Mormon Stories Podcast

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674: Jesse Stay - Former LDS Church Social Media Lead - Part 2 Nov 21, 2016

Show notes

Jesse Stay worked for three years as leader of the LDS Church's social media initiatives. He was the first LDS Church employee with the name "social media" in his title. His work primarily involved formulating the early Facebook and Twitter strategies for the church (including for LDS general authorities). Jesse also provided social media support to various LDS Church departments including the missionary department, public relations, genealogy, the Joseph Smith Papers project, and the "I'm a Mormon" PR campaign.

In this two-part episode, Jesse discusses:

Part 1: The evolution of Jesse's LDS testimony, as he became aware of factual LDS history, saw the inner-workings of LDS Church headquarters, and as he struggled with the LDS church's November LGBT policy and its direct impact on family and friends.
Part 2: Jesse discusses in-depth his experiences working two years for the LDS church as Senior Advisor of Social Media, and for one year as Director of Social Media at Deseret Digital Media.

Currently, Jesse is the founder and principal of Stay N Alive, a social media advertising and marketing agency.

673: Jesse Stay - Former LDS Church Social Media Lead - Part 1 Nov 21, 2016

Show notes

In this two-part episode, Jesse discusses:

Part 1: The evolution of Jesse's LDS testimony, as he became aware of factual LDS history, saw the inner-workings of LDS Church headquarters, and as he struggled with the LDS church's November LGBT policy and its direct impact on family and friends.
Part 2: Jesse discusses in-depth his experiences working two years for the LDS church as Senior Advisor of Social Media, and for one year as Director of Social Media at Deseret Digital Media.

Currently, Jesse is the founder and principal of Stay N Alive, a social media advertising and marketing agency.

672: Amy McPhie Allebest Pt. 2 Nov 20, 2016

Show notes

Amy McPhie Allebest is a lifelong member of the Church, a returned missionary, a temple-married wife and mother of four, and a graduate student at Stanford University. Last month, her article "Dear Mormon Man..." went viral and caught Mormon Stories' attention as a unique voice in Mormon Feminism.

In this episode, we discuss Amy's trajectory from her unquestioningly trusting childhood through her tumultuous, prolonged faith transition, brought on by the problematic language of the temple and a deep dive into Church History, to her current commitment to remain active in the Church despite her rejection of Patriarchy. Check out more of Amy's writing in this month's Exponent II, and on http://mormondom.com, a publication on Medium.com.

671: Amy McPhie Allebest Pt. 1 Nov 20, 2016

Show notes

670: How U.K./BBC TV Star Alex Winters (CBeebies) Lost his Mormon Faith Pt. 2 Nov 10, 2016

Show notes

As part 3 in our series on Mormons in the U.K. we interview BBC TV Star Alex Winters - who worked for seven years as a presenter on the BBC Children's channel CBeebies (the U.K. equivalent to Nick Jr or Disney).

Alex was raised as a devout Mormon in Wales, U.K., served an honorable mission, and was married in the London temple. Throughout his adult life Alex has served in several significant ward and stake callings including ward bishopric and stake high council. As his acting career developed, Alex was so popular as a media celebrity within the U.K. that the LDS Church offered him a major role in their "I'm a Mormon" PR campaign (which he declined for professional reasons).

Over the past year or two Alex developed questions and concerns about LDS church doctrine (e.g., November 2015 LGBT policy) and history (e.g., Joseph Smith's treasure digging, seer stone use, polygamy and polyandry) which led to his loss of faith in Mormonism.

This is Alex's story.

669: How U.K./BBC TV Star Alex Winters (CBeebies) Lost his Mormon Faith Pt. 1 Nov 10, 2016

Show notes

This is Alex's story.

668: Stephen Bloor Pt. 2 - Excommunicated without a Disciplinary Council Nov 06, 2016

Show notes

In this two-part episode we interview Stephen Bloor. Stephen discusses his experiences growing up as a Mormon in the U.K. including serving an LDS mission and being married in the Frankfurt, Germany temple. Eventually Stephen served as an LDS Bishop in the U.K. for 7 years.
While serving as bishop Stephen learned of troubling issues with LDS Church history including Joseph Smith's polygamy, his marriage to other men's wives (polyandry), and his sexual relationships with underaged girls. Unable to reconcile these problems, Stephen eventually resigned from his position as LDS bishop.
After resigning as bishop, Stephen was told by his LDS leaders that he was not allowed to return to church, and would not be allowed to discuss any of his issues or concerns with other LDS church members (by threat of excommunication). Through these actions, Stephen was effectively cut off from the community he served for decades.
Over time, Stephen became involved in former U.K. Stake President Top Phillips's law suit against the LDS church for fraud. Within the past year Stephen was excommunicated from the LDS church without his knowledge/participation - in violation of the LDS church's own requirement to hold a disciplinary council prior to a member's excommunication.
Stephen's continued interest in the LDS Church is to raise awareness about issues in the LDS narrative and to promote openness, honesty, transparency and acceptance of those who question.
This is Stephen's story.

667: Stephen Bloor Pt. 1 - The British Bishop who Lost his Faith as Bishop Nov 06, 2016

Show notes

666: Nathan Lisgo - Navigating the "Middle Way" in the U.K. Pt. 2 Nov 04, 2016

Show notes

For my first interview in our "Mormons in the U.K." series, I interview my dear friend Nathan Lisgo. In this two part series Nathan discusses:

1) Growing up in Lancaster, England, serving a mission, getting married in the temple, etc.

2) His faith transition, largely caused by questions/concerns regarding the LDS Church's history regarding African Americans and the priesthood. And

3) How Nathan has navigated a nuanced testimony and a mixed-faith marriage with his wife and three children.

665: Nathan Lisgo - Navigating the "Middle Way" in the U.K. Pt. 1 Nov 04, 2016

Show notes

For my first interview in our "Mormons in the U.K." series, I interview my dear friend Nathan Lisgo. In this two part series Nathan discusses:

1) Growing up in Lancaster, England, serving a mission, getting married in the temple, etc.

2) His faith transition, largely caused by questions/concerns regarding the LDS Church's history regarding African Americans and the priesthood. And

3) How Nathan has navigated a nuanced testimony and a mixed-faith marriage with his wife and three children.

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