In this third episode of RfR Stories Australia, we hear Shawn’s story. Shawn grew up in South Africa and was raised Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or LDS). When Shawn was 19 he left South Africa and went to England to ‘serve’ as a Mormon missionary for 2 years. After that he moved to Sydney.

hawn was a devout Mormon throughout his twenties, ‘serving’ in various leadership positions, but eventually in his late twenties he became more interested in reconciling evolution with his religious worldview, experienced growth with his relationship with fear, and went on to experienced a full-blown faith crisis when learning more about science, evolution, ‘spirituality’ and Mormon history.

Shawn’s been out of Mormonism now for almost 10 years and has been relatively public in his coming out, including being featured in the Sydney Morning Herald speaking about Mormon worthiness interviews. He is deeply interested in the emotional repercussions of having one’s worldview turned upside down having experienced that firsthand. We’re grateful to have Shawn as a volunteer in RfR, one of the hosts of RfR Stories, and deputy-chair of RfR Australia.