The personal stories shared on this podcast serve as an extension of the book and video project, Voices of Hope. It is a living repository of faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sharing stories of how they seek to reconcile their sexual orientation or gender dysphoria, or of those they love, with their faith. You’ll hear how they have chosen to embrace the restored gospel, the inherent challenges they face, and how they’ve found peace and hope in their decisions.
As you listen to these candid and touching stories, you may find elements of their journeys that echo your own. Wherever you fall in this spectrum of experience or in your journey on the path of discipleship, you’ll find a safe place here.
Voices of Hope is a project of North Star International. North Star is a faith-affirming resource for Latter-day Saints addressing sexual orientation and gender identity, and who desire to live in harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the doctrines and values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Tanya and Jeff Bennion talk with Preston Jenkins, who shares his journey as a gay man in a mixed-orientation marriage with his wife, Taryn. Preston opens up about the two years of bitterness he experienced after enduring abuse on his mission, and how his mother played a vital role in helping him work through that bitterness with love and teaching him correct principles.
Preston also discusses his journey of overcoming PTSD triggers related to the church and emphasizes the importance of staying clean to be a vessel of Christ's love. He shares how embracing truth sets one free from emotional burdens and encourages listeners to take control of their lives by choosing Christ.
Throughout the conversation, Preston encourages self-reflection by asking the question, "What doctrine, if I understood it better, would help me overcome this burden?" He addresses the claim that "the gospel doesn't work for everybody," emphasizing the importance of listening to the proper spirit.
Preston also shares how he and Taryn cultivated a beautiful relationship through intentional courtship. This inspiring episode offers hope, understanding, and guidance for anyone navigating complex challenges while seeking a path of stalwart discipleship.
Follow (https://www.instagram.com/northstarsaints/) us on Instagram @northstarsaints
Visit us online at https://www.northstarlds.org/ (https://www.northstarlds.org/)
Check out Preston’s Voices of Hope video and a personal essay here (https://www.northstarsaints.org/voh-preston).
You can buy Preston’s book here (https://www.amazon.com/This-Boy-His-Mother-Latter-day/dp/B0BB3G7B35/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=631611147314&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9060571&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14105812017080742875&hvtargid=kwd-1702303403754&hydadcr=7665_13589719&keywords=this+boy+and+his+mother&qid=1686430513&sr=8-1).
Please leave us a review and consider sharing this episode with someone you think would benefit from its message.
6 Mar 2023
010 - Lexi Weyland
Jenn and Anjanette speak with Lexi Weyland, who identifies as bisexual. She shares experiences and insight on how she is able to sit in uncertainty while still choosing to keep her covenants. They also discuss the dynamics between Lexi and her husband, Benj, who identifies as gay. Lexi shares their story and why they decided to get married and remain committed members of the church.
Lexi’s Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lexiallthewey/)
Follow (https://www.instagram.com/northstarsaints/) us on Instagram @northstarsaints
Visit us online at https://www.northstarlds.org/
Please leave us a review and consider sharing this episode with someone you think would benefit from its message.
9 Nov 2022
009 - Nathan & Cristin Hessing
Jeff & Tanya speak with Nathan and Cristin Hessing. Nathan shares his experience of same-sex attraction and his desire to remain faithful to the Gospel. They talk about finding North Star later than other resources, and how both emotional and physical pain caused him to seek out help. Nathan and Cristin talk about the personal issues Nathan faced and the impact that had on their relationship, but how therapy had given him tools to move past those challenges.
Nathan shares some of the details of what those challenges looked like, and how the ability to make a personal choice was important to him in multiple facets of his life. Cristin is able to talk about her own experiences of being prompted early on in their friendship to consider this marriage long before she and Nathan ever started dating.
Nathan’s Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/nathan.c.hessing)
Cristin’s Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cristin.blankenship)
8 Jun 2022
008 - Mary Thompson
Mary Brooks Thompson is the wife of current Northstar President, Spencer Thompson. She is a full time mother to their four beautiful children, and a lover of life and learning. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to share her voice and perspective on this incredible platform of Voices of Hope.
15 Apr 2022
007 - Trent as a Branch President
007 - Trent as a Branch President
Jeff & Joseph speak with Trent, who was Joseph’s Branch President in Vermont. He gives insights into how church leaders can be more understanding of different circumstances in a branch or ward. Trent talks about how he spent a lot of time and effort trying to better understand Joseph when he first heard that a member of his branch experiences same-sex attraction. They all discuss the internal conflicts that come from being a member of the church while simultaneously knowing how to support and love anyone making choices that don't align with church values.
Many commonalities exist between all members of the church as we strive to have a better relationship with Jesus Christ, which they expound on as they talk about the roles that Grace and Mercy play in ward leadership. They talk through the importance of providing safe spaces in all areas of the church where people can feel safe to have conversations seeking understanding. Trent also looks back on his own experiences as a Branch President to share advice with other church leaders, which includes the importance of putting trust into those around us regardless of what their personal challenges may be.
Trent on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/karie.t.shelton)
Show Notes:
That We May Be One (https://deseretbook.com/p/cd-that-we-may-be-one?variant_id=155907-paperback) by Tom Christofferson
20 Jan 2022
006 - Tera Brown
I woke up from a lifelong pattern I wasn’t even aware of…avoiding, numbing and denying my emotions, when after 16 years of marriage my husband disclosed his same sex attraction, infidelity and addiction struggles. I began my personal journey of personal growth work and recovery that very day. Since then, my personal journey has taken me on a roller coaster of learning and growing. My passion has become to share with others the tools I found and created to live life authentically and on purpose. I absolutely love my job and my clients too! I have created a platform I teach from that simply starts with, when you heal in the four areas of PEMS (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual), you build strength and stability to become whole again.
I co-created Daughters of Light; a division of The Toolbox, LLC to help women find healing, connection and strength. Daughters of Light host workshops, seminars and retreats designed to help women heal and become more in touch with emotions and patterns that keep them stuck experiencing what they don’t want. I have attended, staffed and led many experiential weekends; have co-lead support groups, coaching groups, and spoken and organized many conferences.
My coaching practice includes courses I teach online, group coaching classes like SSA 101 for Spouses, Emotional Literacy, and Braving Betrayal. I also do one on one sessions with clients.
I have served as Chairman of the Board for North Star International and am currently on the Board for Discover Identity, a nonprofit focused on helping people find their true identities instead of the labels others try to put on us.
I come to this work armed with perspective and experience. I struggled as a young mom to keep my head above water. I was not aware of my patterns or that I could set boundaries. I didn't see the destructive pattern of denying myself at the expense of my mental balance in order to make everyone else happy, or manage their emotions (as I falsely thought I was capable of doing!). My message is I know recovery is possible because I have been there too.
My husband Curtis and I celebrated 27 years of marriage last summer and we have 4 beautiful children. I earned a BA in fashion design from BYU and have used my talents to design and make custom wedding gowns for nearly 30 years coaching brides along the way. Now I find my true passion in helping others through hardships I can relate to, so that no one has to feel as alone as I did.
I am an Intuitive Life Coach and Speaker and my passion is helping women like you and me heal after betrayal and trauma.
14 Dec 2021
005 - Nicholas & Jordan Applegate
Jeff & Tanya have a conversation with the Applegates who share their experience of being thrust into the spotlight because of two Facebook posts that together garnered over 9,000 likes. Nick had already considered sharing his story of same-sex attraction publicly, but hadn’t decided to move forward on that. When he and his wife Jordan saw the negative social media reaction to a recent BYU Faculty Address from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, their resolve was solidified and they had a desire to express their belief in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They weren’t expecting such an overwhelming response, both positive and negative, or for the post to be picked up by multiple news outlets and shared even more broadly.
Nick and Jordan also go into detail about the first conversation around Nick’s same-sex attraction prior to their marriage and their decision to step into the unknown and act on faith, despite not being sure what a marriage might look like with that component. They also talk about the importance of open communication in their marriage and their true source of happiness.
Article from the Daily Mail: Devout Mormon couple insist they're happily married despite husband confessing he's gay | Daily Mail Online (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9968951/Devout-Mormon-couple-insist-theyre-happily-married-despite-husband-confessing-hes-gay.html)
Nicholas’ Facebook post (https://www.facebook.com/nicholas.applegate.37/posts/4372238622838845)
Jordan’s Facebook post (https://www.facebook.com/jordan.r.richardson.1/posts/3912372678862514)
Nicholas’ Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/nicholas.applegate.37)
Jordan’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/jordan.r.richardson.1)
30 Nov 2021
004 - Sallie and Danielle - Host Introductions
Sallie and Danielle have been friends for over a decade and are both married to men that experience same-sex attraction. They share the story of how they first connected and how important it was to find a friend that they could confide in, as they were both new to marriage. They go on to discuss how the Voices of Hope project impacted each of them and why they wanted to share their own perspectives and stories. WIth husbands that have actively sought out doing personal development, they describe the growth in self-awareness that has come from that. Each of these conversations has helped them look inwards and understand where they, in turn, needed to grow. Danielle also shares a story where she didn’t feel that Ty needed her and how his response to that changed her perspective on their marriage.
Show Notes:
Sallie and Garrett’s Voices of Hope page (https://www.northstarlds.org/voh-profile-garrett-sallie)
Ty’s Book In Quiet Desperation (https://deseretbook.com/p/quiet-desperation-understanding-challenge-same-gender-attraction-fred-marilyn-matis-50116?variant_id=52863-paperback)
Ty’s Book Voices of Hope (https://deseretbook.com/p/voices-hope-ty-mansfield-77928?queryID=3d8cc45fd607f61abab01fbc8bf47622&variant_id=20538-paperback)
6 Sept 2021
003 - Jenn and Anjanette - Host Introductions
Jen & Anjanette have been part of the North Star Community since the beginning. Jen expounds on her story, which was featured in a Voices of Hope video in 2015. She shares the fears that she felt about coming out as gay after having been married to a man for 18 years, and what finding a community within North Star really meant to her. She discusses how she came to reconcile her feelings in her marriage, as well as what keeps her anchored in the Gospel.
Jen and Anjanette also recount how they first met and how their initial perceptions of each other were off, despite Anjanette not having attractions towards women. Anjanette tells her own story of growing up and learning to cope with her own struggles with addiction. Later she finds resources for those addictions, only to understand just how lonely it can be for a woman in the church to deal with addiction at all.
Anjanette dives into her own experience of being a single member of the church, and how that is something she's still working to understand and accept. That experience gives her empathy to understand members of the LGBT community that are single or who have chosen to be. Anjanette closes with her desire to get personal perspectives from members navigating these conversations and how the things she’s learned have affected her evolving relationship with God.
28 Jul 2021
002 - Tanya and Jeff - Host Introductions
Jeff and Tanya Bennion have been part of the North Star Community since the beginning when Jeff helped found the organization. They have also been a part of Voices of Hope before it grew into a project, sharing personal essays in the book by the same name. They later shared a video detailing their story.
In addition to Jeff’s experience of same-sex attraction, they discuss the struggles and pain in their marriage that have come from infertility despite their desire to have a large family. Tanya also details her personal loss of losing her first husband and how healing and understanding have come over the years as she’s focused on helping others and giving back.
While Jeff was initially nervous about sharing their story publicly, he also shares details when they knew that they could be happy in marriage together despite attractions that seemed to contradict their relationship. They close with some trends they have observed over the years and how important it is for everyone to do their own work.
Links:
Voices of Hope video link
(https://www.northstarlds.org/voh-profile-jeff-tanya)Voices of Hope Book (https://www.northstarlds.org/voicesofhope-book)
14 Jul 2021
001 - Jeff and Joseph - Host Introductions
For the first few episodes, our hosts will be sharing their own stories so that you can get to know each of them individually. For this episode, Joseph Picon focuses on his story and where that journey has taken him. That includes stopping weekly attendance and the scary process of coming back to church when he felt that desire. They coupled that with a great discussion on ways we can better support anyone on this journey, but specifically on how we can love those that are trying to figure themselves out. They also talk about the recent North Star Conference and why Jeff Case chooses to be so involved with the organization.
Jeff Cases Voices of Hope video (https://www.northstarlds.org/voh-profile-jeff-sarah)
North Star International website (https://www.northstarlds.org/)
26 May 2021
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