Latter Gay Stories

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 to you is directly impacted by this topic. As a result, Evan and Cheryl became allies and advocates for queer Mormons, and Evan used his position in his Stake Presidency to directly discuss this topic with General Authorities and Latter-day Saint congregations. In this episode, Evan candidly shares his discussions with Church leadership, what his family has learned having a gay son, his current membership status in the Mormon church, and what we can all do to better understand the LGBTQ experience. Evan Smith is also