Do people leave the church because they want to sin? The answer may not be so simple after all. In this episode, we talk about tattoos, piercings, the word of wisdom, and sex, to name a few things, and how they interact with peoples' journey's out of the church. Is it simply a matter of abandoning the anchoring principles they once held to, or is it a way to re-establish connection and identity after an uprooting life event?We also explore the definition of sin and morality and how and why we find ourselves re-conceptualizing these things throughout our lives.👍 Like & Subscribe💬 Drop your thoughts in the comments📲 Follow us on Instagram for updates and live episode announcementsIf you’d like to financially support the podcast, links are in the description below. We’re grateful for you.🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/latterdaybridgebuilders ☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders#exmormon #lds #sin #wordofwisdom #mormon #prolds #faithcrisis #religiousdeconstruction

A new apostle has been called: Clark Gilbert.

What does that mean? And more importantly—what does it reveal about how we think about priesthood authority?

In this episode of Latter Day Bridge Builders, Mitch, Ashton, and Juliet talk candidly about:

• The appointment of Clark Gilbert and the reactions surrounding it

• Authority vs. humanity in church leadership

• The difference between “letter of the law” and “spirit of the law”

• Real experiences with bishops and power dynamics

• The tension between revelation and accountability

• Why training and checks might matter more than we admit

• And what it actually means to have a direct relationship with God

This conversation gets personal. We talk about depression, temple recommends, leadership mistakes, and what happens when authority goes unchecked. But we also talk about growth, humility, and what healthy leadership can look like.

At the end of the day, the big question is this:
How do we honor faith while still protecting personal agency?

If you’ve ever wrestled with church leadership, priesthood authority, or your own spiritual autonomy, this one’s for you.

👍 Like & Subscribe
💬 Drop your thoughts in the comments
📲 Follow us on Instagram for updates and live episode announcements

If you’d like to financially support the podcast, links are in the description below. We’re grateful for you.

🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/latterdaybridgebuilders ☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders

#LDS #Mormon #ExMormon #Priesthood #FaithCrisis #ChurchLeadership #ClarkGilbert #Deconstruction #SpiritualAutonomy #LatterDayBridgeBuilders

In this episode, we wrap up our discussion of why we even need a podcast like this in the first place. Juliet pushes back on Ashton's elephant metaphor, we talk about whether or not we should even care what the people around us believe, and Mitch shares a "pain point" from the last time he attended church. We talk about the vulnerability that comes when we "exit the cave" and trying to be rooted in relationship instead of in identity. We tend to be "possessive" of the spiritual journeys of others, but when working within the confines of Mormon theology, do we have any other option?This episode is part of our ongoing attempt to simultaneously improve our understanding of our own experiences and the experiences of others- both those who agree with us and those who don't. Instead of arriving at answers, we often find ourselves arriving at questions that are more complicated than the ones we set out with. But we arrive at those questions together, and in sincerity and whole-heartedness. If you have ever felt caught between worlds, unsure where you belong, or hesitant to speak honestly about your faith or lack of it, this conversation is for you.Thanks for listening, for sharing, and for helping us build something better than the all or nothing conversations we are used to.If you would like to support the podcast, there is a Buy Me a Coffee link in the description.🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders

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In this episode, we officially introduce the new co hosts of Latter Day Bridge Builders. Juliet, Ashton, and I talk openly about why this space exists and why building bridges in the LDS world can feel so hard.

We get into what it is like to sit in the middle. Feeling too Mormon for some spaces and too ex Mormon for others. We talk about faith transitions, loneliness, nuance, and why dignity often gets lost when people are pushed to pick a side.This is not an episode about convincing anyone to stay in the Church or leave it. It is about what happens when certainty cracks, when beliefs change, and when people are just trying to be honest about where they are at without being reduced to a stereotype.

We talk about why nuance feels threatening, why the middle can be the loneliest place to stand, and why curiosity and humility matter more than winning arguments.If you have ever felt caught between worlds, unsure where you belong, or hesitant to speak honestly about your faith or lack of it, this conversation is for you.Thanks for listening, for sharing, and for helping us build something better than the all or nothing conversations we are used to.

If you would like to support the podcast, there is a Buy Me a Coffee link in the description.

🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/latterdaybridgebuilders ☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders

In this episode of Latter Day Bridge Builders, Mitch sits down with Ashton Smith to talk about what it really means to build bridges across belief.

Ashton shares his experience growing up in an orthodox LDS environment, serving as an Elders Quorum president, and learning how curiosity, humility, and respect matter more than winning arguments. Together, they explore why “us vs. them” thinking shows up so easily in religion, politics, families, and online spaces, and why it quietly destroys relationships.

This conversation dives into faith transitions, judgment vs. curiosity, the limits of “I know,” and how people on very different paths can still choose empathy over control.

🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders

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In this episode of Latter Day Bridge Builders, Mitch sits down with returning guest Stevie for a raw, unfiltered conversation about faith, doubt, and what it actually feels like to live in the tension between the two.

Stevie shares her experience moving from spiritual certainty into a full-blown faith crisis; one that collided with postpartum depression, suicidal ideation, temple service, and deeply personal questions about God, authority, garments, and identity. Rather than offering tidy answers, this conversation lives in the uncomfortable middle: wrestling with belief, grieving certainty, questioning institutional boundaries, and learning to find peace without resolution.

Together, Mitch and Stevie talk about cognitive dissonance, spiritual burnout, the pressure to “know” instead of wonder, and why love, curiosity, and honesty often matter more than being right. They also explore what it means to step outside religious labels, how judgment (both internal and external) shapes faith journeys, and why many people feel safer talking to those who’ve left than those who’ve stayed.This episode isn’t about deconstruction for its own sake, nor is it an attempt to reconvert anyone. It’s about making room for real people with real questions, and choosing compassion over certainty.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between belief and disbelief, tired of tidy answers, or unsure where you fit anymore, this conversation is for you.

🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/latterdaybridgebuilders ☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders

In this episode of Latter Day Bridge Builders, Mitch sits down with James Linton, an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to talk about the uncomfortable space between belief and disbelief; and why so many relationships get stuck there.

Instead of debating doctrine, this conversation digs into how members and ex-members see each other, why fear and silence creep into friendships, and what actually helps bridge the gap.

They explore ideas like:

- Why religious identity feels so personal, and so fragile

- How institutions struggle with nuance (and people don’t have to)

- Alcohol, social spaces, and unspoken rules

- Why “no strings attached” time might be the most radical act of bridge-building

- The danger of believing you possess all the truth

This episode isn’t about changing minds. It’s about remembering the humanity on the other side—and learning how to stay connected without preaching, fixing, or disappearing.

🎧 If you’ve ever felt like you’re walking on eggshells with believing or former-believing family and friends, this one’s for you.

📩 Reach James: @JimmerLinton (socials) | LinkedIn: James Linton🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/latterdaybridgebuilders ☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridgebuilders

Serving a Mormon mission in Cape Verde, Africa completely changed my life. It made me more serious, more committed, and opened my eyes to a culture totally different from the white Utah bubble I grew up in. It also pushed me to my limits, exposed me to the church’s messy racial history, and left me with questions I couldn’t ignore.

In this episode, I reminisce about my mission:

- What it was like serving in Cabo Verde on those 10 islands off the coast of West Africa

- Learning Portuguese and Creole and navigating totally different dialects

- The high-demand, rule-heavy culture of LDS missions and how “obedience” shaped us

- The tension between the church’s racist past and teaching Black Africans the restored gospel

- Rapid baptisms, low retention, and whether we were really giving people informed choice

- Why my own exit from the church took 18 months of wrestling while many converts joined in a few weeks

- Going back for the 2022 Cabo Verde Temple dedication as a non-believer and feeling genuinely happy for the members there

Two things can be true at once: my mission was one of the hardest, most beautiful, most confusing things I’ve ever done. I can see harm and still see real good. I can be out of the church and still be grateful for people who loved me and the structure it gave others.

Whether you’re an ex-missionary, a believing Latter-day Saint, or somewhere in between, I hope this episode gives you language for your own “both/and” experience.

👉 Tell me your story:

What did your mission do to you? Do you resonate with anything I share here? Drop a comment and let’s talk about it—respectfully, thoughtfully, like actual bridge builders.

🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuilders

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