In this episode, we sit down with Steve Pynakker, the creator behind Mormon Book Reviews. Steve has never joined Mormon church, but he's deeply passionate about exploring the many different branches of the Mormon Restoration movement. On his YouTube channel, he dives into the history, beliefs, and practices of these various groups, offering a fascinating look at a tradition that many people don't fully understand. Steve also opens up about his personal journey as a gay man and an evangelist, and...
Apr 29, 2026•1 hr 26 min•Season 13Ep. 193
Trevon Cutler chose the Church for himself as a teenager and gave it everything—priesthood, leadership, a mission, and years of trying to become the person he believed he was supposed to be. But underneath it all, he was quietly fighting the truth about being gay, hoping faith and obedience would somehow change it. They didn't. The pressure built into anxiety, depression, and a mental health crisis that pushed him further than he ever expected to go. When Trevon finally came out, it wasn't a sin...
Apr 08, 2026•2 hr 19 min•Season 13Ep. 192
David Chappell is a civil engineer, community organizer, and emerging political voice in Utah County. Raised in Arizona in a traditional Latter-day Saint family, David served a mission in Milan, Italy, where exposure to a wider world—and greater diversity—began shaping the questions that would later define his advocacy. While attending Brigham Young University, David helped co-found the Cougar Pride Center, a grassroots organization dedicated to creating resources, connection, and large-scale ev...
Mar 17, 2026•1 hr 39 min•Season 13Ep. 191
Aaron Koppe knew he was gay when he was just 10 years old. Growing up in the Netherlands, the culture around him was accepting. But inside his LDS faith, the path forward felt far less clear. Aaron tried for years to reconcile his identity with the expectations of the church. He came out to his father at 16, later served in a temple mission, and did everything he could to live the life he believed he was supposed to. But eventually, the weight of living someone else's version of happiness became...
Mar 05, 2026•1 hr 36 min•Season 13Ep. 190
Laurie Lee Hall was the Chief Architect for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Designing and overseeing some of Mormonism's most sacred spaces, this former Stake President and bishop made one of the most profound decisions of her life: authenticity. Laurie sits down with Latter Gay Stories in a follow up to her last interview (episode 168) and she shares with us her just published memoir, "Dictates of Conscience: From Mormon High Priest to My New Life as a Woman." In this interview...
Oct 16, 2024•1 hr 46 min•Season 13Ep. 189
Chosen Path, a memoir by D. Michael Quinn is a story of self-denial and inner struggle, while Michael strove to follow through on his personal commitments faithfully. The memoir, published by Signature Books is an intimate look into the life of one of Mormonism's most prolific historians of church governance and LGBTQ intersections. Moshe Quinn, son of Michael Quinn and Barbara Jones Brown sit down to share a story of truth, struggle, excommunication, and honor. The book is available at your loc...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 13Ep. 188
Carmina and Sabrina were called to serve missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Mormon missionaries. What they didn't expect was that they would meet each other--and eventually fall in love. This is a story about two Latter-day Saint women with unique stories of faith, of trial, of frustration, of hiding, and of freedom. Sabrina and Carmina share their stories about family, faith, and the future. #LatterGayStories #Queer #Lesbian #Bisexual #ComingOut...
Oct 17, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Season 12Ep. 187
In 1998, the Fisk family faced what some might call a dilemma. A relative of theirs came out. Having been raised orthodox Mormon, Dan and Sara grappled with numerous questions: How should they navigate this news? What would the future of their relationship with their loved one look like? How could they move forward without sacrificing their standing in the Church? As you listen, you will learn from the Fisk's story. For the Fisk family, Mormonism had always been central to them, then everything ...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Season 12Ep. 186
Jacob Lambert's story is about finding support from those around you. Raised in an active Latter-Day Saint family, Jacob's world view shifted when he began to figure out that he was gay at 16 years old. Despite his awareness of his sexuality, Jacob felt inspired to serve a mission and attend BYU. Little by little, as he let people in he felt more comfortable and confident in his identity and eventually decided to come out on Instagram in June of 2021. As his religious views began to shift, Jacob...
Aug 09, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Season 12Ep. 185
Cameron Call grew up in Queen Creek, Arizona. He served a mission in Nashville, Tennessee—the same mission as his father. He married a woman in a Mesa Temple and has three children. He came out to his wife in 2018 after ten years of marriage and they decided to divorce in 2019. He and his ex-wife are helping their kids discover the beauties of life both in and outside of the Mormon church. This is his story of trying to meet the expectations of religion, life and society—and learning that there ...
Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 45 min•Season 12Ep. 184
In the final episode of our three-part story, Josh and Richard share the couch as a couple! They talk about dating, separating religion from their reality, family, navigating a vulnerable part of their lives, and MARRIAGE! They reflect on what they have learned through this journey, how their lives have changed, and what they hope for the future. Catch episodes 181 and 182 to hear Josh and Richard's individual stories.
Jun 30, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 12Ep. 183
Josh was thriving as a young, out, gay teen in the Philippines, but Mormon missionaries knocked on his door and he and his family ended up joining the Church. Soon after, his mother married a man from Utah, and Josh found himself living in a small religious town in Northern Utah. His life went from being openly gay and accepted to hiding his sexuality and being an ethnic minority in a community of opinionated Mormon farmers. Utah forced him to hide inside a "shell" because he found it impossible...
Jun 20, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 12Ep. 182
What happens when a former Mormon bishop can no longer stay closeted and hidden? He grabs the door-handle, walks through that door and into a world he's avoided his whole life. Richard Mitchell was a very active, stalwart Latter-day Saint. He married a woman, had children, served in the church (including as Bishop) and tried to use the promises of Mormonism to "change" his sexual orientation. But was the "Mormon Message" sustainable for him? In this three-episode series, Richard shares a candid ...
Jun 15, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Season 12Ep. 181
What started as a dream to paint the Brigham Young University campus in rainbow paint ended up encouraging Bradley Talbot to start a movement that changed the face of BYU and literally lit it up with color. Brad took on Goliath—the Mormon Church and he organized a group of people to light the iconic Y in rainbow colors…not once, but three times. But how did we get here? Who is Bradley Talbot? Why color the campus? And why did he feel compelled to advocate for the LGBTQ community and one of the n...
May 24, 2023•2 hr 21 min•Season 12Ep. 180
My husband is gay, now what? In a topic not regularly discussed, Flo Montierth shares her story of dating, marrying and then divorcing a gay Mormon husband. As a lifelong lover of learning and teaching, Flo is an advocate for special needs and the LGBTQIA community. Navigating Mormon life in a mixed-orientation marriage was challenging, but leaning into those challenges opened new opportunities and new insights into Flo's personal journey—and expanded opportunities for her family. Through this j...
May 11, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Joel was raised in an orthodox Mormon home, where rules were king—he never met a rule he didn't follow. His upbringing was one of "exact obedience". PBS and KBYU were the only TV shows they were allowed to watch. He knew he was different, but didn't have words to describe what that difference was. Family life for Joel was tenuous, to put it kindly. While serving a mission he was released early to come back to Utah for conversion therapy. His parents refused to pick him up at the airport. Joel sh...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 33 min•Season 12Ep. 178
Colby is a convert to the church, having joined at 17 years old. One year later, he left his family to serve a mission in Venezuela. He returned home from his mission after 10 months due to anxiety-depression. The root cause of this depression…he had been withholding a secret: "same-sex" attraction. Not long after coming home from his mission, Colby met a woman who would eventually become his wife, and he remained closeted in an effort to allow God to "heal" him through his righteousness. After ...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Season 12Ep. 177
Dr. Lacey Bagley is a queer Mormon and the owner of Celebrate Therapy. She has been married for 14 years to her husband Evan and together they have 2 young children. She's polyamorous and is navigating, with happiness, this chapter of her life. What does the intersection of Mormonism and sexuality look like for Lacey? After devoting your whole life to religion, how can you reconcile its doctrine and policies against people like you? What advice do you have for others? In this episode, Lacey take...
Mar 09, 2023•1 hr 55 min•Season 12Ep. 176
At age 10 Jake was mercilessly bullied, the kids called him "gay" a word he didn't understand. Using the family's dial-up internet connection Jake turned to Google to better understand the word. A path of pain ensued. It would take Jake nearly seven years to finally say " I am gay" out loud. In the wake of that coming out experience came shame, personal reflection, and a sexual assault. These factors convinced him to retreat back into the closet and further into Mormonism's seemingly safe protec...
Feb 23, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 12Ep. 175
Born and raised in Utah, Nate Gardner did everything he was supposed to do to be a good Mormon boy. After serving a mission and going to BYU Nate came out of the closet—fearing he would lose his family. Because of love, respect, communication and boundaries, Nate is closer to his family now as an openly gay man than he ever was when he was in the church. And he has his husband to support him. You don't want to miss the story of Nate's Christmas miracle, and what happened inside a Latter-day Sain...
Feb 09, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 12Ep. 174
Throughout Mormonism's history there have been a series of "rescues" where grassroots members, teamed with local church authorities, band together to rescue Saints in despair. Are we seeing an LGBTQ+ rescue in Mormonism? We're digging in...and talking about it. Inspired by Elder M. Russell Ballard's charge to "better understand the LGBTQ community," Ben Schilaty and Charlie Bird, gay Latter-day Saints, have been training ward and stake leaders/members on LGBTQ inclusion and love. Through these e...
Jan 27, 2023•4 hr 23 min•Season 12Ep. 172
Viral Tik-Tok creator Brayden Singley sits down with the Latter Gay Stories podcast to spill the tea on life as gay man with Mormon roots. Brayden was born and raised in Northern Utah. He grew up a member of the LDS Church, served a 2-year mission in the state of Washington and attended BYU. In this episode Brayden candidly shares his story of shame, guilt, pornography, sexual experiences, rising above societal judgement—and ultimately finding his footing as a gay man in a seemingly unforgiving ...
Jan 19, 2023•1 hr 42 min•Season 12Ep. 172
David Doyle is a Latter-day Saint from Florida. He is humble, reliable, lovable, nerdy, and gay. He is an active Latter-day Saint with stake leadership callings—and it is through those callings that he is able to fulfill some of his self-described "life missions". Many people might argue that David's life is not sustainable—that by choosing to remain an active Latter-day Saint he must deny his sexuality. David addresses that dichotomy and shares much more about the benefits of being a queer Morm...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 12Ep. 171
He's known around the world as The Naked Pastor—and you've likely seen his cartoons on social media or in print—but who is David Hayward and why does his art speak so loudly for the LGBTQ+ community? David sits down with the Latter Gay Stories podcast to share more of his story and offers a behind the scenes peek into his talent. Have you had to deconstruct what you once believed in? Did you leave your church but not your faith? As a former church leader, David beautifully shares his journey abo...
Dec 08, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 11Ep. 170
Carol Lynn Pearson is a Mormon icon. In the early 1960's two monumental experiences happened in her life: she married Gerald, a gay man—and she published her first book. From that first publishing—and her relationship with her gay husband—Carol Lynn Pearson forged a path forward for Latter-day Saints to better understand the LGBTQ experience. Her life has been a lesson of love, compassion, understanding and advocacy. Escaping the gazing eyes of Utah Mormons, the Pearson's left Salt Lake City and...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 11Ep. 169
At age five Laurie Lee Hall knew she was different, but she didn't have words for what the "difference" was. For her, language—and better understanding wouldn't come until many decades later. Few transgender people have had more influence on Mormonism than Laurie Lee Hall. Prior to (and sometimes during) her process of transition she served as a Bishop, Stake President, and Chief Architect for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She designed numerous temples, chapels, designed the r...
Oct 26, 2022•1 hr 37 min•Season 11Ep. 168
Weston Smith came out as gay while his dad was serving as a bishop in the Mormon church. His parents were understanding, but navigating life a gay Mormon teen, trying to better understand your sexuality, and remain the "best" Mormon possible is often a recipe for disaster. Weston was no stranger to the turmoil that often comes from being gay and Mormon—a situation, for Wes, that led to serious suicidal ideation. He ultimately decided to serve a mission as an "out" gay Mormon, but even in the mis...
Oct 11, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 11Ep. 167
Evan Smith met the intersection of sexuality and religion while serving as an LDS Bishop and eventually in a Stake Presidency. It didn't take long before Evan began to better understand the difficult and impossible restraints the Church's policies and doctrines place on LGBTQ Mormons. In the midst of these dichotomies, Evan, and his wife, Cheryl learned that their own son, Weston, was gay. The Smiths learned that understanding and advocating for LGBTQ people takes a sharp turn when someone close...
Oct 04, 2022•1 hr 38 min•Season 11Ep. 166
For orthodox Christians, especially Latter-day Saints, Paul Bird's life doesn't fit the mold. He admittedly loves the Word of Wisdom, but loathes the Law of Chastity. And that is where is story blossoms. Paul is from Tucson, Arizona. He grew up Mormon and, in the closet. He decided to come out when the exclusion policy was leaked in November 2015. Paul shares a candid story about sex, agency, chastity, charity, love, and carving a way through Mormonism that works for him. As an active, non-templ...
Sep 20, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 11Ep. 165
Josh Morris was raised in a very small, rural Utah community. Living as a closeted gay teen, in a predominately Mormon town leaves a lot to be desired. The community isn't rich with diversity or opportunity when it comes to understanding your sexuality. In this episode Josh candidly shares his story. He opens up about the good, the bad, the mistakes, and eventually--the successes. How do you come out (and thrive) to your Mormon family, who believes in religious and organizational fundamentalism?...
Sep 02, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 10Ep. 164
