Danna Hartline's articles
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Loving God’s Family
By Danna Hartline A pig and a chicken were walking down the street one day when they passed a billboard advertising “America needs a good breakfast.” The picture showed two over-easy eggs and several beautiful strips of bacon. The chicken said, “Doesn’t that make you proud to see that we contribute daily to better America?” The pig thought for a moment then said, “That’s easy for you to say. For you it’s just a contribution, but for me it requires my life—a total commitment.” And so it was with the life and ministry of our Savior, Jesus Christ. His mission was not just to contribute to the world, but to…
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When Trauma Comes from Father Figures or Forced Termination
In my ADAM Conference presentation, I referred to an article on PTSD. Here is the excerpt from that article, which was actually my own writing. The full article is attached below. When Trauma Is Inflicted by Father Figures. When trauma is intentional, it is a blow to the whole psychological system. Victims of unintentional trauma (natural disaster) show a much greater likelihood of experiencing a decrease in symptoms over time whereas those who are victims of intentional trauma (something inflicted on purpose) tend to show an increase in symptoms over time (Brew, 2017). One of those great trauma-imposers seems to be when it comes from authoritarian figureheads. Perhaps the hardship…
- Abuser Loyalty, ADAM Conference, Danna Hartline's articles, Dissociation, Effects of Trauma on the Family, Mormon Culture, Post Traumatic Church Syndrome, Trauma vs. Offense
ADAM Conference Presentation
Not a perfect performance or video footage but it is what it is. 🙂
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Mormonism Can Be Good; Mormonism Can Be Bad
Travis and Devin are both active in the LDS Church. They both perform their church duties, pay their tithing, read their scriptures, and pray daily. However, their motivations for doing so are totally different. Travis’s reasons for church attendance and personal commitments are due to intrinsic motivations—because of deep devotion to God; while Devin’s purposes are extrinsic motivations—because of the need to appear “good” and for social status. It sounds pretty simple to say that Travis is on a higher plain than Devin and that Travis will fare better than Devin in the long run. We often hear this. (“I don’t go for others; I go to strengthen my relationship…
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The Effects of Trauma on the Family
I want to talk about how trauma affects families. I think we often do not consider the devastating effects of trauma beyond the individual. To get our minds focused, I want to share a few responses as to why people stopped attending church from my Church Trauma surveys. I want you to pay attention and consider how the whole family was likely affected by these traumatic experiences: [I quit attending church because] I had trauma due to my husband’s addiction. [I quit going to church because] I am going through a divorce. It is not my fault but being a man, I was blamed for it. [I quit attending church…
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Successful Navigation Might Require Us to Break the Rules Sometimes
I read a book once about how to drive through life successfully. It had a lot of great points but I thought it was too simple-minded and rigid. Sometimes we are presented with situations that require hard, less popular answers and solutions. I want to address four principles that can help us get past these complex forks in the road so that we can continue successfully and faithfully navigating on the road of life: 1. Sometimes We Have to Go Out of the Lines Often we get the idea that while navigating through life, we must always stay in the lines. On the surface, this seems like a very good idea and crucial to good navigation. I agree actually. I think mostly…
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Inspired Mistakes?
I recall a time several years ago when I was seeking to “hold on” in church activity due to some pretty intense leadership mistreatments that had occurred. I seemed stuck with no options to address it or heal from it. As I was so struggling with the complexity of the situation, my mind caught hold of a foreign thought: Perhaps sometimes mistakes are inspired. As I pondered on this strange thought, I began awing over what a blessing one particular “church mistake” had become in my life. I wondered: Could it have been an inspired mistake? Our initial response to such a question is probably, “No!” In fact, my last post…
- Courage to Speak Up, Danna Hartline's articles, Dissonance, Examples of Courage, Mental Illness, Mormon Culture
Are Happiness and Dissonance in Opposition?
Recently, I saw a meme on Facebook that said in essence, “The longer I live, the more I want to stay away from drama, conflict, or stress and just live a happy life, surrounded by friends, eating good food in my cozy house.” Doesn’t that sound appealing and even right? It received lots of likes and affirmative comments. But I couldn’t help but ask myself, “What about those who do not feel that kind of life is available to them? What about those who feel thrown into a life that is filled with conflict and drama, a life they didn’t ‘ask for?’ What about facing wrongs that need a voice?” …
- Abuser Loyalty, Courage to Speak Up, Danna Hartline's articles, Dissociation, Dissonance, Mormon Culture, Trauma vs. Offense
The Deep and Unspoken Church Ache
I often sit in church meetings that teach about church growth and fellowship. In general, they are uplifting, pat-yourself-on-the-back lessons—very encouraging and good. But for some reason I cannot ever fully buy into what I am hearing. I want to—and I do to a point because I do see so much good that is happening in the Church. But in the same breath, it seems a little off to think that all is well in Zion and that everyone is as happy and thriving as well as seems to be claimed. I know there are success stories of conversion going on and I am so grateful that those people are being reached and are finding such a…
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Am I on the Right Path?
Don’t we all ask that question at least once in our lives? (Hopefully it’s a fairly regular self-reflection.) We want to know where we stand with the Lord. We want an honest inventory. Today was Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. Perhaps consequently, perhaps not, I recalled a story of him during a quiet moment today. It was during a moment when I was struggling with wondering where I stood with the Lord. I had received some intense pushback in this vision I have. I was hurting pretty badly because, due to the experiences I have faced, rejection is something that is particularly triggering and can be hard for me to handle well. I have the head knowledge to handle it…
