Shannon Sears's guest appearances

Shannon Sears

StoryConnect: The Podcast

Listen, Learn & Love Hosted by Richard Ostler

Keith Jones

Fred Johnson

Brandon Johnson

Matt Krueger

Brian Ford

Katie Fleming

Nathan Collier

Kelly Swanson

John Formica

Zach Moore

Karen Wilson

David Murphy

Steve Sax

Andy Johns

Scott Peters

OwlTail

My friend Shannon Sears (age 51, out in 2022, father of three, lifelong church member with decades of church service, divorced, no longer active LDS) joins us to share his story.   Shannon hopes that sharing his story will “help younger queer people see themselves as God sees them.” Shannon talks about how he felt not only broken, but “irreparably broken” and how he “never really thought of himself as gay—just terribly flawed”.   Shannon shares 35 years of feeling this way (from being a young teen until the age of 50) and the immense and inescapable shame he felt for being gay (even though he was trying to be perfectly obedient).  Shannon talks about how the shame kept him from feeling joy and peace in his life and falsely believed that God couldn’t love him. Shannon talks about feeling suicidal and close to acting on that plan—but praying to God and asking how God felt about him and receiving a powerful answer “I love you.  I never intended to fix you.   You are not broken.  They may not want you, but you are Mine.”    Shannon talks about the peace and acceptance this brought him—and how the shame disappeared—giving Shannon hope for his future.  He talks about his continued desire to be a disciple of Christ, and how he feels he is better able to do that with his whole heart now. Shannon talks about coming out to his wife (he refers to her as the best woman he knows) and his children, and deciding to end his marriage.   Shannon acknowledges the pain for his wife and children and trying to do the best he can, continuing his love for, and relationship with them and moving forward with his own life.  He offers some thoughts on what helped him—and what didn't—from those around him during this difficult journey. This is a powerful episode to hear the story of Shannon—35 years in the closet navigating his sexual orientation—and all the things that were difficult in his journey—things that we no longer teach or say (hopefully) as when we “know better, we do better.”.    If you are LGBTQ this podcast will help you write your own story.   And for the rest it helps us better know how to love, understand and better support LGBTQ Latter-day Saints.    Thank you, Shannon, for being on the podcast.  You are a good man.   Your story will help so many. Links: Shannon's coming out Facbook Post:  www.facebook.com/shannondsears/posts/pfbid036VYH2cXvhtV2LNQMubQZ4EvGDiEM5nGpN7E7Zm7s3QAGhEtC1rE5Q9bkxK44Qsh2lMinistering to LGBTQ Latter-day Saints Facebook Grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/1433556613672143 Richard Ostler Book:  Embracing LGBTQ Latter-day Saints: Deseret Book: deseretbook.com/p/listen-learn-and-love-embracing-lgbtq-latter-day-saints?variant_id=189035-paperback Amazon: amazon.com/dp/1462135773 Index of Podcasts:  listenlearnandlove.org/podcasts

My friend Shannon Sears (age 51, out in 2022, father of three, lifelong church member with decades of church service, divorced, no longer active LDS) joins us to share his story. Shannon hopes that sharing his story will “help younger queer people see themselves as God sees them.” Shannon talks about how he felt not only broken, but “irreparably broken” and how he “never really thought of himself as gay—just terribly flawed”. Shannon shares 35 years of feeling this way (from being a young teen until the age of 50) and the immense and inescapable shame he felt for being gay (even though he was trying to be perfectly obedient). Shannon talks about how the shame kept him from feeling joy and peace in his life and falsely believed that God couldn’t love him. Shannon talks about feeling suicidal and close to acting on that plan—but praying to God and asking how God felt about him and receiving a powerful answer “I love you. I never intended to fix you. You are not broken. They may not want you, but you are Mine.” Shannon talks about the peace and acceptance this brought him—and how the shame disappeared—giving Shannon hope for his future. He talks about his continued desire to be a disciple of Christ, and how he feels he is better able to do that with his whole heart now. Shannon talks about coming out to his wife (he refers to her as the best woman he knows) and his children, and deciding to end his marriage. Shannon acknowledges the pain for his wife and children and trying to do the best he can, continuing his love for, and relationship with them and moving forward with his own life. He offers some thoughts on what helped him—and what didn't—from those around him during this difficult journey. This is a powerful episode to hear the story of Shannon—35 years in the closet navigating his sexual orientation—and all the things that were difficult in his journey—things that we no longer teach or say (hopefully) as when we “know better, we do better.”. If you are LGBTQ this podcast will help you write your own story. And for the rest it helps us better know how to love, understand and better support LGBTQ Latter-day Saints. Thank you, Shannon, for being on the podcast. You are a good man. Your story will help so many. Links: Shannon's coming out Facbook Post: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/shannondsears/posts/pfbid036VYH2cXvhtV2LNQMubQZ4EvGDiEM5nGpN7E7Zm7s3QAGhEtC1rE5Q9bkxK44Qsh2l" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/shannondsears/posts/pfbid036VYH2cXvhtV2LNQMubQZ4EvGDiEM5nGpN7E7Zm7s3QAGhEtC1rE5Q9bkxK44Qsh2l</a> Ministering to LGBTQ Latter-day Saints Facebook Group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1433556613672143" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/1433556613672143</a> Richard Ostler Book: Embracing LGBTQ Latter-day Saints: Deseret Book: <a href="http://deseretbook.com/p/listen-learn-and-love-embracing-lgbtq-latter-day-saints?variant_id=189035-paperback" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">deseretbook.com/p/listen-learn-and-love-embracing-lgbtq-latter-day-saints?variant_id=189035-paperback</a> Amazon: <a href="http://amazon.com/dp/1462135773" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amazon.com/dp/1462135773</a> Index of Podcasts: <a href="http://listenlearnandlove.org/podcasts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">listenlearnandlove.org/podcasts</a>

Episode 676: Shannon Sears, Gay, Age 51, Recently Out

Telling your own story is one thing, but there is great power in having your customers tell your story for you. In this episode of StoryConnect: The Podcast, WordSouth’s Andy Johns speaks with Shannon Sears, the director of commercial operations for West Carolina Tel headquartered in Abbeville, South Carolina. Shannon talks about a residential development that WCT serves with fiber, where the general manager is a strong advocate for the work WCT is doing in the area.

004 Brand Advocates, with Shannon Sears of West Carolina Tel