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An introduction to Mormon Transitions Live! podcast, hosted by John and Margi Dehlin.  Panelists on today’s episode include Amy Grubbs, Shandi Hill, Marco Perez and Dan Wotherspoon. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mormonstories/message

As the first interview for the new Mormon Transitions project, I am incredibly pleased to interview my dear wife of 23 years, Margaret (Margi) Weber Dehlin.  In this three-part interview, I ask Margi a series of 46 questions focusing on thee parts: Part 1: Margi's life as a believing Mormon.  This includes questions about how her family joined the LDS church in Washington D.C. during the 1970s, reflections on her own "conversion" to the church, Margi's favorite parts about being a believing, active Mormon, and the most challenging parts as well. Part 2: Margi's faith crisis and transition away from Mormon orthodoxy, including our time trying to remain LDS as semi-believers, and her experiences and reflections on my excommunication.  Topics include the impetus for Margi's faith transition, how she/we "came out" to our children parents, extended family, etc. as unorthodox Mormons, and what the most difficult and rewarding parts of the transition were. Part 3: Margi's life and perspective now, as a post-Mormon,

As the first interview for the new Mormon Transitions project, I am incredibly pleased to interview my dear wife of 23 years, Margaret (Margi) Weber Dehlin.  In this three-part interview, I ask Margi a series of 46 questions focusing on thee parts: Part 1: Margi's life as a believing Mormon.  This includes questions about how her family joined the LDS church in Washington D.C. during the 1970s, reflections on her own "conversion" to the church, Margi's favorite parts about being a believing, active Mormon, and the most challenging parts as well. Part 2: Margi's faith crisis and transition away from Mormon orthodoxy, including our time trying to remain LDS as semi-believers, and her experiences and reflections on my excommunication.  Topics include the impetus for Margi's faith transition, how she/we "came out" to our children parents, extended family, etc. as unorthodox Mormons, and what the most difficult and rewarding parts of the transition were. Part 3: Margi's life and perspective now, as a post-Mormon,

As the first interview for the new Mormon Transitions project, I am incredibly pleased to interview my dear wife of 23 years, Margaret (Margi) Weber Dehlin.  In this three-part interview, I ask Margi a series of 46 questions focusing on thee parts: Part 1: Margi's life as a believing Mormon.  This includes questions about how her family joined the LDS church in Washington D.C. during the 1970s, reflections on her own "conversion" to the church, Margi's favorite parts about being a believing, active Mormon, and the most challenging parts as well. Part 2: Margi's faith crisis and transition away from Mormon orthodoxy, including our time trying to remain LDS as semi-believers, and her experiences and reflections on my excommunication.  Topics include the impetus for Margi's faith transition, how she/we "came out" to our children parents, extended family, etc. as unorthodox Mormons, and what the most difficult and rewarding parts of the transition were. Part 3: Margi's life and perspective now, as a post-Mormon,

Sara Stanley Urquhart was the founding director of Altitude Summit, the premiere conference for creative entrepreneurs, stylish social media influencers, and bloggers. Past speakers at the conference include Martha Stewart, Ben Silbermann (Pinterest founder), Jessica Alba, Jordan Ferney (Oh Happy Day!), Liz Stanley (Say Yes), and Heather Armstrong (Dooce). Sara created this successful business as a means to generate income when her husband, Stephen H. Urquhart, decided to run for the Utah State Legislature. In this two-part interview, Sara discusses: Part 1: How she created Altitude Summit as a stay-at-home Mom with four children.  She also discusses the design blogging industry as a whole. Part 2: Her Mormon faith transition. Additional Bio: Sara runs an eponymous consulting business. She sits on the Salt Lake City Planning Commission and board of directors for the Women’s Resource Center at the University of Utah.  She is the founding board president of the St. George Family Support Center (2007-09). She

Sara Stanley Urquhart was the founding director of Altitude Summit, the premiere conference for creative entrepreneurs, stylish social media influencers, and bloggers. Past speakers at the conference include Martha Stewart, Ben Silbermann (Pinterest founder), Jessica Alba, Jordan Ferney (Oh Happy Day!), Liz Stanley (Say Yes), and Heather Armstrong (Dooce). Sara created this successful business as a means to generate income when her husband, Stephen H. Urquhart, decided to run for the Utah State Legislature. In this two-part interview, Sara discusses: Part 1: How she created Altitude Summit as a stay-at-home Mom with four children.  She also discusses the design blogging industry as a whole. Part 2: Her Mormon faith transition. Additional Bio: Sara runs an eponymous consulting business. She sits on the Salt Lake City Planning Commission and board of directors for the Women’s Resource Center at the University of Utah.  She is the founding board president of the St. George Family Support Center (2007-09). She

Stephen Urquhart was raised in Houston, Texas, where he and his family converted to the LDS church after the suicide of his older brother.  After serving an LDS mission in Brazil, Steve married Sara Stanley and graduated from BYU Law School -- ultimately settling in St. George, Utah. After developing a successful law career in St. George, Stephen served for 16 years in the Utah State Legislature, representing Washington County. In total, Stephen served 8 years in the Utah House of Representatives, and 8 years in the Utah Senate.  During this vast legislative career, Stephen championed legislation on several issues crucial to Utahns, including: public land use, water rights, death penalty, increasing citizen access to legal services, numerous initiatives to improve K-12 and higher education in Utah, and most recently -- anti-discrimination and hate crimes legislation (LGBT), as well as the legalization of medical marijuana. In this two-part episode, Stephen discusses: Part 1: His early years in the LDS Churc

Stephen Urquhart was raised in Houston, Texas, where he and his family converted to the LDS church after the suicide of his older brother.  After serving an LDS mission in Brazil, Steve married Sara Stanley and graduated from BYU Law School -- ultimately settling in St. George, Utah. After developing a successful law career in St. George, Stephen served for 16 years in the Utah State Legislature, representing Washington County. In total, Stephen served 8 years in the Utah House of Representatives, and 8 years in the Utah Senate.  During this vast legislative career, Stephen championed legislation on several issues crucial to Utahns, including: public land use, water rights, death penalty, increasing citizen access to legal services, numerous initiatives to improve K-12 and higher education in Utah, and most recently -- anti-discrimination and hate crimes legislation (LGBT), as well as the legalization of medical marijuana. In this two-part episode, Stephen discusses: Part 1: His early years in the LDS Churc

Lance Allred's Mormon story is fascinating for so many reasons. He is the grandson of assassinated Mormon fundamentalist prophet Rulon Allred. He was born deaf, and stands 6'11" tall. He was a star basketball player for East High school (SLC, Utah), and played college basketball both at the University of Utah and Weber State University. Lance developed scrupulosity (religious OCD), at least partially as a result of both perfectionism, and guilt/shame relating to matters of sexuality. NCAA legend Rick Marjerus was fired as University of Utah basketball coach because of his verbal abuse of Lance. After college, Lance went on to play 10 years of professional basketball (mostly overseas), including playing a year for the Cleveland Cavaliers with Lebron James (pre-Miami), amongst other teams (he even met Larry Bird!). Lance become a popular public speaker, perhaps most recently known for his "What is Your Polygamy" TEDx talk. Lance has fascinating insights on faith, doubt, and disbelief. Lance's web site can be

Lance Allred's Mormon story is fascinating for so many reasons. He is the grandson of assassinated Mormon fundamentalist prophet Rulon Allred. He was born deaf, and stands 6'11" tall. He was a star basketball player for East High school (SLC, Utah), and played college basketball both at the University of Utah and Weber State University. Lance developed scrupulosity (religious OCD), at least partially as a result of both perfectionism, and guilt/shame relating to matters of sexuality. NCAA legend Rick Marjerus was fired as University of Utah basketball coach because of his verbal abuse of Lance. After college, Lance went on to play 10 years of professional basketball (mostly overseas), including playing a year for the Cleveland Cavaliers with Lebron James (pre-Miami), amongst other teams (he even met Larry Bird!). Lance become a popular public speaker, perhaps most recently known for his "What is Your Polygamy" TEDx talk. Lance has fascinating insights on faith, doubt, and disbelief. Lance's web site can be

Rulon Clark Allred (March 29, 1906 – May 10, 1977) was a homeopath and chiropractor in Salt Lake City and the founder/leader of what is now the Apostolic United Brethren, a breakaway sect of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists in Utah, Colorado, Montana, and Arizona, United States. He was murdered on the orders of Ervil LeBaron, the head of a rival polygamous sect (Wikipedia). Vance Allred is Rulon's Allred's son, and at one point was a chief apologist for Mormon fundamentalist polygamy, and was being groomed to succeed his father as prophet of the AUB. In this three part series, Vance Allred discusses: Part 1: His father's rise to power, via the founding of the Apostolic United Brethren, and Vance's early years as the son of a polygamist prophet. Part 2: The events leading up to Rulon Allred's assassination, and Vance's candid critique of his father's work, and  Part 3: The sexual abuse in the AUB that led Vance to leave the AUB, and the events that led Vance to join the LDS church (requiring an interview wit

Rulon Clark Allred (March 29, 1906 – May 10, 1977) was a homeopath and chiropractor in Salt Lake City and the founder/leader of what is now the Apostolic United Brethren, a breakaway sect of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists in Utah, Colorado, Montana, and Arizona, United States. He was murdered on the orders of Ervil LeBaron, the head of a rival polygamous sect (Wikipedia). Vance Allred is Rulon's Allred's son, and at one point was a chief apologist for Mormon fundamentalist polygamy, and was being groomed to succeed his father as prophet of the AUB. In this three part series, Vance Allred discusses: Part 1: His father's rise to power, via the founding of the Apostolic United Brethren, and Vance's early years as the son of a polygamist prophet. Part 2: The events leading up to Rulon Allred's assassination, and Vance's candid critique of his father's work, and  Part 3: The sexual abuse in the AUB that led Vance to leave the AUB, and the events that led Vance to join the LDS church (requiring an interview wit

Rulon Clark Allred (March 29, 1906 – May 10, 1977) was a homeopath and chiropractor in Salt Lake City and the founder/leader of what is now the Apostolic United Brethren, a breakaway sect of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists in Utah, Colorado, Montana, and Arizona, United States. He was murdered on the orders of Ervil LeBaron, the head of a rival polygamous sect (Wikipedia). Vance Allred is Rulon's Allred's son, and at one point was a chief apologist for Mormon fundamentalist polygamy, and was being groomed to succeed his father as prophet of the AUB. In this three part series, Vance Allred discusses: Part 1: His father's rise to power, via the founding of the Apostolic United Brethren, and Vance's early years as the son of a polygamist prophet. Part 2: The events leading up to Rulon Allred's assassination, and Vance's candid critique of his father's work, and  Part 3: The sexual abuse in the AUB that led Vance to leave the AUB, and the events that led Vance to join the LDS church (requiring an interview wit

Jesse Stay worked for three years as leader of the LDS Church's social media initiatives. He was the first LDS Church employee with the name "social media" in his title.  His work primarily involved formulating the early Facebook and Twitter strategies for the church (including for LDS general authorities).  Jesse also provided social media support to various LDS Church departments including the missionary department, public relations, genealogy, the Joseph Smith Papers project, and the "I'm a Mormon" PR campaign. In this two-part episode, Jesse discusses: Part 1: The evolution of Jesse's LDS testimony, as he became aware of factual LDS history, saw the inner-workings of LDS Church headquarters, and as he struggled with the LDS church's November LGBT policy and its direct impact on family and friends. Part 2: Jesse discusses in-depth his experiences working two years for the LDS church as Senior Advisor of Social Media, and for one year as Director of Social Media at Deseret Digital Media. Currently, Jesse

Jesse Stay worked for three years as leader of the LDS Church's social media initiatives. He was the first LDS Church employee with the name "social media" in his title.  His work primarily involved formulating the early Facebook and Twitter strategies for the church (including for LDS general authorities).  Jesse also provided social media support to various LDS Church departments including the missionary department, public relations, genealogy, the Joseph Smith Papers project, and the "I'm a Mormon" PR campaign. In this two-part episode, Jesse discusses: Part 1: The evolution of Jesse's LDS testimony, as he became aware of factual LDS history, saw the inner-workings of LDS Church headquarters, and as he struggled with the LDS church's November LGBT policy and its direct impact on family and friends. Part 2: Jesse discusses in-depth his experiences working two years for the LDS church as Senior Advisor of Social Media, and for one year as Director of Social Media at Deseret Digital Media. Currently, Jesse

Amy McPhie Allebest is a lifelong member of the Church, a returned missionary, a temple-married wife and mother of four, and a graduate student at Stanford University. Last month, her article "Dear Mormon Man..." went viral and caught Mormon Stories' attention as a unique voice in Mormon Feminism.    In this episode, we discuss Amy's trajectory from her unquestioningly trusting childhood through her tumultuous, prolonged faith transition, brought on by the problematic language of the temple and a deep dive into Church History, to her current commitment to remain active in the Church despite her rejection of Patriarchy.   Check out more of Amy's writing in this month's Exponent II, and on http://mormondom.com, a publication on Medium.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mormonstories/message

Amy McPhie Allebest is a lifelong member of the Church, a returned missionary, a temple-married wife and mother of four, and a graduate student at Stanford University. Last month, her article "Dear Mormon Man..." went viral and caught Mormon Stories' attention as a unique voice in Mormon Feminism.  In this episode, we discuss Amy's trajectory from her unquestioningly trusting childhood through her tumultuous, prolonged faith transition, brought on by the problematic language of the temple and a deep dive into Church History, to her current commitment to remain active in the Church despite her rejection of Patriarchy.   Check out more of Amy's writing in this month's Exponent II, and on http://mormondom.com, a publication on Medium.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mormonstories/message

As part 3 in our series on Mormons in the U.K. we interview BBC TV Star Alex Winters - who worked for seven years as a presenter on the BBC Children's channel CBeebies (the U.K. equivalent to Nick Jr or Disney). Alex was raised as a devout Mormon in Wales, U.K., served an honorable mission, and was married in the London temple.  Throughout his adult life Alex has served in several significant ward and stake callings including ward bishopric and stake high council. As his acting career developed, Alex was so popular as a media celebrity within the U.K. that the LDS Church offered him a major role in their "I'm a Mormon" PR campaign (which he declined for professional reasons). Over the past year or two Alex developed questions and concerns about LDS church doctrine (e.g., November 2015 LGBT policy) and history (e.g., Joseph Smith's treasure digging, seer stone use, polygamy and polyandry) which led to his loss of faith in Mormonism. This is Alex's story. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spoti

As part 3 in our series on Mormons in the U.K. we interview BBC TV Star Alex Winters - who worked for seven years as a presenter on the BBC Children's channel CBeebies (the U.K. equivalent to Nick Jr or Disney). Alex was raised as a devout Mormon in Wales, U.K., served an honorable mission, and was married in the London temple.  Throughout his adult life Alex has served in several significant ward and stake callings including ward bishopric and stake high council. As his acting career developed, Alex was so popular as a media celebrity within the U.K. that the LDS Church offered him a major role in their "I'm a Mormon" PR campaign (which he declined for professional reasons). Over the past year or two Alex developed questions and concerns about LDS church doctrine (e.g., November 2015 LGBT policy) and history (e.g., Joseph Smith's treasure digging, seer stone use, polygamy and polyandry) which led to his loss of faith in Mormonism. This is Alex's story. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spoti

In this two-part episode we interview Stephen Bloor. Stephen discusses his experiences growing up as a Mormon in the U.K. including serving an LDS mission and being married in the Frankfurt, Germany temple. Eventually Stephen served as an LDS Bishop in the U.K. for 7 years.  While serving as bishop Stephen learned of troubling issues with LDS Church history including Joseph Smith's polygamy, his marriage to other men's wives (polyandry), and his sexual relationships with underaged girls. Unable to reconcile these problems, Stephen eventually resigned from his position as LDS bishop. After resigning as bishop, Stephen was told by his LDS leaders that he was not allowed to return to church, and would not be allowed to discuss any of his issues or concerns with other LDS church members (by threat of excommunication). Through these actions, Stephen was effectively cut off from the community he served for decades.   Over time, Stephen became involved in former U.K. Stake President Top Phillips's law suit agains