If my beliefs become unorthodox, or if I begin to change my behavior at all to not fit the ideal I am taught at church, what will happen to my kids? Can I still raise my kids to have a strong moral foundation if I don't raise them in Mormon orthodoxy? If I decide to step away, will I screw up my kids?   These are questions I hear over and over again by those beginning to undergo a faith transition, moving either out of orthodoxy or out of the church. This is understandable, given how often within the church we hear of examples of parents who have "gone astray" and whose children wind up with substance abuse problems, dropping out of school, or exhibiting other negative behaviors.   Along with my dear friend Emily Ellsworth, who left the church around a year ago and still lives with her husband and daughter in Utah County, I begin to unpack and problematize these assumptions. This is the first part of a two-part series.

31: Will I Screw Up My Kids If I Go Off-Script? Part 1 with Emily Ellsworth

Helping Mormons through difficult transitions.

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In these episodes of Mormon Stories, we interview Jon Ogden—author of When Mormons Doubt.  Jon describes how his faith crisis blossomed during his LDS mission and time at BYU and ultimately became the impetus to writing the book, which strives to explore how the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness can save relationships even when we disagree with those we love. We cover:  How his faith crisis developed on his LDS mission, but he finished his mission anyway Dating while at BYU and how it distracted him from his faith crisis How when a family member left the LDS Church, it forced him to confront his own doubts and begin an academic study of the truth claims of the Church When he realized that the same problems with Mormon historicity were also at play with Christianity in general He and his spouse’s current belief state, and their desire to have a sense of community and solid religious framework for their children to hold onto The main topics of his book, When Mormons Doubt, including a deep dive into sections on “Truth,” “Goodness,” and “Beauty.” 

038: Jon Ogden - Author of  "When Mormons Doubt" Pt. 2

037: Jon Ogden - Author of "When Mormons Doubt" Pt. 1

In this episode of Mormon Stories, we interview Dr. Julie DeAzevedo Hanks about her article in LDSLiving Magazine titled "30 Questions Nobody Asks My Husband at Church."  John and Margi discuss the powerful cultural messages that are sent in the questions we ask.

036: 30 Questions Nobody Asks My Husband at Church - Julie DeAzevedo Hanks

In these episodes of Mormon Stories, John and Margi interview Carol Lynn Pearson, Jana Riess, and Jana Johnson Spangler to explore their experiences as they navigate progressive Mormonism. We cover important topics such as: *Each panelist’s experience when their faith became more complex and whether they would self-describe as a Mormon *What made them choose to remain engaged in the Church *What the most valuable aspects of the faith are to each of them, and how they inform and impact their life *Their social experience in their wards and whether they feel alone or among many others who are navigating a middle-way *How they approach Sundays and whether they have supplemented their Sunday experience with anything that would be helpful to share with our audience *Whether they observe a decline in the health and vitality of the Church

31: Will I Screw Up My Kids If I Go Off-Script? Part 1 with Emily Ellsworth

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