Mormon Stories Podcast

*** Liz Lambson is a Korean/African American artist, musician, and writer, and - along with her spouse Sam - is a parent to five boys residing in Salt Lake City. Liz performs as a string bassist with the Ballet West Orchestra as well as the children’s singer-songwriter Lizzy Luna, the creator of the music-and-movement program Yoga Storytime & Songs. Liz performed for and toured with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for several years. She released her first album of original children’s yoga music, Reach to the Sky, in 2018. Her writing has been featured in publications including the New Era and the New York Times. As an active member of Utah’s arts and culture community, Liz formerly served as the Executive Director of the Utah Black History Museum. Her artwork is featured on Salt Lake City’s Black Lives Matter mural at City Hall. Liz is also an aspiring film actress. In her spare time she enjoys needlework, gardening, road trips, and Scrabble.

“Never Too Soon”

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1725: Working Mormon Mother Speaks Out - Liz Lambson Pt. 3 Feb 01, 2023

Show notes

Youtube link: https://youtu.be/83bjqlHTxaA After Liz decides to stay at BYU, she meets her future husband, Sam. Liz takes us through her courtship with Sam, their reasons for marrying each other, and the various complications they faced early on in their marriage. Like many LDS women trying to properly fulfill their purpose, Liz finds motherhood alone cannot make her feel happy & fulfilled with the exclusion of the things that make Liz who she is and bring her joy. Episode Show Notes *** Liz Lambson is a Korean/African American artist, musician, and writer, and - along with her spouse Sam - is a parent to five boys residing in Salt Lake City. Liz performs as a string bassist with the Ballet West Orchestra as well as the children’s singer-songwriter Lizzy Luna, the creator of the music-and-movement program Yoga Storytime & Songs. Liz performed for and toured with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for several years. She released her first album of original children’s yoga music, Reach to the Sky, in 2018. Her writing has been featured in publications including the New Era and the New York Times.

As an active member of Utah’s arts and culture community, Liz formerly served as the Executive Director of the Utah Black History Museum. Her artwork is featured on Salt Lake City’s Black Lives Matter mural at City Hall. Liz is also an aspiring film actress.

In her spare time she enjoys needlework, gardening, road trips, and Scrabble.

Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors!

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One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox
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PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

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1724: Joining the Mormon Church at BYU - Liz Lambson Pt. 2 Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/cGm7kpKh9KI

We continue Liz’s journey as she goes to BYU and gets baptized. Liz explains her interactions with church and BYU culture, and the effect of “worthiness” interviews w/LDS leadership once she is an official member.

At BYU Liz struggles to fit in with white culture and begins struggling with symptoms of mental illness along with outbursts of creativity. Things get heavy with a friend’s suicide as she battles her own depressive thoughts.

***

Liz Lambson is a Korean/African American artist, musician, and writer, and - along with her spouse Sam - is a parent to five boys residing in Salt Lake City. Liz performs as a string bassist with the Ballet West Orchestra as well as the children’s singer-songwriter Lizzy Luna, the creator of the music-and-movement program Yoga Storytime & Songs. Liz performed for and toured with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for several years. She released her first album of original children’s yoga music, Reach to the Sky, in 2018. Her writing has been featured in publications including the New Era and the New York Times.

In her spare time she enjoys needlework, gardening, road trips, and Scrabble.

“Never Too Soon”

Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors!

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PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

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1723: Converting to Mormonism in High School | Liz Lambson Pt. 1 Jan 30, 2023

Show notes

In her spare time she enjoys needlework, gardening, road trips, and Scrabble.

***

We begin Liz’s story with her family and growing up years as a biracial Korean/African American struggling to assimilate into white culture. Her mother converted to Christianity and became a religious fanatic, leading to her eventual abandonment of her husband & children. Liz is introduced to Mormonism shortly after and finds Joseph Smith’s early religious confusion relatable. With continued exposure to LDS peers, including a boy who particularly holds her interest, Liz gains a testimony of the Book of Mormon and falls in love with Mormon culture.

Liz also shares her struggles with academic, artistic and spiritual perfectionism in high school. We learn ways Liz gives up pieces of herself as she tries harder to assimilate into Mormon culture and eventually makes the decision to attend BYU.

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1722: Buddhism for Beginners w/ Noah Rasheta | Mormon Stories Book Club Jan 27, 2023

Show notes

Noah Rasheta joins John and Rebecca Bibliotheca to discuss basic concepts of Buddhism which has helped many deconstructing and healing from toxic teachings.

Book: No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners by Noah Rasheta of Secular Buddhism

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1721: Gay Mormon Rescue w/ Charlie Bird and Ben Schilaty? Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

Please join us for a panel discussion regarding a recent two-day LDS multi-Stake training in Canada focused on understanding LGBTQ members, led by faithful gay Mormon podcasters Charlie Bird and Ben Schilaty (hosts of "Questions From the Closet" podcast).

Some questions that will be addressed by the panel include:

What aspects of this training are groundbreaking and should be celebrated?
How do efforts like this one help LGBTQ youth in the LDS pews?
Is this a local/grass-roots effort or is it sanctioned by top LDS Church leadership?
Does this training represent a "Gay Mormon Rescue" of sorts, reminiscent of the Swedish Rescue and Boise Rescue from previous years (see here and here)?
What possible risks do trainings like this introduce for LGTBQ youth and young adults?
To what extent do less-official, "grass roots" efforts like this prevent top Mormon church leaders from taking responsibility for the LGBTQ crisis (past and present) within Mormonism?

Panel Members:

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PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

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1720: Why Don't Mormons Leave? w/ John Larsen & Carah Burrell Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

Why don’t more people leave the Church in the face of overwhelming evidence that it isn’t what it claims to be? In this episode we will discuss how the Normalcy Bias can help explain this behavior.

LDS Discussion Essay: Overview of Joseph Smith's Translations

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1719: Overview of Joseph Smith's Translations | LDS Discussions Ep. 34 Jan 20, 2023

Show notes

In this episode we recap all the different areas where Joseph Smith claims to have translated an ancient source and we analyze his work and compare it against modern scholars and experts in the field to see how he did.

Co-host: Nemo the Mormon