Listen Now

One of the questions Cynthia and Susan hear most often comes from mothers who write, “My daughter is asking when it will be her turn to pass the sacrament….what should I say?” They took this question to listeners and in Episode 142, voices from the ALSSI community share answers. It’s a broad conversation about women and priesthood featuring a diversity of ideas, experiences, and perspectives.

Can faithful women reject patriarchy? Beth Allison Barr's book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth, suggests the answer is yes. Her book is a compelling 'untelling' of the story of patriarchy as divinely appointed truth. In Episode 141, Cynthia and Susan are joined by Dr. Barr for a conversation about historical forces that have shaped women's roles in the world and at church. She offers insights not only into women's roles in the Bible, but specific to the lives of women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today.

Every church goer has probably heard more lessons about the wise and foolish virgins than they can count. Why do Latter-day Saints love to talk about this parable so much? And why do we seem to be so attached to one interpretation of it? In Episode 140, Susan and Cynthia try to shake up the same old conversation about this story—and the women in it—by asking a few new questions, and imagining new answers.

What would you say if you had the ear of the people in charge of designing garments? Afton Southam Parker came prepared with a 37 slide PowerPoint presentation, based on her own experiences and those of many other women who wear them. The meeting was a masterclass on many of the communication tips she talked about in Episode 138. In bonus Episode 139, she joins Cynthia and Susan to review her presentation, and break it all down!

Bringing attention to issues affecting Latter-day Saint women requires us to be opportunistic about using our voices. Even those in leadership callings don’t always find their ideas and opinions are welcome. And when chances to be heard do arise, the power dynamic of our culture and organization may make it hard for a woman to find the courage to express a non-traditional view. In Episode 138, Cynthia and Susan are joined by Afton Southam Parker, a woman who knows how to speak up about things that matter to her. It’s a conversation about finding ways to make individual opinions, ideas, and experiences known in a church where sharing them is rarely encouraged.

In close relationships, sometimes it’s difficult to differentiate between a loved one’s side of the road and our own. We may develop unhealthy or unbalanced behavioral patterns. Codependency is one word used to describe what happens when we begin internalizing someone else’s emotions, or allow our well-being to become dependent on their behavior. We may try to fix, rescue, or control them. In Episode 137, Susan and Cynthia are joined by author Meghan Decker to discuss relationships and the challenges and rewards of establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries with the people we love.

“I know this church is true.” Many Latter-day Saints rely on this anchor phrase when bearing testimony, but what do the words really mean? What are the implications—good and less so—of believing an organization carries the divine stamp of approval? Could devotion to a label like ‘The One True Church’ come with a shadow side?

What’s religious trauma? For some Latter-day Saint women, church may become difficult or even unsafe because of it, yet many members have probably never heard of it. In episode 135, Jana Spangler joins Cynthia and Susan for a discussion of some of the ways trauma may manifest in our church experience, and steps we can take toward healing.

Many Latter-day Saint women have had similar experiences as lifelong Church members. We come up through Primary and Young Women’s singing the same songs, going to camp, and participating in correlated lessons and activities. But what about women who convert later in life? In Episode 134, Cynthia and Susan chat with KC Bramer about her experiences before and after joining in her mid 40s. What’s attractive about this church? What’s confusing? Against the backdrop of her personal conversion and religious story, KCs insider/outsider perspective provides interesting insight into things that are the same and things that set us apart, things we do well and things we might do better in the process of shepherding people into the Church.

Enjoy dessert with Susan, Cynthia, and Blakelee in this continuation of ALSSI's Ask-Us-Anything Third Anniversary podcast celebration.

Please join us for Episode 132 as we celebrate our podcast anniversary with an Ask-Us-Anything conversation, hosted by Blakelee Ellis and featuring listener questions with Cynthia-and-Susan answers! It’s a fun, wide ranging discussion packed with women’s voices, ideas, and experiences—a perfect way to commemorate 3 years of saying it at last. Bring your own cake!

It sounds simple to say I must love my neighbor as I love myself, but what does that really look like? We have an unfaltering example in Jesus, whose works offered a living reflection of his teachings about the nature of God. The scriptures may be full of unclear translations, contradictory ideas, metaphors that have lost meaning over time, and laws that have lapsed. But Christ’s actions show clearly who God is, and how God loves. In episode 131, Cynthia and Susan discuss the real challenge of discipleship: following Jesus’ example of compassion.

For ALSSI listeners, it’ll be no surprise that when Cynthia was asked to speak on the subject of atonement, she pivoted to an exploration of grace. In Episode 130, ideas from her talk inspire a conversation about the relationship between those two words, as well as salvation and healing. Do Latter-day Saints believe in grace? Or are we mostly just confused by it? As we study the New Testament together, what might change if our discussion at church shifted to focus more on the radical grace exemplified in Jesus’ ministry and teachings?

It’s easy to assume that when we’re all in the same room, we’re hearing, seeing, and experiencing the same things. But this discussion between three sisters shows that living in the same house, growing up in the same family, and attending the same ward and church activities carries no such guarantee. In Episode 129, Cynthia is joined by her two sisters for a conversation about how even Latter-day Saint women who share many commonalities are not having the same experiences in life or at church. It’s an episode about how paths diverge and every journey with faith is a personal one.

Latter-day Saint women in a liminal faith space may find it’s not easy to know what to say, or to whom they can say it. It can feel scary to share non-traditional thoughts with the people closest to us—a husband or partner, a parent, close friend, or child—or discuss shifts we experience in foundational aspects of our church or spiritual lives. In Episode 128, Cynthia and Susan are joined by therapist C.A. Larson for a conversation about having these hard conversations.

Cultural taboos and prohibitions can feel etched in stone for many Latter-day Saint women. Even in things so personal as what to wear to church, we may feel little room to deviate from what’s expected. In Episode 127, Cynthia and Susan discuss choices they each make that are counter to the cultural norm. They’re small things, but in a church where it can feel like there are no small things, learning to ignore raised eyebrows and give yourself permission can pay big mental and spiritual dividends.

Got thoughts about tithing? This may be the episode you’ve been waiting for! There’s a lot of emotion tied up at the intersection of money, obedience, temple recommends, and blessings. And what about charitable giving? How is tithing the same as paying to a charity that benefits others? How is tithing different? In Episode 126, Cynthia and Susan explore a diversity of ideas and personal experiences shared by listeners around this complicated topic.

Because the scriptures have been written, translated, interpreted, and most often taught by men, it’s not surprising many women don’t feel empowered to venture beyond the understanding we’ve received at church. Women’s influence and involvement in the scriptural narrative has been minimized too, leaving only a few female characters with little detail about them. Their role is often glossed over or skipped altogether in our Sunday talks and curriculum. In Episode 125, Kajsa Berlin-Kaufusi joins Cynthia and Susan for a conversation urging Latter-day Saint women to reclaim the scriptures for ourselves in every way.

How does your religion influence your activism? And how does your activism influence your personal religious practice? For Jody England Hansen, there’s never been a boundary between “What kind of member of the Church are you?” and “What kind of member of the world are you?” She writes,“If you see a need, an injustice, and there is something you can do about it, Jesus calls you to do it.” Episode 124 is a conversation about showing up to advocate for and support others, wherever, whenever, and however we feel called.

For some Latter-day Saints, our church services are feeling a little stale. Maybe even boring? If you got a seat on the Imagination Committee, what ideas would you bring for reimagining Sunday worship? How could we make the time we spend meeting together in our wards better? What would inspire and recharge you? What do you wish you might see, hear, sing, say, or do? Where’s your holy envy sitting on Sundays?