Latter Gay Stories

Latest Episodes:

163: Melinda Hannah | Painting The Faces of Love Aug 16, 2022

Show notes

Melinda Hannah is no stranger to pain or trauma. She battled her own traumas while simultaneously watching other's experience their own.

Melinda is an artist. She used her talent and brush to paint to tell the stories of the marginalized people among us. While meeting with members of the LGBTQ community who were dying of AIDS, she visioned an art project that would show the world the love and beauty that encompassed these men and women who had been rejected by their families.

In time, Melinda, an active Latter-day Saint, began painting the portraits of the LGBTQ+ Mormon community. She wanted the world to see their beauty, their love, and their worth.

After displaying her works of art in 5 cites across the United States, Melinda sits down with the Latter Gay Stories audience to share her story. She shares more about the portraits, what the project meant to her, and the lives that were influenced because of this Portraits of Courage project.

www.MelindaHannah.com

162: Colter Wild | Finding My Inner Peace Jul 19, 2022

Show notes

Latter-day leaders have often warned that happiness, truth, and spiritual experiences are only found within the framework of Mormonism—Colter's story defies that narrative.

Shortly after coming out to his "Provo Mormon" family, Colter began to navigate his own course of spirituality, connection, and mindfulness. Outside of the church, he was able to find all the things his former Mormon leaders told him he wouldn't.

Colter is a Galactic Shaman who has found success as a spiritual guide—exploring various exalted states of consciousness. If you are navigating outside of Mormonism and looking for new forms of spirituality, Colter's story will impact you.

You can find Colter on Instagram @ColterWild

#LatterGayStories #ColterWild #Mindfulness #PlantMedicine #Hypnotherapy

161: sExcommunication: The Mormon LGBTQ+ Dilemma Jul 13, 2022

Show notes

The LatterGayStories podcast has been following over a dozen same-gender couples that are facing excommunication (membership councils) from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their offense: being legally and lawfully married. In April of 2019, the Church publicly announced that same-sex couples would no longer be considered apostates and subjected to mandatory excommunication. Instead, the Church proclaimed that "immoral conduct in heterosexual and homosexual relationships will be treated the same way." However, determined bishops and stake presidents have often used their personal bias and ignorance to continue the excommunications of gay members—despite church leaders stating that these excommunications are not happening. Join us for a special 7.5 HOUR LatterGayStories and Mormon Stories episode where we sit down with Brennan and Douglas. They are a married couple from Idaho who were just subjected to a membership council for being in a legal, monogamous marriage. And they provide an audio recording of that council. But there's more… When asked by Douglas and Brennan why they *really* were being forced out the church, the bishop and stake president couldn't keep their stories straight. The church leaders piled lie upon lie to justify their actions. They accused them of making evil social media posts about the church, accused them of drinking coffee and tea, and even compared their legal and lawful marriage to a husband and wife embroiled in infidelity. We have the audio recordings of the phone calls, meetings, and the membership council itself and we will play them during this interview. We want to use this episode to show the constant misrepresentations, deflections, and gaslighting perpetrated by LDS bishops and stake presidents to protect "the good name of the church." And we also want to show the harm that is done to good people when you use ignorance and prejudice to force people out of the fold. Is there a place for same-sex couples in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? #PrideMonth #LDS #BehindTheScenes #LyingforTheLord #Mormon #MembershipCouncil

160: The Black Menaces | Televising the Mormon Revolution May 11, 2022

Show notes

In less than one year, five students at Brigham Young University have amassed a social media following of nearly 1,000,000 people. The group, calling themselves the Black Menaces, create videos online that have been liked and shared more than 25 million times and messages supported by celebrities and influencers around the globe.

So, what are these BYU college students doing to create such a buzz?

Using a cell phone camera and microphone, the BlackMenaces are exposing the candid reactions of BYU students through questions about race and social justice. It's no surprise, given the nature of LDS/LGBTQ policies, that the most viral videos produced by the BlackMenaces are directly related to the LGBTQ community and the Mormon church's treatment of queer people.

We've invited the Menaces into the studio to share their "revolution" with the LatterGayStories community.

In this episode we dive deep into the BlackMenace story and learn more about the people behind the TikTok and Instagram videos. Why did they start the social media project, and what they've learned in the process? This episode is a candid and honest discussion about Mormonism's racial and prejudicial problems.

#LatterGayStories #BlackMenaces #BrighamYoungUniversity #MormonChurch

159: Kris and Kay Packer | Loving, Learning, and Living Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

For the Packer's, love and connection brought them together—and it was honesty and authenticity that helped their love and connection flourish. In this fascinating story of love and transformation, Kay and Kris share their early dating experiences—and marriage as a lesbian couple. It was later in that marriage that Kris transitioned as a transgender male.

As the couple loved, they learned—and as they learned, they lived.

This is the third and final episode in the Packer series. Kay shared her individual story in episode 157. Kris shared his story in episode 158. These episodes and others are available in video form on the LatterGayStories Facebook and YouTube pages. All of our podcast episodes are ready to download now everywhere you catch your favorite podcasts.

#LatterGayStories #Love #Transgender #Growth #Mormonism #LGBTQMormon #UtahGay

158: Kris Packer | From Wife to Husband: A Story of My Journey Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

Kris Packer has a long Mormon history. His father, Lynn is a Mormon historian, and Kris' great-uncle is apostle Boyd K. Packer. What happens when you come out to your family as a lesbian, but as life progresses, your journey through love and connection helps you to connect the dots and come to understand that you are also transgender? Kris had great family support through his life and even through the learning, bumpy stages, found connection and love in even the least-likely spaces. In this episode Kris discusses his family relationship, meeting his wife Kay, working in public education—and then gender transitioning as a school principal. How does his school and students react? This episode is part of a three-part interview. Kris's wife, Kay is episode 157 and the couple sits down together in episode 159. #LatterGayStories #Transgender #PublicEducation #Married #MormonRoyalty This episode is available now as a video on the LatterGayStories Facebook and YouTube pages.

157: Kay Packer | My Lesbian Mormon Love Story Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

Kaylene Packer was a very normal Mormon girl. She went to church, she prayed, and she tried to hide an important part of her identity...she was really, really into girls. Growing up Latter-day Saint, you quickly learn that there isn't a road map designed to help you thrive as a closeted lesbian girl.

But Kay tried.

Ultimately, her journey led her to embracing who she was, to coming out, to finding love in a relationship, and then—familiar to many Latter-day Saints: breaking off that relationship to give Mormonism another chance.

Kay's story is deep and full of twists—including marrying her wife, a niece of apostle, Boyd K. Packer. And then Kay's wife eventually coming out to her as a transgender man. Together, Kay and Kris navigated a new dynamic in their marriage.

Join us for this special three-part interview series. The next three Latter Gay Stories episodes are Kay's story, her spouse, Kris' story, and finally an interview together, as a couple.

#LatterGayStories #Lesbian #GayMormon #FIndingLove #BreakingTheShell

156: Ashley Ryan | My Story of Transition and Hope Mar 08, 2022

Show notes

Ashley was born male into a Lutheran home in Texas. At a young age, Ashley knew she was different. Not having language for what that "difference" was, she navigated her journey the best she could.

It was finally an Oprah episode featuring a transgender story that gave her the WORD that described how she felt. Well after puberty, high school, dating –and while in college, she finally felt the power to lean into her truth.

Currently a stand-up comedian, and a casting director for reality television, Ashley Ryan sits down to share her story, how religion and education impacted her path, and what life looks like post-transition.

#LatterGayStories #AshleyRyan #Transition #Transgender #Truth #Oprah

155: Kray Casper| BYU Changed My Life: My Gay Coming Out Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

Kray was a remarkably normal Mormon. He knew he was gay, but did everything in his power to deny and hide it. If you bury it, it doesn't exist, right? He gave everything to the church, served a full-time mission, and then enrolled at BYU. All this to bury what he was (a normal gay man).

As he was leaving his mission, Kray's mission president made him a promise: if you date and marry a woman, your SSA (same-sex attraction) will disappear. Kray believed him.

It was his experience at BYU Idaho that changed Kray's life forever. His story involves a professor, a new friend, an affair, losing his education at the University, and reassembling the shattered pieces of a life that 'once was'.

Kray's story is more familiar and relatable than most want to admit. It is raw and candid.

Catch the video version NOW on the LatterGayStories You Tube channel. The audio version of this podcast is available everywhere you catch your favorite podcasts.

#LatterGayStories #Trying #BYU #HonorCode #ComingOut #Happiness

154: BYU ADMINS to BYU HEALTH CLINIC: Terminate Health Services to Transgender Patients Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

In a surprising move, BYU-Provo administrators dismissed three transgender clients from the BYU Clinic on 2/7/2022, and informed their student/faculty clinicians that transgender patients needed to be transferred to providers OUTSIDE of BYU. The patients were being seen at the on-campus BYU Speech and Language Clinic for speech therapy.

BYU administrators informed the clinic and faculty that service to transgender patients is a violation of the LDS Church Policy (as found in the LDS Handbook) and is contrary to BYU principles.

In this live stream discussion, we are joined by R.J. Risueno, Lisa Hansen, and Wendy Chase. All three guests are clinicians who serve this population. We also discuss in more depth, revelations about what happened behind the scenes, who made the decisions and what does this mean for BYU's desire to create bridges to the LGBTQ community through its Office of Belonging.

#LatterGayStories #Transgender #HIPPA #HealthCareForLGBTQ #Discrimination

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