Most people have a complicated relationship with their body, with many of us wishing we looked different. Fad diets, intermittent fasting, excessive exercise, weight loss injections, and liposuction abound as we search for perfection. The Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) recently published a research and policy brief summarizing the findings from a complex study of body image in the Church, which is the topic of this episode.
In this episode, I am joined by two guests, both professors in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University: Dr. Sarah Coyne, Associate Director of the Department and a Professor of Human Development, and Dr. Lauren Barnes, an Associate Clinical Professor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. This is such an interesting conversation and research!

UWLP Research & Policy Brief: https://www.usu.edu/uwlp/files/briefs/58-bodies-at-church-latter-day-saint-doctrine-teaching-culture-body-image.pdf

Utah Women & Leadership Project: www.utwomen.org

A Bolder Way Forward: www.abolderwayforward.org

In this episode, I openly talk about some of the things I'm doing and the load I feel on my shoulders for the work I do. At the same time, I talk about some tender mercies I had last week that helped me remember why I continue to believe. I share a few profound experiences, along with how I rely on feeling the Spirit to help me feel like I'm moving in the right direction. This episode is a little bit of this and a little bit of that!

Utah Women & Leadership Project: www.utwomen.org

A Bolder Way Forward: www.abolderwayforward.org

A month ago, I wrote and published an editorial in two Utah newspapers title, “The link between domestic violence and religiosity.” Can I just say, many people in the Church don’t want to read or engage in this topic at all, but things will not change if all of us lean into uncomfortable topics like this.

I’ll be sharing things that I wrote about in that article here so you can see how religion is connected to violence against girls and women. Knowing this can help!

Resources:

Guest Editorial: https://www.heraldextra.com/news/opinion/local-guest-opinions/2024/jul/10/guest-opinion-the-link-between-domestic-violence-and-religiosity/

Australian Government Report: https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-06/CFCA-Spiritual-Abuse-Paper-Jun24.pdf

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