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Latter Day Struggles — Health & Fitness
Latter Day Struggles

The Latter Day Struggles Podcast addresses beliefs and issues within the LDS faith that are challenging to talk about but vital to discuss for those trying to navigate their relationship in or around the church. Valerie and her guests invite psychological maturity, theological health, and institutional integrity.

Copyright: © 2025 Latter Day Struggles

Latest Episodes:

215: Musket Fire, Academic Freedom, & Concerns about Scientific Progress at BYU Apr 08, 2024

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Series Title: Some Complexities of the BYU Experience in 2024 [Part I of II]
In this episode Valerie welcomes special guest Brian Dille, a BYU alumnus and member of a professional organization responsible for accrediting institutions of higher learning in the USA. This series tackles the complex and pressing issue of academic freedom at Brigham Young University, especially in light of recent curriculum changes where the “musket” talk was made required reading for all incoming BYU freshmen.
Brian and Valerie delve into the definition and historical context of academic freedom, exploring its crucial role in scientific progress and how it relates to current issues connected to BYU's relationship with academic accreditation. Friday's episode stresses the impact of the "musket talk" on all individuals at BYU and how integration of this talk signals not only concern for academic freedom but also the need for ongoing corrective dialogue inviting love, inclusion, and reform in an effort to protect those on the margins at church and on the campuses of church-operated schools.
Join Valerie and Brian for both of these powerful episodes as they navigate some crucial Latter Day Struggles with respect, insight, and a firm commitment to honest discourse.

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214: How Women’s Development is Compromised in a Patriarchal System Apr 05, 2024

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Series Title: The Impact of Gender Inequality in the LDS Faith [Part IV of IV]
In this final episode of this 4-part series focused on issues of women and equality in the LDS church, Valerie and Nathan explore how healthy identity development is stifled for both men and women due to the patriarchal structure of the church. They discuss how a patriarchy cultivates a robust false self ego identity in the "one up" male gender and how the structure of the church stifles healthy ego development in the “one down” female gender in several ways (which they discuss in detail in this episode). This entire series calls for a reevaluation of the current unequal distribution of opportunities for the growth and development of the true self in the LDS church and invites this church to become a place where all humans are nurtured in the development of their whole selves.

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213: LDS Women Claim Their Worth by Not Engaging in Semantics Games Apr 01, 2024

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Series Title: The Impact of Gender Inequality in the LDS Faith [Part III of IV]
In this conversation Valerie and Nathan explore words—because words matter. They talk about the expanding use of the words "authority" and "power" connected to females and priesthood, thereby encouraging LDS women to understand their already-existing status in the church, while (significantly) never ever connecting women's roles and responsibilities to priesthood "keys".
Val and Nathan discuss how these semantics games tend to land on modern-day LDS women (not well!) and further begin a discussion about how this disparity in equality shapes the psyches in the women of this organization.
They further contend that not having priesthood "keys" is *not* about women desiring status, attention, or prestige. It is about longing for their spiritual system to support their innate equality in the eyes of God. It is about providing women with a spiritual context wherein they are allowed to grow and thrive as human beings.
Friday's final episode in this series breaks down five ways that women's development is stifled due to their unequal status in the LDS church. Subscribe to catch this [and every past and future Friday] episode. Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below. See you there!

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212: Gender & Opportunity: How Churches Communicate What & Whom they Value Mar 29, 2024

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Series Title: The Impact of Gender Inequality in the LDS Faith [Part II of IV]
In this episode Valerie and Nathan delve into the topic of organizational structures and how these structures powerful communicate their values to their constituents.
They break down many examples of how the value of each member of any organization is communicated through how the system is structured AND that the way an organization structures itself always communicates a message far more powerful than any public statement of value made to or about it’s constituents.
This conversation sets the stage for two more conversations forthcoming, where Val and Nathan further explore the influence of systemic structures on personal empowerment and the broad, often untapped potential of women within faith organizations in general and the LDS faith in particular.
This series is intended to raise the consciousness of our LDS organization so that we may see how longstanding [and sometime unquestioned] organizational structures and practices are negatively impacting many women within this organization.

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211: Women Worldwide Vote "Opposed" to Institutional Claims of Female Authority Mar 25, 2024

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Series Title: The Impact of Gender Inequality in the LDS Faith [Part I of IV]
Join Valerie as she explores a variety of topics connected to the 2024 rebirth of the Law of Common Consent demonstrated by LDS women throughout the world who recently voted "opposed" to claims that women in the LDS church have more authority than women of other church's worldwide.
In this episode, Valerie processes a variety of topics including:
** Several reasons why the LDS church has chronic struggles with allowing women equality.
**A conversation about historical lack of collaboration with systems of learning, knowledge, and worldwide restoration enlightenment.
**A maladaptive commitment to "immovability".
** A conversation about the need to address intersectionality of the feminine divine and queer issues in LDS "eternal family" theology.
**Encouragement to embody love as the foundational energy of lasting spiritually-empowering social reform.
Friday's episode begins a three-part conversation between Valerie and Nathan addressing how structural issues within the LDS church powerfully communicates its value of women, regardless of what is spoken *about* women or *to* women.

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209: Unshackling Shame-LDS Faith Journey Brings Se*ual Healing Mar 18, 2024

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Healing from LDS Faith Crisis: The Personal Journey of Nick [Part I of II]
In this heartfelt episode, Valerie and special guest Nick take an intimate look into the personal journey his healing and self-discovery. They dive deep into Nick's past, discussing the challenges of reconciling his relationship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while confronting lifelong negative beliefs about himself.
Nick candidly shares his experiences with loneliness, sexual shame, and his reliance on pornography as a coping mechanism. Together, they explore the significance of nurturing one's inner child, the detrimental effects of internalized shame, and the beauty in transforming pain into compassion and understanding for both oneself and others.
As they dissect the complex emotions tied to faith and sexuality, both Valerie and Nick underscore the importance of self-compassion, removing judgment, and fostering open conversations as tools for healing and growth.
Friday's episode continues this conversation between Nick and Valerie as they explore another aspect of his LDS faith expansion personal journey: Healing from betrayal trauma connected to the Book of Mormon.
If you want to find peace in your relationship with the Book of Mormon, listen to this tender episode.Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below. See you there!

Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below. See you there!

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SUBSCRIBE: All Friday episodes of Latter Day Struggles can be accessed through ⁠⁠⁠a paid subscription ($9.99/month), available here⁠. Thank you for supporting Valerie’s professional commitment to your LDS Faith expansion journey!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
For a step-by-step guide on how to subscribe and support the podcast, click here.
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SUPPORT: Like what you’re hearing at Latter Day Struggles Podcast? You can support Valerie by making a one-time donation to her business Venmo account or by becoming a recurring donor on Patreon.⁠
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SUPPORT GROUPS: As a trauma therapist, Valerie continues to help our LDS faith expansion community become more psychologically and spiritually healthy. All support groups are currently full, however, a new evening group is scheduled to start in September 2024. To learn more click here.
——————————————————————————————————————LATTER DAY NIGHT LIVE! Register for our latest 3-part webinar series “A Couple’s Guide to Faith Crisis & Expansion.” Valerie will host a question/answer session directly after the class. First session April 3rd 8:30 CST. Come ask Val your burning questions and be part of the conversation! Register for a spot here.
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CONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠here.

Support the show

Join Our Healing From Patriarchy Support Group

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Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

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207: Healing Ideas & Harmful Ideas about the Use of Scripture Mar 11, 2024

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Series Title: Expanding our Theology [Part I of II]
This week Valerie and Nathan tackle two fundamental aspects of LDS observance--scriptures and prayer--and walk you through ways in which each of these concepts can be either helpful to our spiritual journeys are harmful to our spiritual growth experiences.

Episode 207 reflects on the complexities of scripture, tackling the risks associated with misusing scriptures as tools of oppression and highlighting the damage caused when sacred texts are used to justify harmful actions, even on a catastrophic scale.

They discuss the importance of expanding our definition of what "counts" as scripture, the importance of truly tapping into our powers of personal revelation to discern when a voice is prophetic, and how books can be a mirror reflecting our connection to the divine.

Friday's episode 208 tackles how concept of prayer in the LDS faith tradition can be experienced as both deeply connecting to our true selves and our higher powers OR how teachings and practices associated with prayer can be instrumental in harming our relationship with self, others, and God.

Valerie and Nathan's desire in this series is to shine a light on the impact of certain aspects of religious faith and practice in the hopes that we can all experience our faith tradition in ways that truly support our spiritual development.

Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below. See you there!

Support the show

Join Our Healing From Patriarchy Support Group

Support the show

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Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

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205: Exploring Disaffiliation Family Crisis Because the LDS Church is a ‘Covenant’ Religion Mar 04, 2024

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Series Title: Exploring Family Challenges when LDS Young Adults Disaffiliate [Part III of IV]
In this part three of this series, Valerie and her therapist colleague Liz Macdonald delve further into the complexities of navigating faith disaffiliation among young adults in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Their conversation today focuses on the unique challenges faced in families who belong to "covenantal religions", including the anxiety and isolation that both parents and their evolving young adult children can feel when facing the eternal threats of noncompliance with church covenants.
Liz and Valerie delve into the double-bind that people might feel in "covenantal" religious systems (such as LDS and Judaism) where some may feel that they must choose between the crucial human task of authentic spiritual self development and requirement to make and keep certain belief-based covenants in order to be allowed connection with God and family for eternity.
Friday's final episode of this series (available via subscription) delves deeply into a highly respected model of human growth and development and explores a possible correlation between the degree of psychological (under) development and one’s inability to tolerate the faith expansion process of loved ones. They also discuss how the healthy development of the young adult children might be impacted by lack of support from their parents in the crucial young adult years.
This series is intended to offer love and empathy for all both the more traditionally believing LDS parents and their disaffiliated young adult children, shining a light on the extreme complexity of this situation and hoping to offer insights that will help families in our community heal. Please share this series with those who might benefit from this enlightening and healing discussion!

Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below. See you there!

Support the show

Join Our Healing From Patriarchy Support Group

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Friday Episodes Annual Access $89

Friday Episodes Monthly Access $10

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203: When Love, Faith Journeys & Fear Collide in an LDS Family Feb 26, 2024

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Series Title: Exploring Family Challenges when LDS Young Adults Disaffiliate [Part I of IV]
In this episode one of a mind-expanding four-part series, Valerie and special guest and fellow therapist Liz Macdonald delve into the delicate nature of the relationship between a certain type of Latter-Day Saint parent and their young adult children who navigate different paths regarding their faith.

In this episode, Liz offers and overview of an in-depth research project she did learning more about the extreme turmoil experienced by those in conflict with their parents due to LDS disaffiliation. They also begin to unpack the findings in this research paper.

Friday's episode (available by subscription) delves into more of the specific findings of this research, including an analysis of what the disaffiliated young adults experienced in their relationships with their parents. Liz and Valerie explore not only the phenomenon uncovered in this research but potential reasons for these findings embedded in the theology. They also offer ongoing empathy for all parties in this challenging dynamic. This series is intended to offer love and empathy for all both the more traditionally believing LDS parents and their disaffiliated young adult children, shining a light on the extreme complexity of this situation and hoping to offer insights that will help families in our community heal. Please share this series with those who might benefit from this enlightening and healing discussion! Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below. See you there!

Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below. See you there!

Support the show

Join Our Healing From Patriarchy Support Group

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

201: The Church’s Responsibility to See Whom They have Cast Out Feb 19, 2024

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Series Title: Father Richard Rohr’s Influence on LDS Faith Crisis Healing [Part III of IV]
In this part three of their series celebrating some of the most significant spiritual work of Father Richard Rohr, Valerie and Nathan dive deep into the sin of exclusion which, ironically, is a serious issue within most religious systems.
This episode highlights how religious systems in general struggle with marginalizing other religious systems *and* create margins within their own systems. Reflecting on Richard Rohr's meditation from ''Yes! And" Daily Meditations, Nathan and Val discuss the necessary inclusion of outcasts who embody the church's rejected identities (single, queer, female, theologically nonconforming, etc) and are crucial for its wholeness and conversion.
They emphasizes the role of 'edge workers' positioned throughout the world— those on either border of the institution who can act as canaries in the coal mine, heightening awareness around their own systems' subtle and obvious outcasts. They heighten the importance of surrender to the validation of the institution in the service of serving God and those in and around the institution without social equity or who are too afraid or wounded to speak their own pain.
Together, they urge the necessity of moving beyond judgment and towards a more inclusive, understanding, and compassionate approach that embraces all, especially those who have felt marginalized within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Until this happens, the LDS church cannot serve its role as a faith community of true healing, growth, and transformation.

Info on how to subscribe to listen to Friday’s episode is directly below. See you there!

Support the show

Join Our Healing From Patriarchy Support Group

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

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