Sunstone Podcast

In this recording of a Sunstone UK Fireside, Jane Christy talks about the difficulties and rewards of being an active member of a small LDS ward while being a feminist and bi-sexual.

Why is the doctrine of eternal polygamy so painful to so many Mormon women? Stephen Carter turns the question around, exploring why eternal polyandry would be a painful prospect to Mormon men. The answers lie in the limbic layer of the brain, which has a lot to teach us about the delicate workings of love.

In this recording of a Sunstone U.K. fireside, Peter Bleakley argues that the LDS Church should be “rocking the 21st century”—but that it absolutely isn’t. Bleakley presents his ideas on how the LDS church could both change and make use of its strengths to reignite the spiritual passion of the many young people leaving the church.

We may think that American politics is simply going nuts, but what it’s actually doing is turning into religion. In this episode, Stephen Carter argues that Mormonism had a big hand in turning politics into religion—and that, ironically, this shift is biting the Church hard.  

Mormonism is all about goals, growth, and progression. But Abinadi and Joseph Smith threw some serious monkey wrenches into the definition of those words. In this episode, Stephen Carter proposes a new approach to the Mormon obsession with progression. And it’s kind of dark.

Charles Dickens is often credited as being the man who invented Christmas with his story “A Christmas Carol.” And the story bears a striking resemblance to a psychedelic trip, which has profoundly affected the way we celebrate Christmas, whether we are religious or not. Join Stephen Carter on this trip through history, culture, religion, and the brain as he argues that we need the psychedelic effects of Christmas more than ever this year.

A few weeks ago, LDS social media feeds exploded with #givethanks. But something about it seemed … off. Stephen Carter digs into the oddities of Mormon gratitude in this episode of the Sunstone Podcast.

After a two-year break from church, why in the world would you want to go back to Sunday school? Stephen Carter had a few strange reasons, none of which will ever be quoted in General Conference. Listen to the harrowing story of his first virtual Sunday school class.  

Forget the pandemic, the truly earth-shattering thing about 2020 is that people from Sunstone, Dialogue, and Exponent actually liked Dallin Oaks’ October conference talk! And was this the official anti-DezNat general conference? There are plenty of surprises in this analysis with Heather Harris-Bergevin, Jim Bennett, Emily Jensen, and Stephen Carter.

This panel discussion from Sunstone Birmingham features current and ex-Mormons telling the story of their faith journeys. Moderated by Mark Johnson, the panel includes Deborah Squires-Coleman, Debra Edwards, Mark Lake, and Lauren Richardson Alcock.