Mormon Stories Podcast

Latest Episodes:

208: Dealing With a Husband’s LDS Disaffection as a Believing Wife Part 2 - Coping with strategies, managing a LDS lifestyle, and advice/thoughts for others. Oct 29, 2010

Show notes

In this 2-part series Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT (The Mormon Therapist and MormonMatters.org), interviews a faithful, believing LDS church member, Janelle, whose husband became disaffected with the church about 5 years ago. Part 2: Janelle discusses her own coping strategies, how she currently manages the LDS lifestyle within the context of her marriage, and advice/thoughts for others.

207: Dealing With a Husband’s LDS Disaffection as a Believing Wife Part 1 - Upbringings, Courtship, and the Disaffection. Oct 29, 2010

Show notes

In this 2-part series Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT (The Mormon Therapist and MormonMatters.org), interviews a faithful, believing LDS church member, Janelle, whose husband became disaffected with the church about 5 years ago. Part 1: Janelle discusses hers and her husbands upbringings in the church, their courtship and the process of finding out about her husband's disaffection.

206: Mr. Deity Part 2 - Brian Dalton Onstage at Sunstone on August 5th, 2010 Oct 20, 2010

Show notes

In this episode we interview Brian Dalton, a former member of the LDS church, and founder of the Mr. Deity Internet TV series -- which explores religious belief from a skeptical point of view, using satire. Mr. Deity focuses on the every-day life God, and everything He must endure as He attempts to manage His creation. In part 2, we captured Brian's plenary address from the 2010 Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium, where Brian tells more of his story, and also acts out a few Mr. Deity scenes with his wife, Amy (Lucy/Lucifer).

205: Mr. Deity Part 1 - Life as a Mormon, Critical Thinking, and the Mr. Deity Show Oct 20, 2010

Show notes

In this episode we interview Brian Dalton, a former member of the LDS church, and founder of the Mr. Deity Internet TV series -- which explores religious belief from a skeptical point of view, using satire. Mr. Deity focuses on the every-day life God, and everything He must endure as He attempts to manage His creation. In part 1, we discuss Brian's early years, his experience with the LDS church, his disaffection from the church, his views on religion, and the making of Mr. Deity. Towards the end, we are very blessed to spend a few minutes with Mr. Deity Himself.

204: Mark Hofmann Part 2 - Issues Raised and Lasting Legacy Oct 15, 2010

Show notes

Dan Wotherspoon interviews Allen D. Roberts and Curt Bench about the lasting legacy of Mormon forger, con man, and murderer Mark Hofmann. Exactly twenty-five years ago, on the morning of 15 October 1985, Salt Lake City was rattled—both literally and psychologically—by the explosion of two bombs which each killed a person. The next day brought a third explosion, nearly killing Mark Hofmann, a well-known dealer in Mormon documents. Because of clues at that scene, investigators soon realized that perhaps Hofmann was not so much a third victim but the person actually responsible for all three bombs. In the course of the investigation, the tale of Mark Hofmann as a master forger and con artist began to unfold. In this podcast, we examine the long and complex legacy of these murders and forgeries, as well as their continued reverberations even today. Although it is still unclear if Hofmann’s intent was to bring down Mormonism through creating documents that challenged traditional presentations of early Church origins, he definitely was a serious student of Mormon history and knew where various controversies lay—which he then exploited through the forged letters and documents he produced. This case has also presented challenges to some Latter-day Saints because of Hofmann’s various meetings with Mormon general authorities who failed to detect that he was deceiving them, as well as because of the Church’s practice of sometimes obtaining controversial documents and then suppressing them. Joining Mormon Stories host Dan Wotherspoon to tell the story of these tragic murders and complex issues are two terrific guests: Allen Roberts, who co-authored with Linda Sillitoe the book Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders, which is widely regarded as the most thorough account of the Hofmann saga, and Curt Bench, who at the time of the bombings managed the Fine and Rare Books department of Deseret Book’s flagship store in downtown Salt Lake City in which he dealt regularly with Mark Hofmann and even considered him a friend. Linda, Allen, and Curt all ended up playing important roles in helping investigators ultimately make their case against Hofmann and untangle the threads that had led him to murder.

203: Mark Hofmann Part 1 - The Murders, the Murderer, and the Forgeries Oct 15, 2010

Show notes

202: Reparative Therapy Part 3 - Current status, advice for others, and hope for changes within our culture. Oct 10, 2010

Show notes

In this 3-part series Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT (The Mormon Therapist and MormonMatters.org), interviews one of her earliest clients: a married, Mormon homosexual man, coming out to his wife. Names have been withheld to protect anonymity to the family. Note: The purpose of this interview is not to encourage people to stay or leave the church, to stay or leave a marriage, nor to participate or not participate in reparative therapy. These are all delicate personal decisions and different circumstances will necessitate different solutions. The purpose of this interview is to share a story. It is also meant to increase empathy and to reach out to those who may find themselves in similar situations.

201: Reparative Therapy Part 2 - The therapy process in conjunction with church discipline. Oct 10, 2010

Show notes

200: Reparative Therapy Part 1 - Conversion to the LDS church and the therapy process – including coming out to wife and church leaders Oct 10, 2010

Show notes

199: Richard Dutcher Part 5: Spiritual Journey and Final Thoughts Oct 03, 2010

Show notes

Richard Dutcher burst into Mormon cultural consciousness ten years ago with the release of his independent film hit, God’s Army. During the ensuing decade, he has remained an intriguing figure to many Latter-day Saints, not only because of the high quality of the films he has continued to make, but also because of his public distancing himself from Mormon cinema, a film genre launched primarily because of his successes, as well as his more private (yet also public) distancing himself from the LDS Church and its teachings. In this five-part interview conducted by Mormon Stories correspondent Dan Wotherspoon, Richard Dutcher speaks with remarkable candor about his upbringing and marriage, his career as a filmmaker, including extensive comments about each of his completed films (as well as ones, such as his planned film on Joseph Smith, that have not yet been made), the rise and decline of Mormon cinema, and his own faith journey. This interview is available in both audio and high-quality video formats. The video version includes scenes from Dutcher’s films that play over the interview audio.

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