A Thoughtful Faith - Mormon / LDS athoughtfulfaithpodcast@gmail.com

One of the great American phenomena is the enmeshment of religion and politics.   That relationship is never more present than in the Book of Mormon belt where being Republican is a matter of faithfulness.  From Southern Alberta down to Arizona being Mormon means listening to Fox news like its a sermon;  supporting the NRA like its a mission and loving the Constitution like its scripture.  
For Steve Otteson, this was the ideological food that he grew up with.   A Mormon boy of pioneer stock who was raised simultaneously without much space between the politics of his region and the religion of his ancestors.   

And then one day it all came crashing down;  both his political and religious certainties.

Great, great-great-grandson of Joseph and Emma Smith, Lachlan Mackay, is a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles in Community of Christ.  

A native of Independence, Missouri, Lach argues that context is absolutely critical when doing church history. Unbundling theology from history offers these disciplines the integrity they both need and deserve. 

John Hamer, the Pastor of Centre Place in Toronto,  joins me to talk about how digital technology has radically changed his congregation. 

The Navajo Nation has approximately 356,000 people living on the reservation and from the Navajo Times on Monday 27 April 2020 we read:

 “As of Monday evening, there are 1,769 positive COVID-19 cases on the Navajo Nation, more than one per cent of the residents on the reservation...The total number of deaths remains at 59.”
For comparison, New Zealand has a population of 5 million and has had 1472 cases and 19 deaths.  
Something is clearly amiss and to discuss the urgent situation on the Navajo Nation, Jo Overton (Lakota) joins me.

Utah In Pandemic: Ross and Mangleson

What happens to Easter when a member of the LDS Church Alumni Association can no longer believe in one of Christianity’s greatest stories? What happens when there's too much religious hurt caused by an emphasis on literalism and religious authority that made about 150 too many supernatural claims that became tests of fellowship? Could Easter ever offer hope again?

This episode is for those who find themselves in this sometimes lonely corner of the Christian world where there's still faith even when literal belief in Christianity's more persistent supernatural claims are no longer.