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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part VII of VII]

This final episode of this series is our response to the point of view that Jesus did not ‘get political’. Jesus (and each of us) cannot avoid being political. We state our “politics” with each stance to either uphold or resist dominator hierarchies. And Jesus’ whole ministry can be defined by resistance to any system that placed the life of any human being over the life of any other human being. 

Listen to this episode to answer for yourself the following questions: Did the actual Jesus of Nazareth embody radical love for all human beings and speak strongly and often about very "political" topics?  Or did claim neutrality in a way that left those of his time uncertain about how he felt about authoritarian power structures and their treatment of "the least of these"? 

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Series Finale

02:06 Recap of Episodes One to Six

05:01 Liberation Jesus or Empire Mascot

06:42 Scripture Lenses and Competing Jesuses

08:47 Jesus of Nazareth vs Christ of Empire

12:48 Refusing Power and Inner Kingdom

20:30 Flattening Margins and Social Norms

27:58 Good Samaritan and Bad Laws Today

34:42 Challenging Religious Gatekeeping

40:05 Taking Jesus Name Through Action

43:23 Love Over Fear God Image

47:06 Closing Thanks and Fellowship Invite

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Hey listeners of the Latter Day Struggles podcast!  Join Val in this bonus episode as she answers audience questions that will help you feel like you've come to the right place for psychologically sound resources and community on your LDS faith expansion journey.    We're not about burning anything down.  We are about bridging.  Building. Expanding.  Transcending. Including.  Becoming.  

In this bonus episode Val answers a couple of questions about relationship struggles that inevitably come up when our relationship with the LDS church is evolving.  She also shares her vision for the future of the LDS church if faith expanding people continue to gather and practice a more radical, inclusive, and non-polarized love than currently exists in our present LDS culture as groups gather at the opposite poles.  

To be a part of a movement that actively practices critical thinking and personal growth--join Valerie & others leading out in a new way to manifest what true faith expansion is.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Purpose

02:07 How We Are Different

05:09 Beyond Binary Healing

07:45 Transcend and Include

12:18 Monday vs Friday Episodes

14:32 Friday Spiritual Expansion

21:57 Live Fellowship Overview

24:36 Fellowship Topics and Schedule

30:11 Upcoming Mission Mental Health Series

34:52 Why Groups Matter

42:52 Talking Across Ladder Rungs

52:15 Enrollment and Closing

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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part VI of VII]

In this episode Val & Nathan break down what religious institutional silent is communicating in times of social unrest.  Don't miss this episode or series if you want to more deeply understand why religions are simply never neutral!  They are loudly communicating what they stand for when they choose silence over speaking truth to power.  

Timestamps:

00:00 Series Recap Setup

02:12 Religion Meets Politics

05:24 Legitimacy vs Transformation

06:59 Silence Equals Complicity

08:48 Why Churches Stay Quiet

13:23 Truth Claims Block Reform

20:05 Faith as Moral Reform

26:01 Rethinking Prophets

29:37 Prophetic Not Partisan

31:30 Closing and Next Episode

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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part V of VII]

In this episode exploring the intersection of religion and politics, Val & Nathan explore several specific areas where politics and religion are addressing the exact same fundamental questions around human dignity & worth; justice & injustice; and the appropriate use of power.  

They then compare how these fundamental issues are confronted in real time on a world stage as Politician Donald Trump and Religious Leader Pope Leo XIV prove powerfully that politics and religion cannot be dissociated but must dialogue in order to find common ground in questions of human value, safety, and basic dignity.  They also each demonstrate (through their respective approaches and value systems) two very different levels of human moral & consciousness development.  

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Setup 

00:33 Religion Meets Politics 

02:33 Same Core Questions

06:21 Human Dignity and Rights 

11:22 Consciousness Development and Political Behavior 

13:35 When Laws Protect the Wrong Values

14:40 Christian Nationalism and the LDS Church's Silence 

20:42 LDS Shadow History and the Epstein Files 

22:52 Justice and Accountability 

26:07 Power Morality and Resistance 

28:18 Rosa Parks and Inner Authority 

30:03 Early Faith vs Transformation 

33:08 Follow the Leader vs Follow the Divine Within 

33:21 Elder Gilbert, ICE Raids, and LDS Silence 

35:07 Legitimacy as the Highest Value in Mormonism 

41:45 Pope Leo vs Trump 

51:33 Episode Wrap and Next Steps

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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part IV of VII]

In this episode Val & Nathan continue to build a case that it is impossible for religious systems to be "neutral" on political issues. They explore how society evolves as religions & political systems engage in the dance of shaping and being shaped by one another and how in every era brave individuals lead out in inviting social change & can come from either spiritual realm as both politics & religions confront how to dignify human life.  

They also talk about how some churches lead the charge of social justice (confronting longstanding dominator hierarchies) and some churches are society's great "feet draggers" (defending dominator hierarchies). Why the feet-dragging?  And why do the "feet draggers" often finally begrudgingly jump on the enlightenment train?  

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Series Setup

01:44 Legitimacy vs Transformation Religions

05:43 Silence and Power Structures

09:42 Why Churches Cannot Condemn

11:37 Article of Faith 12 Obedience

13:54 Moral Consequences and Neutrality

18:38 Religion and Politics Interwoven

19:55 Civilizational Development Framework

22:50 Center of Gravity in Mormonism

24:13 Leading Edge Reformers

25:54 Civil Rights Awakening

27:52 Laws Versus Hearts

30:17 Legitimacy Church Trap

31:19 Pressure Forces Change

37:06 BYU And Wyoming Seven

39:27 Social Capital And Attrition

42:47 Patriarchy Next Frontier

44:17 God Beyond Hierarchy

47:18 Why Churches Catch Up

48:03 Spiraling Toward Transformation

49:00 Next Episode Preview

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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part III of VII]

In this episode Val & Nathan go more "macro" and explain how churches (just like human beings and human civilizations) go through stages of development and that a church will choose its stances of "significant moral consequence"  accordingly.  In short, if a church is focused on earlier stage legitimacy--its all about preserving its favorite form(s) of dominator hierarchy.   If the church has matured into a focus on personal transformation--it moves towards a stance of dismantling dominator hierarchies.  And it is in moments of social unrest that one can see more clearly where a church is developmentally.  

Listen in and keep in mind--both type of church are necessary and serve a role in the development of the human race.  As these topics are explored, it is fundamental to the growth of our culture at large to recognize that later stages of development (in the human being and in the church) are built on earlier stages of development.  So lean into this, even if it's uncomfortable! 

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Series Setup

00:46 Recap Political Neutrality

02:35 Statement Versus Practice

06:42 Why the Silence Now

08:51 Faith Leaders Speaking Up

14:20 Solidarity Over Self Preservation

20:32 Legitimacy Seeking Religion

27:59 Transformation Seeking Religion

31:18 Jesus Versus Christian Nationalism

32:43 Personal Stakes and Closing

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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part II of VII]

In this episode Val & Nathan walk through the last several decades and map issues of high and low LDS political involvement, offering a template for what the church feels is significant enough to merit their active public statements, financial resources, active instruction to LDS membership regarding the vote.   What the church deems "of significant moral consequence" (per their official statement of neutrality) and what is deemed not morally significant enough to comment on in times of social unrest makes for very interesting conversation.  Join Val & Nathan as they unpack this highly relevant topic in an effort to make sense of this phenomenon, which they realize is anything but neutral.  

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Series Setup

00:19 Recap Political Neutrality

02:42 Follow the Leader Tension

03:45 LA Churches Speak Out

05:26 Stated vs Observed Neutrality

06:31 High Engagement Moral Issues

11:40 Low Engagement Justice Issues

16:29 Matthew 25 Reality Check

19:47 2026 Silence and Current Events

23:16 Doctrine and Covenants 98

26:48 Silence as Endorsement

29:13 Next Episode Preview and Wrap

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In this Bonus Episode, Val answers some piling up questions about the power of healing that uniquely happens in the Latter Day Struggles Fundamentals of LDS Faith Crisis Healing Groups that hundreds of you have experienced in the past 3+ years.  

A few of the questions that she answers:  

**What is the difference between your Faith Crisis Healing groups and your new Live Fellowship Group? 

**How are they different than other platforms where people meet and talk? 

**How are these groups different than other platforms where people meet and talk?

**Are both-gendered groups effective? 

**Should I do a faith crisis healing group instead of therapy? 

I am_____________ (fully active, all of the way out, etc., etc.,) Am I Good fit? 

Interested in grabbing the very last seat of the ONLY 2026 group of this kind?  Click below to enroll!   

**If watching this in the future, check out https://valeriehamaker.com/support-groups/ and see what is available.  If no groups are registering, contact [email protected] and get added to a wait list!  

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Q&A Setup

01:45 Why Only One Group

02:48 Live Event Announcement

05:48 Book and 2026 Plans

07:25 Live Fellowship Explained

12:52 Who Joins the Groups

15:58 What Has Changed

21:45 Platform Difference and Curriculum

25:16 Why Mixed Gender Groups

29:54 Groups Versus Therapy

31:59 Am I a Good Fit

35:15 Closing and Next Steps

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Series Title: Religion IS Political [Part I of VII]

Anyone else noticing religious leaders from some faith traditions throughout the world speaking out against more and more egregious forms of US government-imposed violence, force, exploitation of power, and unaccountability at levels unfathomable until only recently? And other churches, LDS included choose silence and stand by a formal stance of neutrality at this moment.   

This series might be one of the more important and relevant of this podcast as Val & Nathan take you step by step towards their conclusion that religion and spirituality is and always will be political and politics is an expression of one's level of spirituality.  Join them each week for this six-part series hopefully giving you words to make sense of your discomfort over silence in the face of harm and injustice.   

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Series Intro

00:42 Why Church Silence Matters

03:32 Six Episode Roadmap

05:02 Personal Take on Neutrality

07:02 Prop 8 and Moral Exceptions

09:08 Isolationism and Autonomy

13:34 Reading the Official Statement

20:51 Initial Reactions and Agreement

23:33 Conscience vs Real Practice

27:44 Mitt Romney as Case Study

30:42 Obedience and Hierarchy Thread

35:12 Immigration Example and Wrap Up

39:21 Closing and Next Episode Tease

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Series Title: An Exploration of the Idea of "Normal" within the LDS Church [Part II of II] 

In this episode Val breaks down a couple of concepts that are NEVER talked about--the difference between "normal" in a family, church, or any collective and what is "normative" in that same group.  NORMAL = "what we do around here that keeps things stable", whereas NORMATIVE = what is developmentally on track to help a person thrive?

When these two concepts clash--yikes.  And when your "normative" growth isn't understood, you DO look very "abnormal"...and maybe even sinful, rebellious, prideful, and lost.  Listen in to have your mind blown a little today! 

Timestamps:

00:00 Unexpected Episode Setup

00:50 Guesting on Pioneer Paradox

02:17 Myth of Normal in Mormonism

03:07 Defining Normal

06:30 Defining Normative

09:09 When Normal Isn’t Healthy

11:52 LDS Culture of Conformity

13:42 Markers of Mormon Normal

19:08 Labels for Nonconformists

23:30 Faith Journey as Growth

26:08 Normative Developmental Shifts

31:05 Reconstruction and Inner Authority

34:04 Closing Encouragement

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