347: Public Voices: Navigating an LDS Culture of Quiet Dissent

Latter Day Struggles

Valerie Hamaker

Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Religion

4.4 • 721 Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2025

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Send us a Positive Review! In this episode Valerie is the guest on the thought-provoking Inside Out Podcast, one of the first podcasts to interview her following the dramatic events that led up to the Hamakers' decision to resign from the LDS church rather than collude in an excommunication process that they did not endorse as ethical, legitimate, or appropriate. This episode takes you through Val's early life and path leading to her current work and delves into the challenges she...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Inside Out, the podcast offering a pragmatic perspective on the Mormon Church and faith.
0:17.1	We explore both the strengths and weaknesses of the church. We acknowledge its positive
0:23.1	contributions while also addressing challenges in areas for potential growth. I'm your co-host,
0:30.1	Ian Wilkes, and as always, I'm joined here by the right, Honorable, Mr. Jim Bennett. Jim, how are you
0:36.2	today? I'm both right and honorable, probably more right than Honorable, Mr. Jim Bennett. Jim, how are you today? I'm both right and honorable.
0:39.6	Probably more right than honorable.
0:41.7	I'm not sure where the balance is.
0:43.9	I thought I'd give you that title because I've been watching a lot of British politics
0:47.3	and there's a lot of right honorable titles that these people have.
0:53.4	So today we have a wonderful and very special guest. Welcome,
0:58.3	Valerie Hamaker. Hi, how are you today? Good to be here. Really good, Valerie. So wonderful to
1:04.3	have you with this. Did I pronounce your last name correctly? Hamaker, I wish you hadn't, but you did. Yes, it's evolved away from a little bit more of a dignified
1:14.8	German sounding last name, but Hamaker, it is in 2025. Wonderful. And I know if I mess it up
1:22.0	with my British accent, I've got a British accent going on here. You made it sound better, so I like it.
1:26.6	Well, there you go. Well, Varra, it's absolutely wonderful to have you here. You made it sound better, so I like it. Well, there we go.
1:30.8	Well, Varra, it's absolutely wonderful to have you here with us.
1:33.8	And, of course, to have Jim be with us today.
1:38.2	We're looking forward to a very interesting and comfortable,
1:40.2	but also lively conversation with you.
1:43.6	We've got you for a fairly limited piece of time.
1:45.5	So if I can jump straight into it,
1:48.4	could you give us a little bit of, and you've been asked these questions many, many times.
	...

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