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Listen, Learn & Love Hosted by Richard Ostler

Episode 581: Char Ahlstrom, LDS Mother of 6, Two Gay Sons

Listen, Learn & Love Hosted by Richard Ostler

Richard Ostler

Religion & Spirituality

4.8839 Ratings

🗓️ 3 November 2022

⏱️ 60 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

My friend Char Ahlstrom (active LDS, Married Mother of 6, Grandmother of 6, Convert) shares her story of having three of her six children leave the church. Char and her husband Tom raised their six children teaching the gospel and serving in their Long Beach Ward and Stake—with hope their children would stay active members of the church and raise their children in the Church. But things turned out differently as Char shares having her 4th child (Kyle) come out as gay. Then her 6th child (Keith) also came out as gay. Both Kyle and Keith have stepped away from the Church and are in long-term relationships with men. Char also had another son and daughter-in-law out of the Church. Char, who has been on this road for many years, has helpful insights for parents new to this road. She shares going from fear to peace—and from loving to accepting to action. Char talks about how prayer, scripture study, being open to learning, temple attendance and the atonement of Jesus Christ has given her personal revelation, tools, and peace. If you are looking for a seasoned voice to help you as a parent with children now longer participating in the Church, Char’s story will help you. And if you are looking for gospel principles to find more peace in your life and bless others, Char’s insights will help you. Thank you for your courage and vulnerability to be on the podcast. You are a remarkable woman. Your family story is a beautiful love story. ** Please Check Out My LGBTQ Book At: ** Deseret Book: www.deseretbook.com/p/listen-learn-and-love-embracing-lgbtq-latter-day-saints Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/1462135773 ** Want to develop church-supported LGBTQ activities in your local area? Please join our FB group below ** https://www.facebook.com/groups/1433556613672143

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome listeners to another episode of Listen, Learn, and Love, hosted by Richard Osler.

0:09.5

My guest on today's podcast, joining me from sunny, Southern California.

0:15.0

I assume it's sunny there because it's always sunny there.

0:17.5

As my friend Shar Alstrom, welcome to the podcast.

0:22.9

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

0:31.0

And is it sunny today in Long Beach? It is. It's a beautiful day here. There you go. I've sort of known Shar for a long time, but I've never really spent one on one time. When I stepped in the space as an

0:37.1

ally, there were other people in the

0:39.5

space and one of them is Shar Alstrom, and she is an active LDS mom. She has six kids. Two of her

0:47.8

sons are gay and are no longer in the church. And she has six grandchildren. She grew up in the

0:53.6

San Diego area, went to BYU, and then has

0:55.8

raised her family. And as I've been kind of following the things that Shars shares on Facebook,

1:02.4

they're really thoughtful. And being married 38 years and kind of been on this road for a long

1:08.8

time of having adult, some adult children that

1:11.7

don't participate in the church. I just felt impressed that she could talk to others of us that are

1:17.8

new to this road. Some of you may for the first time be dealing with the reality as an LDS mom

1:24.8

or an LDS dad, you have adult children that are not participating in the church.

1:28.8

And that's very different than what you hope for.

1:32.3

But Sharr's been on this road for a while.

1:34.7

And I just felt having Sharr share her story would help you.

1:39.0

Some of your kids that have stepped away may be straight.

1:42.4

Some may be queer.

1:43.8

And so there's a variety of reasons why

...

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