1667: Coming Out as the Gay Son of a Mormon Bishop, Serving a Mission - Evan and Weston Smith Pt.2

Trigger Warning: Suicidal Ideation

Evan Smith rose through the ranks of Mormon leadership ultimately becoming a Stake Presidency member. While serving as an LDS Bishop, Evan struggled with the Church’s positions on LGBTQ+ issues and later found out that his son Weston was gay. Even after coming out, Weston decided to serve an LDS Mission as an openly gay man, leading him to high levels of depression and heartbreaking experiences during and after coming back early from his mission.   Evan became an advocate for LGBTQ people in the Church. His position as a Stake Presidency Counselor led him to a few confrontations/discussions with General Authorities and a later meeting at Church Headquarters where they discussed Evan’s progressive beliefs on LGBTQ matters.   In Part 2 of 3, we start off where we left with Weston’s story growing up as a gay Mormon kid, discovering his sexuality, his suicidal ideation, and his decision to serve a mission as an “out” gay Mormon. Upon experiencing suicidality again on his mission Weston has a “spiritual experience” which leads to his resolve to leave the church and live a happy life. Meanwhile, Evan gets a call to become a 1st counselor in the Stake Presidency.

 

Gay Latter-day Saint Crossroads This Body of Water: Surviving Mormonism as a Queer Man 

Episode Show Notes

=====

Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors!

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today:

One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox Support us on Patreon Pick “Mormon Stories” as your charity on Amazon Smile or through the Amazon App  Our Platforms: Mormon Stories Blog Patreon Spotify Apple Podcasts Contact us:

[email protected] 

Mormon Stories Podcast

PO Box 171085

Salt Lake City, UT 84117 

Social Media:

Insta: @mormstories Tiktok: @mormonstoriespodcast Join the Discord