In February 2019, Charlie Bird published an op-ed through the Deseret News that revealed two secrets: 1. He was the man underneath the Cosmo the Cougar suit that made national headlines and led NBC Sports to dub 2017–2018 the “Year of the Mascot.” 2. He is a gay member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Next month, Charlie will release a book called “Without the Mask,” and on today’s episode we talk with Charlie about what the gospel continues to teach him as he embraces a life that is very different than the one he planned for himself.

“Connecting with God has helped me see that my faith and my orientation are not mutually exclusive. They are both integral parts of who I am and if I try to reject either one of those, I’m not really me.” 

Show Notes

2:31- Being Cosmo the Cougar 7:01- Coming Out to God 11:46- The Words We Use 14:55- The Joy of the Told Story 17:19- No One Right Way to Respond 22:12- “The Adversary Works Best in Darkness” 24:32- One Day at a Time 27:00- Daily Bread 28:58- “Bridle Your Passions” 31:59- Spiritual Work 34:09- Latter-day Saint and Gay—A Continual Effort 38:14- What Does It Mean To Be “All In” the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Find the full episode transcript at ldsliving.com/allin.

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