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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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Now displaying: May, 2018
May 29, 2018

Every time a new temple is announced, especially when it is to be built in the developing world, it's not very long before discussions begin to arise about the priority the LDS Church puts on building temples. Soon after that, some will begin to ask about these (expensive) buildings and if that money used to build and operate them longterm might not be better put toward feeding people and alleviating poverty or seeking to end other social ills. And, finally, the question of tithing will inevitably then arise: Is tithing, as practiced in Mormonism, fair? Is it right to require people who live in dire (by most North American standards) circumstances to pay tithing—sometimes, it will be argued, meaning they will make the choice to be obedient to that law even if it means not eating as well or paying for medicine? 

In this episode, the wonderful Laurie Lee Hall and Jim Smithson join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon for a goodly wrestle with these questions. Without pre-conceived answers nor the thought that there is only one way to respond to these competing priorities, the two panelists share their experiences within the Church's Temple Department and its Research Division, respectively, as well as perspectives they gained through their extensive travels around the world on behalf of the church. Laurie Lee shares an overview of temple building in the past half-century and what she has gathered through the years as the factors that are considered before they are announced and as leaders determine their size and the costs of building and maintaining them, as well as improving and protecting the area immediately adjacent to them. Jim speaks to his experiences interviewing and interacting with Saints around the world as he spoke with them about various church programs and policies and how they affect their religious lives. And it all gets complicated and more personally affecting as Dan inserts aspects of the issues spoken of above. Do these international Saints, especially those in the developing world, share the same concerns that many here do about temple costs and how the law of tithing may affect them differently? Are we who might make these arguments projecting our feelings and sensibilities about the tragedies of their lives onto them? Is it proper to question, from our perspectives, Church priorities? Are their aspects of temple work and tithing that might lie beyond that which is quantifiable by counting dollars and cents? What good fruits can come into our lives as we wrestle in these areas?

Please listen and then share your ideas in the comments section!

May 29, 2018

Every time a new temple is announced, especially when it is to be built in the developing world, it's not very long before discussions begin to arise about the priority the LDS Church puts on building temples. Soon after that, some will begin to ask about these (expensive) buildings and if that money used to build and operate them longterm might not be better put toward feeding people and alleviating poverty or seeking to end other social ills. And, finally, the question of tithing will inevitably then arise: Is tithing, as practiced in Mormonism, fair? Is it right to require people who live in dire (by most North American standards) circumstances to pay tithing—sometimes, it will be argued, meaning they will make the choice to be obedient to that law even if it means not eating as well or paying for medicine? 

 

In this episode, the wonderful Laurie Lee Hall and Jim Smithson join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon for a goodly wrestle with these questions. Without pre-conceived answers nor the thought that there is only one way to respond to these competing priorities, the two panelists share their experiences within the Church's Temple Department and its Research Division, respectively, as well as perspectives they gained through their extensive travels around the world on behalf of the church. Laurie Lee shares an overview of temple building in the past half-century and what she has gathered through the years as the factors that are considered before they are announced and as leaders determine their size and the costs of building and maintaining them, as well as improving and protecting the area immediately adjacent to them. Jim speaks to his experiences interviewing and interacting with Saints around the world as he spoke with them about various church programs and policies and how they affect their religious lives. And it all gets complicated and more personally affecting as Dan inserts aspects of the issues spoken of above. Do these international Saints, especially those in the developing world, share the same concerns that many here do about temple costs and how the law of tithing may affect them differently? Are we who might make these arguments projecting our feelings and sensibilities about the tragedies of their lives onto them? Is it proper to question, from our perspectives, Church priorities? Are their aspects of temple work and tithing that might lie beyond that which is quantifiable by counting dollars and cents? What good fruits can come into our lives as we wrestle in these areas?

Please listen and then share your ideas in the comments section!

May 23, 2018

Were there an official calling within Mormonism of "Church and Culture Lampoonist" (and there should be!), Robert Kirby would be magnifying the heck out of it! For better than thirty years, including the past twenty-one as a columnist at the Salt Lake Tribune, he has held up an affectionate but also serious mirror (and shock collar) to Mormonism, its culture, and its excesses in Utah and other places in which it dominates, especially when its members take themselves too seriously. As an insider who loves his community even as it also at times drives him crazy, Kirby has been able to find a way to give voice to thoughts that so many of us members are thinkingthough we are generally less hilarious and insightful than he isand, in so doing, bless us tremendously. It is important that we see the folly in some of our ways, whether it's how we prioritize certain ideas or practices over others, or how we globalize our way of acting and thinking as the only way to "Mormon" correctly. His work helps us laugh even as we are also caught up short, allowing us to "let in" what we might not otherwise were it presented in a more solemn or preachy manner. And, as we chew on the wisdom of the priorities and ways of being embedded in his humorous and sometimes biting observations, we are better as people and a community.

In this episode, Kirby shares with Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon many things about his life, from his upbringing within the church and the many challenges he's faced in his journey and the  changes he has undergone, to his thinking about Mormonism and his role within it. He also shares glimpses at his own spiritual world and the centrality of his marriage in his life and how relationships inform his thinking about what things are of most worth.

We know you'll enjoy this conversation! You'll be laughing one moment and your soul touched the next. Just like what should happen in our lives every day.

May 15, 2018

Here at Mormon Matters we will occasionally focus on the importance of sticking with (though often with changed forms) spiritual practices even while in the midst of shifting faith. Even when we might not be sure what we believe anymore, putting ourselves in some way in a position to stay connected with God (whoever or whatever that is, some would add) and our highest selves and desires is vital to our remaining in balance and not letting our minds and doubts completely run the show. 

In that spirit, we present this show and the introduction it gives to a recently discovered (at least for a general audience) practice from early and medieval Christianity that has surprising relevance for today's world and how we access information and get ideas for how we might live. (Hence the words in the subtitle to the episode, which comes from the introduction to the book about the practice we discuss herein.) Earlier this year, the book The Prayer Wheel: A Daily Guide to Renewing Your Faith with a Rediscovered Spiritual Practice was published (Convergent Books). Written by three friendsJana Riess (who is well known to and beloved by the Mormon Matters audience), Patton Dodd, and David Van Biemathe book chronicles the discovery of a diagram that was bound into a thousand-year-old book containing the four Gospels. As the authors researched it and discovered similar (but less awesome--of course!) diagrams, they realized they had stumbled upon a prayer technology used within Christianity during the medieval period (and likely longer), but which had lost its relevance sometime following the invention of the printing press. Now it is being re-presented here at this very time when some say we are at the end of the printing press era, and it bears similarities to how we use apps and various digital and smartphone technologies today. It's a fascinating story and both it and the prayer wheel itself hold many interesting things to think about.

But most importantly, the wheel also a powerful tool for devotional prayer and assisting us in drawing closer to God and our own centers. We won't describe it here (the image accompanying this write-up on the Mormon Matters website shows the wheel with English translations of what was originally Latin), but we will say that for Mormon audiences, who typically stay away from fixed or rote prayers, this wheel (and the book's and this podcast's presentation of ways to use it) highlights a practice that is somewhere in-between fixed and freestyle praying. It is quite intriguing for anyone who is trying to deepen her or his devotional life through a contemplative practice. Within the conversation here, we also discuss other connections Mormons might make between it and early and present-day Christianity and Judaism.

We think you'll find the discussion in this episode delightful in its mix of personal journeying, intellectual fascination, and how the wheel has enhanced the authors' own faith lives. This will be a show that afterward you will likely say, "Wow, before I began listening, I had no clue that I'd be as interested in this topic as I am now!" 

May 3, 2018

We all have different temperaments, and there are many combinations of elements that affect our spiritual journeys—including how recently we’ve entered into a time of questioning our original assumptions about life, church, and our souls. Because of this diversity, a fairly common theme that arises in Mormon discussions is how it seems to some as if those who are making peace with Mormon life and its teachings and various elements of LDS culture that want to limit spiritual exploration must be doing everything possible to force new ideas into old containers, to redefine words and concepts in a way that renders them practically meaningless. In short, the critique is that those who claim there is roominess in Mormonism for active, engaged, and fulfilling spiritual lives must be engaged in mental and spiritual gymnastics, must be contorting themselves and jamming their ideas into very small spaces in order to stay in fellowship with the Church and its members. In addition, this critique is often coupled with a suggestion (most often implied but sometimes explicit) that they are deceiving themselves or are spending the energy they do to find a good fit out of fear or some other motive that is less than fully transparent to them.

Is this accurate? In some cases, sure. And in many, this may be a fairly accurate description of an early stage in a person’s journey. However, for most who have God- and Mormon-wrestled and emerged from the efforts expended in that kind of soul work, it has felt like anything but spiritual gymnastics/contortionism. It has felt like natural growth, very much akin to how they’ve deepened their grasp of things in other aspects of life in which they have moved from one place of understanding to another.

In order to illustrate this (and as an attempt to go in depth in order to illustrate this more complete reordering that has felt to them like very natural and worthy efforts), this episode features two wonderful and insightful panelists, Ian Thomson and Chris Kimball, in conversation with Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon about these claims about people forcing a fit into a strict gospel message and culture, or nuancing “truth” and certain concepts so completely that they now actually don’t mean much of anything. All three of these discussion partners share elements of their own journey toward peace within the religion that nurtured them, even as they share how it certainly still tests their patience and forces them to face issues and attitudes that aren’t always enjoyable. The challenge this episode presents is for listeners to hear for themselves and decide if, indeed, these discussants are deceived about the reasons for their continued engagement and stand on very insubstantial ground in their thought and practices, or if they represent an attractive, a-bit-down-the-pathway position and worldview that has its own integrity and ability to foster peace of soul and a fulfilled life within an LDS context.

May 3, 2018

We all have different temperaments, and there are many combinations of elements that affect our spiritual journeys—including how recently we’ve entered into a time of questioning our original assumptions about life, church, and our souls. Because of this, a fairly common theme that arises in Mormon discussions is how it seems to some as if those who are making peace with Mormon life and its teachings and various elements of LDS culture that want to limit spiritual exploration must be doing everything possible to force new ideas into old containers, to redefine words and concepts in a way that almost completely changes their meaning. In short, the critique is that those who claim there is roominess in Mormonism for active, engaged, and fulfilling spiritual lives must be doing mental and spiritual gymnastics, must be contorting themselves and jamming their ideas into very small spaces. And this is often coupled with a suggestion (most often implied but sometimes explicit) that they are deceiving themselves or are spending the energy they do in this way because of fear or some other motive that is less than fully transparent.

But is this accurate? In some cases, sure. And in many, this may be a fairly accurate description of an early stage in their journey. For most who have God- and Mormon-wrestled and emerged from the efforts expended in that kind of soul work, however, it has felt like anything but spiritual gymnastics/contortionism. It has felt like natural growth, very much akin to the other aspects of life in which they have moved from one place of understanding to another.

In order to illustrate this (and as an attempt to go in depth in order to illustrate this more complete reordering that has felt to them like very worthy efforts), this episode features two wonderful and insightful panelists, Ian Thomson and Chris Kimball, in conversation with Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon about these claims of forcing a fit into a strict gospel message and culture or nuancing “truth” and certain concepts so completely that they now actually don’t mean much of anything. All three share elements of their own journey toward peace within the religion that nurtured them, even as it certainly still tests their patience and forces them to learn things about love and relationships and goodness and compassion that aren’t always enjoyable in the short-term. The challenge this episode presents is for listeners to hear for themselves and decide if, indeed, these discussants are deceived about the reasons for their continued engagement and stand on very insubstantial ground in their thought and practices, or if they represent an attractive, a-bit-down-the-pathway position that has its own integrity and ability to create a fulfilled life and peace of soul.  

 

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