Mormon Stories Podcast

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In part two of my interview with Amy and Jake Malouf, we discuss the verdict from their October 11, 2016 Mormon Disciplinary Council on charges of Apostasy, along with their reactions to the verdict. This is a link to the recent article from the Anchorage Press about Amy and Jake's disciplinary council. This is a link to the letter Amy and Jake read during their disciplinary council.

On a recent trip from New Jersey to Vermont with Mormon Therapist Natasha Helfer Parker and Dr. Gina Colvin we decided to have a rough, unplanned, unrehearsed, and VERY informal first discussion about post-Mormon polyamory and non-monogamy.   For those who care deeply about this issue, there are a few very important things we would like to emphasize: This is a rough, free-form, first discussion about orthodox, transitioning, and post-Mormon non-monogamy and polyamory.  This is not meant to be a pre-planned, comprehensive, uber-professional treatment of the topic.  If you are looking for such a treatment, please do not listen. For those of you who are very knowledgable about and/or experienced with polyamory and non-monogamy, we openly acknowledge that we likely (or most definitely) employed several incorrect or improper terms, stereotypes, and biases in this discussion. We do this partially on purpose - because it gives us/you a chance to explore and correct common mistakes or misperceptions used regarding these sensitive and important topics.   For those of you who are interested in this topic, or who were frustrated in any way by this first treatment/discussion - we hope that you will give us your thoughts, perspective, and respectful criticisms in the blog comments.  Then, please know what we 100% plan to have at least a few future guests on Mormon Stories Podcast to explore this topic more in-depth, and in more serious ways.  If you have participated in polyamory and/or non-monogamy as an active, transitioning, or post-Mormon, we invite you to contact us about appearing in a future episode.  mormonstories@gmail.com Thanks for your patience, understanding, support, participation, and good will as we begin to explore this important topic that affects many people in orthodox, transitioning, and post-Mormonism.

Elna Baker is the author of the highly acclaimed The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance: A Memoir.  She is also a contributor to the podcast This American Life. As part of the 2016 New York City Mormon Transitions Retreat Elna shares experiences regarding her faith transition away from Mormonism.