Mormon Stories Podcast An Inconvenient Faith & Progressive Mormonism w/ Julie Hanks, Jana Spangler & Beau Oyler | Ep. 2058
Sep 4, 2025
Join Julie Hanks, a licensed clinical social worker specializing in women's mental health, Jana Spangler, a contemplative Mormon focused on LGBTQ issues, and Beau Oyler, a former bishop, as they dive into the groundbreaking documentary "An Inconvenient Faith." They explore the emotional challenges of marginalized communities, the imperative voice of women in religious leadership, and the complexities of faith and identity. Their candid conversation sheds light on navigating tradition versus progression in Mormonism, emphasizing empathy, inclusivity, and understanding.
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Black Members Faced Degrading Practices
- Darius Gray recounts sacrament withheld and being passed over because of race, showing lived harm from priesthood ban history.
- Panelists emphasize this history was taught and practiced by leaders, not fringe members.
'Little Flicks' Feels Like Dismissal
- The film exposes how leadership minimized racist teachings as 'little flicks of history,' which many found dismissive and harmful.
- Panelists call for institutional reckoning and transparency, not minimization.
Women's Voices Often Second-Guessed
- Women described losing epistemic confidence because male authority can override their personal revelation.
- Panelists link that dynamic to career, identity, and life-choice constraints on women in the church.