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.
Episodes
388 episodes
386: How Every Exhausting Detour Leads Us Back to God
Series Title: Exploring Mormonism's Immortality Projects [Episode I of IV]Today Val & Nathan kick off a four-part series that you will not want to miss if you want to make more sense of your Mormon experience working reall...
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44:02
385: Honoring Relationships AND your Nervous System Over the Holidays
If Episode 384 (the one right before this one!) addresses the larger psychological question of why the holidays & family events can be extra challenging and painful for those on the LDS faith expansion journey--then this episode an...
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51:36
384: Office Hours Meets the Holiday Family Gathering (& Accompanying Emotions)
Join us for this special Office Hour edition of Latter Day Struggles, recorded right before the bustling holiday season of 2025. Our conversation dives deep into the complex world of family relationships during the holidays while on a faith jou...
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52:03
383: Why We Care So Much about Transcending & Including Mormonism
Are you curious about what has happened in the minds and hearts of the Hamakers eight months post-resignation from the LDS church due to the waves that this podcast has made throughout the world for the past couple of years? Well, ...
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49:28
382: Moving from Saviors & Sin to Remembering & Returning
In this episode of Latter Day Struggles, Valerie compares and contrasts her understanding of the 'plan of salvation' internalized from her traditional LDS upbringing with a 'plan of salvation' that aligns with ideas about humanity's awakening j...
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39:21
381: Polygamy is Having its Mormon Moment (Again) in 2025
Series Title: Unpacking LDS Polygamy Developments in 2025 [Part II of II]Join Valerie and Jana Spangler as they finish their conversation about the fascinating currents of 2025 surrounding polygamy in the Church of Jesus Chris...
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43:03
380: A 'New' Plan of Salvation for an Expanding Mormon Consciousness
In this thought-provoking episode, Valerie dives into the idea that the old plan of salvation needs an update to align with our expanding understandings of God, love, and our own awakening journey. She explores another kind of plan of sa...
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36:11
379: When Mormon Polygamy Comes to Primary in 2025
Join Valerie and her guest Jana Spangler in the next two Monday episodes as they delve into the complexities of polygamy within the Mormon church, focusing on the year 2025 when several significant events around this topic unfolded.
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1:24:51
378: The Great Ascent: Evolution as the Fingerprint of God
Are you longing to transcend the God of your earlier spiritual development while including your desire to believe in some kind of more wholistic God? We see you! Join Valerie and Nathan on this deep dive into the f...
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34:35
377: When One's Soul has the Audacity to Grow, Right there in Church
Series Title: A Two-Hundred Year Old Mirror: How the Faith Expansion Journey has Always Made Christian Leadership Sweat! [Episode II of II]In this thought-provoking episode, Valerie and guest Casey McFarland dive into part two of their s...
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51:46
376: Broken Up with God Lately? Allow Us to Introduce you to...
Have you lost your faith in the old white man in the sky but don't want to lose God altogether? We've got you! Join Val and Nathan in this enlightening episode of 'Latter Day Struggles 2.0' as they dive deep into the evolving understandin...
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44:17
375: When God Refuses to Be Church-Correlated
Series Title: A Two-Hundred Year Old Mirror: How the Faith Expansion Journey has Always Made Christian Leadership Sweat! [Episode I of II]In the next two Monday episodes you are going to LOVE this conversation between Valerie ...
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1:08:34
374: Spiritual Lost & Found: Gathering the Shadows We Ghosted on Lower Rungs
Join Val and Nathan in this 2.0 episode exploring how our human shadow parts can "leak" all over our respective "ladders of development" and what happens when (not 'if') they do. This episode processes not only why we much integr...
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39:34
373: What Caterpillars Can Teach us about Blind Conformity
Series Title: An Exploration of ‘Fabricated Fellowship’ & ‘Harmful Religiosity’ on the Path Towards Healing Spiritual Community [Part IV of IV]Join Valerie and her special guests, Steve and Ginger Hitz, in the final episod...
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43:25
372: The Stagnant, the Straddling, and the Slightly Snooty on the Spiritual Growth Ladder
Series Title: Rungs and Revelations: Ascending the Spiritual Ladder [Part II of II]Why is spiritual growth so incredibly hard and confusing? Why do some people stay put in the same world view forever? Why do some people seem to grow quic...
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45:53
371: To Find Divinity, Look No Further than the Mirror
Series Title: An Exploration of ‘Fabricated Fellowship’ & ‘Harmful Religiosity’ on the Path Towards Healing Spiritual Community [Part III of IV]In this thought-provoking episode, Valerie and guests Ginger and Steve continu...
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43:00
370: Rungs and Revelations: Ascending the Spiritual Ladder
How does one break down the intricacies of the spiritual transformation journey? Although different for each person, there is in fact a common thread that connects every person’s onward and upward climb towards their greatest potential consciou...
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38:19
369: Drowning in the Shallows: Fabricated Fellowship Explored
Series Title: An Exploration of ‘Fabricated Fellowship’ & ‘Harmful Religiosity’ on the Path Towards Healing Spiritual Community [Part II of IV]In this second episode (of a four-part Monday series), Valerie dives deeper with Stev...
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48:02
368: “Is There No Other Way??’ to Reach My Spiritual Potential?
When Val first stumbled into the scholarship on transpersonal psychology (western psychology meets Eastern Spirituality meets the Perennial Tradition) she saw “transcend and include” on every page of this powerful scholarship. As she took this ...
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50:52
367: Faith on Fire: A Family’s Tragedy Becomes a Faith System’s Invitation to Awaken
Series Title: An Exploration of ‘Fabricated Fellowship’ & ‘Harmful Religiosity’ on the Path Towards Healing Spiritual Community [Part I of IV]As Richard Rohr has often said, "It is through great love and great suffering" that the sou...
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28:53
366: The Fine Print of Personal Transformation
What are the pre-conditions for one to make the leap forward in their spiritual consciousness? This episode answers that very question! If you want to better understand when and why you are growing at your unique pace (and conversely, why each ...
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42:30
365: Soul Sisters Unite: Q&A w/ Valerie & Dr. Julie Hanks about Their Faith Journeys
Join Dr. Julie Hanks & Valerie in a heartfelt audience Q&A addressing their shared passion as therapists working with thousands of people in and around The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Listen in and find hope and comfort...
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41:59
364: Why Heaven Expands as We Expand (& Hell Disappears!)
Series Title: Dialogue Foundation Gospel Study: A Novel Approach to D&C 76 [IV of IV]In this final episode of Val & Nathan's analysis of D&C 76 through they put all of the pieces together, each with their 'mystical filters' i...
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49:24
363: The Beautiful Simplicity of Minding our Own Underwear Drawers
In this eye-opening episode Valerie is a guest on the Inside Out Podcast with Ian Wilkes and Jim Bennett, where they dive deep into the complexities of women's roles within the LDS Church, locking in on the recent garment policy shifts.
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1:10:59