This is a private page meant for sharing information for potential podcast interviewees.

Current podcast plan:

• start in Janary 2019
• one solo episode per month, going deep into historical and scriptural issues, ie one on Polygamy, one on Book of Abraham, etc.
• The tone of these episodes is to empathize with the seeker who has read this stuff and could no longer believe. My approach is not to sway them to preserve faith in the dominant narrative-literal paradigm, but to essentially concede ‘Anti-Mormon’ facts, but to maintain belief in the value and goodness of the Church likely through a different paradigm.
• one interview episode per month, a ‘Why I Stay’ episode, similar to Mormon Stories ‘exit stories’ but with a different twist, we faced the same information, and it was difficult, but instead of exiting we changed our paradigm to hold onto what is good and valuable about the Mormon church

 

What I’m looking for in the ‘Why I Stay’ episodes:

Model the nuanced Mormon path. It’s very hidden and inaccessible to most people in faith crisis mode.

About an hour long.

Show that this ‘Middle Way’ can be a destination not a temporary spot while you gain the courage or wait for other loved ones to join you to your ultimate destination: out of the church.

Hoping for people in relative mature spot in regards to faith transition. No one knows what the future holds. But it would be a bummer if I do 10 of these episodes and then we look back five years from now and 8 of them have left the church. So I’m looking for people who feel like they’ve been through it all, and are relatively stable and see themselves in the church long term.

I’m not against those who feel strongly about causes such as LGBT+ issues, female equality, Protect LDS Children movement, etc. But, that is outside the current scope of my project. I will be raising visibility to these issues, but I won’t be an activist, and I don’t want to bring in people for the ‘Why I Stay’ episodes who are known as being activists and that won’t be the focus of the interview. We may branch out into ‘Why I Stay’ episodes that focus on the pain that LGBT+ issues cause, for example, but for now, the focus is on faith crisis related to historical issues.

My podcast will appeal to those that have deeply deconstructed their LDS testimonies. Typical views would be not believing in BOM historicity, not believing in actual, ancient gold plates, not believing polygamy was ordained of God (at least how it was implemented),  belief that the First Vision likely happened differently than the way we teach it, not believing in LDS exclusivity, understanding material on Old Testament and New Testament historical criticism, possibly non-traditional views of Jesus Christ (though this might be a bit taboo even for this podcast), possibly even atheistic views or very non-traditional views on God. I’m looking for people who, if not completely deconstructed/reconstructed in the same manner, are at least close enough to fit the audience. Also, I’m expecting the interviewee will be very specific about their beliefs. A big void as I see it that I am seeking to fill, is that nuanced LDS are afraid or not interested in speaking directly about these beliefs. So they remain hidden and inaccessible to faith crisis seekers. We want to be open and model these views are possible. I don’t want to talk theory. I want to talk actual experience.

There are various issues that people traveling this path encounter. Authenticity. Temple Recommend. What/how to teach kids. Aggressive members or leaders that don’t like their views. Leadership roulette. How to teach a lesson or give a talk and be true to yourself without causing faith problems for others. What to do during a lesson when the teacher or comments are teaching obviously incorrect historical issues or scriptural interpretations. What about a spouse who doesn’t see it like you. How you deal with progressive issues like LGBT+, female equality, that you see as harmful to others. What things might give us reason to consider leaving. Those kinds of issues. We will talk through those things.

Most of all, hopefully you will have a very strong testimony of what is good, true, and beautiful about the Mormon church and your Mormon experience. And can share those things.

 

I have a sample Episode 1 ready (solo version not a Why I Stay interview). It’s really rough and not ready for the public, but if you’d like to get a flavor of the tone, I’ll give you a link.