At Last She Said It is a podcast that seeks to amplify and explore a variety of voices, stories, ideas and experiences of Mormon women.
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Episode 196: What About Ritual? | A Conversation with Selina Forsyth
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“For me, broadening my thinking about ritual has given me more freedom to bring my whole self and my creativity to my spiritual life, as well as meet my unique and evolving spiritual needs,” explains Selina Forsyth, who joins Cynthia and Susan to discuss ritual in the lives of Latter-day Saint women. What about when the rituals provided by our reli…
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Episode 195: Embracing Your Journey | A Conversation with Candice Clark
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Every Latter-day Saint woman’s walk is unique. Cynthia and Susan are joined in Episode 195 by Candice Clark, who shares a glimpse of her personal path and some valuable insights she’s picked up along the way. She reminds us, “As a mother raised in the Church, one thing I’m grateful to have finally learned is that my desires matter. They don’t matte…
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Episode 194: Mental Health, Spirituality, and Religion, Oh My! | A Conversation with C.A. Larson
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“If one is religious but not spiritual, it will not enhance mental health,” says therapist C.A. Larson. In Episode 194, C.A. joins Susan and Cynthia for a conversation at the intersection of religion and spirituality. What are the differences between the two? How do they function together, and separately? And what influence might each one have on o…
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Episode 193: What About Blessings, Part 3 | Things That Would Be Nice If They Were True
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Bad things happen to good people—good works cannot protect us from the natural consequences of being human in an imperfect world. But in a church where the narrative often draws connections between worthiness and blessings, it can be hard to avoid internalizing the idea that we’re special and can achieve control by doing the right things. “How do I…
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Episode 192: Embracing Your Journey | A Conversation with Anne Pimentel
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“We can do things a little differently and still be okay,” says Anne Pimentel. She’s a natural—but also intentional—space-maker, devoted to the idea that one can be a “good member” of the Church without fitting the mold. In Episode 192 Anne joins Susan and Cynthia for a conversation about how she learned and has internalized this lesson for herself…
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Episode 191: What About Grief? | A Conversation with Pam Heggie
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“My faith life really begins with death,” explains Pam Heggie. “Meaning, the real, genuine experiences of my life that molded me, shaped me and taught me what love and empathy really are, began with deaths. Four (so far) to be exact. Five if you count my own.” In Episode 191, Pam joins Susan and Cynthia to discuss lessons she’s learned at the inter…
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Episode 190: What About Sister Missionaries? | Part 2
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Bonus Episode 190 contains all the voicemails we couldn’t squeeze into the previous episode's discussion exploring unique complexities of being a Sister missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.By Cynthia Winward, Susan Hinckley
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Episode 189: What About Sister Missionaries?
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In Episode 189, ALSSI team member and returned missionary Katie joins Cynthia and Susan for a dive into listener voicemails about women’s experiences as sister missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From the pressures around the decision to serve to the daily realities of mission life, there’s plenty to unpack. The rigors…
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Episode 188: Jesus & the Canaanite Woman | Cynthia’s Sacrament Meeting Talk
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“If you lift up a prism, depending on how you slightly turn it, the light will hit different facets, refracting and coming out in different ways. That's how I like to approach the scriptures,” explains Cynthia, “Turning them just ever so slightly to see what different meanings there could be.” In Episode 188, she turns her personal prism on the sto…
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Episode 187: Embracing Your Journey | A Conversation with Amy Watkins Jensen
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“Spiritual stretching ... makes you stronger, gives you more balance, and keeps you stable. It took me years to understand that my questions and seeking that stretch me, and are really difficult to wrestle with, are healthy and completely in line with our theology. [...] We need more stretchy saints.” Amy Watkins Jensen has plenty of hard-earned wi…
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Episode 186: What Happened to Community? | A Conversation with Candice Wendt
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“Life as a member offers relatively little social time or enjoyment,” writes Candice Wendt. “Being in the ward is mostly about passive listening and being told to follow leaders and go to the temple. [...] You’re more likely to get asked to clean our very dirty building than be asked to dinner." In episode 186, Candice joins Susan and Cynthia for a…
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Episode 185: Does That Scripture Mean What You Think it Means? | A Dance with the Parable of the Talents
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Rob Bell describes interacting with scripture like this: there’s the black ink (what’s written on the page), then there’s the white space around it (where we dance with what’s written). In Episode 185, Susan and Cynthia take on what Latter-day Saints commonly call the Parable of the Talents, from Matthew 25. It’s a conversation about grace out of h…
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Episode 184: Am I Allowed to Change? | A Conversation with Jana Spangler
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Many of us make temple covenants as young adults. Are we expected to have the same perspectives and priorities at 80 that we had at 18? In a church that emphasizes concepts like “staying on the covenant path” and “enduring to the end,” it can be hard to know how to navigate when our life experiences invite us to grow in new directions. In Episode 1…
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We asked, you answered! Of all emotions, anger might be the least acceptable for Latter-day Saint women. Many of us are not comfortable being around it, expressing it, talking about it, or even feeling it. But when we choose silence over healthy dialogue, what’s the toll on our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being? In Episode 183, Cynthia …
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Episode 182: The Harder the Better | A Conversation with Valerie Hamaker
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Does devotion always require walking uphill? What’s the difference between good-hard and bad-hard? Do some Church members see the difficulty of a thing as a measure of the righteousness it requires? Has “more suffering and sacrifice” somehow come to mean “higher and holier” in the LDS narrative? In Episode 182, Valerie Hamaker of Latter-day Struggl…
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Episode 181: What About the Sacrament?
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As the centerpiece of Sunday worship and an ordinance pointing directly to Jesus Christ, the sacrament holds deep meaning for many Latter-day Saints. In Episode 181, Cynthia and Susan turn their grace-peddling to a conversation about the sacrament. What matters more: worthiness, or willingness? When did this simple remembrance of Jesus become about…
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Episode 180: Embracing Your Journey | A Conversation with Mary Cox
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Mary once put a vinyl motto above her kitchen door that read, “That’s What We Do!” It was a 4-word description of her life as a Latter-day Saint woman. For many years, she and her husband were “the couple who could get it done” at church. She describes looking back with grace for that younger self: “She was doing the best she could with what she kn…
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What is spirituality? Am I doing it right? What does it look or feel like? Who decides? Episode 179 rounds out the intro of our theme with an exploration of James Finley’s idea: “The greatest teacher of God’s presence in our life is our life.” Cynthia and Susan discuss the difference between communication and communion, finding points of connection…
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Episode 178: Women's Spirituality | A Conversation with Brittney Hartley
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Like flowers in the cracks of a sidewalk, women’s spirituality has had to work its way around and through thousands of years of religious beliefs and practices established and maintained by and for men. “I have stopped trying to make my life look spiritually acceptable to men. Men have very specific criteria for what spirituality is, based on the r…
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“There is room to honor and hold space for the precious and the meaningful even as we evolve in our beliefs, our homes, and our lives. It’s okay to bring some things with you.” These wise words from writer Sarah Bessey help shape the conversation of this Season 8 opener. Everyone who’s moved knows it can be hard to decide what to toss and what to k…
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Episode 176 (Bonus): What About Season 8?
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In this short bonus episode, Susan and Cynthia look ahead to the upcoming season of podcast conversations. Season 8 will center on Latter-day Saint women digging and drawing from our individual spiritual wells. Hope you’ll join us!By Cynthia Winward, Susan Hinckley
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Episode 175 (Bonus): Revisiting When Women Are The Problem
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In this bonus episode, Cynthia and Susan revisit part of an earlier discussion exploring the idea of Latter-day Saint women’s complicity in our own marginalization. Recent events have once again highlighted ways women may be the biggest obstacle to achieving greater parity of roles within the organization. It’s still an itchy topic with no easy ans…
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Episode 174 (Bonus): Exhibit A—Reactions to the Relief Society Broadcast
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On March 17, 2024 the Church broadcast a Worldwide Relief Society Devotional featuring remarks from the RS General Presidency and President Nelson. In this bonus episode, Cynthia and Susan discuss some of the messages delivered and the social media outpouring from Latter-day Saint women in response.By Cynthia Winward, Susan Hinckley
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Episode 173: An Open Letter to the Church | The Imagination Episode
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Some topics come up in these podcast conversations again and again, and that gets our attention. They frustrate us but also feel like obvious opportunities: areas where the church we love could take a step forward, and even small changes might make a big difference. In Episode 173, Cynthia and Susan call out a few of their frustrations and imagine …
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Talk a lot about guilt and shame and eventually, you'll probably crave a hefty dose of grace! The conversation in Episode 172 is just that. Cynthia and Susan focus on challenges Latter-day Saints might have decoupling works and grace. Is it possible accepting grace actually requires more faith than depending on our own good works? How might pivotin…
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Episode 171: What About Guilt and Shame? | A Conversation with C.A. Larson, Part 2
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In Episode 171, Susan and Cynthia continue their discussion with therapist C.A. Larson about guilt and shame. Where are they coming from? What are some specific ways these emotions might affect Latter-day Saint women, and how can we recognize and work through them in healthy ways?By Cynthia Winward, Susan Hinckley
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Episode 170: What About Guilt and Shame? | A Conversation with C.A. Larson, Part 1
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“The most liberating process is to realize that no one’s expectations for my life matter but my own,” says therapist C.A. Larson. In Episode 170, she joins Cynthia and Susan for the first part of a discussion about guilt and shame. What’s the difference between these two emotions? How do they help or hinder our growth and progress? And what tools c…
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Episode 169: Embracing Your Journey | A Conversation with Lisa Torcasso Downing
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“My religious life is beyond the confines of my ward or stake,” says Lisa Torcasso Downing, a Latter-day Saint woman for whom using her voice is an integral part of her faith life. She describes her long-running blog, Life Outside the Book of Mormon Belt: "That's where I’ve been saying it!” In Episode 169, she joins Susan and Cynthia for a rich con…
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Episode 168: Revisiting What Women Don't Get in our Church
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Some questions need to be revisited often so we don’t lose sight of the fact that no satisfactory answer has been given. In Episode 91, Cynthia asked, “If history shows that patriarchy is bad for women, and data shows that girls and women fare better when they can see themselves at every level of leadership in our churches, schools, and societies…w…
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Sometimes it’s good to just have fun! Episode 167 is a peek behind the curtain at ALSSI. Cynthia and Susan turn on the mics for an unscripted chat about everything from podcaster-pet-peeves to “spilled tea” to Christmas traditions. It’s the kind of conversation that’s probably good to publish now and then just to remind ourselves and everyone else:…
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Episode 166: Embracing Your Journey | A Conversation with Lyric Montgomery Kinard
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Lyric Montgomery Kinard uses the word expansion to describe her faith journey because, as she says, “it feels like spirituality has burst my Mormon box wide-open.” In Episode 166, she joins Susan and Cynthia to talk about her experiences as a Latter-day Saint. It’s another glimpse into the life of a woman who’s given herself permission to walk the …
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Episode 165: BONUS | Still Talking About Patriarchal Blessings
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We asked, you answered! In Bonus Episode 165, women from the ALSSI community share personal experiences and thoughts about Patriarchal Blessings.By Cynthia Winward, Susan Hinckley
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Episode 164: What About Patriarchal Blessings?
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When it comes to Patriarchal Blessings, there are as many experiences as there are members who give and receive them. In Episode 164, Cynthia and Susan are joined by Blakelee Ellis for a discussion about some of the many ways these highly anticipated blessings can be complicated for Latter-day Saint women. From the experience itself to the advice g…
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Episode 163: Finding Jesus Through Your Inner Compass | A Conversation with Autumn McAlpin
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The image of the compass feels central to Autumn McAlpin’s book, But Jesus: A Conversation. Autumn explains, “Right now, my spiritual practice is centered on this—I read pure religion as found in the gospels in the New Testament, then try my best to keep up…” In Episode 163, she joins Cynthia and Susan to talk about the journey behind the book, and…
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Episode 162: Stepping Out of the Box with Jesus—Claiming Space in the Gospel Narrative | A Conversation with Kajsa Berlin-Kaufusi
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“I’m tired of putting Jesus in a hermeneutical box nailed together by patriarchal exegesis,” says Kajsa Berlin-Kaufusi. In Episode 162, she joins Cynthia and Susan to discuss what those words mean. What might they mean specifically for Latter-day Saint women as we approach the New Testament with a desire to broaden our scriptural understanding and …
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Episode 161: Embracing Your Journey | A Conversation with Debbie Squires-Coleman
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“In the fleet, I'll sail my own boat,” says Debbie Squires-Coleman. In Episode 161, she joins Cynthia and Susan from her home in England to share this and other insights in an Embracing Your Journey discussion about her experiences as a Latter-day Saint woman. It’s a conversation about relationships and growth, full of wise glimpses into how it’s p…
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Episode 160: At Last YOU Said It Part 2 | More Listener Voicemails
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In Bonus Episode 160, Susan and Cynthia share and discuss more ALSSI listener voicemails.By Cynthia Winward, Susan Hinckley
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Episode 159: At Last YOU Said It | ALSSI Listener Voicemails
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We started this project in an effort to amplify Latter-day Saint women’s voices and create a safe space for sharing ideas and experiences. In Episode 159, Cynthia and Susan dive into listener voicemails to hear, share, and discuss things women in the ALSSI community are saying.By Cynthia Winward, Susan Hinckley
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Episode 158: Telling the Truth | A Conversation with Jana Riess
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Telling the truth can be complicated for a Latter-day Saint woman, even if we value honesty. It’s hard to say out loud some of what we’re thinking, feeling, or experiencing. At church or even in our families and close relationships we may self-censor with an ‘okayness’ filter: Is it uplifting? Faith promoting? Too negative? Does it cast the Church …
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Episode 157: Embracing Your Journey | A Conversation with Mer Monson
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Every faith path is walked one step at a time. Every woman’s story is unique. In Episode 157, Cynthia and Susan are joined by Mer Monson to talk about her journey so far, and how the ground she’s traveled informs the way she’s walking now. It’s a conversation that radiates hard-won wisdom, an inspiring glimpse into one Latter-day Saint woman’s spir…
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There are many touchpoints with consent in a Latter-day Saint woman’s church life. From baptism to temple ordinances to accepting callings, we say yes over and over again, sometimes without ever seriously engaging our options. In Episode 156, Susan and Cynthia unpack consent. There are good reasons a woman might say ‘yes’ even while something insid…
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Episode 155: To the Children of the Mothers in Zion | A Conversation with Susie Augenstein
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For Latter-day Saint women in 1987, expectations outlined by the prophet were explicit: “Mothers in Zion,” he said, “Your God-given roles are so vital to your own exaltation and to the salvation and exaltation of your family.” In episode 155, Susan and Cynthia are joined by Susie Augenstein to break down the messaging mothers received then and have…
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Episode 154: What About Racism? | A Conversation with Tamu Smith
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“What could a Relief Society lesson on racism look like?” “What do you wish other members of the Church knew about what it’s like to be a Black Latter-day Saint in 2023?” Cynthia asked Tamu Smith these questions and more as they visited in Cynthia’s kitchen with the recorder running. In Episode 154, Tamu shares her personal insights and answers in …
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Embracing our journey means accepting that every individual’s path is different. While some Latter-day Saint women think about why they stay, others will be thinking about why they make the choice not to. In Episode 153, two women who found stepping away from church engagement to be the right choice for them share their personal stories. It's a con…
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For some Latter-day Saint women, embracing the journey may include reckoning with difficult aspects of the church experience that are specific to women. Some may choose to leave when they find their personal cost exceeds their benefit. In Episode 152, Susan and Cynthia muddy the water around the decision to 'stay' with a frank discussion about thin…
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Episode 151: Embracing Your Journey | A Conversation with Aubrey Chaves
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Every Latter-day Saint woman is on her own journey of faith. We describe it using all kinds of language, and some days the path ahead seems a lot clearer than other days. We each carry our own baggage, our own maps, our own stories of how we came to be where and who we are. Learning to relax into change in this part of our lives can be difficult in…
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Season 7 begins with a series of conversations exploring reasons some women continue to find spiritual value participating in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and some do not. Every individual has her own faith story, and in Episode 150, Cynthia and Susan ask themselves and each other the question listeners continue to ask more than…
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Episode 149: BONUS | Still Making Peace
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Where are you turning for peace these days? It can feel elusive on a shifting path! In bonus Episode 149, Cynthia and Susan revisit an earlier conversation to compare notes and discuss things they’re still learning when it comes to the ongoing challenge of ‘making and doing’ personal peace.By Cynthia Winward, Susan Hinckley
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Episode 148: BONUS | Still Asking—Where's the Priesthood in That?
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In this bonus episode, Susan and Cynthia discuss new thoughts and old frustrations around a previous conversation from ALSSI Episode 35 about church callings and priesthood authority. What is changing when it comes to organizational roles for Latter-day Saint women, and what hasn’t changed at all? Is there movement toward greater equality in our ch…
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Episode 147: BONUS | Revisiting the Map
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In this episode, Cynthia and Susan add a few new thoughts to their conversation from Season 1 about going off the edge of one’s map in pursuit of a more personalized spiritual life. In this discussion ALSSI listeners will recognize the seeds of many foundational ideas about the importance of spiritual empowerment for Latter-day Saint women that thi…
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