Posts Tagged ‘ mormon ’

129–130: New Missionary Age

October 9, 2012
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129–130: New Missionary Age

The LDS Church recently announced changes in the ages that young men and women can now serve missions. Will this announcement usher in a new age in missionary work? A new age for Mormonism itself? In this Mormon Matters episode, host Dan Wotherspoon and panelists Adam Jacobsen, Hannah Wheelwright, and Maxine Hanks speculate on just that. What are the far-reaching implications for missions and mission culture, for women’s leadership both there and post mission, for LDS dating and marriages, and, most importantly, for the way women view themselves as valued for their own spiritual gifts and strength and abilities far…

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Matters of the Heart 3: A New Story for Mormon Women

October 8, 2012
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Matters of the Heart 3: A New Story for Mormon Women

A NEW STORY FOR MORMON WOMEN  By Joanna Brooks In this episode of Matters of the Heart, Joanna Brooks reads an excerpted version of her Ask Mormon Girl blog essay about the October 2012 announcement that the LDS Church has lowered the age at which women can serve missions. As Joanna shares her joy over this announcement, it’s clear that this marks more than just a change in age limits: Mormon girls will now live in an entirely new narrative. Imagine possibilities with her!

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128: The One True Church

September 30, 2012
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128: The One True Church

One of the most difficult things for many who have begun to think deeply about religion—their own as well as others and the relationship between them—and want to maintain a positive relationship with the idea of religion is the specter of exclusivism: claims that one’s views or one’s church is “the” Truth, or the “best,” while others are not or are lesser. Many religions make this claim either explicitly or tacitly, with Mormonism belonging to the first category, boldly declaring its special place as the possessor of priesthood keys and being the only church authorized by God to perform certain…

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127: Grace

September 23, 2012
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127: Grace

Grace is one of the central concepts in all of Christianity, yet also one of its most contested. What is it? How does it work? Do we as human beings have to do something first for it to perform its healing work? Can we even turn from sin without Grace first being extended to us? What, exactly happened in the Garden of Eden (literally or metaphorically) that caused separation from God (a Fall), and what are its effects on (or the state of) our souls that requires the transformative action of Grace? Certainly, the concept of Grace is no less…

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125–126: Mormonism and Politics: Historical Perspectives

September 12, 2012
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125–126: Mormonism and Politics: Historical Perspectives

Too often today’s political discourse reduces politics to partisanship, whether one affiliates with this or that political party. It’s a much broader topic, however, encompassing big notions about citizenship in a society, how we as a group of people make decisions, how we navigate our responsibilities to each other, to our government, and to our consciences and deepest religious convictions. When we weave in a particular group of people, such as Mormonism, it becomes even more clear that the political sphere is ever evolving—that even as certain themes maintain some influence in how each period of history unfolded, change concerning…

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Matters of Perspective 2: The Sacred Secret Open to All: Ye Are Gods

September 5, 2012
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Matters of Perspective 2: The Sacred Secret Open to All: Ye Are Gods

In this second episode of the “Matters of Perspective” series, Charles Randall Paul reads his May 2009 Sunstone article, “The Sacred Secret Open to All: Ye Are Gods,” a wonderful exploration about the concerns many people have with the secrecy related to Mormon temples and how Latter-day Saints might do a better job communicating about what goes on there. Drawing on historical sources, Paul demonstrates a reversal in public perspectives about secret/sacred rites that has taken place in the past two centuries—a shift from seeing those who participate in rites such as the Eleusinian mysteries or Freemasonry as highly trustworthy…

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123–124: Emergence Christianity and Mormonism

August 29, 2012
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123–124: Emergence Christianity and Mormonism

It goes without saying that religion is intricately entwined with culture. And since this is so, when we find that the various ways of thinking and institutions that create culture are shifting, so will we find religion in all its forms asking new questions, sorting through “the way things have always been done” and asking if these ideas and forms are meeting today’s needs, lamenting the decline in previously transformative energies and searching for revitalization. Many claim that such shifts are happening today, and within western Christianity, the upheaval and reconfiguration that is taking place has been labeled “Emergence Christianity.”…

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122: Challenges in Making Church “Work” For Everyone

August 23, 2012
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122: Challenges in Making Church “Work” For Everyone

In this episode, sociologist Jim Smithson talks of the LDS Church and all of its programs and organizational systems as a vehicle for delivering the gospel message, and uses the metaphor of a minivan in describing Mormonism’s vehicle type. Minivans are great cars, but they fit best in middle-class and suburban areas where people can afford them and the fuel they consume, where there are mechanics and the infrastructure that helps keep them up, etc. But how efficient are minivans in locales where there are no paved roads, few trained drivers and technicians, in international or domestic areas where bicycles…

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119–121: The Problem of Evil and Suffering

August 15, 2012
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119–121: The Problem of Evil and Suffering

One of the most prominent and difficult issues in philosophy of religion addresses the dilemma that arises when one asserts the existence of an all-powerful God who is also perfectly loving, while also asserting the presence of genuine evil in the world. As David Hume puts the case: “Either God would remove evil out of this world, and cannot; or He can, and will not; or, He has not the power nor will; or, lastly He has both the power and will.  If He has the will, and not the power, this shows weakness, which is contrary to the nature…

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117–118: Truth in Revelation and Scripture

August 8, 2012
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117–118: Truth in Revelation and Scripture

What does it mean to still claim that scripture is “true” or “inspired” when we fully recognize that much of it is fictional (parable, allegory, poetic, mythic, clearly “shaped” to achieve certain effects) or when some scriptural claims clash with other scriptural claims or with historical and scientific facts? Once revelation or scripture has begun to shed for us some of their “authoritative” status and become more obviously a product of human hearts and minds or a divine/human admixture, why does or should it remain compelling? What are other ways to read and gain from prophetic utterance or scripture that…

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114–116: Brazilian Mormonism

August 1, 2012
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114–116: Brazilian Mormonism

This three-part episode features a wonderful discussion about some of the peculiarities about the LDS Mormon experience inBrazil, as well as the many ways that LDS experience seems universal. In doing so, it introduces Antonio Trevisan and Marcello Jun de Oliveira, two Brazilians who are leading the ABEM–Associação Brasileira de Estudos Mórmons (Brazilian Mormon Studies Association)—a fledgling group modeled somewhat after Sunstone as a similar effort to explore Brazilian Mormonism through historical inquiry, scholarship, and other mediums, including an annual conference. It also features a terrific young scholar moderator, Rolf Straubhaar, who served his mission to Brazil and has returned…

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113: Mormonism and Environmentalism

July 25, 2012
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113: Mormonism and Environmentalism

How “green” is Mormonism? What is holding the tradition and culture back from becoming more environmentally sensitive—or even overtly activist? What theological and practical resources are there in Mormon thought and practice for fostering an ethic of greater care for the earth and its systems, including all the other forms of life with which we share the planet? How can Latter-day Saints who are environmentally active be effective in moving Mormon culture toward greener awareness and action? Prompted by the release of the new Sunstone magazine issue with a terrific collection of articles and essays under the heading of “Earth…

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112: Imagining New Ways to Think and Teach about Mormon Pioneers

July 18, 2012
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112: Imagining New Ways to Think and Teach about Mormon Pioneers

On the verge of another Pioneer Day (July 24th), this one marking the 165th anniversary of the first Mormon pioneer wagon train reaching the Salt Lake Valley, Mormon Matters takes this opportunity to examine the current state of discourse and cultural practices (in the U.S. and abroad) surrounding those who sacrificed so much to cross plains, mountains, and seas in the quest to find a place where they could establish Zion. In this episode, panelists Joanna Brooks, Gina Colvin, and Joseph and Shalisse Johnstun join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in discussing the ways they draw strength and a sense of…

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111: Healthy Approaches to Supporting GLBT Latter-day Saints and Family Members

July 11, 2012
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111: Healthy Approaches to Supporting GLBT Latter-day Saints and Family Members

This podcast episode is timed to coincide with recent activism among many faithful straight, gay, and allied Latter-day Saints who marched and will march in recent and upcoming PRIDE parades and who are becoming increasingly visible in raising awareness of the hurts and suffering among the GLBT population and the importance for Mormons–leaders as well as all of us in our own wards and stakes–to engage in even more earnest efforts to educate about GLBT issues and to support families and communities in ways that will allow every person to know of God’s (and our) love for them and to…

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110: Abuse and the Forgiveness Dilemma

July 4, 2012
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110: Abuse and the Forgiveness Dilemma

The April 2012 General Conference featured a terrific talk by President Uchtdorf, “The Merciful Obtain Mercy,” that reinforces the importance of being forgiving and non-judgmental. He “bottom lines” his message with the following statement: “This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: Stop it! It’s that simple. We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children.” Earlier in the talk, he…

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107–109: LDS Salvation Theology and Practices

June 28, 2012
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107–109: LDS Salvation Theology and Practices

“Am I saved?” “Is this idea or that practice ‘pertinent to my salvation’?” Many Mormons and other Christians focus quite a lot of energy on concerns about possible rewards or punishments in the afterlife. And many, as seems natural for humans living in an unpredictable and confusing world, long for and (even very consciously) seek assurances here and now that their life is acceptable to God, their “salvation” is secure. Concepts such as having one’s “calling and election (a New Testament phrase and idea) made sure” reveal this longing and concern. Christians seek to know they are “saved” in many…

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105–106: Mormon “Doctrine” and Other Fuzzy Things

June 20, 2012
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105–106: Mormon “Doctrine” and Other Fuzzy Things

Are there statements about God, humans, the universe, and any other thing that a Latter-day Saint “must” believe to be considered a “Mormon”? And, if so, how literally does one have to take these so-called “doctrines”? Are they close-to-perfect encapsulations of eternal truths that are consistently taught in scripture and that have hardly changed or evolved throughout time, with modern LDS pronouncements simply further clarifications? Or are doctrines far “fuzzier,” more fluid statements suggesting where Mormons are encouraged to focus now but always with the anticipation that, as the Ninth Article of Faith states, there are “many great and important…

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104: Growing Up Mormon—and Fearless

June 13, 2012
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104: Growing Up Mormon—and Fearless

The three guests in this Mormon Matters episode grew up in faithful, committed Mormon homes. In important ways, however, these panelists’ homes were different than what many listeners of the Open Stories family of podcasts experienced growing up in the way that these homes welcomed any and all questions about the faith and encouraged reading and exploration and working through difficult issues. Each home was highly orthoprax—there was no question of commitment to LDS standards, attending church, accepting and serving faithfully in callings—but what a family member had to believe was wide open. For them, Mormonism featured a wide array…

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102–103: Pragmatism, William James, and Mormon Sensibilities

June 7, 2012
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102–103: Pragmatism, William James, and Mormon Sensibilities

Pragmatism is the name of a philosophical approach for judging between competing truth claims. It essentially says that if you are presented with two ideas and there is no clear way to determine which is superior to the other, you should consider the difference it would make to you if you decided to accept one or the other as the true one. For instance, one of philosophy’s long-standing discussions is about whether or not human beings have free will or if they are fully determined. Since there are good arguments and evidences on both sides, the pragmatic method suggests we…

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100–101: Mormon Missions

May 30, 2012
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100–101: Mormon Missions

This two-part episode focuses on the unique experience of Mormon missions–their wonderful, powerful, light aspects, as well as those elements that can lead things to go wrong and be potentially unhealthy. Panelists Derrick Clements, T.K., and Rory Swensen join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in sharing about their mission experiences (two of them quite recently completed, the other two more than twenty years ago), how they interpreted what they were going through then versus now with post-mission lenses that are influenced to some degree by their faith journeys since the time of their service. Knowing what they know now, or…

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