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

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159: Kris and Kay Packer | Loving, Learning, and Living

159: Kris and Kay Packer | Loving, Learning, and Living

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, Ka...

7 Huhti 20221h 31min

158: Kris Packer | From Wife to Husband: A Story of My Journey

158: Kris Packer | From Wife to Husband: A Story of My Journey

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 li...

30 Maalis 20221h 27min

157: Kay Packer | My Lesbian Mormon Love Story

157: Kay Packer | My Lesbian Mormon Love Story

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, ...

24 Maalis 20221h 19min

156: Ashley Ryan | My Story of Transition and Hope

156: Ashley Ryan | My Story of Transition and Hope

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 ...

8 Maalis 20221h 10min

155: Kray Casper| BYU Changed My Life: My Gay Coming Out

155: Kray Casper| BYU Changed My Life: My Gay Coming Out

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-t...

24 Helmi 20221h 33min

154: BYU ADMINS to BYU HEALTH CLINIC: Terminate Health Services to Transgender Patients

154: BYU ADMINS to BYU HEALTH CLINIC: Terminate Health Services to Transgender Patients

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...

10 Helmi 20221h 24min

153: Duane Jennings | Balancing Science and Spirituality

153: Duane Jennings | Balancing Science and Spirituality

From an early age, Duane felt drawn to better understanding life from two perspectives: science and spirituality. His desire for knowledge and the human understanding led him to better understand empa...

27 Tammi 20221h 42min

152: Page Petrucka | Happiness Exists In Authenticity

152: Page Petrucka | Happiness Exists In Authenticity

Page knew she was different, but Mormonism has a way of convincing you to keep those "different" feelings buried deep inside. Those feelings and natural connections can only stay hidden for so long—an...

21 Joulu 20211h 23min

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