Natasha – thank you so much for pointing out the pitfalls to leaving a marriage over issues of free agency. This is something I know many people have been facing, and it is so encouraging to see you tackle it from a faithful perspective that is also very psychologically balanced. I appreciate all the good work you are doing on this site! Thank you so much for your positive comments! Read more

I am 28 years old. I was overweight as a child and by age 15 I was 250 pounds. At 18 I decided this was not working for me and from 18 to 21 I lost over 100 pounds. I got to about 140 and then went on an LDS mission. I lost the weight the healthy way exercising and eating well. Then I went on my mission to NYC. I was somewhat forced to eat bad food on my... Read more

In regards to seeking counsel from the bishop or stake president, the Church handbook says that “members should make a diligent effort, including earnest prayer and scripture study, to find solutions and answers themselves.” What may be okay for one member may not be for another. That doesn’t mean the core principles don’t apply to each member, it just means that the adherence to a principle can be manifested in infinitely varying ways. For example, Nephi felt compelled by the... Read more

To give a little background, I was married in the temple about 8 years ago. My husband and I had a baby girl 16 months ago, and shortly after she was born my husband told me that he didn’t believe in the church and wanted nothing more do do with it. This struggle has been hard enough, but now my daughter is coming up on the age where she can start going to nursery. I’ve brought up this fact several... Read more

How Great Thou Art #86 I Need Thee Every Hour #98 Master the Tempest is Raging #105 Come Unto Jesus #117 Where Can I Turn for Peace? #129 I Know That My Redeemer Lives #136 I Stand All Amazed #193 Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words #232 Read more

Comment #1: If she is comfortable responding, I would be interested to hear what the original poster of the question thinks of this response and what she decided to do regarding the exercises.  Comment #2: I am the original poster and first of all want to thank Natasha for the effort she puts in to so thoroughly answer our questions. My first concern was the moral view of this and weather it was a necessity to see the bishop for... Read more

I found your blog yesterday afternoon, and haven’t been able to stop reading.  I read every single column, from your latest June 24th column all the way back to your first column on February 26th.  It has been riveting, educational, and inspiring to not only see the struggles that people go through, but to have your insight as a faithful LDS member and a licensed therapist.  That being said, I want to say thank you for such a great blog. ... Read more

Okay I’m just gonna ask, at the risk of you feeling like I have just ignored everything you just wrote. And I am not even sure that you are the right person to ask, but seeing that this topic is being addressed here, here goes…. so often I am in a group of LDS girlfriends and the topic of Sex always comes up. I am sure that we are an odd group at best, these are always the same questions/comments.... Read more

So much good thought here. Thanks for all you are doing. Not that I’m a therapist, but I quibble a bit with the notion that the gospel is never about guilt. Shame and guilt are not the same thing, right? Prophets have taught that guilt can be to the spirit what pain is to the body, as when a hand is on a hot stove. Shame that makes us want to hide is another story, and is not from God. ... Read more