1666: Becoming a Progressive Mormon Bishop, Son Comes Out as Gay - Evan and Wes Smith Pt. 1
Mormon Stories Podcast
Dr. John Dehlin
4.6 • 5.2K Ratings
🗓️ 3 October 2022
⏱️ 158 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Evan Smith rose through the ranks of Mormon leadership ultimately becoming a Stake Presidency member. While serving as an LDS Bishop, Evan struggled with the Church’s positions on LGBTQ+ issues and later found out that his son Weston was gay. Even after coming out, Weston decided to serve an LDS Mission as an openly gay man, leading him to high levels of depression and heartbreaking experiences during and after coming back early from his mission.
Evan became an advocate for LGBTQ people in the Church. His position as a Stake Presidency Counselor led him to a few confrontations/discussions with General Authorities and a later meeting at Church Headquarters where they discussed Evan’s progressive beliefs on LGBTQ matters. Join John and Gerardo as they interview Evan and his son Weston about their fascinating Mormon Story.
In Part 1 of 3, we learn of Evan’s relatively normal LDS (Mormon) upbringing in Utah, early testimony-building experiences, and troubling issues on his mission regarding difficult Church topics including the Church’s racism & homophobia. Evan attends BYU and meets his wife, Cheryl, and works through law school with three children. He becomes a Branch President (leader of a local congregation-similar to a Bishop, but over a smaller congregation) and begins learning Gospel teachings and experiences weren’t as simple as they initially seemed, culminating in his son, Weston, coming out to him as gay.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Mormon Stories Podcast. |
| 0:03.9 | I am your host, Dr. John D'Lin. |
| 0:06.1 | It is August 16th, 2022 and we are in for a really important and exciting and meaningful |
| 0:15.8 | Mormon stories epic story today. |
| 0:18.4 | Some of the questions we'll be asking and answering is number one, how does one become |
| 0:24.0 | a progressive Mormon bishop in the modern era, especially while working for an international |
| 0:29.8 | law firm back east in Boston? |
| 0:32.4 | What's that like? |
| 0:33.4 | How does that happen? |
| 0:34.4 | What happens when a Mormon bishop's son comes out to him while he's serving his bishop? |
| 0:42.1 | How does that happen? |
| 0:43.1 | And then what happens after that? |
| 0:45.3 | Then following on that, what's it like in the modern era to serve as an openly gay |
| 0:52.0 | Mormon missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? |
| 0:55.9 | How long does that last and what told us that take on your health and your mental health? |
| 0:59.8 | Number four, what is it that makes a young Mormon man whose gay becomes suicidal, maybe |
| 1:08.8 | even at multiple points in his life? |
| 1:11.6 | We're going to tackle that one and then maybe for the part that's going to be maybe |
| 1:17.7 | most interesting to the highest number of you because we haven't really covered this |
| 1:22.2 | ever before. |
| 1:23.2 | On Mormon Stories is what happens when a progressive Mormon bishop becomes a state presidency |
| 1:29.1 | member in the Chastain influential stake back east in the Boston area and then has clashes |
... |
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