Latter Day Struggles
The Latter Day Struggles Podcast addresses beliefs and issues within the LDS faith that are challenging to talk about but vital to discuss for those trying to navigate their relationship in or around the church. Valerie and her guests invite psychological maturity, theological health, and institutional integrity.
Episodes
Missed the LIVE Q&A where Val recently answered the flood of questions that have come in on the heels of her & Nathan's brave series venturing into the realm of politics, polarization & human/cultural evolution of consciousness?
In this Q&A Val takes some very challenging questions and walks you through ways in which politics & religion are reflections how people make sense of some...
In this episode Valerie is the guest on the thought-provoking Inside Out Podcast, one of the first podcasts to interview her following the dramatic events that led up to the Hamakers' decision to resign from the LDS church rather than collude in an excommunication process that they did not endorse as ethical, legitimate, or appropriate.
This episode takes you through Val's early life and path le...
In this episode Val is a guest on the wonderful In Her Image Podcast to discuss the complex emotional journey of awakening to the divine feminine. They explore common emotional responses to one's realization that s/he has been estranged from half of deity for one's whole life, awakening to the power that many of us give away in allowing others to define who the Divine is, and how this journey alm...
In this episode Valerie is interviewed by her good friends and fellow podcasters Susan Hinckley and Cynthia Wynward and the three talk about what it is like to be outspoken women in a 21st Century church that is not so sure what to do with this kind of woman. They are candid in their experiences, struggles, and insecurities as they figure out their own faith journeys somewhat in the public eye while walkin...
Series Title: In-depth Exploration of Patriarchy & its Correlation to Violence & Abuse [Part VIII of X]
Join Val & Nathan as they respectfully lean into specific risk factors associated with formalized patriarchal religious institutions (including the LDS church) & how these vulnerabilities play out in very real ways. They also explore how our children can eventually become safer as their c...
Series Title: In-depth Exploration of Patriarchy & its Correlation to Violence & Abuse [Part VIIof X]
In today's episode, Val & Nathan walk through the layered risk factors around spousal violence/abuse that married couples are exposed to when belonging to a formalized institutional patriarchal church. Reinforcement of male authority, inadequately trained clergy offering counseling services...
Series Title: In-depth Exploration of Patriarchy & its Correlation to Violence & Abuse [Part V of X]
In this episode Val & Nathan walk through a series of other very common communities where men-on-men violence is normalized--culminating in a discussion that shows clearly that it is not a coincidence that patriarchal structures enforce strict rules on both women & LGBTQ+ people for the same ...
Series Title: In-depth Exploration of Patriarchy & its Correlation to Violence & Abuse [Part III of X]
In this jaw-dropping episode (at least it was jaw-dropping for Val & Nath to prepare and produce) Val & Nathan talk about the "Female Fear Factory" which is a phrase intended to communicate the implicit rules that girls and women worldwide are taught to follow in order to be safe ...
Series Title: In-depth Exploration of Patriarchy and its Correlation to Violence & Abuse [Part I of X]
In this opening episode of this incredibly important series, Val & Nathan offer an overview of what is to come in the episodes that follow. This series has been a labor of love for this couple who care deeply about their Latter-day Saint and surrounding loved ones and want to spread the word far an...
Series Title: Living in a World of Hypernormalization [Part I of II]
In this episode Val shares an update about how she is processing the recent events of her and Nathan's forced resignation in the face of excommunication by looking at this both as a personal issue for them but also plays with the idea that they are playing a symbolic role in a much larger narrative that is unfolding and colliding in b...
Series Title: The 21st Century LDS Church's Ongoing Struggle to Respond to the Realities of Faith & Trust Crisis [Part I of II]
Join Val and friend, colleague and returned guest, Dr. Greg Prince as they talk about Greg's involvement in the profoundly important document "The Official Faith Crisis Report". A document that was the first of its kind, it compiled data about struggles in f...
Series Title: Transcending Church Rules on the PathTowards Genuine Christlike Discipleship w/Russ Hinckley Part III of IV
What do you think Jesus would desire that we focus on in our worship services and within our larger lives? In these last two episodes of this series Val invites Russ to share his thoughts on his "Christ Creed", or his "rewrite" of what he thinks Jesus would want his ...
Series Title: Transcending Church Rules on the Path Towards Genuine Christlike Discipleship w/Russ Hinckley Part I of IV
Welcome to a beautiful series featuring guest author Russ Hinckley (who doesn't mind being referred to as Mr. Susan Hinckley of the "At Last She Said It" podcast) where Val and Russ explore his book "Beyond Belief" a radical reinterpretation of what Jesus likely ...
In this episode Valerie is invited to be a guest on "Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt," a podcast where she shares many experiences leading to her choice to commit her career to the psychological and spiritual healing of those connected to her own Latter-day Saint faith tradition.
Val shares some personal experiences, some of her reasons for beginning and staying in this nerve wracking space, about the ...
Series Title: A Look into the Minds of Creators of The Mother Tree & Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos [Part I of II]
Why is my job the very best? Because I get to sit down with two of the kindest, more brilliant and beautiful souls out there--Kathryn Sonntag and Taylor Petrey-- to facilitate a conversation about all things modern Mormon feminism, scripture, symbology, and the feminine divine.
Series Title: A Deep Dive into the Fascinating Cosmos Found in Taylor Petrey's Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos [Part III of IV]
One definition of "queering" that Taylor uses in his book is to complicate or expand--and this episode does just that in the realm of the feminine divine. Buckle up as Taylor and Val walk through his fascinating ideas regarding what Latter Day Saints call Hea...
Series Title: A Deep Dive into the Fascinating Cosmos Found in Taylor Petrey's Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos [Part I of IV]
In this episode Val and guest scholar and author Taylor Petrey set this series up by walking through the focus of Taylor's phenomenal new book, Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos. They set the stage to blow your mind in the many ways that an open-minded and clos...
Series Title: Valerie & Nathan Hamaker Forced Resignation from the LDS Church [Part III of III]
In this final episode detailing the tough events of Val and Nathan's last year trying to collaborate with their local priesthood leaders, they share why they chose to resign their membership instead of experiencing a disciplinary counsel. They also explore
the fear that some LDS leadership experien...
Series Title: Valerie & Nathan Hamaker Forced Resignation from the LDS Church [Part I of III]
Please join Valerie & Nathan in this tough 3-part conversation sharing the events that led to what felt to them like their forced resignation from LDS Church this past week.
In today’s episode Val and Nathan walk through a timeline of a lot of painful experiences in the past eighteen months with ...
Series Title: Community Healing: How our Greatest Wounds & our Greatest Healing Happens through Human Relationship [Part VIII of VIII]
Join Valerie in the final episode of a series exploring the beauty of community healing in the context of an LDS faith crisis. In this episode you will meet two current members of Valerie's brand new advanced content group, processing the impact of growing up in a p...
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