Our guest in this episode is Jenet Erickson, a Fellow at the Wheatley Institute and Associate Professor of Religious Education at BYU whose research has specialized in maternal and child wellbeing.  Join us as we discuss the different, yet sacred roles of both mothers and fathers.  

Jenet shares how children develop emotionally and physically by bonding with both a mother and father as well as the areas of identity that are developed by each parent. (10:59).  She describes how facing the challenges we all face as imperfect individuals raised in imperfect families can help us respond, help and heal not only our hearts, but others’ as well (20:35).  Jenet goes on to explore how the “resilience” of children can be a strength to their own development, but also a detriment if it is used as an excuse to deny the struggles they are experiencing (26:06).  She also explains how the best way for all of us to find joy and happiness in life is by encouraging the development of strong relationships within our families and our society (35:36).

To learn more, visit TheFamilyProclamation.org

Benjamin Pacini, host of the podcast, “Radical Civility,” is currently a faculty member at BYU-Idaho in Elementary Education and pursuing an EDD from BYU.  His experience as both educator and student has given him a unique perspective on how our culture seems to view and express “truth”. 

Benjamin explores how truth remains constant across cultural borders and historical periods (4:14) and how we can manage to stand for truth and still be compassionate to those who disagree (8:46). He goes on to explain how truth, by definition, cannot be individualized, but that we should have the humility and gratitude to be corrected by truth (17:54).  As we strive to teach our youth, Benjamin discusses the benefit of not only teaching them what to believe, but also what not to believe (27:35).

To read more of Benjamin's work, visit https://publicsquaremag.org/author/bpacini/

This episode is also paired with our 2021 Research Release and can be viewed at https://thefamilyproclamation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Family-Proclamation-Report-Fall-2021.pdf

To learn more, visit TheFamilyProclamation.org

Christopher Cunningham is the managing editor for Public Square Magazine, a faith and research based online editorial discussing various issues of the day. He joins us to discuss his most recent article, “When Therapy Subverts Change.”

In this episode, Christopher and our host, Brent Andrewsen, discuss a potential communication disconnect between therapists and clients (5:57),  how therapy can be compatible with faith (16:45), and how repentance is a crucial element for true change and lasting happiness (28:31).  

To read Christophers article, please go to https://publicsquaremag.org/faith/gospel-fare/when-therapy-subverts-change/

To learn more, visit TheFamilyProclamation.org

Sharing our testimony can sometimes be a little intimidating, but does it really need to be? In this episode we sit down with Mimi Bascom, a Latter-Day Saint Content Creator who has partnered with us for the knew #HowIKnow campaign.  This campaign follows the “Stories of How I Know” lesson on thefamilyproclamation.org website and is designed to help each of us identify and share our own testimonies.

Join us as we discover what motivates Mimi to share her faith (4:57) and how she deals with both positive and negative feedback from her followers (8:09).  Mimi then shares her passion for the #HowIKnow campaign  (12:47) and expresses  just how beneficial writing down our own testimonies can be (17:18).   

To participate in the “Stories of How I Know” lesson, go to https://thefamilyproclamation.org/lessons/stories-of-how-i-know/

To learn more, visit TheFamilyProclamation.org

Social media is a large part of our world and, for better or worse, our main source of information.  Our guest, Priscilla Davis started her Instagram account, SheSharesGoodness, to encourage anyone struggling with depression or anxiety and to help bring more light and truth to the world.

She begins by discussing her own battle with depression and how she found help through therapy and understanding her relationship with the Savior (5:06).  Priscilla shares her experience with a pilot program from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called “Finding Strength in the Lord: Emotional Resilience for Self Reliance” (13:16).  

Putting your ideas and thoughts on social media can often times be met with some backlash and hostility.  Priscilla speaks about her experiences with backlash and how we all can be resilient online (25:34).  She goes on to discuss how she gains comfort and confidence from leaning on the words of our prophets and apostles (32:04)
 

To learn more, visit TheFamilyProclamation.org

Elder Neil L. Andersen once said that “spiritually defining memories from our book of life are like luminous stones that help brighten the road ahead.” How do spiritually defining memories act like luminous stones and what can we do to make sure we have them in times of need? Professional storyteller Teresa Clark joins the podcast today to discuss stories and why they matter. 

Clark gives some background about how she came to the storytelling profession (1:15) before discussing the “Stories of How I Know” lesson outline found on thefamilyproclamation.org (4:40). Stories can effect our lives in a broad sense by keeping our families together (7:30) but also on a deep personal level by helping us during hard times. Clark shares a personal story about how her childhood journal entries “reconverted herself” (11:50).

Tune in for some advice on how to write or improve the writing of your personal stories (17:43) and what to do when you feel like you don’t have anything special to write down (21:00). Clark finishes by telling a story of “how she knows” (31:40).

To learn more, visit TheFamilyProclamation.org

Jeff Bennion is a real estate and property manager, a part time marriage and family therapist, and one of the co-founders of North Star International. In this second part of Jeff’s two-part episode, he clarifies that not subscribing to a gay label does not and should not mean going “back in the closet” (3:30). He talks about the three aspects of the gay label (4:55), what they mean, and why they make it difficult to remain “all in” to the gospel. 

Jeff shares his thoughts on dealing with unanswered questions (23:48), his testimony (24:50), and taking inspiration from Mormon to find hope in today’s world (30:16).

“We have enough to get us back to Heavenly Father and Jesus. We know enough to get us there. Sometimes our focus on what we don’t know can distract us from what we do know…. What we’ve been given [on earth] through the Lord’s prophets and apostles and scriptures are the covenants and laws that will get us back into those loving arms we were once in.”

To learn more, visit TheFamilyProclamation.org

Jeff Bennion is a real estate and property manager, a part time marriage and family therapist, and one of the co-founders of North Star International. North Star is a faith-affirming resource for Latter-day Saints addressing sexual orientation and gender identity, and who desire to live in harmony with the doctrines and values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the first half of this episode, Jeff and host Brent Andrewsen discuss basic concepts of identity and self-awareness before Jeff expands on what can happen when we over-identify with our feelings (6:19). Many times, especially in the case of depression and anxiety, making our trial our identity can make the problem worse instead of better. Jeff discusses how we see this today and how we can fix it (18:00), the sacrifices we need to make to discover our identity (21:37), and how this applies to members of the church in an LGBTQ+ community (29:35).

To learn more, visit TheFamilyProclamation.org

Dennis Schleicher is the author of “Is He Nuts?: Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus”.  He joins the podcast to share his conversion story (1:14) and what drew him to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (4:23). Though being a gay member of The Church can be a painful journey, Dennis shares how his membership brings him joy through family history work (12:15) and having the spirit in his life (24:55). 

In response to the question “why do you stay?” (42:03), Dennis quotes 2 Nephi 2 and testifies that God will consecrate our afflictions for our good. Tune in to this episode for even more discussion on paragraph 3 of The Family Proclamation.

To learn more, visit TheFamilyProclamation.org

Many families have trouble addressing the topics of gender and identity. This episode is a recording of a speech given by Carol Rice (one of the contributors of thefamilyproclomation.org) about how to address these topics and how to combat the enticing narratives of the world. 

The speech begins at 2:13, where Carol reminds us that even though we may have the same vocabulary as the world, we are operating with different dictionaries for words like “love” and “accept.” She demonstrates that the stories we tell ourselves are powerful (5:30) before diving into three separate misleading narratives we may be telling ourselves about the topics of gender and identity. The first narrative (9:58) explores thoughts like “If I don’t accept then I must hate” and “all I can do is be loving.” Carol suggests a new way to write that story which says “I can be loving, because I can discern the difference between divine love and counterfeit love.” The second narrative (21:48) Carol explores is “It’s not my place to judge.” She reminds us that Heavenly Father showed us the right way to make judgments in Moroni 7. The third story we tell ourselves (27:30) is similar to the first: “I need to affirm and support other’s decisions.” During this section she invites a previous podcast guest, Blake Fisher, to share his thoughts about descriptive labels vs. prescriptive labels. Carol concludes (40:27) by sharing some thoughts about healing and reminding us that we all fit into Christ’s story.

To learn more, visit TheFamilyProclamation.org