Building Bridges: Recent Episodes
Taylor Niebergall
Imagine a wide chasm spanning the distance between you and a person that you love. Both of you want to stay on the side you are on, but hate the separation resulting from that choice. Is your relationship then doomed? How can you make this work? I believe the answer to this is Bridge Building, and that is exactly what I am seeking to teach my listeners. When it comes to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, chasms of faith differences often develop and can be detrimental to maintaining healthy, loving relationships. I believe that these relationships are not doomed to the width of the gulf, but can in fact become stronger than ever before. Bridge Builders seek to find the tools to form bridges that will allow these relationships to flourish again, literally bridging the gap, making the chasm less daunting, making your loved one more emotionally available/open to you, learning from new perspectives, and planting seeds of love, trust, and credibility along the path.
It's hard to close the door on this chapter of my life. This podcast has brought me so much growth and joy. Please look through the resources below to continue adding to your bridge building toolkit.
- Fowler's stages of faith
- The “Sin of Certainty” by Peter Enns
- “Bridges” by David Ostler
- "Listen Learn and Love" podcast by Richard Ostler
- “Where will you go” podcast by Marti Nelson
- "Faith Matters" podcast by the Faith Matters Foundation
- 3 practice circles for crossing the difference divide. https://3practices.com/
Join us on a discussion of where beliefs come from, what to do when they are challenged, and how we can take ownership of what we accept or reject.
Danielle Calder walks us through her personal highs and lows in her faith transition. Danielle is uniquely qualified to talk about this topic as a therapist specializing in religious trauma. She is also a great friend and former missionary companion. Trigger Warning, suicidal themes.
Has being “right” ever gotten in the way of bridge building? My cousin Sam and I discuss what it means to be “right”, the value of truth, and how we can hold space for both our truth and our love in our bridge building relationships. Notes were taken from “Without the Spirit ye shall not teach” by Michelle Garrett church News staff writer from Church News. May 19th, 2013, and John C. Pingree’s most recent Conference address Oct 2023.
Emily Salisburry and Jonothan Decker join us today to discuss navigating paradigm shifts. You can find the youtube video about wonderwoman here:
https://youtu.be/RTtpXWX6a9w
This is a link to Jonathan's Cinema Therapy channel. https://youtube.com/@CinemaTherapyShow
This is where you can find Jonothan and Alicia Deckers channel, Mended Light: https://youtube.com/@MendedLight
Find Jonothans articles that he writes for LDS living here: https://www.ldsliving.com/search?q=Jonothan+decker
And lastly, this is a link to the documentary Jonothan Mentioned, “Lord, Save us from your followers.” https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1DF9B7321A081B52
Scott is the first co-host to be on an episode who is openly Gay. His bridge building game is on point, and has many flourishing relationships with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Come learn about the role of expectations and standards, and learn why using our judgement is actually a good thing.
Join us for a special opportunity to interview the man who wrote the book that inspired this podcast, David Ostler! David is the author of “Bridges: Ministering to those who question” and his book helps active participating members gain more understanding for the challenges that those on the other side of the bridge face. It is an excellent resource for families experiencing faith transitions. Emily and I have the precious opportunity to interview David together to maintain both perspectives and fulfill a dream made over a year ago. If you don’t listen to any episode but one, choose this one!
Link to David’s book can be found here https://deseretbook.com/p/bridges-ministering-to-those-who-question?variant_id=181882-paperback
Brene Brown's explanation of empathy can be found here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw
Marti shares a presentation she did for The Good Book Club on maintaining relationships across difference divides.
Clips of another podcast were shared. Here is a link to the full podcast episode from Neil Sattin’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/O5PYe0XIMhY
List of books referenced:
Feeling Good and Feeling Good Together by David Burns
Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown
Bridges by David Ostler
How To Have Impossible Conversations by James A. Lindsay and Peter Boghossian
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
To join or find out more information about The Good Book Club: email thegoodbookclub@mail.com
Practice listening at 3practices.com or bridgeslds.com
https://wherewillyougo.net/ is Marti's podcast and can be found on podcast apps as well.
When there is so much to say about black and white thinking, that you just have to keep going.
This episode invites listeners to become aware of the ways in which their mindset can affect their bridge building efforts.
Emily's amazing Relief Society President "saw her" when she needed most to be seen. Thankfully she invited Emily to speak out about her faith transition experience in a fireside, and that audio has been recorded for our benefit!
How can we be like this R.S. president and reach out with charity and give voice to someone who believes differently than we do?
Shownotes
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Restoration: God’s Call to the 21st Century World By Patrick Q. Mason
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNwTzV3PksU check out this ted talk about labels. =)
As Halloween approaches, we thought it would be fun to talk about the ways in which fear impacts bridge building. Hint hint, it's hardly beneficial, but you may just learn a few things about it that surprise you. ;)
Not a ton of show notes today, but we did quote from 1st John 4:18.
“The Courage to be Disliked” By Ichrio Kishimi
https://bit.ly/3v2NiF0
https://apple.co/3mM757Y
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2021/09/digital-only-young-adults/the-key-to-navigating-conflict
Also, check out "Our differences don't have to divide us"
“You are such an amazing person, with exceptional morals, you must be the same religion that I am!” Hold up, you’re not? Why are we looking to categorize people into our tribe or not our tribe? Have you ever caught yourself doing it? Amanda and I dive into the “us vs them” mentality, and how we've experienced it in our own lives.
Is it bad to think you are right about something? Amanda Niebergall joins us today to help explain the difference between perceptions and perspectives, the impact these views have on our lives, and how gaining perspectives creates safe passage for bridge building.
Get to know your podcast host, how the Bridges podcast came to be, and hear all my disclaimers and shout outs.