Mormon Discussion Podcast

Today I talk about my navigation of the drugs as well as coffee and tea as a teenager including and my eventual abandonment of those things when I join Mormonism and follow Mormonism’s Word of Wisdom.  I discuss that after losing belief in Mormonism, the Word of Wisdom becomes just arbitrary rules, no longer upheld by a divine being and hence my desire to go back and re-evaluate what these things mean to me.  We focus on coffee and how I have navigated the space of being a coffee drinker.  My Morning coffee while I sit at my desk at Family Pawn before we open working on the podcast drinking my homemade cold brew is one of the many highlights of my day.   And we end by highlighting a Local (to me) Utah Coffee company, Red Roca Coffee, and explain how to make your own cold brew.    Red Roca Coffee was started by a post Mormon in his basement in American Fork Utah.  and his brand ties into the post Mormon experience.  Below I share all the products I use to make my delicious cold brew coffee and help you get a great deal on Fresh Red Roca Coffee Beans. Red Roca Coffee and Mormon Discussion have partnered to bring delicious specialty coffee to you at a discounted price.  By purchasing Red Roca Coffee with the code AWAKE you will accomplish all of the following – Get yourself a 10% discount (Use the Code AWAKE) – Help send a donation of part of the proceeds to Mormon Discussion. – Support a post Mormon and a local Utah Family Owned business – Support local Utah artisans – and any purchase over $30 get free shipping – Enjoy delicious premium coffee Items I use to make Cold Brew – Coffee Bean Grinder – Glass Jar to store your delicious coffee – Cold Brew Filters Videos on How to Make Cold Brew – Basic concept on smaller scale of how I make mine – Three ways to make cold brew – Why Cold Brew and How – 20 recipes and general info on Cold Brew The post Mormon Discussion: 341: Coffee – A Word of Wisdom appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

A friend messages me the other day and says, “your not going to believe this”.  “what”, I ask.  “The Church has removed Boyd K Packer’s Little Factory Talk”, he informs me.  “That’s impossible…. deleting a General conference talk completely…. forever?  no way” I tell him…….. Well he was right and today we play that talk and discuss its unhealthy perspectives, we discuss how Apologists defended it, and how with its removal the Church is admitting that the talk is unhealthy and indefensible.  It has in spite of it being the backdrop of so much shame around sexuality imposed on young Latter-day Saints and its having widespread use and approval by general leadership and church publications, effectively become the philosophies of Men mingled with scripture. Closing Song Artist: Disturbed Title: The Sound of Silence The post Mormon Discussion: 340: The Little Factory appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

It has been a long time coming, but my wife Amanda and I sat down to have a conversation about our journey.  We tell our combined story as a couple and what our life journey has looked like.  Be patient with both of us, My wife is much more introverted when it comes to a conversation she knows will be heard and dissected in the public arena and hence I likely spoke a little too much in parts in order to add details to our story where she left off and to help when her answers are short.   It comes off as me overshadowing her and while there is probably a little truth to that, she also would self admit this is not a comfortable space for her.  That said she comes off brilliantly and we both really enjoyed this conversation. The post Mormon Discussion Podcast: 339: My Amazing Wife Amanda Reel appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

We sit down today with Jessica Foutz.  Jessica is a dear friend of mine who I have known for several years.  I have watched Jessica go from having her Mormon Shelf crash to seeing her dive into Faith and Cognitive development along with her deep interest in wise voices speaking to growth and development like Richard Rohr, Thomas McConkie, Rob Bell, and many others.   This deep and profound shift has resulted in her having a wise voice herself.  She has written the paper “10 Important Things to Know About Stages of Human Cognitive Development“.  Jessica cares about human beings and today she shares her ten tips for leaning into development. Resources: Jessica’s document outlining Developmental tips and tools Shadow Work Mormon Stages of Faith and Development The Build-A-Brain-Program The post Mormon Discussion: 338: Jessica Foutz – Developmental Tools appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today I want to talk about tribes and community.  About the “we” of family and friends.  The “we” of religious tribes.  How intimacy is the secret ingredient of small tribes (25 or less), gossip the secret of medium sized tribes(25 to 150) and myth for large tribes (150+) I talk about leaving a tribe when fitting in (presenting a false version of yourself) is too painful, and how we all want to “belong” ( be and present yourself fully and still be accepted).  And I end talking about my tribe right here and now! we mention briefly about how humans across the ages have navigated community and tribalism and why it is so crucial and inside our evolutionary DNA.  We have survived better in small tribes that trusted each other and as we grew we moved from Intimacy to Gossip to Myth.  And how once we remove the threats of the wild, we desire to move back to intimate tribalism. Resources:  Why Myth is useful and separates Humans from other animals More on Gossip and Myth and their usefulness More on Gossip as a binding force What gave rise to gossip Gossip as a social skill Intimacy as a binding force Intimacy within social relationships The post Mormon Discussion: 337: The Evolutionary Need for Community and A Better Tribe appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This Episode is Audio from outside the Mormon Discussion Podcasts.  This is a sermon from another faith on “Stages of Faith”. We revisit a series where we have taken audio where those of other faiths work to explain and teach the stages of faith.  Today is the South Edmonton Alliance. Here is a sermon given in their Church on the Stages of Faith The post PREMIUM: Stages of Faith: South Edmonton Alliance appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This Episode is Audio from outside the Mormon Discussion Podcasts.  This is a sermon from another faith on “Stages of Faith”. We revisit a series where we have taken audio where those of other faiths work to explain and teach the stages of faith.  Today is a Sermon from Adam Ellis Here is a sermon given in their Church on the Stages of Faith The post PREMIUM: Stages of Faith: Adam Ellis appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today I share with the audience my top 6 spiritual experiences that have occurred in my life. In telling these experiences, I recognize there will be voices on both sides who think they know better than me what they mean or how I should interpret them.  But I share them and often give other contextual details into my life as they surrounded these events.  I hope in this episode you might enjoy getting to know me better but that you also sense just how strong spiritual experiences can be and yet once faced with spirituality and where and when it occurs, be able to untangle it from the religious constructs of the system in which you experienced these spiritual moments. The post Mormon Discussion: 336: Sacred Experiences and Religious Context appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we Sit down with former LDS Area Authority Hans Mattsson. As Hans begin reading into the deeper history of Mormonism and as other approached him with their historical questions, Hans sensed that the Church’s narrative didn’t hold up and that the tough questions did not have satisfactory answers. Hans took his concerns to the upper leadership of the Church and on November 28, 2010 LDS Church Historian Marlin Jensen and assistant historian Richard Turley gave a presentation where they attempted to provide answers to questions asked by Hans Mattsson and other members in Sweden. Today We talk with Hans about all of that and where he is today and what he makes of Mormonism having stepped away. Mormon Stories Interview with MattssonNY Times ArticleSwedish Rescue The post Mormon Discussion: 335: Hans Mattsson – A Crisis of Truth appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we share what set us down the path to the events that led to my Excommunication.  Today I read a letter I sent to members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve 2 years ago.  In this letter I lay out what I believe are the top 5 issues facing the Church in the present moment.  LGBT issues, Women’s Issues, History, Prophetic Fallibility, and Transparency.  It was this letter that led top Church leaders to inform my Stake president at the time that they believed I was “in apostasy” and that “a disciplinary council may be needed”. RESOURCES: You can read the letter yourself HERE The post Mormon Discussion: 334: The Letter That started It All appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.