Mormon Discussion Podcast

Today on Mormon Discussion, Bill Reel ties together several facets playing out in his own life and in his Church regarding the LGBT Issue.  How it is playing out in his wrestle with Mormonism, How it is playing out in his family & Friendships, How the Church is slowly coming around, How some leaders are giving a double message privately and publicly and the harm that it does, How the Church generally is giving these kids hope with its words only to provide more pain and harm with their actions, and How each of us need to stand up and speak up.  This is a monumental episode you won’t want to miss!!!!! The post 291: Stand Up Speak Up!!! appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we sit down with Tony Ortega, a journalist who has covered Scientology for over 20 years.  We talk about the mechanisms of Scientology and contrast and compare them with some of the mechanisms Mormonism.   We cover topics like how both religions handle dissenters, what gives the members certainty with their respective religion, interviews to establish loyalty, Sea Org vs Missionary Program, unique vocabulary, discouragement of looking into critical information, time commitment, financial commitment, and many more. Resources: https://tonyortega.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Ron_Hubbard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Miscavige http://www.scientology.org/ http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/us/believer-what-is-scientology/index.html The post 290: Tony Ortega & The Church of Scientology & Scientologists appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This is an audio recording of a Fireside held in Southern Utah on January 13 2018 on Joseph Smith’s polygamy.  We share the accounts of the plural wives of the Prophet Joseph Smith in their very words.  Going through multiple accounts one begins to see a pattern appear.  Religious pressure, rhetoric to each women that gives the impression they are the first being approached to “start the principle”, young girls working or living in the Smith home encouraged to become plural wives, and imposed deadlines for these women to make a decision.  Once one works through all the data, it seems impossible to avoid the uncomfortable realization that there is a deep unhealthiness in Joseph implementation of polygamy and we get to the heart of the matter. Resources: http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/ http://josephsmithspolygamy.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Joseph_Smith%27s_wives lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng The post Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Fireside 1.13.2018 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

People are constantly trying to figure out how they can be in Mormonism while trying to reconcile where they stand versus where the Institution stands.  In spite of the fact that the Church has always struggled to define itself, it’s history, it’s theology, and even the Word of God when it isn’t; we still seem to try to mesh our lives with the standards and interpretations it has declared.  This seems like a fruitless endeavor.  If the Church can not define itself or God’s doctrine and theology correctly then it is a moving target that we are trying to mesh our lives with.  There is a better framework.  This requires us to begin deciphering what is actually the Word of God and more importantly what parts of the Word of God is binding on us by the rules God has set within the Church.  Once we realize the very small box of things that God seems to have stated directly and that GOd and the Church have imposed on us as binding and that we have accepted by common consent as binding we realize just how much in the Church isn’t binding.  Once we do that the Tent of Mormonism gets really big and makes way more room for diversity and almost entirely squashes most of the things we believe imposes conformity and causes us moral tension…… most things. The post 289: Institutional Overreaching – A Better Framework appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

PT 2 Bill Reel is widely known within the Mormon podcast world as a fellow traveler on the road many of us have found ourselves on—often quite reluctantly. At one time, we have thrived within Mormonism. It contributes greatly to our identity, and provides our primary social group. It helps shape our thinking and character in ways we don’t often reflect upon. We have everything figured out. Our religious worldview tells us what’s of foremost importance, and where various traps are that might lead us from the path God says we should follow. And then . . . a bump . . . a hiccup . . . a fact that shakes us or an idea that once we truly examine it leaves us scratching our head. Things accelerate. If this practice or that idea are showing themselves to be something less that purely divine in origins, to have changed over the centuries, to have human fingerprints all over them, we move into what many call a “faith crisis.” And, now it dawns on us that we will have to decide things for ourselves. Those values we were taught and believe—were they truly the best ones (or the best ones for me), the ones that my spirit or temperament tells me I’m truly meant to hold above other ones? What about this particular religious path? I see others traveling down different ones, should I explore those? And on and on it goes … Bill and I, and so many of you, know this territory well. We’ve lived it. And we’ve faced it in different ways according to our experiences, temperaments, needs. But via our moving into this complexity, for some of us, our continuing to live or push through the tensions and difficult processes of choosing (very reflectively) our own values have ultimately led to a newfound peace. It’s not a “tensionless” peace, but we end up coming to find those places where ideas and personalities and practices rub against each other (and never fully come to make perfect “sense” according to our rational minds) to be important catalysts for growth and creativity and a discovering a new sense of purpose—and peace. One much sturdier and less susceptible to discouragement and despair when life does its “life-ing” and humans do their “human-ing” and leaders and family members and friends shift, or fail to shift, in the directions we’d like them to. I’m grateful that I got the chance to interview and have a great conversation with Bill. I know you’ll find him very insightful, as well as relatable, vulnerable, and good-hearted. He shares his journey with us—so far!—and reflects on faith development and shifts from ego-centrism and tribal thinking to our centering in a wider cosmos and valuing the gifts of every religious tradition, every person. Finally, in addition to talking about Mormonism as a wonderful workshop in which to all tensions to do their refining and expanding work, we discuss how he now views and “holds” his Mormonism (including addressing a shift—that many have noticed and talked about—in his podcast’s tone beginning about two years ago) and how new understandings of myth and ritual and practice have helped him become re-centered in Mormonism, but far more “on his own terms.” Bill is a wonderful teacher and person, and I trust you will all very much enjoy this episode! _____ Links: Mormon Discussion Podcast homepage Links to hear or read more of Bill’s story Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Harper, 2015) Dan Wotherspoon, “A Real Fight,” Sunstone (May 2004) The post SPECIAL: Mormon Matters: 442: LIVING IN (AND GROWING THROUGH) TENSION: AN INTERVIEW WITH BILL REEL appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

PT 1 Bill Reel is widely known within the Mormon podcast world as a fellow traveler on the road many of us have found ourselves on—often quite reluctantly. At one time, we have thrived within Mormonism. It contributes greatly to our identity, and provides our primary social group. It helps shape our thinking and character in ways we don’t often reflect upon. We have everything figured out. Our religious worldview tells us what’s of foremost importance, and where various traps are that might lead us from the path God says we should follow. And then . . . a bump . . . a hiccup . . . a fact that shakes us or an idea that once we truly examine it leaves us scratching our head. Things accelerate. If this practice or that idea are showing themselves to be something less that purely divine in origins, to have changed over the centuries, to have human fingerprints all over them, we move into what many call a “faith crisis.” And, now it dawns on us that we will have to decide things for ourselves. Those values we were taught and believe—were they truly the best ones (or the best ones for me), the ones that my spirit or temperament tells me I’m truly meant to hold above other ones? What about this particular religious path? I see others traveling down different ones, should I explore those? And on and on it goes … Bill and I, and so many of you, know this territory well. We’ve lived it. And we’ve faced it in different ways according to our experiences, temperaments, needs. But via our moving into this complexity, for some of us, our continuing to live or push through the tensions and difficult processes of choosing (very reflectively) our own values have ultimately led to a newfound peace. It’s not a “tensionless” peace, but we end up coming to find those places where ideas and personalities and practices rub against each other (and never fully come to make perfect “sense” according to our rational minds) to be important catalysts for growth and creativity and a discovering a new sense of purpose—and peace. One much sturdier and less susceptible to discouragement and despair when life does its “life-ing” and humans do their “human-ing” and leaders and family members and friends shift, or fail to shift, in the directions we’d like them to. I’m grateful that I got the chance to interview and have a great conversation with Bill. I know you’ll find him very insightful, as well as relatable, vulnerable, and good-hearted. He shares his journey with us—so far!—and reflects on faith development and shifts from ego-centrism and tribal thinking to our centering in a wider cosmos and valuing the gifts of every religious tradition, every person. Finally, in addition to talking about Mormonism as a wonderful workshop in which to all tensions to do their refining and expanding work, we discuss how he now views and “holds” his Mormonism (including addressing a shift—that many have noticed and talked about—in his podcast’s tone beginning about two years ago) and how new understandings of myth and ritual and practice have helped him become re-centered in Mormonism, but far more “on his own terms.” Bill is a wonderful teacher and person, and I trust you will all very much enjoy this episode! _____ Links: Mormon Discussion Podcast homepage Links to hear or read more of Bill’s story Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Harper, 2015) Dan Wotherspoon, “A Real Fight,” Sunstone (May 2004) The post SPECIAL: Mormon Matters: 441: LIVING IN (AND GROWING THROUGH) TENSION: AN INTERVIEW WITH BILL REEL appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we tell the story of Lucy Walker, plural wife of the prophet Joseph Smith.  We tell her story and then spend time exploring who has spiritual experiences, whether they can be trusted specifically when one us under stress, pressure, and sleep deprivation.  Then we explore the spiritual experiences of those of other faiths and in the end speak to a theological conundrum regardless of which way you come down in the Lucy Walker story. The post 288: Lucy Walker and Spiritual Experiences appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

This is a audio recording of Bill Reel’s presentation and Q&A to a Post Mormon group in Southern Utah on December 10th 2017.  It includes me spending approximately 35 minutes telling my story, how I have reconciled the messiness, and why development is so important to the human experience.  Then the last hour and ten minutes I try my best to be vulnerable to the questions, concerns, and comments of the group. The post 287: Conversation with a Southern Utah Post-Mormon Group 12.10.17 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today’s Episode is split into three segments.  In segment #1 Bill Reel addresses guilt and shame and shares an experience from his personal life.  In segment #2 Bill makes a plea on behalf the Mormon Discussion team in order to keep this work going.  And Bill concludes by addressing the criticism that he no longer leads with faith Liturgists Podcast on Shame  Brene Brown on Vulnerability Brene Brown on Shame   The post 286: Guilt Shame And Leading With Faith appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

A good friend of mine.  Smart, informed, wise, and just so happens to be a woman.  She makes this connection in the scriptures.  She sees how the women of the New Testament are operating differently from the men in regards to how they treat the mortal body of Jesus.  What is the degree of care and concern they have for the Savior, How do the disciples react to such interaction, and most importantly how does Jesus regard their behavior.  In one such instance Jesus taught his disciples that wherever the gospel is taught, her story should be told as a memorial to her.  Today we honor that story and ask if perhaps in the very here and now if there is room for more of a role for the daughters of our Heavenly Father. The post 285: Women And Their Care & Concern for the Mortal Jesus appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.