A Thoughtful Faith - Mormon / LDS

Latest Episodes:

027: Brian C. Hales on Joseph Smith's Polygamy - Part 1 Feb 18, 2013

Show notes

I had the privilege of speaking with Brian Hales about his upcoming three-volume history of Joseph Smith's Polygamy, published by Greg Kofford Books. Brian is a practicing anesthesiologist, author and scholar of Mormon History, with emphasis on Mormon Fundamentalism and Plural Marriage. He is also an active, faithful Latter-Day Saint. In this interview, Brian discusses his research of the historical context, circumstances, and theology that gave rise to Joseph Smith's secret practice of polygamy in the Kirtland and Nauvoo periods. We talk about specific cases and incidents, including Fanny Alger, polyandry, Helen Mar Kimball, Emma Smith's struggle with the Principle, as well as Brian's perspective as a faithful Latter-Day Saint who embraces the theological necessity for the Mormon doctrine of Plural Marriage.

026: John Gustav-Wrathall - Story of a Gay, Legally Married, Active Latter-Day Saint - Part 4 Feb 18, 2013

Show notes

We are incredibly excited to feature this fascinating interview by Daniel Parkinson at Gay Mormon Stories Podcast of John Gustav-Wrathall. John shares his amazing story, including his LDS upbringing, his wrestling with his sexual identity, his journey away from Mormonism, his sexual awakening, and the path that led him back to the LDS Church.
John's story of courage, love, and faith is a wonderful example of the diversity and possibilities of Mormonism's future. Thanks again to Gay Mormon Stories and John Gustav-Wrathall for sharing this interview with our audience.

025: John Gustav-Wrathall - Story of a Gay, Legally Married, Active Latter-Day Saint - Part 3 Feb 18, 2013

Show notes

023: John Gustav-Wrathall - Story of a Gay, Legally Married, Active Latter-Day Saint - Part 1 Feb 18, 2013

Show notes

024: John Gustav-Wrathall - Story of a Gay, Legally Married, Active Latter-Day Saint - Part 2 Feb 18, 2013

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022: Bob Rees - Forgiving the Church and Loving the Saints Feb 03, 2013

Show notes

Bob Rees and I recorded this interview a little while ago. I've been holding on to it, hoping to release it to our audience at the right moment. This past week I re-listened to our conversation and found myself moved and enlightened all over again by Bob's wisdom and insight. Though I don't know what's special about this week, for some reason the timing feels right. I hope you will enjoy Bob's perspective on Mormonism as well as his take on faith crisis and how to successfully engage with the Modern Church as an unconventional Mormon.
Bob Rees is no stranger to the Intellectual Mormon community. He was the second editor of Dialogue, and has been contributing to to progressive Mormon thought and scholarship most of his life. We hope our listeners enjoy Bob's unique approach. Please leave us your comments and feedback below.
DISCLAIMER: This audio was a low-resolution recovery of Bob's interview, and so the quality may be a little spotty. Sorry for the inconvenience.

020: Reflection and Reconstruction - The Journey of John Dehlin - Part 2 Jan 28, 2013

Show notes

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to interview one of my new favorite LDS bloggers Nathaniel Givens. A friend of mine introduced me to Nathaniel's series on the concept of Epistemic Humility that he wrote for Times and Seasons. Embracing epistemic humility allows us to be more open to new ideas, and better equipped to search for additional knowledge and truth. I felt Nathaniel's ideas here are especially applicable and useful in our LDS community, which is often a culture that shies away from uncertainty and doubt, and loves to frame discourse in the terms of "I know . . ."
We apologize in advance for the audio quality from this interview. We had some Internet connection difficulties, which resulted in conducting the interview via telephone.
Since recording this interview, Nathaniel has become a perma-blogger for Times and Seasons. He also maintains his own blog, Difficult Run. Please be sure to check out Nathaniel's writings and provide feedback and responses below. Many thanks to Nathaniel Givens for his contributions to A Thoughtful Faith.