Wes Smith Pt's guest appearances

Wes Smith Pt

Mormon Stories - LDS

OwlTail

Mormon Bishop

Wes Smith

Evan Smith rose through the ranks of Mormon leadership ultimately becoming a Stake Presidency member. While serving as an LDS Bishop, Evan struggled with the Church’s positions on LGBTQ+ issues and later found out that his son Weston was gay. Even after coming out, Weston decided to serve an LDS Mission as an openly gay man, leading him to high levels of depression and heartbreaking experiences during and after coming back early from his mission. Evan became an advocate for LGBTQ people in the Church. His position as a Stake Presidency Counselor led him to a few confrontations/discussions with General Authorities and a later meeting at Church Headquarters where they discussed Evan’s progressive beliefs on LGBTQ matters. Join John and Gerardo as they interview Evan and his son Weston about their fascinating Mormon Story.   In Part 1 of 3, we learn of Evan’s relatively normal LDS (Mormon) upbringing in Utah, early testimony-building experiences, and troubling issues on his mission regarding difficult Church topics including the Church’s racism &amp; homophobia. Evan attends BYU and meets his wife, Cheryl, and works through law school with three children. He becomes a Branch President (leader of a local congregation-similar to a Bishop, but over a smaller congregation) and begins learning Gospel teachings and experiences weren’t as simple as they initially seemed, culminating in his son, Weston, coming out to him as gay.  Gay Latter-day Saint Crossroads This Body of Water: Surviving Mormonism as a Queer Man    Episode Show Notes ===== Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors! Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today:  One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox Support us on Patreon Pick “Mormon Stories” as your charity on Amazon Smile or through the Amazon App    Our Platforms:  Mormon Stories Blog Patreon Spotify Apple Podcasts   Contact us: MormonStories@gmail.com  Mormon Stories Podcast PO Box 171085 Salt Lake City, UT 84117  Social Media:  Insta: @mormstories Tiktok: @mormonstoriespodcast Join the Discord 

Evan Smith rose through the ranks of Mormon leadership ultimately becoming a Stake Presidency member. While serving as an LDS Bishop, Evan struggled with the Church’s positions on LGBTQ+ issues and later found out that his son Weston was gay. Even after coming out, Weston decided to serve an LDS Mission as an openly gay man, leading him to high levels of depression and heartbreaking experiences during and after coming back early from his mission. Evan became an advocate for LGBTQ people in the Church. His position as a Stake Presidency Counselor led him to a few confrontations/discussions with General Authorities and a later meeting at Church Headquarters where they discussed Evan’s progressive beliefs on LGBTQ matters. Join John and Gerardo as they interview Evan and his son Weston about their fascinating Mormon Story.  In Part 1 of 3, we learn of Evan’s relatively normal LDS (Mormon) upbringing in Utah, early testimony-building experiences, and troubling issues on his mission regarding difficult Church topics including the Church’s racism &amp; homophobia. Evan attends BYU and meets his wife, Cheryl, and works through law school with three children. He becomes a Branch President (leader of a local congregation-similar to a Bishop, but over a smaller congregation) and begins learning Gospel teachings and experiences weren’t as simple as they initially seemed, culminating in his son, Weston, coming out to him as gay. <ul> <li><a href="https://www.gayldscrossroads.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Gay Latter-day Saint Crossroads</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-Body-Water-Surviving-Mormonism/dp/173865950X" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">This Body of Water: Surviving Mormonism as a Queer Man</a> </li> </ul> <a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/evan-and-weston-smith/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Episode Show Notes</a> ===== Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors! Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today: <ul> <li><a href="https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Support us on Patreon</a></li> <li>Pick “Mormon Stories” as your charity on <a href="https://smile.amazon.com" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon Smile</a> or through the <a href="https://amz.run/5r2M" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon App</a> </li> </ul> Our Platforms: <ul> <li><a href="https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Mormon Stories Blog</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a></li> <li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li> <li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a></li> </ul> Contact us: <a href="mailto:MormonStories@gmail.com" rel="noopener">MormonStories@gmail.com</a> Mormon Stories Podcast PO Box 171085 Salt Lake City, UT 84117  Social Media: <ul> <li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mormstories" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Insta: @mormstories</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Tiktok: @mormonstoriespodcast</a></li> <li><a href="https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Join the Discord</a></li> </ul>