Mormon Stories Podcast

Despite a happy facade, Lexi struggled with anxiety and perfectionism as many young LDS people do. Subjected to the lessons specifically directed towards LDS teen girls hyper-focusing on modesty and sexual purity along with the belief that LDS men who serve missions were always trustworthy, Lexi blames herself when she is assaulted as a teen by a returned missionary. This turns into hyper-vigilance as a newlywed and mother, even going as far as to use a marker to “censor” cleavage on cartoon characters on a family board game!

Things started to unravel for Lexi when a trusted Bishop is arrested for sexually assaulting minors in her ward and when a close friend starts questioning the Church. Hoping to help her friend and shore up her own shaken testimony, Lexi starts researching LDS Church history and truth claims with devastating results. An early conversation with her father during this time wakes Lexi up to the harm silence causes and gives her the courage to start speaking out and speaking up.

Find Lexi on Social Media:

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Today I am honored to share the story of Drew Manning - author, TV star, and founder of the viral brand, "Fit2Fat2Fit." Join us as we continue with Part 2 of Drew's Mormon story, which will cover:

• Healing after a divorce
• Discovering meditation
• Finding new wisdom outside of the church
• Spirituality through psychedelics
• Fit2Fat2Fit and the identity crisis that followed
• Drew’s beliefs around God and an afterlife as a post Mormon

Show Notes:

• Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal 
• How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
• The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz

Today I am honored to share the story of Drew Manning - author, TV star, and founder of the viral brand, "Fit2Fat2Fit." In part 1 of Drew's story, we will discuss, among other things:

• His upbringing in Mormonism
• LDS mission in Brazil
• Marriage & pornography use in a Mormon marriage, followed by the LDS church addiction recovery program
• Their eventual divorce
• Learning about problematic church history & the 2015 LGBT+ exclusion policy
• The Fit2Fat2Fit story & Drew’s mission to bring empathy to fitness

Show notes:

• Fit2Fat2Fit: The Unexpected Lessons from Gaining and Losing 75lbs on Purpose by Drew Manning
• Complete Keto: A Guide to Transforming Your Body and Your Mind for Life by Drew Manning
• Loving What Is by Byron Katie
• Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
• Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
• The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity by Esther Perel

Join me today for this truly inspiring interview with Lance Allred, the grandson of Rulon C. Allred - the prophet of a fundamentalist polygamous sect called the “Apostolic United Brethren." In addition to this, Lance is the first legally-deaf player in NBA history, an inspirational speaker (including a highly successful TedX presentation, "What is Your Polygamy?"), and celebrated author of six books, including his most recent publication, “The New Alpha Male: How to Win the Game When the Rules are Changing.”

Join along as we discuss the concepts of misogyny, toxic masculinity, how they function within religions, and how we can begin to combat and "unlearn" these unhealthy habits.

More books by Lance Allred:

• Lanceallred41 Daily Perseverance Tracker

• Basketball Gods

• How to Give the Million View TEDx Talk: What is Your Polygamy?

• The Pesaro Poems

• Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA

• The New Alpha Male: How to Win the Game When the Rules Are Changing

JT & Lady Cee were raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses from the age of five years old. Lady Cee was a regular pioneer and went to serve where the need is great with her pioneer partners. JT served at Brooklyn Bethel and was an elder in the local congregation.

After spending a combined 60 years of Watchtower indoctrination, they discovered that something was seriously wrong with the 1914 teaching. This led them to doing more research and after reading Crisis of Conscience by former Governing Body Member Raymond Franz, they faded from the organization. JT & Lady Cee realize the importance of giving back to help those they left behind. Therefore, in 2013, they began hosting the Critical Thought podcast on the EXJW Critical Thinker YouTube channel. Their decision to join their voice with the community of other Ex-JW activists is resulting in many happy endings as individuals begin waking up and learning the real truth about “The Truth.”

Learn more about them on their website and other social media outlets.

JT & Lady Cee were raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses from the age of five years old. Lady Cee was a regular pioneer and went to serve where the need is great with her pioneer partners. JT served at Brooklyn Bethel and was an elder in the local congregation.

After spending a combined 60 years of Watchtower indoctrination, they discovered that something was seriously wrong with the 1914 teaching. This led them to doing more research and after reading Crisis of Conscience by former Governing Body Member Raymond Franz, they faded from the organization. JT & Lady Cee realize the importance of giving back to help those they left behind. Therefore, in 2013, they began hosting the Critical Thought podcast on the EXJW Critical Thinker YouTube channel. Their decision to join their voice with the community of other Ex-JW activists is resulting in many happy endings as individuals begin waking up and learning the real truth about “The Truth.” Learn more about them on their website and other social media outlets.

Join me today as I sit down with a living legend, Rod Decker, who has gained great prominence in Utah over the past 50 years as a journalist, columnist, and reporter for KUTV Channel 2 news. An observer of Utah politics from an early age, Decker has a truly unique perspective on Utah culture, faith, and politics, and I could not be more honored to have him as a guest on Mormon Stories Podcast.

Rod Decker's most recent publication, "Utah Politics: The Elephant in the Room" can be purchased here.

Marriage, Family, & Sex therapist, Natasha Helfer, hosts this special edition of Mormon Stories Podcast with John & Margi Dehlin, as they discuss the aftermath of Natasha's trial for apostasy and excommunication from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Join us now for Part 3 of what many are calling a truly groundbreaking Mormon Stories Podcast series - my interview with teen convert, former All-American athlete, and former Mormon seminary teacher and CES employee Marc Oslund.

In today's episode Marc shares with us:

• An insider's view of how the Mormon church began realizing that it was hemorrhaging its youth and young adults, and how the church has experimented in seminary/institute/CES with both "inoculation" and "avoidance" when confronting its long-denied problematic history.
• How the Mormon church relied on Terryl Givens and other progressive Mormons to help re-train Mormon CES employees, the backlash that ensued from orthodox instructors and managers, and how the Mormon church worked hard to simultaneously distance itself from Terryl Givens' teachings.
• An observation that Mormon apostles no longer act as guardians of doctrine and theology, and how they have now "outsourced" that work to progressive theologians like Terryl Givens and others, in part so that they can maintain plausible deniability.
• Marc's transition from an orthodox Mormon to a progressive/liberal (Terryl Givens)-type Mormon as a Mormon seminary teacher, in response to the training the church provided him, and how that ultimately undermined his own career in CES.
• How Marc was ultimately and literally pushed out of CES for explicitly following the advice of Mormon apostles like Elder Ballard to openly discuss the problematic issues.
• How the CES System continues to promote orthodox leaders in spite of its lip service to promoting openness and tolerance for diversity.

You will not regret the length and depth of this interview.

Join us today as we continue with part two of our three-part interview with former baseball player and LDS seminary teacher, Marc Oslund. Fascinating for so many reasons, I believe this is one of the most important Mormon Stories Podcast episodes I've ever released.

• Marc was a heavily recruited high school baseball and football player in the L.A., California area.
• He converted to the Mormon church as a teen.
• He was drafted to the baseball Major Leagues three different times, and turned down those offers to go on an LDS mission and to BYU.
• He was an all-American baseball player at BYU.
• He served an LDS mission where he was often racked with guilt and shame - almost sent home for it.
• When his baseball career ended (due to post-mission injuries), he became a Mormon CES seminary teacher, and served from around 2013 to 2019 - while the Mormon church was trying to become more open/honest about its history, and deal with public activists like Kate Kelly, myself, Sam Young, Jeremy Runnells, etc.
• Even though he constantly had doubts/questions/concerns, his position as a seminary teacher caused major rifts in his marriage when his wife expressed occasional doubts, specifically about the Mormon temple ceremony.
• Marc became a liberal/progressive/Givens Mormon while a seminary teacher - but was punished by CES for his progressive stances.
• Marc ultimately lost his orthodox Mormon faith as a seminary teacher, and was pressured to quit his job.

In part 2 of his story, we will hear about Marc's experience working for the Church Educational System as a seminary teacher, his attempts to be open with students about church doctrines, and why he eventually began to question the leadership of the LDS church - all while working within the CES program.