTube: @hiddenwisdomldd

In this episode, Meghan and Mike explore hormone imbalance, fatigue, brain fog, low libido, menopause, mind-body-spirit connection, and PCOS—and why feeling physically better was only the beginning of his healing journey.

Dr. Mike shares his personal story of medical burnout, emotional disconnection, and the turning point that led him toward vulnerability, accountability, and a deeper relationship with God. Together, we discuss the body as part of spiritual life, masculine and feminine balance, and how inner work changed the way he showed up as a husband, father, and physician.

In this episode:

• Hormone health and the connection between body, mind, emotions, and spirit
• Dr. Mike’s concerns about endocrine-disrupting chemicals
• His approach to women’s hormone health and bioidentical hormone therapy
• Why physical improvement did not resolve his unaddressed emotional pain
• Vulnerability, healthy masculinity, and presence beyond performance
• Journaling, meditation, and asking for spiritual guidance
• Personal accountability and growth within marriage

Explore Dr. Mike’s work: https://www.optimizemd.health/

This episode shares the guest’s experiences and perspectives for educational discussion. It does not provide individualized medical advice.

Timestamps

• 00:00 Hormones, inflammation, and insulin resistance
• 00:36 Introduction to Dr. Mike Fortunato and his work
• 01:46 Dr. Mike’s path from bartending to medical school
• 03:53 Burnout, depression, and disillusionment in medicine
• 04:57 Discovering hormone optimization through his own health struggles
• 05:59 Why physical healing can bring deeper emotional patterns to the surface
• 07:32 Building a practice focused on hormone care and women’s health
• 09:43 The connection between body, mind, heart, and spirit
• 10:20 Environmental endocrine disruptors and hormonal health
• 13:44 How hormone imbalance affected Dr. Mike’s energy, motivation, and libido
• 16:54 The endocrine system as the body’s “conductor”
• 17:56 Hormone treatment for women, menopause, and medical misconceptions
• 20:35 PCOS, insulin resistance, and women’s hormonal symptoms
• 23:17 Masculine and feminine energy through a hormonal lens
• 25:03 Motivation, healing, and choosing to change
• 27:17 Detoxification, toxic load, and rebuilding the body’s foundation
• 30:43 Looking inward: self-healing, meditation, and personal responsibility
• 33:21 Emotional healing after restoring physical health
• 33:52 Dr. Mike’s collapse, anger, and turning point
• 38:46 Rock bottom, honesty, and rebuilding a life
• 41:28 Vulnerability, masculinity, and emotional strength
• 48:17 Finding peace, faith, and a healthier marriage
• 51:30 Healing relationships through individual accountability
• 53:05 How to work with Dr. Mike
• 54:43 Closing reflections and gratitude

Guest Bio

Dr. Mike Fortunato is a board-certified physician, hormone optimization specialist, and founder of OptimizeMD. Trained in anesthesiology, he brings his personal experience with burnout, physical symptoms, and emotional healing to conversations about biology, identity, relationships, and spiritual well-being. His work with men and women centers on hormone health while making room for deeper discussions about how people feel and show up in their lives.

Reclaim your spiritual authority, practice discernment, and develop your spiritual gifts at the Sacred Knowing Workshop on November 13th in Huntsville UT. 

Learn more at: https://meghanfarner.com

Connect with us:
• Instagram: @hiddenwisdompod
• YouTube: @hiddenwisdomldd

Faith in Christ, spiritual alchemy, manifestation, and Hermetic principles come together in this exploration of spiritual transformation through LDS scripture. In this episode of Hidden Wisdom, Meghan Farner rethinks what faith means and how it becomes a lived, embodied relationship with truth.

Moving beyond faith as belief alone, Meghan invites us to consider how eternal truth becomes embodied in our emotions, choices, relationships, and everyday lives. Through the spiritual concepts of vibration, frequency, and resonance, she examines the distance between what is true and our present capacity to receive and live that truth.

This conversation explores why spiritual awakening can bring grief, fear, shame, and uncertainty to the surface—and why experiencing difficult emotions does not mean you have failed spiritually. Drawing on spiritual alchemy and the Sacred Spiral, Meghan traces four stages of growth: awakening, transformation, embodiment, and ascension.

She also considers the connection between faith and manifestation, the limitations of positive thinking, and a fresh interpretation of “faith without works is dead.” Through Christ’s pattern of descent, integration, and rebirth, this episode invites you to practice emotional honesty, trust the hidden seasons of spiritual growth, and allow faith to transform how you live, love, and connect with the Divine.

In this episode, we explore:

• Faith as movement toward greater alignment with truth.
• Vibration, frequency, and resonance as lenses for spiritual growth.
• The difference between feeling difficult emotions and being governed by them.
• Spiritual alchemy and the transformation of shame, fear, and control.
• Why manifestation involves more than positive thinking.
• A fresh interpretation of “faith without works is dead.”
• Christ’s pattern of descent, integration, rebirth, and ascension.

Timestamps

• 00:00 — Faith produces evidence
• 00:30 — Welcome and episode overview
• 02:26 — What is faith?
• 04:10 — Truth, light, and intelligence
• 06:59 — Vibration, frequency, and faith
• 10:52 — Your current state of being
• 12:01 — Emotional states and the role of courage
• 15:05 — Resonance and coming into alignment with truth
• 17:17 — Lower emotions: acute feelings vs. chronic patterns
• 20:07 — Descent, healing, and repentance
• 25:25 — Alchemy as transformation of the soul
• 30:01 — Turning fear, shame, grief, and control into truth
• 33:47 — Scripture and the process of spiritual transformation
• 35:00 — The sacred spiral: awakening, transformation, gestation, rebirth
• 38:49 — Manifestation, creation, and the limits of positive thinking
• 42:02 — “Faith without works is dead”
• 43:49 — Christ’s pattern of descent, resurrection, and ascension
• 47:11 — Growing grace for grace
• 48:22 — Final definition of faith and closing reflections
• 50:38 — Wrap-up and invitation to respond

How does this understanding of faith resonate with you? Share your questions and reflections in the comments, and subscribe to Hidden Wisdom for more conversations about Christian mysticism, LDS spirituality, and embodied transformation.

Join Meghan’s email list through the website linked in the show notes to receive upcoming announcements.

Reclaim your spiritual authority, practice discernment, and develop your spiritual gifts at the Sacred Knowing Workshop on November 13th in Huntsville UT. 

Learn more at: https://meghanfarner.com

Connect with us:
• Instagram: @hiddenwisdompod
• YouTube: @hiddenwisdomldd

Larkin Swain left the LDS Church as a teenager and spent years searching for healing, spirituality, and truth. Her journey took her through yoga, meditation, energy work, plant medicine, and eventually ayahuasca—until an unexpected encounter with Jesus Christ changed the direction of her life.

In this episode of Hidden Wisdom, Meghan Farner sits down with Larkin to explore her remarkable spiritual journey from Utah to Bali and Thailand, through spiritual seeking and a profound conversion to Christ, and eventually back to the LDS faith and the temple.

Larkin shares the dark ayahuasca experience in which she saw Christ on the cross and heard the words, “It is finished.” She describes the prayer that followed months later, the unmistakable peace she experienced the next morning, and why she ultimately began reading the Bible, rediscovered the Book of Mormon, returned to church, and received her temple endowment.

But her story doesn’t end with returning to religion. Meghan and Larkin explore Christian contemplation, embodiment, mysticism, symbolism, ritual, Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, and what it means to develop a deeply personal relationship with God while participating in a faith tradition.

They also discuss Larkin’s work as host of Sanctuary, a Faith Matters podcast exploring the LDS temple, sacred ritual, symbolism, transformation, and the mystical dimensions of discipleship.

This conversation is for anyone navigating faith transition, spiritual seeking, religious reconstruction, Christian mysticism, LDS temple worship, or the desire to experience God beyond intellectual belief.

Larkin Swain is a seeker of heaven and truth, contemplative poet, herbalist, and lifelong student of the healing arts. Raised in Utah County in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she stepped away from the faith at 15 and spent years exploring spirituality and healing practices. While living in Thailand, she experienced a transformative conversion to Jesus Christ that eventually led her back to the LDS faith with a renewed perspective on its doctrine, temple worship, symbolism, and ritual. She is the host of Sanctuary, a Faith Matters podcast exploring the temple, sacred ritual, and spiritual transformation. 

Reclaim your spiritual authority, practice discernment, and develop your spiritual gifts at the Sacred Knowing Workshop on November 13th in Huntsville UT. 

Learn more at: https://meghanfarner.com

Connect with us:
• Instagram: @hiddenwisdompod
• YouTube: @hiddenwisdomldd

What if your nervous system is actually a bridge to God? In this episode of Hidden Wisdom, spiritual embodiment coach Christina Beatty explores how embodiment, nervous system regulation, somatic healing, intuition, and self-trust can deepen our connection with God and help us access the wisdom already within us.

Christina shares her personal journey from postpartum depression and a profound moment of surrender to discovering a spirituality rooted in the body rather than something continually sought outside herself. She and the host explore what it actually means to be embodied, why spiritual growth requires us to feel rather than simply intellectualize our emotions, and how learning to discern the body's signals can transform our relationship with ourselves and the divine.

They also dive into the often-overlooked space between death and rebirth: the void, or gestation period, where transformation is integrated before something new can emerge. Christina explains why nervous system regulation doesn't mean remaining calm all the time, how resistance can actually reveal where healing is needed, and why curiosity, presence, prayer, and surrender are powerful embodiment practices.

In this episode, you'll discover how to build greater self-trust, work with resistance instead of bypassing it, reconnect with your intuition, create safety within your nervous system, and approach spiritual awakening as something you embody—not something you escape into.

If you've been navigating spiritual awakening, nervous system healing, a season of transformation, or a desire for a deeper connection with God, this conversation offers a grounded invitation to stop searching outside yourself and begin listening within.

• 00:00 — What embodiment looks like in everyday life
• 00:50 — Welcome and introduction to Christina Beattie
• 01:48 — Christina’s spiritual journey and surrender
• 05:25 — The nervous system as a bridge to God
• 07:42 — Self-trust, religion, and discernment
• 11:32 — Why reconnecting with the body matters
• 15:35 — Defining embodiment
• 17:50 — Simple ways to practice presence
• 19:09 — Regulation, dysregulation, and listening to the body
• 21:56 — Spiritual experiences through embodied awareness
• 29:25 — Death, rebirth, and the gestation phase
• 32:43 — The void, surrender, and co-creation
• 36:50 — Embodiment during seasons of change
• 37:58 — Practical tools: curiosity, resistance, and creating space
• 41:32 — Getting started with embodiment
• 47:42 — Prayer as an embodiment practice
• 48:54 — What surrender reveals about success and transformation
• 53:22 — Where to find Christina and her work

Christina Beatty is a spiritual embodiment coach who guides women home to themselves by helping them reconnect with their bodies, deepen their intuition, build self-trust, and cultivate a more intimate relationship with God. Her work blends nervous system practices, somatic healing, spirituality, and embodiment. Christina also offers one-to-one coaching and readings and hosts The Embodied Truth Podcast. She shares her work on Instagram and offers the Empowered Awakening program. Instagram: @Christina.soulempowered

Reclaim your spiritual authority, practice discernment, and develop your spiritual gifts at the Sacred Knowing Workshop on November 13th in Huntsville UT. 

Learn more at: https://meghanfarner.com

Connect with us:
• Instagram: @hiddenwisdompod
• YouTube: @hiddenwisdomldd

If you’re exploring Christian mysticism, mediumship, spiritual gifts, hearing God, spiritual discernment, ancestral healing, Christ-centered spirituality, or the unseen world, this conversation offers a fascinating perspective on developing those gifts while remaining rooted in Christ.

Can Christians be mediums—and can communicating with spirits coexist with faith in Jesus Christ? Christian medium, author, healer, and PhD Jen Basir joins Meghan Farner to explore Christian mediumship, spiritual discernment, hearing the Spirit, ancestors, generational healing, and spiritual gifts.

Jen’s journey into the unseen began unexpectedly. After leaving her career teaching physical therapy, she began studying energy healing through the Emotion Code and Body Code. Then, while practicing muscle testing, a female spirit appeared beside her with a message that changed everything: the point wasn’t getting the muscle testing right—it was learning to listen to the Spirit.

In this conversation, Jen shares how she began seeing spirits and communicating with ancestors, why she believes God eventually called her to offer mediumship sessions, and how she discerns between spiritual influences. Meghan and Jen explore what happens after death, whether ancestors can continue to heal and progress, ministering angels and spiritual guides, generational trauma, communicating with plants and the earth, and the importance of agency in spiritual development.

They also explore a deeper question: How do we develop spiritual gifts without allowing fear—or even the gifts themselves—to distract us from God?

• 00:00 Opening quote: learning to listen to the spirit
• 00:07 Show introduction
• 01:16 Introducing Jen Besire
• 01:47 Jen’s path to faith, marriage, and a career change
• 05:00 First experience seeing a spirit
• 06:33 From energy healing to mediumship
• 08:13 Different ways of receiving spiritual guidance
• 10:28 Physical sensations, empathy, and boundaries
• 12:09 Ancestors, healing, and generational patterns
• 15:23 Progression after death and meeting Jesus
• 17:39 Spirit guides and Jen’s guide, Theodore
• 19:17 How Jen’s mediumship sessions work
• 20:25 Staying clear and grounded in spiritual work
• 22:32 An ancestor’s transformation after death
• 25:12 Discernment and connecting with spirits without fear
• 28:01 Communicating with plants, trees, and the earth
• 30:12 Agency, abundance, and asking bigger
• 32:29 Releasing fear and learning to trust
• 35:18 Giving, generosity, and the flow of money
• 37:58 A message for the audience: blessing the places around us
• 40:36 Words, water, food, and intentional blessing
• 44:22 Where to find Jen and her work
• 45:25 Closing reflections and outro

About Jen Basir

Jen Basir is a PhD, Christian medium, author, and healer who worked and taught as a physical therapist for 23 years before feeling called by God to a different path in 2014. Her work focuses on helping clients come into Christ, heal generational trauma, develop spiritual understanding, and create lives of greater freedom. Her practice incorporates energy healing, mediumship, spiritual transformation, and the intuitive gifts she has developed through her own healing and faith journey.

Website: https://drjenbessire.com/
Community: https://drjenbessire.com//group
Podcast/YouTube: Spirit Stories: Conversations with the Unseen

Reclaim your spiritual authority, practice discernment, and develop your spiritual gifts at the Sacred Knowing Workshop on November 13th in Huntsville UT. 

Learn more at: https://meghanfarner.com

Connect with us:
• Instagram: @hiddenwisdompod
• YouTube: @hiddenwisdomldd

If you are navigating Mormon faith transition, LDS faith crisis, religious trauma, mixed-faith relationships, faith expansion, spiritual awakening, or healing after high-demand religion, this conversation offers a compassionate framework for growing without needing to erase where you came from.

What happens when a Mormon faith crisis becomes an invitation to spiritual growth rather than the end of faith? Licensed therapist and Latter Day Struggles host Valerie Hamaker joins Meghan Farner to explore faith expansion, religious trauma, spiritual authority, the true self, patriarchy, and how to build a deeper relationship with God after inherited beliefs begin to change.

Valerie shares her journey from deeply committed Latter-day Saint life—including serving a mission, graduating from BYU, temple marriage, Relief Society leadership, and working as an LDS Church preferred mental health provider—to eventually resigning from the Church after being called to a disciplinary council.

Rather than framing faith transition as simple deconstruction, Valerie and Meghan explore a model of transcendence and inclusion: allowing beliefs and identities that no longer serve us to change while honoring the experiences, wisdom, and spiritual foundations that helped us grow.

They discuss why a faith crisis can feel like death, the movement from externally sourced authority toward inner spiritual discernment, and the importance of rediscovering the true divine self beneath inherited identities, shame, perfectionism, and fear.

The conversation also examines transactional images of God, masculine and feminine expressions of divinity, developmental stages of faith, healthy versus dominator hierarchies, religious shame, mysticism, and the possibility of finding a more direct experience of the divine.

Timestamps

• 00:00 - Spiritual Autonomy After Faith Change
• 00:39 - Hidden Wisdom: Faith Renovation and Spiritual Discernment
• 01:20 - Meet Valerie Hamaker, Therapist and Faith Expansion Coach
• 02:24 - From Devout Mormon Life to Counseling and Healing Work
• 05:44 - Starting the Latter-day Struggles Podcast
• 07:36 - Healing, Integration, and Personal Spiritual Authority
• 09:16 - Leaving the LDS Church and Resisting Religious Control
• 13:21 - Staying Connected to Mormon Community After Resignation
• 14:38 - Faith Expansion Through Transcendence and Inclusion
• 18:14 - Discernment, the True Self, and Inner Spiritual Trust
• 22:11 - Divine Wholeness, Masculine and Feminine Spirituality
• 25:07 - Reframing Atonement, Shame, and Healing
• 27:15 - Faith Crisis as Death, Rebirth, and Personal Growth
• 32:21 - Healing Harmful God Images and Transactional Theology
• 37:07 - Patriarchy, Hierarchy, and Compassionate Spiritual Development
• 41:55 - Mysticism, Symbolism, and Direct Experience of the Divine
• 45:18 - Finding Spiritual Possibility Beyond Traditional Mormonism
• 48:01 - There Is More: Hope for Faith Expansion
• 49:02 - Valerie Hamaker’s Faith Healing Groups and Resources
• 50:13 - Hidden Wisdom Closing Invitation

Valerie Hamaker is a licensed therapist and certified coach specializing in faith expansion, mixed-faith relationships, and recovery from high-demand religion. She is the creator and host of the Latter Day Struggles podcast, where she combines clinical expertise with lived experience to help people navigate the psychological, relational, and spiritual challenges that accompany changing belief systems. Valerie also offers coaching, online courses, live events, faith-expansion groups, and other resources for individuals and couples seeking support beyond traditional religious frameworks.

Reclaim your spiritual authority, practice discernment, and develop your spiritual gifts at the Sacred Knowing Workshop on November 13th in Huntsville UT. 

Learn more at: https://meghanfarner.com

Connect with us:
• Instagram: @hiddenwisdompod
• YouTube: @hiddenwisdomldd

What do divine feminine and masculine energy have to do with Jesus Christ, the gospel, and becoming one? In this deep dive, Meghan Farner explores: What is divine feminine energy? What is healthy divine masculine energy? And how can balancing masculine and feminine transform our understanding of repentance, healing, and spiritual growth?

Drawing from Restoration scripture, ancient wisdom traditions, temple symbolism, and Christian mysticism, Meghan explores the law of polarity (or opposition) and the ancient “law of gender”—which she reframes as the law of masculine and feminine, or the law of creation.

Rather than treating masculine and feminine as simple opposites—or equating feminine with women and masculine with men—Meghan proposes that each person carries both. The feminine represents creativity, intuition, receptivity, transformation, divine connection, and the full spectrum of possibility. The masculine brings orientation, boundaries, stability, intentionality, protection, and execution.

What happens when these energies become wounded or distorted? And what might change when the divine feminine and masculine are healed and brought into inner union?

This episode connects these ideas to the natural man and true divine self, repentance and metanoia, Jesus Christ as an embodiment of masculine and feminine wholeness, LDS temple symbolism, becoming Zion, and the Gospel of Thomas teaching to “make the two one.”

Could becoming one in Christ begin with reconciling what has been divided within ourselves?

00:00 - Hidden Wisdom Welcome and Divine Masculine & Feminine Introduction

04:20 - Is Divine Feminine and Masculine the Key to Living the Gospel?

05:58 - Hermetic Laws: Polarity, Gender, and Spiritual Growth

06:31 - The Law of Opposition: Why Opposites Create Wholeness

08:06 - The Law of Creation: Masculine and Feminine Beyond Polarity

10:16 - Masculine and Feminine Energies in Every Person

13:37 - Feminine Energy: Intuition, Creativity, Vision, and Transformation

15:43 - Masculine Energy: Boundaries, Execution, Stability, and Safety

18:53 - Healthy and Unhealthy Feminine Energy: Responsiveness vs. Reactivity

22:20 - Healthy and Unhealthy Masculine Energy: Orientation vs. Control

25:29 - Full Spectrum Feminine Energy and Grounded Masculine Focus

28:54 - Healing the Natural Man Through Inner Masculine and Feminine Balance

30:11 - Healthy Feminine Energy: Abundance, Beauty, Trust, and Rebirth

33:12 - Healthy Masculine Energy: Purpose, Integrity, and Spiritual Direction

35:45 - The Natural Man and the True Divine Self

38:32 - Jesus Christ as the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine Archetype

40:49 - Inner Marriage, Oneness in Christ, and Becoming Zion

42:44 - Temple Symbolism and the Union of Masculine and Feminine

43:24 - Gospel of Thomas, Metanoia, and the Path to Wholeness

46:57 - Becoming Sons and Daughters of God: Closing Reflection

#DivineFeminine #DivineMasculine #MasculineAndFeminine #JesusChrist #ChristianMysticism #LDS #Restoration #LDSTheology #TempleSymbolism #SpiritualAwakening #SpiritualGrowth #DivineFeminineEnergy #MasculineEnergy #FeminineEnergy #Metanoia #GospelOfThomas #ChristianSpirituality #BecomingOne #HiddenWisdom

Reclaim your spiritual authority, practice discernment, and develop your spiritual gifts at the Sacred Knowing Workshop on November 13th in Huntsville UT. 

Learn more at: https://meghanfarner.com

Connect with us:
• Instagram: @hiddenwisdompod
• YouTube: @hiddenwisdomldd

What happens when a culture loses its relationship with the Divine Mother? Meghan Farner and Jocelyn Pedersen explore the Heavenly Mother wound—and how spiritual motherlessness may be showing up in our relationships, religions, and cultural conflicts.

Rather than reducing today’s tensions between men and women to feminism versus patriarchy, Meghan and Jocelyn ask what might be underneath them. What happens when the feminine is feared, diminished, or disconnected from divinity? And how might reclaiming Heavenly Mother change the way we understand both feminine and masculine spiritual identity?

Together they explore the loss of the Divine Feminine, the deeper meaning of spiritual motherhood, masculine surrender and vulnerability, and Christ as a pattern of integration rather than hierarchy. They also consider creation and gestation as sacred symbols, feminine spiritual authority, women as mirrors and initiators, and the role of both masculine and feminine in the journey toward wholeness.

This conversation invites us beyond the battle between masculine and feminine and toward something deeper: the restoration and integration of both.

00:00 - The Divine Feminine and Our Cultural Moment
 04:22 - Why Are We Seeing a Backlash Against Women?
 09:17 - When Feminism and Patriarchy Both Miss the Point
 14:37 - The Heavenly Mother Wound: A Motherless Culture
 21:01 - Why the Feminine Is Feared
 23:22 - Who Is the Divine Mother?
 30:20 - Discovering Heavenly Mother
 32:33 - The Divine Feminine in Christ
 38:10 - Creation, Gestation, and the Feminine Pattern
 44:03 - Spiritual Rebirth and Returning to the Mother
 48:32 - Feminine Authority, Anointing, and Christ
 52:29 - Mary Magdalene and the Hidden Feminine
 56:20 - Masculine Healing: Surrendering the False Self
 62:12 - Shame, Vulnerability, and Becoming Whole
 64:19 - Women as Mirrors and Spiritual Initiators
 68:02 - Reclaiming the Feminine Without Creating Division

Reclaiming the Woman in the Wilderness Retreat - September 11-12 - Lehi, UT 

Reclaim your spiritual authority, practice discernment, and develop your spiritual gifts at the Sacred Knowing Workshop on November 13th in Huntsville UT. 

Learn more at: https://meghanfarner.com

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