Latter Day Bridge Builders

Mitch Crosgrove, Juliet Miller, Ashton Smith
  • 4.8 (9)
  • Religion
  • Updated Biweekly

Striving to build bridges between active Latter-day Saints (Mormons), those who have left the faith, and everyone in between. Join Mitch as he discusses different sides of church culture in a fair, unbiased and respectful way for all parties. This podcast is a place where anyone with ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is welcome. Non-members of the church are also invited.

  1. 4d ago

    #045 -- He Played Lucifer in the Temple. Then He Left the Church. (ft. Corbin Allred)

    He played Lucifer in the LDS temple endowment film for a decade. Then, after 43 years as a member, Corbin Allred left the LDS Church — and he hasn't necessarily been quiet about it. In this episode, actor and ER medical provider Corbin Allred joins Mitch in St. George, UT to talk about what it's like to be recognized as "the guy who played Satan," why he refuses to "leave it alone" after leaving the church, and the strange paradox of feeling spiritual confirmation to walk away from something he'd believed his whole life. We get into: - Being recognized (and sometimes feared) by patients who saw him in the temple film - Responding to criticism that he "baits" people online - What he regrets about how he left, and who he's really talking to when he posts - Agnostic atheism vs. atheism, and why "I know" is a loaded phrase - The paradox of feeling the same spiritual confirmation point two different directions - Nihilism, death, and finding peace without certainty Links and other show notes: Follow Corbin: https://www.instagram.com/thecorbinallred Corbin's IMDB page: https://tinyurl.com/2nu9knumDavid Eagleman: A New Look at Religion (Possibilianism): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LENqnjZGX0A The Egg -- A Short Story by Andy Weir | Kurzgesagt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6fcK_fRYaI This is Your Brain on God | Michael Ferguson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocuqguH1OIw 🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@latterdaybridgebuilders☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders 👕 Merch Store:https://ldbb-shop.fourthwall.com

  2. Aug 9

    #044 -- "Everything Is Polygamy": A Historian on Mormonism's Founding Trauma w/ Linda Hamilton

    Historian, author of The Fourth Wife, and grad student Linda Hamilton joins Juliet for a deep dive into Mormon polygamy: how it actually worked, who it actually harmed, and why it's still baked into LDS theology today. They cover the poverty most plural wives lived in, the myth that polygamy was created to protect widows, the chaos of Nauvoo and Winter Quarters (including Joseph Smith's sealings to already-married women), the rise of Joseph Smith polygamy-denialism online, and why Linda can't get through the Doctrine and Covenants in Sunday School anymore. Linda's debut novel, The Fourth Wife, is out now. Her next book, The Glass Looker, about seer woman Sally Chase, releases for pre-order soon. Purchase The Fourth Wife here: https://a.co/d/01B5gEE5Find Linda: https://www.instagram.com/lindahamiltonwriter Exponent II blog: https://exponentii.org/blog-home/# Substack: https://lindahamiltonwriter.substack.com/ 🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@latterdaybridgebuilders☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders👕 Merch Store:https://ldbb-shop.fourthwall.com

  3. Aug 2

    #043 -- Two LDS Converts: Why We Joined (And Why One of Us Left) w/ Stevie Johnson

    Two Converts, Two Paths: Temple Experiences, Polygamy, and Finding Your Place as an Outsider Mitch and Ashton are out this week, so Stevie takes the host chair alongside guest Juliet for a rare two-convert conversation. Both joined the Church as teenagers (Stevie at 19, Juliet at 16), and both have since gone through a faith crisis, landing in very different places: Stevie is still active and reconstructing her faith, Juliet has stepped away and now identifies as deconstructing/disaffiliated. They dig into audience-submitted questions covering: Why they joined despite real concerns about prophets, Joseph Smith, and family pushbackTheir first time inside a temple: the culture shock, the "unremarkable" vs. "overwhelming" range of first impressions, and Juliet's "sandbox on a beach" metaphor for how her spiritual experiences have been recontextualized rather than erasedServing as temple workers, including baptistry and sealing-room escort duties, and the practical advice they both got to space out receiving an endowment from getting sealedPolygamy: how each of them made sense of it as converts, and why treating polygamist women (past and present) as simply brainwashed misses their own agency and reasoningWhether converts ever feel like they've "made it," and how never quite fitting the mold shaped both of their trajectories A candid, generous conversation between two women who joined the same church from very different directions and still found a lot of common ground. Stevie's first interview on LDBB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWRFkwwQw7U&t=274s Stevie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s.t.e.v.i.e_j/ 🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@latterdaybridgebuilders☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders👕 Merch Store:https://ldbb-shop.fourthwall.com

  4. Jul 26

    #042 -- The Viral Video That Made Mormons Uncomfortable w/ Abi Finny

    Abi Finny (@abi.finny) joins Juliet, Ashton, and Mitch to talk about the viral "temple to Taco Bell" video that got her labeled too crass by some and celebrated by others; and why a married Latter-day Saint talking openly about sex still makes people uncomfortable. As a nurse, Abi breaks down why comprehensive sex ed and body literacy matter regardless of your relationship status, and gets into purity culture, the pressure to be pretty but not know it, self-love vs. conceit, and the "check-mark" version of faithfulness (mission, temple marriage, etc.) that can leave you feeling disconnected from God anyway. She also talks about her "car conversations" series interviewing people across the belief spectrum, and why she'd rather build mutual respect than "flirt to convert." Follow Abi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abi.finny🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@latterdaybridgebuilders☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders👕 Merch Store:https://ldbb-shop.fourthwall.com

  5. Jul 26

    #041 -- An Evangelical's Guide to the Restoration (ft. Steven Pynakker)

    What do Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals actually have in common and where do things go sideways? In this episode, Mitch and Ashton sit down with Steven Pynakker of Mormon Book Reviews, an evangelical who has spent five years deeply immersed in the world of the Latter-day Saint Restoration. Steven shares why he considers himself pro-atheist, what he thinks drives people from Mormonism straight to atheism, and why he believes an unchallenged faith is a weak one. Ashton shares a meaningful personal experience with evangelical students at Biola University that reframed how he sees interfaith connection. And the three of them dig into the surprisingly wide and messy world of Restoration sects, from the Bickertonites to the Fundamentalists, and what it means to build bridges not just between faiths, but within the Restoration itself. Steven's email: mormonbookreviews@gmail.com 🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@latterdaybridgebuilders☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders 👕 Merch Store:https://ldbb-shop.fourthwall.com

  6. Jul 12

    #040 -- "You Don't Struggle With This": Women & P*rnography in LDS Culture (w/ Madi Davis)

    Madi Davis (Sisters on the Front Lines) joins Mitch, Juliet, and Ashton to talk about something the church rarely acknowledges: women and pornography use. Madi shares how she found pornography at 13 while sitting through Young Women's lessons insisting girls didn't struggle with it and how that silence shaped years of shame. The conversation moves through the "addiction" label and why Madi pushes back on it, the difference between guilt and shame, why abstinence-based accountability models often backfire, and the messaging both men and women got growing up about whose "problem" this even was. Ashton and Juliet share their own experiences with 12-step programs, purity culture, and the disconnect between how bodies are talked about at church versus in real life. Find Madi at sistersonthefrontlines.com or https://www.instagram.com/sistersonthefrontlines 🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@latterdaybridgebuilders☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders👕 Merch Store:https://ldbb-shop.fourthwall.com

  7. Jul 5

    #039 -- History as a Bridge: A Mormon Historian's Honest Take (ft. Dr. Benjamin Park)

    What happens when you study Mormon history without an agenda? Dr. Benjamin Park — historian, author of American Zion and Kingdom of Nauvoo, and former Mormon History Association president — joins Mitch, Juliet, and Ashton to talk about what it means to approach faith history honestly.We get into why history is rarely the reason people leave the church (but often the permission), whether the church intentionally hid its past, what "hermeneutics of generosity" actually means, and how figures like Thomas Jefferson and Brigham Young force us to wrestle with judging historical figures on their own terms, or not.Whether you're in, out, or somewhere in between, this one's for anyone who's ever felt like the history didn't quite match the story they were told.🔗 Find Ben's work at BenjaminEPark.com YouTube: @BenjaminParkHistorian🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@latterdaybridgebuilders☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders👕 Merch Store:https://ldbb-shop.fourthwall.com

  8. Jun 28

    #038 -- Doubt Your Doubts (Tackling Cliches Series)

    "Doubt Your Doubts." Is It Actually Good Advice? In this episode of Latter Day Bridge Builders, Mitch, Juliet, and Ashton dig into one of the most well-known phrases in LDS faith crisis conversations: "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." A line from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's October 2013 General Conference talk, Come, Join With Us. Is the advice itself bad? Or is it the way it gets deployed that's the problem? The three co-hosts explore the difference between a phrase that invites reflection and one that shuts conversation down entirely, as well as share personal stories about how this cliché landed (or didn't) in their own lives. Topics covered: - The full context of Uchtdorf's original quote and what he actually meant - How "doubt your doubts" can function as a thought-stopping technique - Juliet's experience teaching seminary under the instruction to "never plant doubt" - Ashton's take on how doubting his faith actually strengthened it over time - Why "doubt your concerns" and "doubt your legitimate questions" don't hit the same - Mitch's wish for more spaces (inside and outside the church) where people can genuinely wrestle with hard questions Referenced in this episode: Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Come, Join With Us (October 2013 General Conference): https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2013/10/come-join-with-us?lang=eng Kelsey Sorensen, "Doubt Your Doubts: Is It Actually Good Advice for LDS Members?" — Exponent II: https://exponentii.org/blog/doubt-your-doubts-is-it-actually-good-advice-for-lds-members/ 🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@latterdaybridgebuilders☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders Merch: https://ldbb-shop.fourthwall.com/collections/all

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4.8
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Striving to build bridges between active Latter-day Saints (Mormons), those who have left the faith, and everyone in between. Join Mitch as he discusses different sides of church culture in a fair, unbiased and respectful way for all parties. This podcast is a place where anyone with ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is welcome. Non-members of the church are also invited.

Information

  • Creator
    Mitch Crosgrove, Juliet Miller, Ashton Smith
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    46
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mitch Crosgrove, Juliet Miller, Ashton Smith
  • Show Website
    Latter Day Bridge Builders

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