Listening with Charity: A Conversation with Patrick Mason
Some beginning of the year encouragement from a lively conversation with historian Patrick Mason.
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Author: Jacob Z. Hess
Jacob Hess served on the board of the National Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation and co-authored "You're Not as Crazy as I Thought, But You're Still Wrong" and “The Power of Stillness: Mindful Living for Latter-day Saints.” He has a Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign - and has focused his research on the implications of competing health and sociopolitical narratives.
Patterns in Stories of Lasting Healing from Depression
What can we learn from people who find deeper and more lasting healing from depression? A whole lot, it turns out. Introducing an in-depth examination of themes across stories of sustainable healing from depression.
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Culture War Comes to Church
With a cultural war raging around us, perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us to see it leaking now and then into our congregations and classes. But that doesn’t make it any easier to know how to respond.
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When the Adderall Runs Out
Some emergency preparation suggestions if access to psychiatric medication becomes limited or unavailable.
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Softening the Trauma Response Between Current and Former Members
Stepping away from a community of faith hurts in both directions. Could a deeper recognition of that pain help draw our hearts together again?
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De-Nazifying The Church
Plenty of horrifying things in history have been justified as accomplishing “great good.” That’s true of the atrocities in Ukraine. And it’s also true of those tearing apart the faith of believers young and old.
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What It’s Like to Be Cyberbullied
I was shocked after reviewing research on cyberbullying and then witnessing others go through it. But it wasn’t until I experienced it myself that I appreciated what it does to you.
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Whose Body Will Save Us from The Pain Inside?
More than simply “maladaptive coping,” using pornography involves, at root, an expression of love and adoration in another human body – trusting it to bring a kind of transcendence and liberation from what hurts in life.
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Who Can Turn Away from the Sea of Seduction Around Us?
You can. But don’t be surprised when others are swept away. And try to appreciate the courage of those working hard to turn their hearts towards something better and more beautiful.
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Ten Ways the AP Abuse Article Misrepresented the Evidence
I was surprised by how many discrepancies I found when comparing Rezendes’ AP article with the actual court documents. Here is a comprehensive list of contrasts between the two.
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Imagining a Mental Health System Centered on Learning & Growth
Growing and making changes can bring joy to life—as does finding deeper relationships. Can all this decrease emotional suffering too? What could it mean for our mental health if this became more central to our healing efforts?
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Does Your Depression Keep Getting Worse? This Might Be Why
The FDA approved antidepressants as helpful short-term support based on studies spanning a few months. In making longer-term decisions, it’s crucial to pay more attention to what we know from longer-term research studies.
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Hope Sometimes Hurts. Hopelessness Hurts More.
Remarkable scientific advances now confirm greater hope for deeper healing among those grappling with depression and anxiety. But this can feel unsettling and even threatening to some.
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What You Said Makes Me Uncomfortable. Why Are You So Mean?
What does it mean when we’re deeply uncomfortable with what someone else has said? Has a great wrong been done? Christian teaching highlights another (uncomfortable) possibility.
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Live Action Role Playing and Sacred Symbolic Pedagogy
Latter-day Saints aren’t the only ones reenacting transcendent stories through symbolic, experiential pedagogy. But we may be unique in relishing these stories as God’s exalting truth.
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Happy Rejoining Twitter Day
For all those keeping social media at arm’s length, maybe today’s a chance to take a second look? The online public square needs you!
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Trauma Healing as a Sacred Gospel Practice
Believers in Jesus know exactly what to do when we’ve been hurt by our own (sinful) actions— thanks to the practice of repentance. But when we are hurt by someone else’s actions, the pathway forward is far less clear.
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What’s Hijacking So Many Beautiful Relationships?
“It must not have been right” we say, after another relationship full of eternal possibilities falls apart (or never starts to begin with). But could we be missing something else going on?
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Outrage Masquerading as Virtue
In the increasingly dystopian landscape around us, raining down fire on someone for misspeaking or advocating an unpopular view is held up as faux righteousness. Let’s not pretend this is anything other than the danger that it is.
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Is Popular Discourse Set Up to Point Us Towards Truth?
It’s understandable why we take for granted that our national conversations about all sorts of things are orienting us towards the truth of the matter. But what if they’re not?
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