EP 526 – Church Discipline and “The Line”




This Week in Mormons show

Summary: Longtime <a href="http://www.thisweekinmormons.com/category/sunday-school-bonanza-2/church-historydoctrine-and-covenants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday School Bonanza</a> co-host Patricia Doxey is joining us for some TWiM love! She's an experienced writer and editor who works in the health care space, and we're excited to have her with us this week to provide her thoughtful insights on the Latter-day Saint news of the day.<br> <br> The biggest news of the week is also some of the toughest. Noted Latter-day Saint sex therapist and micro-celebrity <a style="font-size: 18px;letter-spacing: 0.1px;background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/04/16/mormon-sex-therapist-expulsion-lds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Natasha Helfer (once Parker) has been summoned for a disciplinary hearing</a> with her old stake president in Kanasas. Many supporters of clinically sound therapy are fearful of this move, as what a therapist might recommend to a patient can easily run contrary to some of the standards of the Church.<br> <br> So why is Natasha going through this process? Why now? What differentiates her from other Latter-day Saint therapists, many of whom wholly agree with her approach to therapy yet also remain active in the Church? Why are some brought in for discipline and others aren't? There's plenty to unpack, and we'll do our best from 30,000 feet.<br> <br> In more light-hearted news related to sexual healthy, Brigham Young University recently <a style="font-size: 18px;letter-spacing: 0.1px;background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://universe.byu.edu/2021/04/12/new-website-delivers-resources-on-healthy-sexuality-in-gospel-context/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published a useful new website</a> devoted to healthy sexuality in a gospel context. The content is geared toward all - the never married, newlyweds, divorcees, widows, etc.<br> <br> However, an author of one article is either a genius with innuendo or comically naive.<br> <br> <br> <br> We'll just leave it right there.<br> <br> Famed Latter-day Saint Al Carraway, "The Tattooed Mormon," posted on Twitter last week about "church" culture. Is it the culture of the Church or the culture of Utah? Is "Church" culture actually Utah culture exported elsewhere?<br> <br> I CRINGE at the phrase “church culture”<br> I am from &amp; live in the east,9yrs in west, my records in 11 wards, spoken in 6 diff countries &amp; *almost every state.<br> <br> Definitely not all, but a lot is LOCATION culture.<br> What is a hot issue where you are now, is not where I am. &amp;vise versa<br> <br> — al carraway (@al_carraway) <a href="https://twitter.com/al_carraway/status/1381279162128760832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a><br> Temple news! The <a href="http://www.thisweekinmormons.com/2021/04/temple-in-russia-gets-a-new-name">Church has named the temple in Russia</a>, but will it even be a temple, based on said name?<br> <br> Also, with a <a href="http://www.thisweekinmormons.com/2021/04/groundbreaking-date-announced-for-tallahassee-florida-temple">groundbreaking announced for Florida's third temple</a> as well as <a href="http://www.thisweekinmormons.com/2021/04/church-announces-20-new-temples/">20 new temples announced in the last General Conference</a>, when does the backlog of announced temples become too much?<br> <br> https://youtu.be/EnZHnO_IJag<br> <br> Supporters of Minerva Teichert's work, particularly <a href="http://www.thisweekinmormons.com/2021/03/church-will-now-try-to-preserve-manti-temple-murals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that which has been slated for removal from the Manti Utah Temple</a>, held <a href="https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/sunday-rally-in-provo-supports-keeping-..."></a>