Papa Ostler’s second book hits the streets: “Listen, Learn and Love: Improving Latter-day Saint Culture”
Maybe you’ve read Richard Ostler’s first book, Listen, Learn and Love: Embracing LGBTQ Latter-day Saints. Maybe (like me) you’ve given away several copies to friends and family.
I’m delighted to have co-edited “Papa” Ostler’s second book, Listen, Learn and Love: Improving LDS Culture, with this description:
Many faithful children of our Heavenly Parents find it difficult to stay in the Church, not because of doctrine or a lack of desire to keep the commandments, but because of Latter-day Saint culture. The good news is that we need not wait to be more welcoming and inclusive. We can all be part of the solution. In these pages, you’ll find stories about improving our culture by:
being less judgmental and more loving
not measuring progress by Church callings
better hearing and valuing women
acquiring a better framework for ending pornography use
hope-filled repentance
creating better understanding of mental illness and suicide
overcoming scrupulosity (religious OCD)
embracing early-release and service missionaries
manifesting love in political differences
and compassionately ministering to those with questions.
Through the power of storytelling, former YSA bishop Richard Ostler invites all of us to listen, learn, and love so we can do our part to improve Church culture. This book-which is supportive of the Church, its leaders, and doctrine-is an extension of Ostler’s enormously popular podcast Listen, Learn, and Love and his earlier book, Listen, Learn, and Love: Embracing LGBTQ Latter-day Saints.
Having listened to so many of Richard’s podcasts, it was an honor to “meet” him myself. I so enjoyed working with him to shape his extraordinary ideas and the stories he’s gathered from so many good folks.
What’s Papa Ostler like to work with? He’s every bit as good and kind as he seems. And what he’s produced in this book is life-changing and church-changing. I don’t know a single solitary soul who hasn’t faced one of these situations. Followers of Papa Ostler might be interested in checking out his second book!
-Marci