Latter Gay Stories

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112: Tom Christofferson | Church Leader Session: Affirmation Conference Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

Tom Christofferson is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he's gay and the author of "That They May Be One," a book detailing his life is a member of the Church and how he navigates his sexuality. In this episode Tom shares his experiences and offers advice to church leaders and to the LGBTQ community from the 2019 Affirmation International Conference.

111: Jena Peterson | Church Leader Session: Affirmation Conference Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

Jena Peterson is an active Latter-day Saint who identifies as gay and remains married to her husband of 14 years, Todd, in a mixed orientation marriage.

In this episode, Jena discusses her personal experiences being gay and the impact it has on her membership in the Church. She shares tips to help church leaders and members better understand the LGBTQ experience.

110: President Michael Mayfield | Church Leader Session: 2019 Affirmation Conference Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

President Michael Mayfield currently serves as a counselor in the Stake Presidency. He is a former bishop and is the father of a gay child. For President Mayfield, when his daughter came out, he was stunned, surprised, and blindsided by his daughter's revelation. In this episode President Mayfield discusses his experience as both an ecclesiastical leader and the father of a gay child. He discusses the 10 Tips For Parents from MormonAndGay.LDS.org and offers his advice to parents and church leaders in this space.

109: Josh and Lolly Weed | The Beginning. The Middle. The Future. Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

Seven years ago (while celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary in Las Vegas), Josh and Lolly Weed made a quiet blog post announcing to their friends and family that Josh was gay, and together they were navigating life in a mixed-orientation Mormon marriage.

The Weeds expected to have a candid discussion about their experience, but they weren't prepared to do it on a national and worldwide stage. Their story erupted into virality with millions and millions of people sharing and weighing in on their experience.

Josh and Lolly are arguably the most famous example of a mixed-orientation marriage in Mormonism. Their story has been used by LGBT allies and activists as an example of a disingenuous marriage and at the same time, Latter-day Saint leaders hailed the Weeds as an example of endurance and principle–using their story to convince other Latter-day Saints that mixed-orientation marriages were viable and healthy. Five years after their original blog post, the Weed's announced their divorce.

In their first sit-down interview since their announcement of their divorce, Kyle Ashworth sits down with Josh and Lolly to discuss the beginning, middle and future of Josh and Lolly's experience.

108: Ryanna Woods | Drag Queen, Survivor, Gay Man Jun 06, 2019

Show notes

Imagine life as a gay man growing up in an ultra-conservative Mormon family—who's weekend family activities included delivering flyers and hosting events aimed at shaming homosexuals. That was the world that Ryan grew up in. This is his story.

His story includes the pain of hiding his true identity from his homophobic family, serving a mission in an effort to change his sexuality, self-harm and failed suicide attempts, marriage and divorce—and finally finding drag as an outlet to express his identity.

This is a fascinating interview focusing on what it takes to find authenticity and honesty in each of our lives. And how unconventional expression can unite people.

107: Cher McCoy | A Mother's Love: My Journey as an LGBT ally, friend and mom. May 30, 2019

Show notes

On Mother's Day, Cher's son came out to her. From that day forward she fought to protect him and the community he belongs to.

In this episode Cher discusses her journey as an LGBT ally and friend to the LDS/LGBT community. She shares the hard parts about religion, society and the traditional views of sexuality.

Cher offers advice to parents of LGBT children and what her path looked like during those crucial "coming out" experiences.

https://youtu.be/cyCKcECOYFU

106: Gregory Prince | A Complicated History: Mormonism and the LGBTQ Community May 24, 2019

Show notes

Dr. Gregory Prince sits down with Latter Gay Stories for a unique one-on-one discussion about the actions and unintended consequences of the LDS Church's history with LGBT people and their allies.

In this episode we thoroughly discuss topics including:

- Why the LDS Church has doubled down against homosexuality. - Is there a genetic component (born this way) to homosexuality? - Policy vs. Doctrine: does LDS doctrine change? - What was the impact of the November 2015 Policy on Mormonism? - What does modern day scripture say about homosexuality? - Q and A session from Latter Gay Stories listeners - and so much more!

Kyle Ashworth and Greg Prince take a deep dive into LDS tradition, history, and the messaging behind a topic that could be the most polarizing subject in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

PURCHASE Greg's book: Gay Rights and the Mormon Church HERE: https://tinyurl.com/y6spyuuh

Dr. Gregory Prince is an historian, author, and researcher who earned his graduate degree in pathology (PhD) at UCLA. He pursued a four-decade career in pediatric infectious disease research, pioneering the world's most current treatment for RSV (infant pneumonia). His love of history led him to write four books: "Power on High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood," "David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism," "Leonard Arrington and the Writing of Mormon History," and "Gay Rights and the Mormon Church: Intended Actions, Unintended Consequences."

105: Chad Merrell and Matt Weber | Asexuality and our journey May 15, 2019

Show notes

So often the we hear stories about the first four letters of the L-G-B-T community, but rarely do we have the opportunity to hear stories from those who identify with the other letters, like A as in asexual.

What is asexuality? Who identifies as asexual? What does asexuality look like?

In this episode we sit down with Chad and Matt to discuss their sexuality and their reality. Their interview is genuine, wholesome and rich in continual nuggets of shared wisdom and experience.

Join the online conversation on our Facebook page: Latter Gay Stories

104: Debra Asper | Finding Strength From Within May 08, 2019

Show notes

Deb Asper is a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in LGBT therapy and more particularly, LGBT trauma. And to say that she's a gem—and an asset to the community is an understatement. Her dedication to seeing that the LGBT community thrives is evident in her actions. She loves you. She wants to see you succeed, she's in your corner.

In this episode Deb cuts through a lot of life's rhetoric to help you begin healing from the difficulties of your situations. She is an expert in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EDMR) therapy used for mitigating trauma.

Deb's words and tools can help you overcome feelings of shame, doubt, public harassment and other situations that prevent progress.

103: An Evening With Affirmation | Nathan Kitchen and Laurie Lee Hall May 07, 2019

Show notes

103 | The Latter Gay Stories Podcast rebroadcasts An Evening With Affirmation, featuring speakers Nathan Kitchen and Laurie Lee Hall. Nathan Kitchen is the current President of Affirmation and Laurie Lee Hall serves as the Senior Vice President of Affirmation. In this episode, Nathan Kitchen and Laurie Lee Hall discuss their vision for Affirmation and their hope for the future of LGBT people. Laurie Lee Hall, the former Chief Architect for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a modern day miracle. The spaces she created for the LDS church include the newly constructed Provo, Utah MTC, the historic Tabernacle at Temple Square, many chapels, exquisite temples, local meeting houses and even the famed Provo City Center Temple. Listen as Laurie tells her story of building sacred spaces, while building authenticity within herself.

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