Elena Thurston returns to share with us how the PoS, the new LDS LGBT Policy Handbook update dubbed the Policy of Silence, still affects families and children who want to serve missions. There has been no update, no clarification regarding children of “same-sex attracted” parents and the requirement that they disavow that parent in order to serve a mission with the LDS Church. This existing policy continues to cause excruciating emotional damage to children and families. Members who “suffer from same-sex attraction” are still encouraged, forced or feel no other choice than to seek out conversion therapy to “fix” their homosexual attractions. A practice that results in youth 8.4x more likely to attempt suicide. GLAAD reports “San Francisco State University found that “compared with LGBTQ young people who were not rejected or were only a little rejected by their parents and caregivers because of their gay or transgender identity, highly rejected LGBTQ young people were:
- 8.4x more likely to report having attempted suicide
- 5.9x more likely report high levels of depression
- 3.4x more likely to use illegal drugs
- 3.4x more likely to be at high risk of HIV and STDs”
Links mentioned in the episode:
- Patreon FULL VIDEO of Elena’s Episode
- Elena’s Amazing Ted Talk about Her Experience with Conversion Therapy
- Elena’s Love Story on MHH
- GLAAD Discusses Efficacy and Consequences of Conversion Therapy
- VENMO for Mormon Happy Hour one time donations
- Music by bensound.com and by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 - Transition pieces found here
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Have you heard of Ogden’s Own Distillery and their line-up of subversive Mormon Themed liquors? Take a peek behind the hilarious labels and learn a bit about how they came to be, complete with rich tributes to controversial Mormon history and whole-hearted support for Utah’s LGBTQ community! Steve Conlin, CEO and President of Ogden’s own gives us a view from behind the Zion’s Curtain at what it’s like to be in the alcohol industry in a state controlled by the LDS Church. And, a Pride Re-Brand of their famous 5 Wives Vodka, a label so controversial it was banned in the state of Idaho! As always, if you’d prefer to watch instead of just listen to this interview, head on over to Patreon/mormonhappyhour to watch!
Lesley Butterfield is back again to discuss her recent Commentary published in the Salt Lake Tribune entitled “LDS Church Officials are Practicing Spiritual Extortion.” Lesley speaks from a place of personal heartache as she describes how the Policies and Doctrine elicited by LDS Officials are indeed abusive. Her experiences are all too common. Lesley ends with a powerful declaration of what her Heaven will be full of, in contrast to the Mormon Heaven spoke of by Prophet and President Russel M. Nelson in the most recent LDS General Conference. This was previously Exclusive Patreon content and is now released public. Check out the video of this episode on Patreon today!
Crystal Legionnaires made waves one year ago when she stood and shouted “Stop Protecting Sexual Predators” in the Conference Center during a live session of conference. This year, she carefully chose a new demonstration to promote a message of importance for the quality of life of all LGBTQ individuals who are harmed by the policies and doctrine enforced by LDS Leadership. She shares with us the thought and planning before the day, the response during the walk, and what she has heard in the aftermath. Crystal includes a tender story of a woman who stopped to help her feet during the walk. If you’d like to watch the video of Crystal’s chat, head to Mormon Happy Hour on Patreon!
Michael Smith returns with his irreverent interruptions to discuss the recent LGBT Exclusion Policy Reversal that was announced. We also introduce a VERY important Instagram account that is raising awareness in an area Colleen passionately advocates to change, the BYU Honor Code office! And lastly, since it is the very weekend of LDS General Conference, please enjoy some hopeful conference rumors! Don’t miss the bonus content with Michael, which you get a teaser of in this episode! Head on over to Patreon to catch all the videos from this episode!
Happy Valentine’s Day from Mormon Happy Hour! Enjoy a special holiday gift of a Post-Mormon Love story! So often, the journey through to the other side of Mormonism involves changes in our romantic relationships. These changes can be painful, and they can also be full of growth and happiness. Today is Part 1 in a series of PostMo love stories I have gathered for you to celebrate the journey and what it can bring! Spoiler! The last part will be my own PostMo love story! Valentine’s Day is my new wedding anniversary after all! But before mine, please meet Elena, a friend of mine who is absolutely bursting with happiness, love, deep satisfaction and fulfillment, and just all around JOY! She’s hysterical, I love her to pieces, and I can’t wait for her to make your day as she has mine! And as always, I hope you watch Elena tell her story, it’s hysterical and she is magical! Please visit Patreon for access to this video and many others!
This week Colleen brings 3 guests on to discuss several hot topics in Mormonism. First up, Blaire Ostler, a queer Mormon woman, takes on the Exclusion Policy addition to both the Missionary and Seminary manuals. Second, Marie Kent from My Book of Mormon Podcast hashes out Utah Prop 2, the legalization of medical marijuana. And lastly, New Name Noah Mike Norton gives us an update on what we should be calling the church formerly known as The Mormons. Don’t miss Mike’s upcoming plans for Sam Young’s pending excommunication for asking the LDS Church to stop asking children sexually explicit questions. But those can only be found with all the other full-length videos on our Patreon page!
Mormon Happy Hour pairs up for a glorious evening with the Drunk Mormon Podcast. We meet up together, make cocktails and tell our Mormon Exit stories and how we both came to create a Mormon based podcast. We reclaim our Mormon Identity and share how we tackled so many faith crisis dilemmas. Does God exist? Is there a higher power? How do we explain “spiritual” experiences from our Mormon childhood? What do autonomy and authenticity look and feel like? Then we wrap things up with their favorite Drunk Mormon episodes and their favorite featured drinks! Mmmm, you gotta try these!
