Episode 664: Dr. Julia Bernards, BYU Dissertation on Transgender Latter-day Saints Families

My friend Dr. Julia Bernards (LDS married mother of 4, PhD from BYU, LMFT) joins us to talk about her 2022 BYU Dissertation called “This Whole Journey was Sacred: Latter-day Saint Parents’ Process in Coming to Accept a Transgender Child.”

In her groundbreaking dissertation Julia shares the key findings of the research as well as a brief history of gender diversity, key terms to understand, perspectives on identity, grief and resiliency, and her research methodology (analyzing data from over a hundred LDS parents with a transgender child). She includes lots of quotes from parents as well as recommendations for clinicians.

Julia's findings focus on the facets and stages of the family journey to love, accept and support a transgender child leading to peace and a strong family relationship. It is a journey that is not linear; it is unique to each family—but Julia frames this up in a way that provides hope, perspective, and principles to navigate this road.

This is not just research for Julia as Julia and her husband Sam are parents of a transgender daughter, Emma. They bring their story as parents—combined with the research—to provide valuable insights.

I was deeply moved listening to Julia. If you are a parent, local leader, or interested Latter-day Saint, I encourage you to listen to this podcast. It will help you understand and better support transgender Latter-day Saints. And if you are transgender, I believe this podcast will help you in our journey.

Thank you, Julia, for your life-saving work in our community. Honored to have you on the podcast!

Links:

Dr. Julia Bernard’s Dissertation: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=10818&context=etd

Transgender Podcasts at Listen Learn and Love (includes Episode 631 from Dave and Kimi Martin): https://listenlearnandlove.org/transgender-and-more-podcasts

Ministering to LGBTQ Latter-day Saints Facebook Group

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

Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/1462135773