When Your Faith Breaks: Tucker Boyle

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Mar 1, 2026

Tucker Boyle, a longtime seminary teacher and founder of Harmony Road Retreats, shares his journey through a shattering doctoral-era doubt into a more spacious, mature faith. He talks about his research that cracked black-and-white beliefs, a profound healing moment, meditation and nervous-system practices, and building supportive retreats and resources for people navigating similar spiritual wrestles.

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ANECDOTE

PhD Research Triggered A Deep Faith Crisis

Tucker recounts how his PhD research on Joseph Smith eroded his black-and-white beliefs and triggered a deep, isolating faith crisis.
He describes the moment on the BYU library steps when all his pillars dissolved and he felt psychological free fall fearing loss of marriage, job, and community.

INSIGHT

Spiritual Presence Can Coexist With Unanswered Questions

Tucker had a sudden spiritual experience of overwhelming love after a desperate prayer that didn't answer his questions but shifted their position in his life.
The experience lasted days and showed him that questions and deep connection to God can coexist without immediate resolution.

INSIGHT

Harmony Integrates Melody And Dissonance

Tucker uses a music metaphor: religious life as melody, crisis as dissonance, and harmony as a broader space that honors both.
Harmony doesn't erase the melody; it arises when we develop inner capacities to hold complexity alongside communal patterns.

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Today we’re grateful to share a conversation with our friend Tucker Boyle—a longtime seminary and institute teacher and the founder of Harmony Road Retreats, a nonprofit creating safe, supportive spaces for people in faith crisis.

As a young missionary, Tucker fell in love with teaching the gospel and knew he wanted to become a full-time seminary teacher. He stepped into that role with his whole heart, and years later pursued a PhD, hoping to become an even better, more thoughtful teacher. But during his doctoral research into early Church history, his certainty began to fracture. And before long, the ground beneath him seemed to give way. His work, his community, his family—his entire life—was built around the faith he was now struggling to hold.

And for the first time, Tucker wondered if he belonged. He describes sitting in church—once his sanctuary—and feeling his body surge into fight or flight. But in time, he learned that what felt like collapse was the beginning of a deeper, more conscious faith.

Today, Tucker shares how that unraveling became an invitation into transformation. And though the questions didn’t disappear, his relationship to them changed. The groundlessness opened into something more spacious and alive, expanding his capacity for love, humility, and connection.

Whether you’re in the middle of your own wrestle, loving someone through theirs, or simply trying to build a faith that can hold complexity, we think Tucker offers language and light for the journey.

If you or someone you love is navigating a faith journey you can check out Tucker’s organization at harmonyroadretreats.com. Tucker created these retreats to offer the kind of support and community he needed—spaces where you can feel less alone, where you can connect with others on the road, and explore practices that cultivate inner harmony and peace. He has retreats coming up in both March and April, and you can find all the details on the website.

As always, thank you so much for listening—we’re so glad you’re here. You can check out more at faithmatters.org.

Listen to Sanctuary: Discovering the Temple on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Substack, or wherever you get your podcasts.