Bristlecone Firesides

Isabella Errigo is a grad student at Brigham Young University studying the effects of mega-fires on aquatic ecosystems. She joins Abbey and Madison around the fireside to talk about science, activism, and spirituality. The post 27: Wielding the Two-Edged Sword of Science and Activism w/ Isabella Errigo appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

The post 26: Dog Days of Summer: Abbey's Return! appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Faith-based Earth stewardship in Utah may be undergoing a transition. The last few decades have been spent focusing on asking what our tradition has to say about how we can make it through the growing climate crisis. We have collected a robust foundation of statements from Church leaders and Scriptures on caring for the Earth. We have found leaders and created great content that reconnects us to the Earth and inspires us to live more simply. But is it enough? What do we do next? What do we build on this foundation? The post 25: The Present and Future of Mormon Earth Stewardship w/ Anna Thurston appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

In this episode, Terri tells us about the spiritual and ecological value of Utah's wilderness and what she has learned over the decades of working with SUWA and other organizations that defend sacred landscapes. The post 24: The Spiritual Value of Protecting Wild Utah appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

When put back into his historical context, Jesus becomes a radical and wild figure. In modern times, Jesus has been overly domesticated and stripped of his color, culture, and humanity. Brother James Jones and Brother Derek Knox of the Beyond the Block podcast join Abbey and Madison to talk about the wildness of Jesus Christ. The post 23: Jesus and the Desert Wild appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Within the Latter-day Saint community, Queerness is the issue of the times. How both the institution and the community respond to the question of Queerness will largely determine the trajectory and success of the LDS Church and the broader Mormon project into the next century. The post 22: Queerness and the Wild Earth appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

“Sacrificing all things” ahead of time and living a life of non-attachment might be the only way to truly lay hold of every good thing. The post 21: A Wild Sabbath and the Passing of the World appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

The post 20: How Wild Spaces Shape Us with Rick Turley appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

The Allegory of the Olive Tree, found in Jacob 5 in The Book of Mormon, tells the story of an olive tree that became sick and lost its goodness. The Lord of the Vineyard, an allegorical stand-in for God, is an unscrupulous gardener and desperately tries anything and everything to save the tree. The Lord of the Vineyard ultimately saves the tree by grafting in branches from wild olive trees which sustain the ailing tree. This allegory demonstrates that there is saving power in wild things and that God is an ego-less worker who will try anything and everything to save us. The post 19: The Allegory of the Olive Tree and the Saving Power of Wild Things appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Joining the Fireside today are Andy and Shawn Howell, the adventurous husband and wife duo who have taken seriously the joy of the natural world. Both as a couple and as individuals they are climbers, mountaineers, canyoneers, hikers, kayakers, mountain bikers, and everything else. As parents, Andy and Shawn have brought their children into their adventurous lifestyle. Whether it's dissecting snakes at the park, handling tarantulas, or learning how to take safe risks, Andy and Shawn have intentionally stoked a wildness in their kids instead of teaching it out of them. And through this wildness, their kids have taught them to let go and enjoy what is. The post 18: Raising Wild Children appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

This is a special 3-part episode of Bristlecone Firesides. Abbey and Madison are joined again by poet and mystic Kathryn Knight Sonntag as well as new guest Amber Richardson to explore the Wild Woman archetype. Within the shared collective unconscious lies the Wild Woman — a mythic symbol of pure womanhood, undefiled and untamed. The Wild Woman runs with wolves and embodies all the beauty and terror of life and death as well as shamelessly embraces pleasure, pain, and everything in between. The post 17c: The Wild Woman: Encountering the Mother-God appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

This is a special 3-part episode of Bristlecone Firesides. Abbey and Madison are joined again by poet and mystic Kathryn Knight Sonntag as well as new guest Amber Richardson to explore the Wild Woman archetype. Within the shared collective unconscious lies the Wild Woman — a mythic symbol of pure womanhood, undefiled and untamed. The Wild Woman runs with wolves and embodies all the beauty and terror of life and death as well as shamelessly embraces pleasure, pain, and everything in between. The post 17b: The Wild Woman: Shameless, Wild, and Free appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

This is a special 3-part episode of Bristlecone Firesides. Abbey and Madison are joined again by poet and mystic Kathryn Knight Sonntag as well as new guest Amber Richardson to explore the Wild Woman archetype. Within the shared collective unconscious lies the Wild Woman — a mythic symbol of pure womanhood, undefiled and untamed. The Wild Woman runs with wolves and embodies all the beauty and terror of life and death as well as shamelessly embraces pleasure, pain, and everything in between. The post 17a: The Wild Woman: A Mythic Symbol of Womanhood appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Bob Rees, the Director for Mormon Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, joins Abbey and Madison around the fireside today to talk about the rare, radical, and challenging book of Job. This book is a theodicy which is a defense of God's goodness in the face of the vast amount of suffering experienced by humans on Earth. It is drama, poetry, theology asking nearly unanswerable questions of God and the Universe. This serves as a good introduction to the spiritual idea of wildness and wilderness as it deals with deep moral responsibility. God's strange answer to Job's questions about his suffering is to take Job on a tour of the wild Earth and Universe. God seems to ask “yeah, but have you seen the whales and the ostrich?” The post 16: Job and the Comforting Wild appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

The post 15: Into the Wild appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

The post Trailer: Wilderness appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

This special episode of Bristlecone Firesides: Summer Sessions is all about the poem Wild Geese by Mary Oliver. While this poem has been referenced in a previous episode, it is just so good that Madison and Abbey thought it'd be worth a full episode to break it down, line by line. Topics covered include: accepting the soft animal of your body, shedding our loneliness by joining the family of things, and participating in the great good flow of reality. This conversation turned out to be one of our favorites and actually serves as a good teaser for season two. So please enjoy. The post 14: Wild Geese and the Family of Things appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Utah has two great lakes that straddle the northern and southern borders — Lake Powell and Bear Lake. These two lakes are icons of aquatic recreation in Utah. Bear Lake is a natural deep blue body of water that is surrounded by cabins and raspberry shakes. Whereas Lake Powell is the beautiful bittersweet gem of the southwest created by flooding the temple-like Glen Canyon system. Abbey and Madison break down the intricacies of both lakes and the role they play in the Mormon imagination. The post 13: Lake Powell vs Bear Lake appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

In this talk, Theric snacks on a bag of SunChips while extolling the sacrament ritual and describing the cycles of life, death, and recreation we are all a part of. The post BONUS: Consumption and Creation by Theric Jepson appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

The Summer Sessions continues with an interview with three of the essayists in Blossom as the Cliffrose by the Torrey House Press. We are joined by Reb, Michael, and Sarah who all have fantastic essays in the anthology. In this episode, we chat through their approach to writing their essays as well as what inspired them to join the collection. Reb, Michael, and Sarah all come from unique backgrounds that color the way they view both the Earth and the Church. The post 12: Conversations with the Cliffrose: Deserts, Homelands, and Embodied Healing appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Welcome to Bristlecone Firesides: Summer Sessions! Same great podcast but more good summertime vibes. Madison and Abbey speak with Karin Anderson and Danielle Dubrasky. They are the editors for a forthcoming book Blossom as a Cliffrose: Mormon Legacies and the Beckoning Wild published by Torrey House Press. Blossom as a Cliffrose is available for pre-order now and will be released on June 8th of this year. Blossom as the Cliffrose: Mormon Legacies and the Beckoning Wild features original poems and prose by talented writers who are faithful, non-faithful, believers, heretics, converts and de-converts, dragged in or forced out of the Mormon faith. This dynamic collection demonstrates the breadth, complexity, and diversity of a Latter-day Saint legacy of commitment to natural place and challenges us to examine the myriad ways our own deeply rooted heritage shapes our personal relationship with landscape. The post 11: Blossom as a Cliffrose: Mormon Legacies and the Beckoning Wild appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

In the conclusion to the conclusive episode of Bristlecone Firesides, Abbey, Madison, Luis, and Esther discuss the difference between Radical Solidarity and Charity. Each of us is entangled in the systems of sin in this world. While we can't fully extricate ourselves from sin, we can stand in solidarity with those most impacted by systems of sin and oppression. And truly changing the world is a long-term multigenerational process. How then can we remain committed to changing to the world without succumbing to hopelessness or resentment? How is activism a practice of letting go? Links: David O. Mckay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Greg Prince and Rob Wright Letting Go of Innocence by Prentice Hill We Will Not Cancel Us by Adrienne Marie Brown Emergent Strategy by Adrienna Marie Brown Healing Resistance by Kazu Haga All About Love by Bell Hooks The Lower Light Wisdom School Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) The post 10: Radical Solidarity and Faith-Based Activism, Part 2 appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

On the final episode of Season One of Bristlecone Firesides, Abbey and Madison are joined by Esther Meroño Baro and Luis Miranda. Both Esther and Luis are some of the best activists for environmental and social justice issues in the Utah/Salt Lake area. To close out a season of conversations about faith and reconnection with the Earth, we will end with a deep and robust discussion about how to utilize our faith on behalf of the world. Faith traditions around the globe begin with an affirmation of the inherent dignity and divinity of all beings and the Earth. How can we best practice our faith to live this affirmation into the real world? What are the parallels between the life of activism and a life of faith? Are they the same? Links: People's Energy Movement Mormon's Building Bridges Sanctuary Movement Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) The post 10: Radical Solidarity and Faith-Based Activism, Part 1 appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

The post 09: The Divine Feminine and the Restoration of the Earth appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Abbey and Madison practice a bit of ecotheology in this special episode of Bristlecone Firesides in an attempt to demonstrate that Christianity is a natural religion. The Earth lives a continual pattern of change that enables the ever regeneration of life. From the seasons to the water cycle, the Earth forever in a state or process of change. This pattern of order, disorder, reorder is the pattern of the Gospel — Life, Death, and Resurrection. The magic in the universe is that dead things become the grounding for new life. In the life and death of Jesus, this becomes a Resurrection Journey. By re-grounding the good news of the Gospel in natural Earth processes, we see that the Gospel is bigger than any Church and is a force of nature. And that Faith is much more about saying “yes” to this Journey and experiencing our membership in the Family of Things Links: Book of Nature An Early Resurrection by Adam Miller Why the Church is as True as the Gospel by Eugene England Convergent Evolution Go to the Limits of Your Longing by Rilke Wild Geese by Mary Oliver The post 08: Nature's Gospel and the Way of Resurrection appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

In part two, Abbey, Madison, and Dan take the universal concepts and experiences from part one and find a way to make them life-changing. How does this Incarnational way shift the way we see our own natures? How might we better understand repentance and forgiveness? An incarnational way of viewing the world can transform everything in reality to be a kind of sacrament. The ordinance of the sacrament can be a process by which we recognize the divine that is inherent in all things. Dan also gives some practices to experience our mundane lives as sacramental. Links: Deep Ecology by Bill Devall Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) The post 07: Reenchanting the Universe through Nature Mysticism, Part 2 appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Acclaimed podcaster and scholar Dan Wotherspoon sits down with Abbey and Madison in this special two-part episode to discuss Incarnational Spirituality and Nature Mysticism. Dan previously hosted the Mormon Matters podcast and currently hosts the Latter-day Faith podcast. He is one of the leading voices in the broader Mormon community and he brings tremendous wisdom to Bristlecone Firesides. An in-depth discussion on the Incarnation of Jesus and the Light of Christ is crucial to laying the foundation Bristlecone Firesides is building. Re-enchanting the physical world through an understanding of Divine Presence is an essential piece of understanding the universe as sacred. What is the difference between Jesus and the Christ? What are the metaphysical underpinnings of the cosmos? As well, Madison, Abbey, and Dan each relate experiences they have had with this Incarnational Universe. Links: Tao te Ching Doctrine and Covenants 88 The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr Oneing: Christ is not Jesus' Last Name Awakening Joseph Smith: Dan's Dissertation Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) The post 07: Reenchanting the Universe through Nature Mysticism, Part 1 appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

The post 06: On the Wisdom of Lowell Bennion and Simple Grounded Living, Part 2 appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Abbey and Madison are joined by their good friend Rachel Gilman for this episode of Bristlecone Firesides. Rachel is a writer and teacher and has many good things to say about living a simple life. The world we live in has turned us into consumers. Buying and producing seem to be the solution to whatever problem we face. The goodness of simple living can get lost in the buzz of our modern world. In fact, this hyperactive need for productivity can worm its way into our spiritual life in the form of Prosperity Gospel. This way of living the gospel is a plague on American Christianity. What does The Book of Mormon have to say about prosperity? How can we root out our addiction to Prosperity Gospel through grounded and simple living? And what wisdom can we learn from one of the most grounded Mormons, Lowell Bennion? Links: Learning to Like Life by George Handley The Achievement of Lowell Bennion by Eugene England Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) The post 06: On the Wisdom of Lowell Bennion and Simple Grounded Living, Part 1 appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

In this episode, Madison and Abbey confront the beast of politics and political action. While environmental issues are first and foremost spiritual and moral issues, at some point we have to involve the political machine if we are going to do anything about it. Government is one of the most powerful tools for action and change in the world. However, in the recent decade, Climate Change has become intensely politicized which has made it incredibly hard to enact change. What lies behind this politicization? What is the balance between personal and communal responsibility? And how can we engage in genuine ways with an obviously broken system? No matter your political affiliation, we deeply encourage you to listen to this episode. The post 05: Wrestling Political Beasts to Save the Earth appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

In this special BONUS EPISODE of Bristlecone Firesides, Madison and Abbey shoot the shiz while drinking kombucha and eating old Halloween candy. They ask each other questions about embarrassing stories and the birth of their Earthiness. Madison discourses about the greatness of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Studio Ghibli while Abbey confesses the video games her mom didn't know she played. While there is plenty of silliness throughout, it wouldn't be Bristlecone Firesides without a discussion about spiritual practice and environmental issues. So to close the episode, Abbey and Madison talk about their relationship with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Mormonism at large. *apologies for the clunks and boings on the microphone. Madison still doesn't know how to remove background noise. The post BONUS: Abbey and Madison Shoot the Shiz appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Today's guests around the Fireside are Kristen Rogers-Iverson and Tiffany Ivins Spence. They are among the co-leads of the LDS Earth Stewardship Salt Lake City Chapter. Kristen is the author of Interwoven: Junipers and the Web of Being and Tiffany runs Living Zenith, the first net-zero commercial building company in Utah, with her husband. Kristen and Tiffany join Madison (Abbey sadly had a scheduling conflict)  to discuss the topic of Stewardship. This idea is central to what exactly our responsibility is to Creation and how we act as stewards going forward. So it is crucial we understand it well. What exactly is the nature of our relationship with the Earth and its inhabitants? How are we to act in accordance with this relationship? And are there new and better ways to understand familiar stories that can aid us in confronting the challenges of Climate Change, ecosystem collapse, and the Anthropocene? Links: Interwoven: Junipers and the Web of Being by Kristen Rogers-Iverson Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Man's Dominion by Hugh Nibley Mekong River Delta Pollutions Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) The post 04: Towards a Stewardship of Belonging appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Madison and Abbey sit down with former professor and current friend, George Handley. George is one of the leading Latter-day Saint environmental voices today. He is the author of many books including Learning to Like Life: A Tribute to Lowell Bennion and The Hope of Nature: Our Care for God's Creation. They discuss the history and development of an Environmental Ethos within the Latter-day Saint community — beginning with Joseph Smith and his transcendentalist contemporaries, tracking through Brigham Young and mid-century Mormonism, to finish on the recent bloom of environmental thought within the Latter-day Saint community. Links: The Hope of Nature by George Handley Learning to Like Life by George Handley Cougar in Slate Cayon Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com The post 03: The History of Mormon Environmental Ethics w/ George Handley appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

Madison and Abbey sit down with ecologist and friend, Jared Meek, to discuss more specifically how Mormonism and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are disconnected from the Land, the Earth, and the World. Can the modern ecological crisis be blamed, as Lynn White suggests, on Christianity? Can White's criticisms be fairly leveled at Mormonism? As well, Jared, Abbey, and Madison explore how we might re-ground Mormon culture and our personal and communal spiritual practices in the stuff of the Earth. “Your religion is not the church [you belong] to but the cosmos [you] live inside of.” — GK Chesterton Links: The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis by Lynn White Can LDS Theology Solve Our Ecological Crisis by Jared Meek Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) The post 02: Re-Grounding Mormonism in Earthiness appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

In this debut episode, Madison and Abbey give a brief history of why they started Bristlecone Firesides. They discuss disconnection from the Earth and the tragedy of living decontextualized. And more to the point, they discuss the spiritual impacts of living in the culture of disconnection and how we can subvert those impacts through At-One-Ment and regaining a connection to the Earth. *Forgive the audio quality in this first episode. True to form, Madison is good with dirt, but bad with technology. **Corrected Aldo Leopold Quote because Madison's memory is bad: “There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.” Books and Links: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold The Art of the Commonplace by Wendell Berry Let Them Eat Dirt by B. Brett Finlay, PhD and Marie-Claire Arrieta, PhD Catch the Trailer if you missed it Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) The post 01: Healing a Disconnected Faith: Bristlecone Firesides appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.

The post Trailer: Bristlecone Firesides appeared first on Bristlecone Firesides.