Deconstructing Mormonism & Crossing the Bridge - David Ostler Pt. 2 | Ep. 2228

In Part Two of our conversation with David Ostler (former bishop, stake president, and mission president), Dave continues his story after returning from Sierra Leone. He is called as Director of Historical Sites and with his wife Rachelle oversees the church’s historic sites in Palmyra New York. By this point, Dave is aware of many of the areas of church history that are troubling. While nuanced, Dave still considers able to live a consecrated life, as a faithful and devoted member. Dave reflects on his evolving understanding of Mormonism, including his work researching why people leave the church and writing Bridges: Ministering to Those Who Question. What began as an effort to help church leaders better understand those who doubt eventually led Dave to question whether these issues can ever be adequately addressed by the church. He considers some of the great questions about what it means to be human and through that study, begins to reconsider the framework through which he has understood the world. Dave and John also discuss religious certainty and Mormon truth claims. Dave sees church patriarchy as harmful and reflects on the negative way it has impacted him. In a similar way, Dave and John discuss the church’s treatment LGBTQ+ people, and the difficulty of building meaningful relationships across differences in belief. Dave describes how he has found purpose and meaning outside of religion and a belief in God. If you have questions about the episode, you can contact Dave directly at dbostler@gmail.com Show notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here: https://www.mormonstories.org/from-mormon-leader-to-bridge-builder/ Timecodes: 00:00:00 - Return from Sierra Leone 00:04:00 - Mission to Palmyra 00:07:32 - Serving at Hill Cumorah 00:15:48 - Confronting Difficult Church History 00:25:19 - Faith and Institutional Life 00:31:06 - The Decline of Mormon Culture 00:39:16 - Leaving Mission Service 00:48:24 - Writing Bridges 00:59:44 - Understanding Faith Crises 01:01:24 - Church Leadership Disconnect 01:25:33 - Deconstructing Mormon Beliefs 01:32:36 - Embracing a Humanist Worldview 01:54:08 - Family After Leaving Faith 01:59:04 - Finding Personal Purpose 02:09:01 - Church Humanitarian Efforts 02:24:04 - Reflecting on Church Harm 02:47:14 - Faith, Compassion, and Crisis 02:55:07 - Reconstructing Life After Faith ___________________ At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals. Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology 2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis 3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions 🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/mormonstories Paypal: https://paypal.me/mormonstories Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6OgmoqJbOVRq-Lv1P7SzA/join Our Platforms: 🌐Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes 🎙️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories ✳️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404&nd=1 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 🖼️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories 📱TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast 🎮Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF Contact us: 📧 MormonStories@gmail.com 📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117