Rich Vial is a Republican representative in the Oregan State Legislature.  He's also a former Mormon bishop who went through a faith crisis during his tenure.  In this episode, we discuss how to go about having difficult conversations with those who are ideologically and religiously different from ourselves, and how to do that with grace and compassion.

Jenne de Normandie Eregiro Alderks was a teenage convert from Unitarian Universalism.  When she joined the LDS church her mother, knowing somewhat of the strict gender roles in Mormonism, asked her,  'Can you really be a Mormon woman?'

Jenne has spent many years trying to do exactly that and her efforts to be a Mormon woman have surprisingly led her to seek feminist spiritual practices outside of the faith.  This quest has taken her to temple studies, paganism and Gnosticism as supplements to her spiritual life.  

One of the hallmarks of the restoration was Joseph Smith's openness to other spiritual traditions and ideas and this seeking has been kept alive in Mormon feminism.  Jenne's spiritual seeking is part of a rich intergenerational tradition of Mormon women who quietly keep alive the faith's mysticism.

Jenne is one of the founders of LDS Wave and Birthing Zion.   She works as a doula and lives in Seattle Washington.

Gina Colvin and Bill Reel (host of the popular podcast Mormon Discussions)  get together for a chat about what it takes to still be engaged in the LDS Church when so many of their friends have left.   They discuss the development of their young testimonies but reflect on how difficult it has become in recent years to love the church with the same enthusiasm they once had.  They consider how LDS Church could be better for those who crave a deeper and a kinder experience at church.  They also consider their futures as Mormons.

Dr Alan Jamieson is the senior pastor at the South West Baptist Church in Christchurch, New Zealand.  He is an author of multiple books on faith development.   We talk about the implications for those ministering to those in faith crisis and how church leaders and communities can best respond to those with doubts and questions.

LDS Bishops are at the front line as Mormons facing their own questions, concerns and doubts seek their counsel.   Too often these local leaders surmise that the person expressing doubt must have done something wrong to get there.   'This isn't the case', says Bishop Jones, a sitting Bishop in Seattle.   

In this episode, we discuss how those in faith crisis are often at their most vulnerable and afraid and how they can be ministered to with kindness and spiritual presence.

This week Derrick Clements and Gina Colvin cast their critical Mormon eyes over 'Wonder Woman.'

Mormons all over the world are gathering online in increasing numbers.   They do this to process their past, present and future relationships with the church.  It is online that they find people who understand their growing or changing faith lives   The increasing size and complexity of Online Unchurched Mormonism attest to its utility.

But without the formal rules, manners and ethics found in face to face community, online 'progressive' or post-Mormon communities that provoke challenges that signal the community's volatility and vulnerabilities.

Lindsay Hansen Park, Natasha Helfer-Parker (who joins us later on in the conversation) and I talk about the benefits and challenges of Mormonism's fastest growing congregation.

We review Get out, Jordan Peele's break out satirical horror featuring British actor Daniel Kaluuya, and US actress Alison Williams.   While we wouldn't recommend seeing Get Out as a church or a Family Home Evening activity, we feel like it needs to be seen by everyone because of its biting treatment of the dangers of White American middle-class liberalism.

Join Gina Colvin and Derrick Clements for a fun, cheeky, slightly irreverent but joyful review of the latest at the box office!

This week we review 'The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2'

Too often the unique cultural identity of Canadian Mormonism gets lost in the noise of their neighbours to the South.  In 1977 Canadian author Margaret Atwood, said of the United States:

"About the only position, they have adopted towards us, country to country, has been the missionary position, and we are not on top.  I guess that is why the national wisdom vis-a-vis them has so often taken the form of lying still, keeping your mouth shut and pretending you like it."

In this podcast, Lindy Yamamoto and Robert Slaven call for more Canadian authenticity in the Mormon experience.  They also give Southern Alberta a hard time!