Conversations about the religious and spiritual life on the other side of fundamentalism
 
Category: <span>Bodies, Sex and Faith</span>

378: When the Church isn’t Enough: Tali Aitofi

Some years ago, Tali Aitofi found Mormon podcasts and became hooked.  But Tali isn’t Mormon, he’s Pentecostal.  Yet, his own spiritual and religious journey has played out with the hum of Mormon faith crises in the background.

Tali recently came out as gay; he left his family church, and is currently suffering from a life threatening illness.  All of this has caused deep and searching questions.  

Tali joins me to talk about his life journey and how the Netflix series Midnight Mass spoke to his larger questions about church, God, Jesus, shame and forgiveness.

Bright Spark: The Reconciliation of Artist Trevor Southey: Director, Nathan Florence

Painter and documentary film maker Nathan Florence joins me to discuss ‘Bright Spark: The Reconciliation of Trevor Southey’ For eleven years, artist  Nathan Florence documented Trevor Southey’s life with his heart and with his lens in …

368: The Illegitimacy of Jesus: Mark Crego

Mark Crego and I met around eight years ago, fellow sojourners in the quest to understand our shared faith in the LDS church.  We had a similar curiosity about the spiritual life and consequently we …

367: The Law of Chastity or Sexual Ethics?: Linkhart, Ross & Mangelson

While the Mountain Saints speak of the Law of Chastity being the iron clad rule that anything sexual should happen in marriage, the Praire Saints have a statement of Sexual Ethics. The Statement of Sexual …

362: ‘That Was Not of God’: Natasha’s Witnesses Speak Up

Ambivalence, ambiguity, lack of accountability and spiritual abuse characterize Natasha Helfer’s membership council. Wanting to preserve her church membership, Natasha and her community (in and out of the LDS Church) rallied around her in support. …

359: When a Woman’s Professional Expertise Becomes a Question of LDS Apostasy: Natasha Helfer

Natasha Helfer (LCMFT, CST, CSTS )is a licensed clinician and mental health professional who has been summoned to a LDS Church trial for her public stance on sexual health. Taking offence at the idea that …

351: An Advent Reflection on the Suffering of Mothers: Renee McDonald & Kristin Jensen

While we honour the expectant Mary at Advent, we rarely discuss her in the context of the suffering of pregnancy and birth.  Our sacred texts and Christmas stories leave out the intensely feminine experience of …

347: The Surprise of Section 132: Michael Mathews II

Blogger Michael Mathews II  shares his exegesis of Doctrine & Covenants Section 132.  While Mormons socially read Section 132 as pointing to the endurance of familial ties after death, Mathews argues, that there is no …

345: Sex, Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism: Prof. Taylor Petrey

Whatever your position on LDS Studies, it can’t be said that the Mormonism is boring.  Socially, historically, culturally, politically and theologically its a gold mine of intrigue and interest.  Nevermore so than on the topic …

339: Mormon Women Claiming Power: Franzoni Thorley, Ross, Olsen Hemming

Exponent II Editor, Margaret Olsen Hemming says of the Exponent guest edition of Dialogue,  “In this issue, we asked women to write about claiming power. We hoped that writers would think creatively about the idea …