Ep101: Does Myth Matter? A Conversation with No Nonsense Spirituality's Britt Hartley 

I love the way Britt expresses herself. She is always so thoughtful and reflective. I really enjoyed her recently on Mormon Stories Podcast discussing Nihilism.

Wow. I feel like i need to go rethink my whole life. This was the most helpful podcast ive ever listened to.

Love Brittney! Thanks for this interview. My favorite quote: “It may be too much to expect one generation to deconstruct and also reconstruct.” I was expecting myself to do that in a matter of months. Ha ha!

Britt is becoming one of my most favorite person. She has such words of wisdom. And I can go to Starbucks. 😂

This is wonderful - I kept wanting to engage with Brit as she spoke about nihilism. I was so afraid to stop believing in god because I would have to accept death and I was not ready to do that. Being a convert to the church I had gladly accepted the belief that I would be with my loved ones again in a different way than my Church of England upbringing had provided - "you get to heaven, you get to heaven - um, you go to hell." Being a husband and wife with our kids for eternity was a wonderful carrot, but the stick it came with when I realized that I no longer believed in anything supernatural, was that everyone I loved would die and I would never see them again. I seriously went to hell when I stopped believing in god and discovered that I was the only person there. I was so alone. I've never heard another person articulate my feelings as well as you did Brit. Thank you, it was really validating.

That was so enlightening. I've already forwarded this to several friends. Thanks for the insights. I'm a new Britt super fan.

Great insights.

Great topic and it’s great to hear from Brit again. The part about being able to sit with one’s feelings and not be a part of a group- all my artist friends are mostly agnostic and have deconstructed and make their own way spirituality. We are also almost all neurodivergent. I think growing up introverted and living in our heads made us very good at sitting with our feelings and being less connected. And we must be wired to be more liberal.

What a fascinating episode!!!! You were so lucky to secure Britt’s interview. She is SO knowledgeable…WAY ahead of her time! 🎉

What a wonderful episode: Britt Hartley!! She is wise and wants all of us to have peace and purpose.

The generational aspect of faith challenge is something I’ve brought to my local leaders’ attention, and they seem very receptive, contrary to the explicit calls for loyalty from GAs. The Church has moved toward greater transparency, but without making the changes demanded by the fact patterns that were previously concealed. This forces anyone who is not ignorant of the issues to a) leave, b) maintain contradictory beliefs, or c) hold out for change. But that’s the individual’s choice, and it’s a lifetime issue. The true urgency for change comes from the question of what to pass on to the next generation. For example, one might believe that Joseph had some kind of a spiritual experience, but no longer find complete truth in the details of the traditional First Vision narrative. I don’t teach it. I can’t. Which version am I supposed to teach? What do I teach about the questions around the timing? On LGBTQ issues it’s even worse. We have have gay family and my kids have several queer friends. Their experience with these people has been nothing but good. And now my kids are supposed to receive instruction from teachers who don’t have that same level of expertise and can’t articulate anything other than loyalty? Talk about the blind leading the blind. I can only encourage my kids to adopt those LDS beliefs and practices that feel right, and it’s not pointing in the direction of the Church’s favor.

Awesome and resourceful episode, thank you!!! You guys rock :)!!!!

Loved this episode!!!

I saw your daughter, Britt, walk behind you just now. I immediately thought back to 45 years ago when I brought Lori home from Mexico as an infant. She brought me into another world that I have had to live in. Brown skin became a part of my visual world, and brown kids brought me into her friend's world. Then brown grandchildren brought me into a greater world, and, a brown great granddaughter has brought me into the future world I hope for for her and and her family and friends. a simple adoption of simple brown child simply has changed my simple whole world. Like Tiny Time, I feel to say, "God bless our new world, one and all!"

Wasn't she just on Mormon Stories?

Smythishism

Really, you lost all your anchors? What about your family? It amazes me what we say to get an audience

I love Mannheim Steamroller, too!

Corporate money would draw the children together. They chose profits over them.

I don’t see any links to any of the things Brit listed. Can you please share?

Rebecca, you are beautiful and I love listening! But- you need to take the glasses off your head!

Idg why exmos throw out El Nino Jesu's with the proverbial living water. Joseph Smith is not the author and finisher of your faith. Like Sandra tanner left mormonism but she never left Jesus. One who was in mormonism can certainly arrive that tho the religion was false the teachings of Jesus that resonated with them made them feel somthing were real. I like Paul toscanos take on the bom that it's a myth wisdom literature. I suppose it's possible that joseph could have dictated that book bit I don't find it highly likely. He's a gem this video maybe a response to his appearance on mormonism live? Like as a child I never believed nephi built a boat or Noah built an ark. Shits ridiculous and so to is the book of mormon and I think maybe that's all by design. God only knows. 😂 You know whatever the future holds I'm sure it will be interesting and highly possible even highly likely that we will find ourselves praying to God despite our efforts to live without him.

I think Hartley's concerns about the dangers of White Christian Nationalism on the Right as a reaction to the chaos of the changing world are valid. However, I also think that there are similar such threats on the Left that seem to be appealing especially to exmos - in particular the political religion of Wokeness.

Jos3ph said you must contemplate the abyss and the highest heights to commune with God. 🤷‍♂️