166: Evan Smith | From Stake Presidency to LGBTQ+ Ally and Beyond

166: Evan Smith | From Stake Presidency to LGBTQ+ Ally and Beyond

Evan Smith met the intersection of sexuality and religion while serving as an LDS Bishop and eventually in a Stake Presidency. It didn't take long before Evan began to better understand the difficult and impossible restraints the Church's policies and doctrines place on LGBTQ Mormons.

In the midst of these dichotomies, Evan, and his wife, Cheryl learned that their own son, Weston, was gay.

The Smiths learned that understanding and advocating for LGBTQ people takes a sharp turn when someone close to you is directly impacted by this topic. As a result, Evan and Cheryl became allies and advocates for queer Mormons, and Evan used his position in his Stake Presidency to directly discuss this topic with General Authorities and Latter-day Saint congregations.

In this episode, Evan candidly shares his discussions with Church leadership, what his family has learned having a gay son, his current membership status in the Mormon church, and what we can all do to better understand the LGBTQ experience.

Evan Smith is also the author of Gay Latter-day Saint Crossroads, a book he acknowledges was written to explain, and hopefully do something productive with the pain that comes from the church's teachings about sexual orientation and gender identity. The book also explores whether the church's current position on gay sexual behavior is more reflective of human prejudice than it is of divine truth. Evan also uses the book to try to make amends for any harm he caused in the past as a leader in the church.

Download the book for FREE by visiting www.GayLDSCrossroads.org

#GayMormon #LatterGayStories #QueerLatterDaySaint #MormonLeader #GayLDSCrossroads

Jaksot(97)

183: Richard and Josh | A Love Story

183: Richard and Josh | A Love Story

In the final episode of our three-part story, Josh and Richard share the couch as a couple! They talk about dating, separating religion from their reality, family, navigating a vulnerable part of thei...

30 Kesä 20231h 8min

182: Josh Castro-Mitchell | From the Philippines to Utah: Finding My Happiness

182: Josh Castro-Mitchell | From the Philippines to Utah: Finding My Happiness

Josh was thriving as a young, out, gay teen in the Philippines, but Mormon missionaries knocked on his door and he and his family ended up joining the Church. Soon after, his mother married a man from...

20 Kesä 20231h 7min

181: Richard Mitchell | When A Mormon Bishop Comes Out

181: Richard Mitchell | When A Mormon Bishop Comes Out

What happens when a former Mormon bishop can no longer stay closeted and hidden? He grabs the door-handle, walks through that door and into a world he's avoided his whole life. Richard Mitchell was a...

15 Kesä 20231h 19min

180: Brad Talbot | I Colored The BYU Campus in Rainbow

180: Brad Talbot | I Colored The BYU Campus in Rainbow

What started as a dream to paint the Brigham Young University campus in rainbow paint ended up encouraging Bradley Talbot to start a movement that changed the face of BYU and literally lit it up with ...

24 Touko 20232h 20min

179: Flo Montierth | My Husband is Gay, Now What?

179: Flo Montierth | My Husband is Gay, Now What?

My husband is gay, now what? In a topic not regularly discussed, Flo Montierth shares her story of dating, marrying and then divorcing a gay Mormon husband. As a lifelong lover of learning and teachin...

11 Touko 20231h 16min

178: Joel J | I Tried to Do Everything Right

178: Joel J | I Tried to Do Everything Right

Joel was raised in an orthodox Mormon home, where rules were king—he never met a rule he didn't follow. His upbringing was one of "exact obedience". PBS and KBYU were the only TV shows they were allow...

19 Huhti 20231h 32min

177: Colby Majors | "Now Thank Him and Let Him Go"

177: Colby Majors | "Now Thank Him and Let Him Go"

Colby is a convert to the church, having joined at 17 years old. One year later, he left his family to serve a mission in Venezuela. He returned home from his mission after 10 months due to anxiety-de...

29 Maalis 20231h 22min

176: Lacey Bagley | Bisexual, Married, Polyamorous and Thriving

176: Lacey Bagley | Bisexual, Married, Polyamorous and Thriving

Dr. Lacey Bagley is a queer Mormon and the owner of Celebrate Therapy. She has been married for 14 years to her husband Evan and together they have 2 young children. She's polyamorous and is navigatin...

9 Maalis 20231h 55min

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