__________________________________________________________________________________
Articles, Essays & Talks
The following is a list of articles that people might find helpful towards seeing their faith in new and different ways. Some of these were written by contributors to our site. Others are linked to by us, and were picked for the value of thought in them. We don’t advocate a single viewpoint or position as correct, but find these helpful towards expanding perspectives about Mormonism and resolving issues that people often find problematic.
How to Stay in the LDS Church after a Major Challenge to your Faith, by StayLDS.com [Print Version]
NEW in 2012: Should We Defend our Past Polygamy [Compact Version] by Curtis Henderson
NEW in 2012: Interpreting and Interrupting Polygamy [Full Version] by Curtis Henderson
What is Official Church Doctrine, by Donald Ashton [Print Version]
“Joseph Smith and His Critics” Essay by Richard Bushman
“Believest thou…?”: Faith, Cognitive Dissonance, and the Psychology of Religious Experience, by Wendy Ulrich, Ph.D.
What the Church Means to People Like Me, by Richard Poll
Why the Church is as True as the Gospel, by Eugene England
Jeff Burton’s Borderlands articles.
What is a Testimony Anyway? [link down while updating article]
The Church as a Tool by Jordan Turner
Seven Truths: How we relate to the Church by HiJolly
LDS General Conference Talks
The following is a list of General Conference talks picked by the staff of StayLDS.com. We like to highlight messages from LDS Church leaders that we think reach out with compassion and love, that advocate a message to “broaden the tent,” or ones that in some way address the needs of people who come to our site.
Concern for the One, by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, LDS General Conference, April 2008
This talk by Elder Wirthlin discusses the importance of diverse belief within the Church
The Love of God, by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, LDS General Conference, November 2009
This talk by Elder Uchtdorf discusses the unconditional love of God, avoiding “checklist” mentality, and not getting lost in all the little rules people speculate upon as necessary.
The Challenge to Become, by Elder Dalin H. Oaks, LDS General Conference, September 2000
This talk by Elder Oaks discusses the processes of our life journey, and avoiding the trap of trying to add up a tally of good deeds and evil deeds for a reward.
Bringing Humanity to the Gospel, by Elder Stephen L Richards, LDS General Conference, April 1932
Elder Richards spoke of his concerns about “arrogant dogmatism” within the Church, against “fanaticism and bigotry,” and preached a compassionate attititude of acceptance and love for our diverse membership. He mentions issues with the Word of Wisdom in particular.
The following is a list of Audio Podcasts picked by the staff of StayLDS.com. These are a selection of interviews and panel discussions that address information related to topics often discussed in our support forums. They don’t represent necessarily our official opinion on these subjects, but we think they might be valuable to many people who visit our site.
MormonTransitions Podcasts
How to Navigate a Mormon Faith Transistion: LINK
MormonStories Podcast Archives
We are grateful to host a sub-selection of the Mormon Stories interviews.� The following list is available here:
.
James Fowler’s Stages of Faith, Mormon Interpretation, Part 1 of 3 — MP3 FILE
James Fowler’s Stages of Faith, Mormon Interpretation, Part 2 of 3 — MP3 FILE
James Fowler’s Stages of Faith, Mormon Interpretation, Part 3 of 3 — MP3 FILE
.
Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling Interview, Part 1 of 5 –� MP3 FILE
Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling Interview, Part 2 of 5 –� MP3 FILE
Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling Interview, Part 3 of 5 –� MP3 FILE
Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling Interview, Part 4 of 5 –� MP3 FILE
Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling Interview, Part 5 of 5 –� MP3 FILE
.
Claudia Bushman, Women in the LDS Church, Part 1 of 1 — MP3 FILE
.
Gregory Prince, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, Part 1 of 2 — MP3 FILE
Gregory Prince, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, Part 2 of 2 — MP3 FILE
.
Greg Kearney, Mormonism and Masonry, Part 1 of 1 — MP3 FILE
.
Dr. Ted Lyon Interview, Part 1 of 3 — MP3 FILE
Dr. Ted Lyon Interview, Part 2 of 3 — MP3 FILE
Dr. Ted Lyon Interview, Part 3 of 3 — MP3 FILE
.
Blacks & the LDS Priesthodd w/ Darius Gray and Margaret Young — MP3 FILE , Video File (iTunes)
.
Morris Thurston, Joseph Smith Papers Project, Part 1 of 1 — MP3 FILE
Morris Thurston, Legal Battles in Nauvoo, Part 1 of 2 — MP3 FILE
Morris Thurston, Legal Battles in Nauvoo, Part 2 of 2 — MP3 FILE
.
Finding our Way Back Home, Interview with Roasted Tomatos and Serenity Valley, Part 1 of 2 — MP3 FILE
Finding our Way Back Home, Interview with Roasted Tomatos and Serenity Valley, Part 2 of 2 — MP3 FILE
.
J. Bonner Ritchie Interview, Part 1 of 1 — MP3 FILE
Nate Oman Interview, Part 1 of 1 — MP3 FILE
Chris Foster Interview, Rising Generation Series, Part 1 of 1 — MP3 FILE
Dawn Thurston Interview, Part 1 of 1 — MP3 FILE
4 “Why We Stay” Audio Presentations from the Sunstone Symposium (HIGHLY recommended):
Mormon Expression Podcasts
Interviews on a variety of topics relevant to Mormonism by an interesting and diverse panel of post-mormons.
Fowler Stages of Faith – Overview, Part 1
Fowler Stages of Faith – Fifth stage and what it means to the LDS Church, Part 2
Faithful Spouses – Navigating marriage with a spouse who has lost their faith
[...] In my opinion RSR is well written for both a general audience and a believing audience. The general audience can read it from one vantage point, as Bushman wrote it from a Karen Armstrong-like view of Mohammed. They don’t have to be convinced to believe or not-believe. They read it as an interesting historical view from the vantage point of a believer. For the believing LDS person, it is an apologetic, not as bad as FAIR or FARMS, but still an apologetic. Bushman provides the arguments of plausibility on which apologetics are founded. Apologists in general will say, "Think in gray, so long as it supports the position that the church is true." They are guilty of the "Pink Unicorn" argument. Effectively saying, "There is a giant pink unicorn that lives on the dark side of the moon. Since you cannot prove it does not exist, it means that it does. Therfore it is true that a giant pink unicorn lives of the dark side of the moon." Of course this is a fallacious argument, but one on which apologists lean heavily and for which believing members who want the church to be true easily fall. Confirmation bias is a tough thing to self moderate, even if you understand it. For most people, they don’t understand how they misinterpret data and information, leading to erroneous conclusions. IMHO, I think the best thing you can do is to listen to the interviews that John Dehlin does with Bro. Bushman. Library at StayLDS.com [...]
[...] podcast episodes of which I am unambiguously proud. Most of them have been included on the StayLDS.com web [...]
[...] 22, 2007. Interviewed by John Dehlin at Mormon Stories Podcast. Excellent Interview. Audio format. Do yourself a favor and download them to your [...]
[...] Additional Support Resources [...]