AI (Artificial Intelligence) is increasingly becoming part of our everyday lives as it is now enhancing the way businesses and health care providers work, as well as assisting in financial fraud detection, cybersecurity, and much more. Its contributions in those areas are mostly invisible to us. But now with the rise of informational/conversational…

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has just announced changes to LDS garment styles, including options that don’t require shoulders to be covered, along with the option to wear a garment “shift” that doesn’t require women to have their legs covered but instead can wear the bottoms under a dress or skirt. Several of the changes relate t…

So many of us stumble through life without a genuine sense of who we are and what we should do. One of things that brings us the greatest joy and peace is when we finally connect with what our soul seems to be calling us toward. What are our gifts? What are the through-lines that seem to be showing up again and again in most things we do? Are there…

LDS Church teachings about deity suggest that God is very actively engaged in our lives and the world more widely. Many members of the church pray to God for blessings large and small. They try to live in ways that will please God, and avoid those that won't. These notions and actions indicate that they believe in what might be labeled an "interven…

Listen in on a conversation between three longtime confidantes, LDF board member Terri Petersen and her friends, Nancy and Susan as they discuss their changing relationships with the LDS Church and with their loved ones. As will become clear through listening, these three friends are at different places in their spiritual journeys, yet their love a…

The question, "What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?" might not lead many people to think deeply. For a large number of Mormons and other Christians, our answer is tied up with the messages of their religious tradition and its belief system. Instead of focusing on God and the kind of relationship Jesus modeled with the Father, so often our focus is o…

This episode is a joy. In it, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon chats with his friend Stan Bennion about Stan's life and experiences as a Latter-day Saint whose sense of adventure led him and his family to live in interesting places. Stan has had the good fortune to be able to marry his fascination with new and interesting things to his Mormon life in ways …

This is a wise and inspiring episode, which uses as a springboard the recent emphases on garment wearing and its relationship to worthiness, including a new statement to be read during the temple recommend interview. It is a conversation between LDF board member Terri Petersen and show favorite Jody England Hansen that addresses these things throug…

In this episode, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon shares something he delivered at the most recent Salt Lake City Sunstone Symposium. He spoke as part of a panel in a long-running Sunstone session titled, "Why I Stay." Instead of giving the "why" of his decision to stay actively involved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Mormon life, h…

In this wonderful podcast episode, LDF board member Terri Peterson interviews author and podcaster Noah Rasheta about Buddhist teachings that transcend faith boundaries and can help people live with greater clarity and equanimity whether they are formally religious or not. With Terri's prompting, Noah shares his journey as a Latter-day Saint on thr…

Most people who come to this podcast have likely, at some time in their life, wondered what their lives would be like were they to step away from Mormonism--and not just the church but, perhaps, everything else that one might call "religious" in nature. What if there is no God? What if there is no need for saving ordinances? What would it be like t…

In this wonderful conversation, Latter-day Faith board member Mark Crego talks with Chris Kimball, the author of Living on the Inside of the Edge: A Survival Guide (By Common Consent Press, 2023) about his experiences with the LDS temple recommend processes. Their focus is on the notion of "worthiness," which most Latter-day Saints view as the purp…

This episode, co-hosted by Dan Wotherspoon and Terri Petersen, brings to the forefront once again the insights and helpful ideas in Jon Ogden's 2017 book, When Mormons Doubt: A Way to Save Relationships and Seek a Quality Life. Jon joins the hosts to discuss his approach to saving relationships through understanding the primary things that we and o…

As someone is experiencing a shift of faith, it is very common to find a need to change their prayer practices. Likely, their view of God has changed, which leads to confusion about how to approach this new Being or Source. What used to be simple and connective no longer feels the same. Should they stop praying altogether? Many do. In this episode,…

In this wonderful episode, Faith Journey Foundation board member and great friend of the show Terri Petersen speaks with her friend, Christy (pseudonym) about her church life as a active woman with children, who also happens to be divorced. As you can imagine, in a church that touts the vital importance of families, it is not always a comfortable e…

If we are not careful, it is very easy to become lazy in our scripture studies--reading but not pausing long enough to really see and understand what it is saying. In the course of our years as Latter-day Saints, we generally have developed ready answers to what this or that passage is about, and we groove those interpretations into our minds. But …

If we are not careful, it is very easy to become lazy in our scripture studies--reading but not pausing long enough to really see and understand what it is saying. In the course of our years as Latter-day Saints, we generally have developed ready answers to what this or that passage is about, and we groove those interpretations into our minds. But …

Latter-day Faith Podcast has just passed its 4th anniversary, and one of its early listeners who is now a great friend, Terri Petersen, suggested we need an interview show in which she’d ask questions of LDF host Dan Wotherspoon and his great friend and partner for the whole Latter-day Faith enterprise, Mark Crego. Terri reached out to many other l…

Latter-day Faith Podcast has just passed its 4th anniversary, and one of its early listeners who is now a great friend, Terri Petersen, suggested we should do an interview show in which she'd ask questions of LDF host Dan Wotherspoon and his great friend and partner for the whole Latter-day Faith enterprise, Mark Crego. Terri reached out to many ot…

LDS general conferences are often difficult for Latter-day Saints who are experience shifts in their faith, but at the same time wonderful boons to others. Certain talks can be painful reminders of ideas and ways of approaching God and life that we who are in the midst of faith journeys have come to find unhealthy; just as many are exhilarating to …

At the Relief Society's Anniversary Conference held March 17, 2024, Sister J. Anette Dennis made a statement that ignited a firestorm online, including on the LDS Church's own Instagram page. Here is the statement in question: “There is no other religious organization in the world, that I know of, that has so broadly given power and authority to wo…

The Book of Mormon has become a fraught topic for many Latter-day Saints who are in the midst of a faith shift. Those who are no longer certain what to think about this foundational scripture will often not feel comfortable studying it. And this is especially a problem this year, as the Book of Mormon is the Sunday School text for 2024. In this bri…

In mid-December 2003, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints added two new entries to the Gospel Topics section of its website. One addresses those Latter-day Saints who have questions or doubts, or who are undergoing a difficult faith journey. The other offers advice to those who love them or are someone who has been approached by these p…

In mid-December 2003, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints added two new entries to the Gospel Topics section of its website. One addresses those Latter-day Saints who have questions or doubts, or who are undergoing a difficult faith journey. The other offers advice to those who love them or are someone who has been approached by these p…

Merry Christmas, everyone! For this week's show, we are replaying three previous Latter-day Faith episodes related to Christmas! Episode 168 is an encore of the episode released last December, "Looking Fresh at the Creche," featuring Jody England Hansen. Episode 169 is an encore of the episode first released in December 2019, "Christmas: Birthing t…

This episode celebrates Thomas McConkie's incredible new book, At-One-Ment--Embodying the Fullness of Human-Divinity, and dives into several of its topic areas that LDF Host Dan Wotherspoon chose as potentially helpful to this listening audience. In both a personal and descriptive tone they discuss the importance of training our minds to "concentra…

Note: This two-part episode (Episode 166 is Part 2) is a departure from the usual focus of Latter-day Faith, which emphasizes teaching about and encouraging healthy faith development through introducing listeners to wise and powerful teachers in this area as well as to spiritual practices that can help us face our struggles with faith and church, f…

Note: This two-part episode (Episode 166 is Part 2) is a departure from the usual focus of Latter-day Faith, which emphasizes teaching about and encouraging healthy faith development through introducing listeners to wise and powerful teachers in this area as well as to spiritual practices that can help us face our struggles with faith and church, f…

This has been a tough week in Mormonism, with new rehearsals of old ideas entering the LDS universe that seem to portray God and we humans as less that loving and beautiful. In this environment, Latter-day Faith host Dan Wotherspoon shares his convictions, based on his own experiences, in an effort to encourage and celebrate everyone and the Love t…

It is often difficult for Latter-day Saints to understand the distinction between Jesus and Christ as they are used in many other Christian traditions. They also struggle to understand how God can be considered a person if God doesn't have a distinct and tangible body. Mormons often speak of knowing that God knows each of us personally, but don't f…

This episode features a wide ranging conversation between LDF host Dan Wotherspoon and his good friend and historian James Harris about the life and ministry of Elder James E. Talmage. Just before and then in the first few decades of the twentieth century (1862-1933), Elder Talmage served the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in myriad wa…

This episode features a terrific discussion between Erik Walters and LDS host Dan Wotherspoon on how we can mine for greater meaning and impact wonderful scriptural metaphors and symbols. Here they focus on Lehi's vision (and Nephi's additions) of the Tree of Life, Iron Rod, Great and Spacious Building, and more. Next they take upon the ubiquitous …

In this episode, Jana Riess and Kathryn Knight Sonntag join LDF host Dan Wotherspoon in talking about "worship." What is worship, or what does it mean to be in worship mode, and how do these differ from reverence, prayer, or gratitude? Do Latter-day Saint worship practices differ from those of other faith traditions? If so, in what ways? Have LDS f…

We often use shortcuts in our daily interactions with people, events, and actions, simplifying what is actually far more complex. We decide this or that ahead of time, and we let that guide what we will focus on. We often label people in a certain way based upon some previous experiences with them (or descriptions given by others) and never really …

The spiritual concept of "abiding" (in God and God in us) is quite rich. It means to "be here with," and its Greek origins and scriptural usage also suggest other meanings such as "remain," "continue," "endure," "be present with," and more. But even as much as we can understand the concept of through word study and through mental faculties, to real…

In this episode, we focus on ideas for building up spiritual communities that reflect unity, love, and acceptance. How might such become places in which everyone regardless of their theological positions, views about scripture or church strengths and weaknesses, or understandings and stances on today's big social issues can all worship and enjoy co…

It is Pride Month, and given the current and intense politicalization of the rights of transgender individuals, we are pleased to present here an encore of a conversation between Laurie Lee Hall and LDF host Dan Wotherspoon. Originally presented under the umbrella of how different people view God as gendered or not, Laurie Lee shares her experience…

If we truly believe that all people in their essence are divine/good, why do we so often forget that in our interactions with others? Why do we make judgments that harm our relationships? Are there processes we can learn that will help us process things that happen without becoming defensive and, instead, meet these things with compassion for other…

President Russell M. Nelson's recent LDS General Conference talk, "Peacemakers Needed," focuses on the strong need for Latter-day Saints, and basically everyone else, to more actively strive for peace in our interactions in the world at large, and especially with each other personally. Noting the hostility and name-calling and dismissiveness of oth…

This episode is the second in a series of conversations LDF host Dan Wotherspoon had with Annika Rau about New Testament events, with this one focusing on insights in the stories of what happened Thursday through Sunday of Holy Week. In it, they begin with the Last Supper (and also an event that had happened six days earlier) and move through Geths…

This episode features a conversation between LDF host Dan Wotherspoon and Abe Collier, who heads a small international aid NGO currently working in Ukraine. It is set up to be another in what will be a series of episodes on the way people discern what God/Life/the Universe seems to be calling them to do. in this discussion, Abe shares with us his L…

"What do I want to be (or do) when I grow up?" Early on, our answers to such queries are the ones we pick up from our parents, wider family, friends, religious traditions, and important authority figures in our lives. If we are to have a truly fulfilling life, however, we must begin to find our way to what it is we are actually being "called to" by…

For some, the miracles of Jesus presented in the Gospels are problematic. Many question their veracity. Did these actually occur, or are they stories that sought to grab the attention of people living in a pre-industrial world? Perhaps "something" happened but surely there are better explanations today than Jesus healing, raising from the dead, and…

In this episode, therapist Julie Keanaaina speaks with LDF host Dan Wotherspoon about psilocybin, which has recently been legalized in Oregon for therapeutic uses, with many other states considering something similar. There have been many stories from studies of its use in television news magazines, newspapers, and other media formats, each affirmi…

In this wonderful, wide-ranging interview, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon speaks with Michael Hicks, a recently retired professor of Music at BYU, about his life, and especially his growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 60s and 70s. During this period, Michael became very active in the Jesus movement of the time, which has often been referred t…

Latter-day Saints the world over are studying the New Testament this year. Much of value can be gleaned from following the Come Follow Me lessons and questions, but it falls quite short for those wanting to explore Jesus from wider perspectives. This episode, our first of 2023, teases a few of these additional perspectives as our guest, Mark Crego,…

The Creche (the Nativity scene) is a staple in many homes and public places during the Christmas season. We most likely were taught when we were young about each person depicted in the scene, learned that Jesus was born in a manger (hence the animals present in most creche's), and in all of that came to understand via osmosis how our individual fam…

When we struggle with previously held beliefs, various actions and teachings of authority figures, and/or religious teachings and practices that seem to not be loving--or even harmful--we can find ourselves wondering if all our work of pulling-apart and examining each element that has made up our worldview will ever end. It is a frightening process…

In Part 2 of this very powerful two-part episode, Jana Spangler and Jody England Hansen join LDF host Dan Wotherspoon for a discussion of the close relationship between mental and spiritual trauma and our bodies. Much of what they offer is also true of physical trauma, but their primary focus is on how to recognize, understand, and find healing for…