Isabella Errigo is a grad student at Brigham Young University studying the effects of mega-fires on aquatic ecosystems. She joins Abbey and Madison around the fireside to talk about science, activism, and spirituality.

Isabella is deeply involved in a lot of activist campaigns in Utah by communicating complex science to government officials and legislators. If you’re following the efforts to prevent the building of islands in Utah Lake, then you have seen Isabella’s work. A firebrand in every sense of the word, Isabella talks about the compassion she has learned by engaging with both science and activism on behalf of the Earth.

Links:Don’t Pave Utah LakeSouthern Utah Wilderness AllianceProtect Our Winters

The post 27: Wielding the Two-Edged Sword of Science and Activism w/ Isabella Errigo appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Abbey returns!

Madison and Abbey while away the dog days of summer catching up on each other’s summers. Join the fireside for a light conversation about summer adventures, southern Utah, refreshing drinks, and the motivation to write a thesis.

Topics Covered:

• Orchards and Picking Fruit
• River Trips in Desolation Canyon
• Coyote Gulch
• Quick Sand
• Kombucha (Madison’s Fave Better Booch)
• Love Island vs Survivor

Links:National Ability CenterProtect Wild UtahBack Proch PaleoOriginal Grace by Adam MillerThe General Dance by Thomas MertonLiving Life by Kierkegaard

The post 26: Dog Days of Summer: Abbey’s Return! appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Faith-based Earth stewardship in Utah may be undergoing a transition. The last few decades have been spent focusing on asking what our tradition has to say about how we can make it through the growing climate crisis. We have collected a robust foundation of statements from Church leaders and Scriptures on caring for the Earth. We have found leaders and created great content that reconnects us to the Earth and inspires us to live more simply. But is it enough? What do we do next? What do we build on this foundation?

Anna Thurston, a researcher from Yale University and a juggernaut in the field of interfaith work, chats with Madison about the past, present, and future of LDS Earth-centered activism. Madison airs some frustrations and observations he has made over the last three years working directly with Faith Communities. They are timid, slow-moving, far-sighted, and often don’t think big enough. Anna is able to bring much wisdom, nuance, and grounding to see the value of small steps but provides some direction for where we ought to go in the future.

Links: LDS Earth Stewardship Resource LibraryAdam S Miller on Bristlecone FiresidesWorldy Wonder by Mary Evelyn TuckerProject Noah Religious Divestment Yale’s Spotlight Podcast

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The Summer Sessions return! This summer, instead of diving deep into topics, we’ll be diving deep into people. And our first guest for 2022’s summer session is Terri Martin, one of Madison’s coworkers at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Terri has lived a life in service to Utah’s wild desert landscapes. In this episode, Terri tells us about the spiritual and ecological value of Utah’s wilderness and what she has learned over the decades of working with SUWA and other organizations that defend sacred landscapes.

Links:Protect Wild UtahUtah Dine Bikeyah

The post 24: The Spiritual Value of Protecting Wild Utah appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

When put back into his historical context, Jesus becomes a radical and wild figure. In modern times, Jesus has been overly domesticated and stripped of his color, culture, and humanity. Brother James Jones and Brother Derek Knox of the Beyond the Block podcast join Abbey and Madison to talk about the wildness of Jesus Christ.

The first half focuses on understanding the tension between Jesus the Son of Man vs Jesus the Son of God. And seeing Jesus as a reforming critic of his own religious tradition via his baptism in nature by his wild man cousin John the Baptist. And the second half looks at Jesus’ experience of being tempted in the wilderness and the Sermon on the Mount. Why was it necessary for Jesus to be tempted in the wilderness? What was symbolized by each of his temptations? And why are poorness, meekness, and emptiness privileged doorways to spiritual freedom and wildness?

Links:Beyond the Block podcastThe Chosen by Angel Studios

The post 23: Jesus and the Desert Wild appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

The conversations about Queerness in the public square seem to have collapsed into all too familiar culture wars and highly polarized rhetoric. The result of this collapse is that our cultural understanding of Queerness has become disconnected from the Earth and is no longer grounded in reality. Putting Queerness back into the context of our evolutionary history and the larger Earth family gives Queerness room to breathe. Perched on the wild edge of our understanding, Queerness gives us a chance to reapproach reality with humility and compassion in the face of the Earth’s ineffable ability to diversify and astound.

Within the Latter-day Saint community, Queerness is the issue of the times. How both the institution and the community respond to the question of Queerness will largely determine the trajectory and success of the LDS Church and the broader Mormon project into the next century.

Links: Joan Roughgarden Ted TalkBCC PressSame-Sex Behavior in AnimalsBlaire Ostler Queer Theology

The post 22: Queerness and the Wild Earth appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

What do we do as the world passes away? How can we live a life of faith while the world is ending around us? Can a healthy sabbath practice be a wild form of resistance to a world hell-bent on our capturing our attention? Adam S. Miller joins Madison and Abbey to answer these questions and more. We are guaranteed to lose everything as the Earth continually passes away. “Sacrificing all things” ahead of time and living a life of non-attachment might be the only way to truly lay hold of every good thing. This is a great episode given the state of the world with war, climate change, and an ever-present pandemic.

Links: Books by Adam S. Miller

• A Brief Theological Introduction to Mormon
• Letters to a Young Mormon
• An Early Resurrection
• Future Mormon

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Rick Turley is the former Director of Public Affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is today’s guest around the fireside. He joins Abbey and Madison to discuss how his love of wild spaces has shaped his life and work. The conversation begins with a look through Rick’s home landscapes and his time as a missionary in Japan then flows naturally into the advantages of living on the margins and interdisciplinary education. As well, Rick gives some historical grounding for his passion for Earth stewardship.

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