Send us a Positive Review!

Series Title: End of LDS Growth Analysis [Part V of VI]

We’ve made it to episode #5 of this six part mini-series exploring LDS church growth struggles as studied in the recent journal article titled, “End of Growth?  Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion” (article in full linked below)

In today’s episode, the focus of analysis is on the following three points:

• The historical ‘gathering to Zion’ mentality has created isolationist culture to those gathered; has left many parts of the world with few members to grow the church; has therefore defaulted heavily on Utah-centric “world-view”, with secondary privileging of  US “worldview”; less so on the rest of the world
• Occupational hazard of itinerant missionaries with low investment to quality conversion and hyper-focused on number of baptisms
• The accelerated baptism program of the church which pressured all parties from mission presidents to missionaries to aggressively pressure lay people to quickly decide to be baptized with inadequate time to understand not only what they were learning about but also to acclimate to a new social network, belief system, an ideology

The next and final episode of this series tackles perhaps the most fascinating concept explored in this report: a proposal that the LDS church's stance as God's only "true church" is at the foundation of the various administrative struggles that have impeded the church's ability to grow.

Link to the article analyzed in this series:   https://jmssa.org/stewart

Support the show

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!

Series Title: End of LDS Growth Analysis [Part IV of VI]

Welcome to episode #4 of this six part mini-series where we are diving into all things LDS church growth struggles as studied in the recent journal article titled, “End of Growth?  Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion” (article in full linked below)

In today’s episode, Nathan and Val work through three more reasons exploring why the LDS church has not grown into the "next Islam" as forecasted about 40 years ago.

This episode focuses on these three points:

1. Retention issues amongst specific demographics, especially adolescents and generation Z. Youth and young adult disaffiliation is increasing and youth age at disaffiliation is getting younger.  
2. Philosophical shifts in the missionary program including reduction in on-the-ground visibility between missionaries and the people in the communities where they serve; heavier focus on key indicators of success related to issues outside of the control of missionaries.
3. The impact of the leadership being a gerontocracy and how this organizational philosophy may exact costs in growth.

Link to the article analyzed in this series:

• ⁠The End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion, David G. Stewart, Jr., University of Nevada, Las Vegas⁠

Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below.  See you there!

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!

Series Title: End of LDS Growth Analysis [Part III of VI]

In the next three episodes of this six part series analyzing the article titled “End of Growth?  Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion” (article in full linked below) Nathan and Val work through 10 reasons social scientists postulate the LDS church did not grow (as forecasted about 40 years old) into the “the next Islam”. 

This episode focuses on the following:

• The church’s emphasis on “building from centers of strength.”  In the 1990’s the church rolled out a program redirecting missionary efforts and funds to parts of the world to "grow in leadership and capital before expanding to other parts of the world.”
• Multiple trends unfolded that were not expected based on early predictions: LDS fertility rates dropped significantly.  Marriage rates dropped.  New converts worldwide were frequently empty nesters.  Many international converts had less children than their neighbors attending other churches.
• A contracting LDS missionary force relative to early predictions.

Nathan and Val break down each of these topics and weigh in on how each each of these research findings represents (in their opinion) either an administrative situation, gradual and unable-to-predict-societal-evolution, or perhaps a subtle trending towards personal authority and spiritual autonomy that does not concurrently translate into LDS institutional nominal growth.

In the next episode Nathan and Val tackle topics 4-6 of the ten topics covered explaining lower than expected LDS church growth according to the journal article linked below. Stay tuned!

Support the show

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!

Series Title: End of LDS Growth Analysis [Part II of VI]

Join Nathan and Val this entire series analyzing the article titled “End of Growth?  Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion” published recently in the Journal of Mormon Social Science Association (article in full linked below) where Nathan breaks down some incredibly fascinating data about the growth of several Christian churches in sub-Saharan Africa to offer some context and critique regarding the "massive growth" that some claim is happening in this part of the world in the LDS church.

Questions answered in this episode:

• Are there a lot of LDS baptisms happening in sub-Saharan Africa compared to the rest of the world?
• How does the nominal growth of the LDS church compare to other missionary-minded churches  in this same area?
• What are some possible reasons why especially the Seventh Day Adventists and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are baptizing and retaining exponentially more people in this area of the world than the LDS church?
• What might the LDS church’s tendency to bring the “American church” and it’s culture to Africa have to do with their relative struggles in membership growth and retention?
• What might the LDS church learn from other thriving religions in this same demographic about allowing locals to infuse their beautiful customs and culture into a basic structure of a religious system?

Link to the article analyzed in this series:

• The End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion, David G. Stewart, Jr., University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below.  See you there!

Support the show

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!

Series Title: End of LDS Growth Analysis [Part I of VI]

Val and Nathan are so excited to jump into a VERY FASCINATING six-part podcast mini-series analyzing a recently published journal article titled, “The End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion”.

In the mid 80’s a team of social scientists predicted that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was on track to become “The next Islam”, projecting that if the LDS church stayed on track with its current growth, it would achieve a membership between 36.4-121 million members by the year 2020.

At year end 2019 the LDS church reached a mere 16.5 million members, less than half of the number projected by these social scientists.

What Happened?

This is the topic of the next several episodes of the Latter Day Struggles Podcast.

In this specific episode, Nathan and Val offer an overview of six “misses” that the research team did not account for and then they break down each general area:  including (but not limited to) serious issues of member retention, a significant drop in child-of-record baptisms,  the shrinking size of the church’s missionary force, unexpected shrinking LDS fertility rates, and skewed membership record keeping practices.

IN FRIDAY’S EPISODE Nathan and Val tackle the topic of church growth specifically in Africa (the LDS church’s current missionary growth emphasis) and put the LDS church’s relative success in this geographic area in context by looking at the astronomical growth in Africa of two “cousin” church traditions—the Seventh Day Adventist’s and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Nathan and Val then discuss some valid reasons why these other faith traditions might be enjoying exponentially more growth in Africa and how the LDS church might benefit from learning from their religious counterparts, who seemed to have cracked some codes in multicultural membership growth and retention.

Link to the article analyzed in this series

• ⁠The End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion, David G. Stewart, Jr., University of Nevada, Las Vegas⁠

Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below.  See you there!

Support the show

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!

Series Title: Valerie’s Personal Journey [Part II of II]

In this second episode of this mini-series,  Valerie responds to a variety of personal questions including (but not limited to):

• How the podcast and accompanying work has impacted Val’s and Nathan’s parenting and family life.
• Val’s and Nathan’s asymmetrical developmental time line that prepared them for this collaboration.
• Their current relationship with local ecclesiastical leaders.
• Her current reasons for continuing to attend her own LDS church congregation. 
• Her feelings about those who choose to distance themselves from the church (temporarily or permanently) due her influence and her sincere encouragement for people to forge their own paths.
• The most impactful books Val has read that evoked her own “faith crisis”, but which also led to her decision to create a platform to address these topics in a healthy, more open way.
•  Thoughts and feelings about the potential of church discipline, personal surrender, belonging to ones’ self, and growing feelings of peace due to owning her journey and living in her integrity.

Books mentioned in this episode as most impactful for Valerie:

• Origins of Power and Extensions of Power, written by D. Michael Quinn
• Stretching the Heavens: The Life of Eugene England and the Crisis of Modern Mormonism, written by Teryl L. and Fiona Givens

Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below.  See you there!

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!

Series Title: Valerie’s Personal Journey [Part I of II]

Join Val and fellow therapist Brannon Patrick this week as Brannon interviews Valerie about her first year accidentally diving into the deep end as a professional voice speaking respectfully but directly on behalf of thousands of individuals in the LDS faith and trust crisis and expansion space.

In those two episodes Valerie responds to a variety of personal questions including (but not limited to): 

• Her own experiences finding herself a in a role speaking at the intersection of good psychology, a call for healthy theology, with a keen understanding of the dynamics of healthy and unhealthy organizations.
• How she has navigated activity in the church.
• Her and Brannon’s experience first deciding to work together and then his deciding to no longer work with her and their touching conclusions about this tough relational period.
• Her experience with the very real possibility of burnout in this highly emotional work.
• Her reasons for committing so much time and nurture to the support and processing group process and the unintended benefits of this experience for her as a facilitator
• Her and Nathan’s journey as a couple, evolving parents, and working together on the podcast
• Val’s thoughts on the possibility of church discipline due to her ministry

And much more! Latter Day Struggles Podcast Episodes mentioned in this episode as most impactful for Valerie:

• Latter Day Struggles Podcast Episode 118: Stumbling Blocks and the Book of Mormon with Paul Toscano—Part IV
• ⁠Latter Day Struggles Podcast Episode 126: A Glimpse into the Spiritual Journey of LDS Theologian Fiona Givens

Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below.  See you there!

Support the show

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!

In this brief minisode, Val gets everyone (especially those not on social media) up to speed on the many directions that she is going to help you in your faith journey.

Here’s what I talk in more detail about on this bonus episode:

1. There is a new Latter Day Struggles support and processing group starting July 17th 2023 and this is the last group beginning for the next several months.  If you’ve been on the fence, now is the time to jump in!  Go to latterdaystruggles.com and enroll there.
2. Today 6/18/23 is the LAST DAY to benefit from GREAT discounts on Valerie’s Online Courses “A Couple’s Guide to Faith Crisis and Expansion”.  She is offering buy one get one free until midnight central standard time.  Much more info about this on Instagram at @latterdaystruggle.com in the highlights and current stories and on latterdaystruggles.com
3. Not mentioned but worth mentioning :) is that Valerie will be participating in a variety of ways at this year’s Annual Sunstone Symposium.  Her presentation topics are “The Creation of the Deviant Out-group” and “LDS Faith Crisis 10 Years After the Faith Crisis Report”.  I will also be running a breakout group on working through faith crisis.  Please come to Sunstone and support this wonderful organization!  I’d love to meet you in person! 

——————————————————————————————————————

SUPPORT: Like what you’re hearing at Latter Day Struggles Podcast? You can support Valerie’s efforts by becoming a recurring donor on Patreon.com!

——————————————————————————————————————

SUPPORT GROUPS: You are invited to join one of Valerie’s space-limited ⁠⁠Faith Crisis and Expansion Support and Processing Groups⁠⁠⁠!  As a trauma therapist, she continues to help our LDS faith expansion community become psychologically healthier and spiritually well in and around the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Details about availability on ⁠⁠⁠latterdaystruggles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.  These groups ALWAYS FILL UP, so jump in asap!

     Click here for a step-by-step guide on how to join a support group

——————————————————————————————————————

COURSES: Now available! “⁠⁠⁠A Couple’s Guide to Faith Crisis and Expansion⁠⁠⁠” parts I and II. See what else is offered on ⁠⁠latterdaystruggles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

     Click here for a step-by-step guide to purchase a course

————————————————————

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!

Series Title: PRIDE and Personal Growth [Part II of II]

Join Val and a handful of special guests on this second half of a series honoring PRIDE month.  In this episode several beautiful women and men share their unique journeys finding self/other love and acceptance on the full spectrum of gender and sexuality.

Unlearning can be more challenging than learning, especially in a religious system that has focused so strongly on heteronormativity.  But these beautiful people show that is can indeed be done and that the journey is sacred and one worth celebrating and sharing. 

Please note: In the section featuring Kit and Bree and their beautiful love story, I want to make clear that the manner in which they have been able to navigate their marriage is a representation of what has felt congruent to each of them in their own personal story.

 I do not want to communicate that other outcomes in other marriages are not acceptable or reasonable.  I believe that giving each individual in each couple the liberty follow what is most congruent to them is the path to wholeness.  Books and podcasts recommended in this episode:

• Questions from the Closet Podcast
• Listen, Learn, and Love Podcast
• Beyond the Block Podcast
• Goodbye, I Love You, written by Carol Lynn Pearson

Support the show

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!

Series Title: PRIDE and Personal Growth [Part I of II]

Join Valerie for the next couple of week honoring PRIDE in a variety of different ways.

First and most importantly, Valerie has invited several individuals (like yourselves!) from her small groups to share their own growth journeys in the context of PRIDE month.

In each of these stories shared you will learn from gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and straight ally individuals who learned profound lessons about love over fear, love over judgment, and love over unhealthy theology.

They share the beauty of being a work in progress and each model how it is okay to believe one way until we experience enough life to teach us to belief another way that is more aligned with God’s love for the diversity of their sacred creations.

Books and podcasts recommended in this episode:

• ⁠Questions from the Closet Podcast⁠
• ⁠Listen, Learn, and Love Podcast⁠
• A Walk in My Shoes: Questions I'm Often Asked as a Gay Latter-day Saint, written by Ben Schilaty

Support the show

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website