Episode 747: James Smart, Gay Latter-day Saint, Recent RM, BYU Student

Listen, Learn & Love Hosted by Richard Ostler

Richard Ostler

Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 839 Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2024

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

My friend James Smart (RM, age 20, from Rexburg Idaho, Santa Rosa CA missionary, at BYU) joins us to bravely share his story. James starts with reading his powerful and well-written coming out post sharing his story growing up knowing he was different, dealing with shame and associated coping mechanisms, deciding to serve a mission, and finding great healing and hope on his mission. It is a deeply authentic story of being honest, vulnerable, finding God, and finding peace that James is exactly who God created and wants him to be. We then discuss his coming out post and his future. I was so moved listening to James and his courage to be open and his ability to help others find God, remove shame, and find hope in their lives. I was also moved by James spiritual maturity and understanding of core gospel principles to navigate his future. If you are a LGBTQ Latter-day Saint, a parent of a queer child, an ally, or a local leader—I encourage you to listen to James’ story and share it with others. Thank you, James, for being on the podcast. You are a good man and will continue to bless many lives. Honored to have you on the podcast. Links: James Google Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yK07P9h3mNY9YxdzYhmmHRdAW7uyaH1TWAUbIikPhcw/edit?fbclid=IwAR38ebW2wd3DbxKLYhGNoHc3Y4xl1Qs5xxnH3g2Twb09_pYQpGZduTYdB34 James’ e-mail: [email protected] James’ cell: 208-390-7722 James’ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100020344095709 James’ Instagram: @james.d.smart

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome listeners to another episode of Listen, Learn, and Love hosted by Richard Osler.
0:09.4	My guest on today's podcast, a BYU student.
0:12.9	Joining me via Zoom is my friend James Smart.
0:15.6	Welcome to the podcast, James.
0:18.5	Thank you.
0:19.2	I'm really excited to be here today.
0:21.7	I became a, James is a gay Latter-day Saint.
0:24.7	Recently returned from his mission.
0:27.2	I may have mentioned he's 20. He's a BYU student. He's in pre-med.
0:31.0	He may talk a little bit about his career, but he'd love to
0:34.2	help people through medicine, especially women trying to have children or couples trying to have children.
0:40.9	He grew up in Rexburg. He served a mission in Santa Rosa.
0:44.4	I became aware of James when my friend Tiffany Milone shared his Facebook posts that included a link to a Google Doc that is a terrific,
0:56.7	brave, honest, vulnerable, faithful story of James sharing his journey, being a gay
1:04.1	latterty saint, starting with his youth and working through his mission.
1:08.2	And he's going to read this story on the podcast. It's so well written that it's
1:12.4	like, let's don't come up with new content. I said, James, you should just read this because it's
1:17.0	really very thoughtful. But I will read the very end. Just to give you an idea of Jacob's heart,
1:24.5	thanks for reading this far. If you've read this, it means that I desperately
1:28.0	want you in my life. If you feel it is better for you, your family to remove yourself in my life,
1:33.9	I respect your wishes. However, I hope with all my heart that you will walk with me on my journey
1:40.2	with my Savior. I love you, and I'm ready to talk about my life now. And if you'd like to
	...

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