This episode was recorded as part of the January 2012 Mormon Stories regional conference held in Houston, Texas dedicated to the topic of"Maintaining Positive Relationships Through Empathy and Dialogue." Interview participants include Bill Prince, Julie Prince, Tina Prince and Lee Prince.

In this episode we interview John and Brooke McLay. John served for 14 years as an employee of the LDS Church Education System (CES). In this capacity he served as: a seminary teacher and principal, an institute teacher and director, a BYU Education Week speaker and an EFY Director. John also served as a member of a stake high counsel, and was serving in a bishopric during the months leading up to his decision to leave the LDS Church. John and Brooke resigned their membership of the LDS Church in August of 2011. This is their story.

On June 11, 2011, members of the Mormon Stories community held their 2nd regional conference in Salt Lake City. In this keynote address entitled"Mormon Identity in the 21st Century: Claiming and Belonging", professor and author Joanna Brooks explores a more expansive vision for Mormon identity.

On March 26, 2011 we held our first Mormon Stories regional retreat/conference in New York City. In this presentation Greg Prince discusses 21st century lessons from the lives of David O. McKay, Leonard Arrington and Paul H. Dunn.

In this 2-part series Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT (The Mormon Therapist and MormonMatters.org), interviews a faithful, believing LDS church member, Janelle, whose husband became disaffected with the church about 5 years ago. Part 1: Janelle discusses hers and her husbands upbringings in the church, their courtship and the process of finding out about her husband's disaffection.

In this 3-part series Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT (The Mormon Therapist and MormonMatters.org), interviews one of her earliest clients: a married, Mormon homosexual man, coming out to his wife. Names have been withheld to protect anonymity to the family. Note: The purpose of this interview is not to encourage people to stay or leave the church, to stay or leave a marriage, nor to participate or not participate in reparative therapy. These are all delicate personal decisions and different circumstances will necessitate different solutions. The purpose of this interview is to share a story. It is also meant to increase empathy and to reach out to those who may find themselves in similar situations.

Kathy Soper is a mother of seven, memoirist, essayist, editor, nonprofit CEO, practicing Mormon, depression survivor, Down syndrome advocate, Greek-blooded American, Maryland-bred Utah transplant, WordTwist addict and BSG groupie. She has edited numerous books, including Dance With Them: 30 Stumbling Mothers Catch Glimpses of Grace and The Mother in Me: anthologies of personal essays and poetry written by mothers about the challenges and joys of mothering. She is the editor of Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children With Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives and Gifts 2: How People with Down Syndrome Enrich the World. Kathy is also the editor-in-chief of Segullah: Writings by Latter-day Saint Women, which is a print journal dedicated to encouraging literary talent and promoting greater faith and understanding among Latter-day Saint women as well as a blog. Kathy’s most recent book, The Year My Son and I Were Born, is a memoir of the transformations Kathy underwent the year after her son Thomas was born with Down Syndrome. Kathy’s website (http://kathrynlynardsoper.com/) says that it’s a story about coming to terms with being human and learning how to deal with hard surprises.

Kathy Soper is a mother of seven, memoirist, essayist, editor, nonprofit CEO, practicing Mormon, depression survivor, Down syndrome advocate, Greek-blooded American, Maryland-bred Utah transplant, WordTwist addict and BSG groupie. She has edited numerous books, including Dance With Them: 30 Stumbling Mothers Catch Glimpses of Grace and The Mother in Me: anthologies of personal essays and poetry written by mothers about the challenges and joys of mothering. She is the editor of Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children With Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives and Gifts 2: How People with Down Syndrome Enrich the World. Kathy is also the editor-in-chief of Segullah: Writings by Latter-day Saint Women, which is a print journal dedicated to encouraging literary talent and promoting greater faith and understanding among Latter-day Saint women as well as a blog. Kathy’s most recent book, The Year My Son and I Were Born, is a memoir of the transformations Kathy underwent the year after her son Thomas was born with Down Syndrome. Kathy’s website (http://kathrynlynardsoper.com/) says that it’s a story about coming to terms with being human and learning how to deal with hard surprises.

Carol Lynn Pearson is one of the most successful Mormon authors, poets, and playwrights of all time. Her book"Goodbye, I Love You" about the death of her gay husband from AIDS took the world by storm in 1986. Her musical"My Turn on Earth" is one of the most successful Mormon musicals of all time. Carol Lynn has spent all her years since"Goodbye, I Love You" as an advocate for both women and gays within Mormonism.

In this 4-part series, we interview Richard Packham -- co-founder of the Ex-Mormon foundation. Throughout the interview and via Richard's own personal story, we explore 3 ways in which the LDS Church creates unnecessary enemies: 1) By not being honest about its own history (e.g. teaching accurate history), 2) By breaking up families (when one no longer believes), and 3) By harming the loved ones of those who have left the church. To conclude (part 4), Richard discusses the benefits of religious belief in general and the LDS church specifically, along with the mission of the ExMormon foundation, and bears a final testimony regarding the joy/happiness he has experienced since leaving the church. NOTE: The purpose of this interview is NOT to encourage people to stay or leave the LDS church. It is simply to: 1) Seek to understand and to validate the path of those who have felt compelled to leave the church, and 2) Explore ways in which the church can seek to no longer create unnecessary enemies.

This is part 4 of a 4-part series on raising children in a non-traditional LDS home. This is a panel discussion which includes some of my coolest friends, namely: Heather, Laurie and Lee.

In Part 3, we discuss how Karen Armstrong's book"The Case for God" might or might not apply to Mormonism.

In Part 3, Lisa discusses the costs and benefits of blogging, provides some final insight and advice to LDS women, along w/ her testimony of the LDS gospel

In Part 1, Lisa discusses her early life, how she became a feminist, and what led to her creation of FeministMormonHousewives.com

In this episode I speak with Shawn McCraney, author of"I was a Born-again Mormon" and host of"Heart of the Matter", a controversial weekly Christian TV show geared towards LDS Church members. In part 3, I ask Shawn some final questions, and he shares some closing thoughts.

In this episode I speak with Jacque, a believing LDS Church member, about the compromises that both her and her husband had to make to work through his loss of faith, and what eternal marriage has come to mean for her.

Is this episode John Dehlin discusses the past, present and future of the podcast, and how you can help support.

Mormon Expression, John Dehlin, Brian Johnston and Logan Beaux discuss Mormonism and James Fowler's Stage 5.

Mormon Expression Interviews John Dehlin. Published August 11, 2009.

In the 1995 Salt Lake Sunstone symposium, Elbert Peck spoke in the annual"Pillars of my faith" presentation about the"Remnants of his faith." This presentation represents (to me) the closest thing I've ever found to expressing how I now feel about my Mormon faith. I hope some of you will find value in it as well.

Levi Peterson is one of the most important LDS authors of the 20th century. His book entitled"The Backslider" is perhaps the most important piece of Mormon fiction ever written. This is his story.

Levi Peterson is one of the most important LDS authors of the 20th century. His book entitled"The Backslider" is perhaps the most important piece of Mormon fiction ever written. This is his story.

Levi Peterson is one of the most important LDS authors of the 20th century. His book entitled"The Backslider" is perhaps the most important piece of Mormon fiction ever written. This is his story.

Levi Peterson is one of the most important LDS authors of the 20th century. His book entitled"The Backslider" is perhaps the most important piece of Mormon fiction ever written. This is his story.

Levi Peterson is one of the most important LDS authors of the 20th century. His book entitled"The Backslider" is perhaps the most important piece of Mormon fiction ever written. This is his story.

Levi Peterson is one of the most important LDS authors of the 20th century. His book entitled"The Backslider" is perhaps the most important piece of Mormon fiction ever written. This is his story.

Levi Peterson is one of the most important LDS authors of the 20th century. His book entitled"The Backslider" is perhaps the most important piece of Mormon fiction ever written. This is his story.

In September of 1993, 6 Mormon"intellectuals" were disciplined by the LDS church: 5 of them excommunicated, and 1 of them dis-fellowshipped. Perhaps the most strident and controversial of the 6 was Paul Toscano. This is his story.

In this episode, Martha Sontagg Bradley, author of Pedestals and Podiums Utah Women, Religious Authority, and Equal Rights -- discusses her research into the LDS church's opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment. Most LDS historians and feminists credit this amazing series of events as the major impetus for the Mormon feminist activism that emerged in the 1980s and early 1990s. We hope you enjoy Martha's version of the story.

Margaret Merrill Toscano is one of the most prominent and controversial feminists in the LDS church. In this episode we discuss her early years growing up in Arizona as a faithful but questioning Latter-Day Saint, including her time at BYU as a student.

Today it is time to hear from one of the foremost voices on Women's Issues within Mormonism: Dr. Claudia Bushman. Dr. Bushman is a historian by training, and has taught at Columbia University for many years. She is the author of several books and articles, including:"Mormon Sisters: Women of Early Utah" and"Mormon Domestic Life in the 1870s: Pandemonium or Acadia". Perhaps most significantly, Dr. Bushman is one of the founders of Exponent II, a Boston-based magazine and now blog focused on feminism and women's issues within Mormonism. In this interview with Dr. Bushman, we learn what she means when she describes herself as a Mormon Feminist. She also recounts her involvement in the formation of Exponent II, as well as in the broader area of women's issues in the LDS church. To conclude, Dr. Bushman discusses her views on the critical role of women in the church today -- and how we, as a church, might work to better accommodate, and better utilize women in the 21st century.

The Mason/Mormon connection consistently ranks as a top 10 issues for those who are struggling with, or who have left the LDS Church. Greg Kearney, a lifelong, multi-generational Mormon and Master Mason, discusses the history of Masonry, how it became associated with the LDS Church, and why this association is a positive, and not a negative one.

In this podcast, we interview Gregory Prince, author of"David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism", as he discusses President McKay's involvement in the Blacks/Priesthood issue.

Today we interview a young man named Hyrum, founder of the thechurchisnottrue.com web site. In this interview, Hyrum tells his story of why he left the Mormon church.

David O. McKay presented a dramatic contrast to his predecessors: an athletic, movie-star-handsome, clean-shaven figure who often wore a white double-breasted suit; contrasted to the dark-suited, bearded polygamists (or, in the case of George Albert Smith, son of a polygamist) who preceded him as Church President ever since Joseph Smith. In an age prior to professional image-makers, he instinctively grasped the importance of appearance, and coupled it to the substance of a professional educator to become an icon of Mormonism whose persona did much to change the negative image of the Church in much of the world.