Mormon Stories Podcast

What happens when a church’s teachings about gender conflict with how you feel inside?

In the final part of our conversation with Stetson Done, we reflect on his story, the process of rebuilding his beliefs, and where he stands with Mormonism today. They discuss the church’s teachings about eternal gender, its policies toward transgender members, and the contrast between how the church responds to trans people and other serious issues within the institution.

The conversation then broadens to address common questions and misconceptions about transgender people, including gender dysphoria, hormone blockers, bathroom access, and transgender athletes.

Together, Stetson and John explore how political polarization shapes conversations about trans people, why transgender identities have become such a contentious issue, and Stetson’s hope that these questions could be approached with more understanding and less political division.

This final part is a conversation about identity, belief, and what it means to listen to people whose experiences challenge what we think we know.
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⁠Show Notes⁠
YouTube

At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  

Our overall mission is to: 
1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
⁠One-time or recurring donations⁠
⁠Patreon⁠
⁠Venmo ⁠
⁠PayPal ⁠

Our Platforms:
🌐⁠Mormon Stories Blog ⁠
🎙️⁠Patreon ⁠
✳️⁠Spotify⁠
🍎⁠Apple Podcasts⁠
🖼️⁠Instagram ⁠
📱⁠TikTok ⁠
🎮⁠Discord ⁠

Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

What happens when you follow the path laid out for you, but it still doesn’t feel right?

In Part Two of our conversation with Stetson Done, Stetson returns from his mission and quickly becomes engaged, believing marriage is the next step in the life he is supposed to build. But despite trying to be a good spouse and faithful Mormon, he struggles with the expectations of marriage, sex, and motherhood. As his questions about the church grow, he begins to recognize his attraction to women and encounters new ideas of his own gender identity that he never had the context to understand before.

Stetson shares what led him to leave his marriage, the process of coming out to his family, and how hearing experiences of other transgender men helped him understand himself in a new way. He will also discuss what it was like to finally find a relationship that brought self actualization, and the joy he has discovered in becoming a father - rather than a mother.

This is part two of a three-part conversation with Stetson. Please be sure to continue on with his story to understand how he forged his own personal path to personal happiness!

___________________

⁠Show Notes⁠
YouTube

At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  

Our overall mission is to: 
1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
⁠One-time or recurring donations⁠
⁠Patreon⁠
⁠Venmo ⁠
⁠PayPal ⁠

Our Platforms:
🌐⁠Mormon Stories Blog ⁠
🎙️⁠Patreon ⁠
✳️⁠Spotify⁠
🍎⁠Apple Podcasts⁠
🖼️⁠Instagram ⁠
📱⁠TikTok ⁠
🎮⁠Discord ⁠

Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

What happens when you grow up doing everything you are told, but it never feels right?

In Part One of our conversation with Stetson Done, a transgender man who grew up Mormon, Stetson shares his story of growing up in a loving LDS family in Mesa, Arizona. Although he appreciated the structure and community of Mormonism, he struggled with the expectations placed on girls and the belief that becoming a wife and mother was his highest calling. He knew he didn’t want that future, but didn’t yet understand why.

Stetson describes the gender divisions he experienced in church, the differences between the Young Women's and Young Men's programs, and the loneliness of feeling out of place without having the language to explain it. He also reflects on his LDS mission in El Salvador/Belize, and the disparity between how male and female missionaries are regarded in the Church.

Although Stetson found purpose in much of the Mormon structure, questions about church teachings—including polygamy and the legalization of same-sex marriage—began to challenge his faith. By the end of his mission, his testimony remained strong, but difficult questions were beginning to emerge.

This is part one of a three-part conversation with Stetson. Please be sure to continue on with his story to understand how he forged his own personal path to personal happiness!

___________________

Show Notes
YouTube

At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  

Our overall mission is to: 
1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
⁠One-time or recurring donations⁠
⁠Patreon⁠
⁠Venmo ⁠
⁠PayPal ⁠

Our Platforms:
🌐⁠Mormon Stories Blog ⁠
🎙️⁠Patreon ⁠
✳️⁠Spotify⁠
🍎⁠Apple Podcasts⁠
🖼️⁠Instagram ⁠
📱⁠TikTok ⁠
🎮⁠Discord ⁠

Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

Today on Mormon Stories News, John Dehlin and Meggan Hayes are covering six stories involving the LDS Church, from a revealing Missionary Department job posting to newly released police interrogation footage, debates over tithing, and developments in Mormon culture and education.

THE LDS CHURCH IS HIRING SOMEONE TO HANDLE MISSIONARY CRISES
A Church job posting offers an unusually detailed look at how the Missionary Department handles problems involving missionaries, including health emergencies, worthiness concerns, arrests, and allegations of abuse. One responsibility is particularly revealing: protecting the interests of the Church, the missionary, and lastly, the victims.
https://epej.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/ChurchEmployment/job/378249

RYAN CHRISTOPHER HALL: MORMONISM ENTERS A POLICE INTERROGATION
Newly released footage from a 2024 investigation shows detectives confronting Ryan Christopher Hall, a former Maryland sheriff's detective and devout Mormon who was convicted. During questioning, investigators explicitly bring up Hall's Mormon faith, his troubled marriage, and Christian forgiveness. Hall ultimately received lengthy state and federal prison sentences.
https://youtu.be/SP78F3l8OHs

TITHING AND THE LDS CHURCH'S FINANCES
An article in Public Square Magazine examines tithing and Church finances. We'll look at the arguments being made about religious giving, financial stewardship, and the Church's substantial financial resources.
https://publicsquaremag.org/faith/tithing-and-church-finances/

WHEN AN OB-GYN FOLLOWS THE BRETHREN
A video raises questions about the relationship between medical expertise, religious authority, and following Church leaders. What happens when professional judgment and religious expectations intersect?
https://youtu.be/3cCCicEMj_M

JULIE DE AZEVEDO on SOFT WHITE UNDERBELLY
We're also discussing Julie de Azevedo and a conversation that offers another perspective on Mormon life, identity, and experience.
https://youtu.be/vOjAMMQhXqc

BYU'S MEDICAL SCHOOL MOVES FORWARD
BYU's planned medical school has reached an important accreditation milestone. Deseret News reports on the process and what it means for the university's effort to establish a medical school.
https://www.deseret.com/faith/2026/10/15/how-byu-medical-school-earned-accreditation/

From institutional priorities and financial transparency to religious authority and accountability, today's stories raise important questions about the relationship between the LDS Church and the people whose lives it influences.

___________________

Show Notes
YouTube

At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  

Our overall mission is to: 
1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
⁠One-time or recurring donations⁠
⁠Patreon⁠
⁠Venmo ⁠
⁠PayPal ⁠

Our Platforms:
🌐⁠Mormon Stories Blog ⁠
🎙️⁠Patreon ⁠
✳️⁠Spotify⁠
🍎⁠Apple Podcasts⁠
🖼️⁠Instagram ⁠
📱⁠TikTok ⁠
🎮⁠Discord ⁠

Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117

What happened to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after Joseph Smith was killed?

In Part Four of our series with historical Dr. John Turner, we examine the complicated succession crisis that followed Joseph Smith’s martyrdom in 1844. Drawing from Turner’s book Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, we explore the competing claims to leadership, the role of Joseph’s family, Sidney Rigdon’s challenge to the Twelve, and the ways Brigham Young gradually established himself as Joseph’s successor. 

Why wasn’t there a clear succession plan? Did Joseph intend for one of his sons to eventually lead the Church? Why didn’t Sidney Rigdon receive the Second Anointing? How much did the Smith family name matter to Brigham Young? And what really happened when Brigham was said to have miraculously taken on Joseph Smith’s “countenance”?

We also discuss James Strang’s competing claim to succession, his opposition to polygamy, and why he was able to attract hundreds of Latter-day Saints. Along the way, we look at the so-called “Rigdonites,” allegations against the Twelve, Brigham’s prayer circles, failed prophecies, the pressure he felt to produce written revelations, and his efforts to complete the Nauvoo Temple before the Saints left Illinois. 

One particularly interesting theme emerges throughout the episode: Brigham Young did not initially see himself as Joseph Smith’s equal. His authority developed over time as he navigated competing leaders, external threats, internal divisions, and the enormous weight of Joseph Smith’s legacy. 

This episode is part of our ongoing series examining the life, leadership, theology, and historical legacy of Brigham Young through the scholarship of Dr. John Turner. 

___________________

Show Notes
YouTube

At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals.  

Our overall mission is to: 
1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology
2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions

🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
⁠One-time or recurring donations⁠
⁠Patreon⁠
⁠Venmo ⁠
⁠PayPal ⁠

Our Platforms:
🌐⁠Mormon Stories Blog ⁠
🎙️⁠Patreon ⁠
✳️⁠Spotify⁠
🍎⁠Apple Podcasts⁠
🖼️⁠Instagram ⁠
📱⁠TikTok ⁠
🎮⁠Discord ⁠

Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117