Episode 93.

Did you grow up in a highly observant home and religious community where surety of belief was the norm? Aubrey Chaves did, and much as she felt embraced by the family’s deep engagement within their Mormon congregation, or ward, when she encountered differing lifestyles that were loving and not harmful to anyone, the rightness she had always believed about the church fathers and doctrine shifted from a solid foundation to something brittle. In short, it prompted a crisis of faith. Over the many years since then, she’s spent a lot time learning and struggling with her faith, emerging with a stronger and more forgiving approach to living her beliefs. These days, her spiritual views are more complex and open, for which she is grateful.

Highlights:

• Pioneer stock of Mormons on both sides of the family.
• Church provided an anchor and cadence for life.
• Crisis of faith and realizing the church had flaws and ugly history.
• The role of LGBTQ issues in faith reassessment.
• James Fowler's Stages of Faith.
• Missionary service as a transformative journey.
• Orthodoxy v. Orthodoxy.
• Faith redefined as love and trust.

Bio:

As a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Aubrey Chaves finds deep meaning in faith, community, and the continual pursuit of spiritual growth. She serves on the executive board of the Faith Matters Foundation and co-hosts its weekly podcast with her husband, Tim. Together, they explore big questions and hope to foster expansive, thoughtful conversations that inspire curiosity, connection, and deeper engagement with faith. They live in Midway, Utah, where they are raising their four children under the beautiful snowy peaks of the Wasatch Mountains.

References:

• James Fowler, Stages of Faith
• Brian McLaren – Faith After Doubt
• Pew Research

Social Media links for Aubrey:

• Website – https://faithmatters.org/
• Instagram – @faithmattersfoundation

Transcript on Buzzsprout

Social Media links for Méli:

• Website – the Talking with God Project
• Meli’s email
• LinkedIn – Meli Solomon
• Facebook – Meli Solomon

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The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project.