Reply All: #55 The Line

February 20, 2016 5:10 PM

This week, a story about a big group of people with the same questions. Difficult, complicated, heartbreaking ones. These people all have one thing in common — they’re Mormons.

• Mormon Stories
• The New York Times article
• The LDS Church's page

posted by lunch (4 comments total)

I really enjoyed this episode as a kind of bookend to Exit and Return. I've only interfaced* with religions that embrace the idea that belief is only made stronger when interrogated with logic, and that if faith isn't a struggle, you're doing it wrong. And while I've definitely encountered people with the absolutist mindset before, I've never really understood how that works in macro, or exactly how alienating that is for so many people who still decide to stay within that church.

Also, it never occurred to me that there were Swedish Mormons before? I don't know why.

*Also, oh my god, you guys are such goddamn nerds.
posted by dinty_moore at 8:47 PM on February 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

Also, it never occurred to me that there were Swedish Mormons before? I don't know why.


First, I thought the exact same thing. Mormonism is so rooted in America that it also struck me as odd that there would be Mormons outside America. But then I remembered that going on missions is a rite of passage for LDS young adults, so of course the religion would have spread outside the United States.

I chatted about this episode with a friend of mine who is also a Reply All Fan, and who grew up LDS but left the church (most of her family members are still practicing). She had never heard this story before and was very intrigued.
posted by radioamy at 10:31 AM on February 21, 2016

I liked the podcast. I'm fascinated by LDS culture and felt this was a pretty humane investigation into a particular story. I do wish they talked more about the Internet's role. They definitely mentioned it, the way the Internet has opened conversations up, but more of that would have been great.
posted by Nelson at 8:49 AM on February 23, 2016

I LOVED the "interface" moment.
posted by CMcG at 9:25 AM on February 23, 2016