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PODCAST

Latter Day Struggles

Valerie Hamaker

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.

health & fitness mental health

All Episodes

71:23

399: This Classic Episode Put Latter Day Struggles on...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2026/01/12

Send us a Positive Review! With well over a million downloads since its first drop in March of 2022, the Latter Day Struggles podcast has established itself the place to find peace, healing, community, and words to describe your Latter-day Saint faith and trust crisis. It is where thousands have come to realize that deep within themselves is a True Self capable of mapping out their own spiritual journey and integrating their Latter-day Saint background into this journey on their own te...

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58:53

397: What Happens When Only One Kind of Latter-day...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2026/01/05

Send us a Positive Review! Series title: Mormon Faith Crisis—Progression, Not Pathology [Part III of III] In this episode Valerie welcomes back friend and researcher Jeff Strong for the third installment of their series exploring Jeff's research learning about the actual experiences of thousands of Latter-day Saints. The theme that came through? Massive amounts of TENSION. Today they go deeper into six distinct kinds of Latter-day Saints and highlight that one type, "the ...

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60:03

396: UNLOCKED for All Listeners: Shifting the Focus...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2026/01/02

Send us a Positive Review! As we begin 2026 and the fourth year of the Latter Day Struggles Podcast, we wanted to say THANK YOU to ALL supporters of the podcast and platform! So please enjoy this Office Hours recording and a podcast episode that is one that is a must-listen! In this timely conversation Valerie tackles Elder Anderson's recent general conference talk on abortion. In one hour she goes from the macro issue of abortion itself and offers some thought-provoking concepts ...

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51:16

395: We Need to Stop Calling Growth a Sin in the LDS...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/12/29

Send us a Positive Review! Series title: Mormon Faith Crisis—Progression, Not Pathology [Part II of III] In today's episode Valerie and guest researcher Jeff Strong explore why people in the same LDS congregation can experience church so differently, depending on where they are in their faith journey. They introduce Jeff’s model of six faith mindsets—seekers, cultivators, protectors, avoiders, connectors, and explorers—each representing valid and meaningful ways of engaging faith. The...

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65:55

393: Quiet Conflict: What the Research Reveals About...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/12/22

Send us a Positive Review! Series title: Mormon Faith Crisis—Progression, Not Pathology [Part I of III] The data is rolling in and Wow…if you want to know what’s really on the hearts and minds of many active Latter-day Saints, this 3-part series is a GOLD MINE. Join Val and colleague Jeff Strong, prominent researcher on Mormon faith crisis as they begin to look at some of Jeff’s team’s large-scale surveys and in-depth interviews that detail how many active members quietly wrestle ...

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50:49

391: Why Mental Health Workers Became the Black...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/12/15

Send us a Positive Review! In this episode of Latter Day Struggles, Valerie and guest Maxine Hanks dive into the complexities of reform and personal wellness within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This fascinating conversation explores the first-hand experience of two women whose influential work spans a half-century in the LDS spotlight. With this time-span as a reference point, they discuss how the focus of institutional reprimand and control has shifted from scholars to me...

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58:23

389: Faith & Feminism: Valerie's Vision & Maxine’s...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/12/08

Send us a Positive Review! In this part one of a two-part conversation, Valerie is joined by Maxine Hanks for a deeply personal and reflective conversation exploring their parallel journeys as Latter-day Saint female thought leaders navigating faith transitions, church discipline, and personal empowerment. This episodes is more a tender conversation between two friends than an interview where both women share of the depths of the commitment to honor their higher selves, their experience...

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92:00

BONUS EPISODE: Why the LDS Church is Vulnerable to...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/12/05

Send us a Positive Review! In today's BONUS EPISODE Val breaks down some ideas around why the LDS Church is uniquely vulnerable to the underreporting of child sex abuse. While some of its issues will be vulnerabilities of all patriarchal systems, there are others that might be unique to the LDS church due to its history, doctrine, practices, and culture. Listen in as Val walks through her own process of understanding this devastating phenomenon in hopes to evoke more dialo...

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55:43

387: Mission Eligibility Age Dropped to 18 for LDS...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/12/01

Send us a Positive Review! Join Valerie and therapist colleague Dr. Julie Hanks in this recording of a recent “Instagram Live” where they explored the recent breaking news from LDS Newsroom decreasing the eligibility age from 19 to 18 for young women interested in serving full-time missions. In this conversation Val and Julie tackle possible as variety of topics, including short term and long term social, cultural, and mental health drawbacks and benefits that might follow this policy c...

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51:36

385: Honoring Relationships AND your Nervous System...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/11/24

Send us a Positive Review! If Episode 384 (the one right before this one!) addresses the larger psychological question of why the holidays & family events can be extra challenging and painful for those on the LDS faith expansion journey--then this episode answers the equally relevant follow up question: What can I actually do to maximize my potential to feel present and grounded at these holiday events? In today's episode, Val focuses in on two prevalent kinds of LDS family s...

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49:28

383: Why We Care So Much about Transcending &...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/11/17

Send us a Positive Review! Are you curious about what has happened in the minds and hearts of the Hamakers eight months post-resignation from the LDS church due to the waves that this podcast has made throughout the world for the past couple of years? Well, one thing that happened changed Val's life and is now changing hundreds of Latter Day Struggles Podcast listener's lives too. It all started the day Val opened up a book that became a portal to an entire universe of deep...

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43:10

381: Polygamy is Having its Mormon Moment (Again) in...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/11/10

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: Unpacking LDS Polygamy Developments in 2025 [Part II of II] Join Valerie and Jana Spangler as they finish their conversation about the fascinating currents of 2025 surrounding polygamy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In this episode they dissect the release of a new gospel topic essay solidifying Joseph Smith's role as the originator of polygamy, the provocative digitization of a John Taylor revelation, and analyze President Oaks'...

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84:58

379: When Mormon Polygamy Comes to Primary in 2025

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/11/03

Send us a Positive Review! Join Valerie and her guest Jana Spangler in the next two Monday episodes as they delve into the complexities of polygamy within the Mormon church, focusing on the year 2025 when several significant events around this topic unfolded. They discuss how early Mormon history, particularly Joseph Smith's revelation on polygamy, has impacted the faith journey of many members. Additionally, they explore the recent polygamy-related additions to the 'Come Follow Me' man...

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51:39

377: When One's Soul has the Audacity to Grow, Right...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/10/27

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: A Two-Hundred Year Old Mirror: How the Faith Expansion Journey has Always Made Christian Leadership Sweat! [Episode II of II] In this thought-provoking episode, Valerie and guest Casey McFarland dive into part two of their series comparing the dynamics between orthodox leadership and progressive membership in both the early Christian church and in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They explore the discovery of the Gnostic Gospels a...

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68:41

375: When God Refuses to Be Church-Correlated

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/10/20

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: A Two-Hundred Year Old Mirror: How the Faith Expansion Journey has Always Made Christian Leadership Sweat! [Episode I of II] In the next two Monday episodes you are going to LOVE this conversation between Valerie and her friend Casey McFarland (of @pioneerparadox) as they discuss a fascinating aspect of early Christian history that is sure to resonate with you on your own faith expansion journey. They delve into the world of early Christian Gnostics ...

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43:17

373: What Caterpillars Can Teach us about Blind...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/10/13

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: An Exploration of ‘Fabricated Fellowship’ & ‘Harmful Religiosity’ on the Path Towards Healing Spiritual Community [Part IV of IV] Join Valerie and her special guests, Steve and Ginger Hitz, in the final episode of a profound four-part series focused on the crucial role that community can play in fostering environments of growth and spiritual flourishing. In this episode one focus is on the harms of blind conformity and the importance of lea...

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43:05

371: To Find Divinity, Look No Further than the Mirror

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/10/06

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: An Exploration of ‘Fabricated Fellowship’ & ‘Harmful Religiosity’ on the Path Towards Healing Spiritual Community [Part III of IV] In this thought-provoking episode, Valerie and guests Ginger and Steve continue to delve into discuss their book, 'Igniting the Holy Flame.' In this episode the topic turns to a core principle key community spiritual healing. Paradoxically, the more each individual in a community is trusted to find God within, the mor...

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48:12

369: Drowning in the Shallows: Fabricated Fellowship...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/09/29

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: An Exploration of ‘Fabricated Fellowship’ & ‘Harmful Religiosity’ on the Path Towards Healing Spiritual Community [Part II of IV] In this second episode (of a four-part Monday series), Valerie dives deeper with Steve and Ginger Hitz, authors of 'Igniting the Holy Flame.' The conversation centers on the barriers to spiritual thriving in church communities, specifically the concepts of 'fabricated fellowship' and 'harmful religiosity' complete wit...

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28:59

367: Faith on Fire: A Family’s Tragedy Becomes a...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/09/22

Send us a Positive Review! Series Title: An Exploration of ‘Fabricated Fellowship’ & ‘Harmful Religiosity’ on the Path Towards Healing Spiritual Community [Part I of IV] As Richard Rohr has often said, "It is through great love and great suffering" that the soul grows the most rapidly and the most durably. In this four-part series (every MONDAY for the next four weeks!) fall in love with Steve and Ginger Hitz, co-authors of 'Igniting the Holy Flame: Building Communities of Love from the A...

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41:55

365: Soul Sisters Unite: Q&A w/ Valerie & Dr. Julie...

Latter Day Struggles ·

2025/09/15

Send us a Positive Review! Join Dr. Julie Hanks & Valerie in a heartfelt audience Q&A addressing their shared passion as therapists working with thousands of people in and around The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Listen in and find hope and comfort as these two women answer questions about their eventful year promoting, leading, and trying to embody (although imperfectly!) lives of psychological and spiritual health. Stay tuned for the end of the episode where t...

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313 results

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