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Mormon Stories Podcast

550: Kristy Money and the High Price of Mormon Activism Pt. 3

Mormon Stories Podcast

Dr. John Dehlin

Religion & Spirituality

4.55.7K Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2015

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

famlight2Kristy Money is impressive on so many levels.

In this 3-part interview we discuss her early years growing up in the church in South Carolina, her intellectual awakening at BYU, her experiences as a psychologist, and her various efforts of Mormon activism, culminating in her now being silenced by her bishop, and threatened with church discipline.  She also discusses the incredibly high personal price she's paid for her work, which has led to almost complete isolation from her parents and siblings.  


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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:19.0

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0:29.0

Thanks for your support.

0:31.0

Hello and welcome back to Part 3 of my interview with Christy Money.

0:55.0

It's been so amazing in Part 2 was was was was heart-wrenching and touching and inspiring or Christy talked about her her her work with you know well she talked about not being able to hold her second baby during the baby's blessing and how that led to participation or being women and how inspired and insincere heart felt her efforts were but also how

1:24.0

heartbroken she was that it didn't lead to the outcome she had hoped and most importantly how that led to kind of a strange from her parents and siblings and it's a really touching and heartbreaking and inspiring story so go listen to the second hour but now we're going to kind of finish this interview and Christy you know or Dean women is in all you've done so just talk us through just if you can

1:53.0

the you know the other activist sort of things that you've been involved in that take us to your discussions with your ecclesiastical leaders.

2:04.0

Okay sure well so one story is my creating the voices of love website that I did so what was behind that why did you do that well okay I remember exactly where I was

2:20.0

because it was Christmassy and Rio de Janeiro and I heard you know I was celebrating with Rolf about the Supreme Court decision not the Supreme Court that was this week.

2:30.0

The Utah. Yeah yeah so I was about Utah granting marriages for everyone and yeah it was a good day but then but also like hearing some responses and particularly from North Star and voices of hope

2:48.0

like that these are these relationships are subpar and and that you know that heterosexual marriage or celibacy or you're really only two options and I I just I couldn't sleep I just I wanted to do something

3:04.0

because I knew about suicide rates and I knew that like a life of celibacy or being married to someone that you can't have you know that same connection with is is just going to

3:17.0

make people feel hopeless and so I mentioned the divorce rates and quality of life you know ratings depression the anxiety the self-loving not just of the same sex partner but also the the straight partner yeah not feeling loved and attracted you know these marriages as my research kind of covered these marriages in not all cases but in many cases are just living tragedies yeah yeah so I so I put together

3:46.0

just stories of Mormon or formerly Mormon couples who were in relationships are got married just to show to show youth mainly but anyone who's who's struggling and wondering like is there is there a future for me that there there is and it's up you know there's more options than then we think you know that you don't it's not just celibacy or marriage to you

4:15.0

know marriage to someone of the opposite sex so yeah I mean mainly to just to keep to keep suicide rates down to keep people from from you know being incredibly depressed and yeah I it it helped a bit but I

4:35.0

so that's that's voices of love calm dot org okay don't work and did you have any interaction with time and field during that process no I didn't try and reach out to him or anything no I didn't but I could I've heard that that others have and that he's he's listening to other perspectives and so that's that's good there's been a lot of progress since last year when I decide together but it's just it's just telling stories just

5:04.0

the picture and people stories of how they met and and you know how they felt like you know they they can never be happy but but they were you know they found they found the right one and now they are and and a lot of them had kids so there's beautiful family pictures so I just I wanted people to see that and to know that that there's hope

5:26.0

you know we are on cell to see voices of love dot org okay what else what what next did you do well let's see I so I I've written those polygamy op ed's okay talk about that real quick sure I it was really upsetting to me because I knew that the polygamy essay was coming out by the church but I didn't expect them to to like own polygamy so I've got a lot of things that I want to do.

5:56.0

So so much like I mean the the race in the priesthood essay had come out earlier and they did a much better job of laying out you know imperfections that that leaders said you know made some mistakes and so I figured that they that they you know say well Joseph made made a mistake and it wasn't perfect but he was a prophet and but no it was it was absolutely you know Joseph was just an obedient servant and and as a

6:26.0

you know after my time doing my internship with with juvenile sex offenders and let me say because that that was the bishops first thing was you think that Joseph Smith was a sex offender no but I mean there are some there are some really there's some red flags and the essay for me about how how they they mentioned that Joseph kept it quiet

6:56.0

and he he told you know the people that mean the the women and the girls that he that he wanted to marry you know to not tell anybody and and so and then when I found out that this would be in and seminary and institute manuals I said you know wait a minute let's you know take a step back here this is I don't think we should be condoning this kind of behavior just for for youth they shouldn't be in the way they want to do it.

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