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With well over a million downloads since its first drop in March of 2022, the Latter Day Struggles podcast has established itself the place to find peace, healing, community, and words to describe your Latter-day Saint faith and trust crisis.

It is where thousands have come to realize that deep within themselves is a True Self capable of mapping out their own spiritual journey and integrating their Latter-day Saint background into this journey on their own terms.

In this "Best of Latter Day Struggles" episode, Valerie establishes herself as a Latter-day Saint mental health professional with a unique capacity to love her LDS faith enough talk about the beliefs and practices that are causing harm to members of the church worldwide.

The bottom line? Healthy spiritual wellbeing is correlated with healthy mental health. If my church beliefs and practices are making me sick in any way--these beliefs need to be courageously examined.

To those of you who have been on this journey since Valerie started the podcast (the "OGs") and to those who just learned about it last week and do not know where to start--pleasea enjoy this classic episode that got Latter Day Struggles on the map and has led to the healing of thousands of people in LDS faith crisis in the past 3 years.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction and Overview
02:06 – Four Stages of Faith Development

04:28 – Moving Beyond Stage 1

08:06 – Limitations of Stage 2

12:02 – Moving Toward Stage 4

14:43 – Contextualizing Faith Traditions

15:28 – Stages in World Religions

16:01 – Institutional Roles in Faith Development

16:32 – Supporting Complexity and Skepticism

18:00 – Therapist’s Perspective

19:02 – Healthy Family Systems and Faith Development

20:48 – The Role of Adolescence

22:01 – Ownership of Belief

24:43 – The Dangers of Over-Resistance

26:37 – Richard Rohr's Perspective on Faith Development

28:34 – Transitioning to Complexity

31:49 – Hope Beyond Skepticism

34:07 – Institutional Challenges

36:58 – Misconceptions About Atonement

38:44 – Institutional Self-Reflection

40:09 – Marginalization and Fear-Based Narratives

43:00 – Letters from Listeners: Shock and Isolation

46:59 – Ambivalence and Hope in Skepticism

50:03 – Understanding Faith Development Stages

53:45 – Creating True Community

56:00 – Transitioning Through Chaos

57:30 – The Emptiness Stage

59:00 – Achieving True Community

01:01:00 – Maintaining True Community

01:03:00 – Conclusion and Call to Action

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Series title: Mormon Faith Crisis—Progression, Not Pathology [Part III of III]

In this episode Valerie welcomes back friend and researcher Jeff Strong for the third installment of their series exploring Jeff's research learning about the actual experiences of thousands of Latter-day Saints. The theme that came through? Massive amounts of TENSION.

Today they go deeper into six distinct kinds of Latter-day Saints and highlight that one type, "the protector" is disproportionately rewarded while other types are often silenced and squeezed to the margins and sometimes out of the church altogether.

They unpack how an ignorance of the true diversity of 21st Century LDS membership is causing crippling harm to families and the church itself and emphasize the power that could come if we all understood and supported one another as a truly open and welcoming 'body of Christ'.

Timestamps:

01:04 – Understanding Cultural Differences

01:57 – Stages of Faith and Identity Segments

03:38 – Framework for Understanding Differences

08:00 – Setting Up the Segment Discussion

09:36 – Overview of the Six Segments

14:30 – Personal Examples of Segment Fluidity

16:19 – Avoiders and Their Journey

18:30 – The Spectrum of Development

21:15 – Disaffiliation and Its Complexities

22:50 – The Public Narrative vs. Reality

24:43 – Conformity and Control in Religious Communities

26:33 – Fear vs. Love Orientation

28:13 – Focus on Protectors

33:40 – The Need for Balance and Integration

35:02 – Balancing Different Attributes in Church Culture

39:30 – The Dangers of Fear-Driven Leadership

41:40 – The Role of Fear and Love in Leadership

44:00 – The Impact of Historical Persecution

50:00 – Everyday Conflicts and Growth Opportunities

53:14 – Final Thoughts on Growth and Development

Support the show

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website

Send us a Positive Review!

As we begin 2026 and the fourth year of the Latter Day Struggles Podcast, we wanted to say THANK YOU to ALL supporters of the podcast and platform!
So please enjoy this Office Hours recording and a podcast episode that is one that is a must-listen!
In this timely conversation Valerie tackles Elder Anderson's recent general conference talk on abortion. In one hour she goes from the macro issue of abortion itself and offers some thought-provoking concepts about NOT focusing on abortion and instead focusing on how abortion is the prevailing solution to unwanted pregnancy only because we live in a patriarchal society.
She also proposes that LDS women have valid reasons to feel unique and acute transgenerational pain connected to marriage, s*exual misconduct, power, and self sacrifice.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Listener Appreciation and Office Hours Format

02:17 – Elder Anderson’s Address on Abortion

05:01 – Developmental Stages and Vulnerability

07:00 – Weaponization of Authority and Internalized Harm

12:56 – Masculine vs. Feminine Worldviews on Abortion

15:00 – Societal Support and Resource Gaps

17:00 – Upstream vs. Downstream Solutions

21:00 – Deeply Embedded Patriarchal Assumptions

25:00 – Legal and Economic Disparities

29:54 – Critique of Elder Anderson’s Address

34:00 – Theological Shadows and Generational Trauma

36:00 – Recommendations for Healthy Spirituality

45:20 – Listener Reactions and Broader Church Issues

50:00 – The Importance of Individual Discernment

53:00 – Reflections on Church History and Patriarchy

56:00 – Calls for Healing and Inclusion

59:05 – Final Thoughts and Encouragement

59:54 – Closing Remarks and Call to Action

60:14 – Podcast Network Acknowledgment

Support the show

Support the show

Listen, Share, Rate & Review EPISODES

Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

Valerie’s Support & Processing Groups

Gift a Scholarship

Download Free Resources

Visit our Website