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Mormon Matters - (Dan Wotherspoon ARCHIVE)

Mormon Matters was a weekly podcast that explored Mormon current events, pop culture, politics and spirituality. Dan retired from Mormon Matters Podcast in 2019 and now hosts a podcast called "Latter-day Faith" that can be found here: http://podcast.latterdayfaith.org/
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Mormon Matters - (Dan Wotherspoon ARCHIVE)
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Now displaying: November, 2014
Nov 20, 2014
In 1 Peter, we are encouraged as Christians to always be ready to give voice to "a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). This past weekend, I was given an opportunity to do just that when I shared reflections from my spiritual journey as part of the Sunstone Northwest Symposium. I feel strange releasing a Mormon Matters episode that isn’t a panel discussion, so please forgive me (and know that we’ll be back to our regular type of programming again next week!) but I have chosen to do it because in these remarks I share some of the ways I answer the many queries I get about how I, even knowing what I know about LDS history and doctrinal inconsistencies and various other issues and sources that can cause great pain, manage to stay optimistic and feel my spirit fed while committed to remaining an active Mormon. For what it’s worth, then, this episode contains some of that answer. Many parts of the story I tell and some of my reflections will be familiar to long-time listeners, but hopefully they flow here in a way that helps them feel new.
Nov 13, 2014
In the LDS temple recommend interview, Question 7 reads: "Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?" This question came into public consciousness this past week when, in the wake of the midterm elections, an LDS bishop from southern California celebrated on his blog the rise of a new Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, which also meant the demotion of LDS senator Harry Reid from his position as majority leader. In his exultation, this bishop suggested that Reid is "not a man of serious religious faith," for if he were, as a Mormon he’d not be able to be a leader in a political party that had in its platform support for the ERA, a woman’s right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy, and same-sex marriage--all stances this bishop feels are out of alignment with core Mormon teachings and values. For these reasons, this bishop suggested he’d disqualify Reid from receiving a temple recommend based upon Question 7. LDS Public Affairs was quick to suggest that in writing what he did, this bishop was in error. Spokesperson Dale Jones: "Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are, of course, entitled to express their own political opinions. However, publishing such views while using a title of a church officer, even if only as a leader of a local congregation as in this case, is entirely inappropriate." In this episode, Claudia Bushman, Jeralee Renshaw, and Devery Anderson join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon for a discussion of Question 7. What do we know of its origins and the intent behind it? Should it be applied to specific things such as one’s political opinions or support for various governmental policies? In their own lives, how do they as panelists approach Question 7--and, even more so, the temple recommend process as a whole? How disclosing are they about the various nuances of their own beliefs and practice? Do they believe the intent of temple recommend interviews is "worthiness," or might there be better framings for what this process is all about?
Nov 4, 2014
Just as many theorists understand individual human maturation through developmental stages, a great deal of literature suggests that institutions (churches, corporations, governments) as well as other all other groups, cultures, and societies, also undergo similar processes. In this episode, the panel discusses ideas about socio-cultural evolution at large, but grounding it always in lived Mormon experience. As Mormonism has developed, so have expectations for church members, but there is always a "lag" of sorts between the changes called for by societal and cultural forces and the pace of change an institution is able to bear. This lag often leads to great impatience in many who have begun to shift ahead of the main body. How can we who may find ourselves in this situation negotiate the tensions created when our pace doesn’t match that of the larger church and most of its members? Guest hosted by Katie Langston, and featuring panelists Dan Wotherspoon, Marybeth Raynes, and Brad Kramer, this episode explores this wonderfully interesting but also personally challenging place to be.
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