Episode 759: Dr. Kerry Spencer Pray, New Book: “The Book of Queer Mormon Joy”

Listen, Learn & Love Hosted by Richard Ostler

Richard Ostler

Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 839 Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

My friend Dr. Kerry Spencer Pray (lives in Maryland, Associate Professor at Sevenson University, married to her wife Heather, mother of two, taught at BYU for 15 years, no longer practicing Mormon) joins us to share her story. Dr. Pray talks about her prior marriage to her former husband (they both are gay), why that marriage ended (they are on good terms), and how she found hope and happiness as she made her way forward. Dr. Pray talks about the importance of writing your own story outside of the expectations of others—and how each queer story is unique, needed, and valued. Dr. Pray talks about when she came out there were almost no stories of gay Latter-day Saint women and the importance of stories which led to her most recent book call “The Book of Queer Mormon Joy” which contains about 30 queer stories—focusing on how these individuals are finding joy. I’m grateful for Dr. Pray bravely sharing some of her story and also her work as editor of this new book—and all her work in our broad community to bring more understanding and support. Thank you Dr. Pray—so glad to have you on the podcast! Links: The Book of Queer Mormon Joy at Signature Books: www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/the-book-of-queer-mormon-joy The Book of Queer Mormon Joy at Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/1560854707 I Spoke To You in Silence at Amazon: hwww.amazon.com/dp/164769079X Dr. Pray Twitter: @Swilua Dr Pray on Instagram: @Swilua_

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome listeners to another episode of Listen, Learn, and Love, hosted by Richard Osler.
0:09.1	I'm really excited for this guest that's on the podcast today.
0:12.7	Dr. Carrie Spencer Prey, joining us from her home in Maryland.
0:18.3	Welcome to the podcast, Dr. Prey.
0:20.8	Thank you for having me.
0:23.1	When I stepped in the space, you know, maybe it's been eight years ago as an ally,
0:28.2	I became aware of Dr. Prey through her Twitter account, where she's Dr. Frizzle, and we'll
0:36.2	link to that in our show notes, and just one of the very
0:39.6	thoughtful, mature voices in this space, a queer Mormon. And a little bit about her story is she
0:48.5	got a PhD from the University of Wales. She taught writing for 15 years at BYU. And at some point,
0:57.5	she realized that both her and her husband were gay and that marriage ended. Dr. Prey does not
1:03.8	participate in the church. I think is respectful of the church. It just felt like her path was
1:08.8	different. She's now as a wife and is raising two kids. She's an
1:13.8	assistant professor at Stevenson University. And we're going to talk about the book that she
1:19.3	edited. It's called The Book of Queer Mormon Joy. We'll link to it in the show notes. It's published
1:25.1	by signature books. And it is the show notes. It's published by signature books.
1:33.6	And it has the story of about 30 queer Mormon stories in there.
1:37.9	And some would ask, why would I have somebody who's not active in the church,
1:40.5	married to a woman on the podcast? The answer to that question is I want to bring a variety of stories to this platform.
1:46.1	I'm representing queer people, stories whose faith tradition is Mormon. So they can share
1:54.3	their stories, especially for younger people that are figuring out how to write their story.
1:58.7	And when I talk to younger people, I say, at the end, you've eventually
	...

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