Madi Davis (Sisters on the Front Lines) joins Mitch, Juliet, and Ashton to talk about something the church rarely acknowledges: women and pornography use.

Madi shares how she found pornography at 13 while sitting through Young Women's lessons insisting girls didn't struggle with it and how that silence shaped years of shame.

The conversation moves through the "addiction" label and why Madi pushes back on it, the difference between guilt and shame, why abstinence-based accountability models often backfire, and the messaging both men and women got growing up about whose "problem" this even was.

Ashton and Juliet share their own experiences with 12-step programs, purity culture, and the disconnect between how bodies are talked about at church versus in real life.

Find Madi at sistersonthefrontlines.com or https://www.instagram.com/sistersonthefrontlines

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What happens when you study Mormon history without an agenda? Dr. Benjamin Park — historian, author of American Zion and Kingdom of Nauvoo, and former Mormon History Association president — joins Mitch, Juliet, and Ashton to talk about what it means to approach faith history honestly.We get into why history is rarely the reason people leave the church (but often the permission), whether the church intentionally hid its past, what "hermeneutics of generosity" actually means, and how figures like Thomas Jefferson and Brigham Young force us to wrestle with judging historical figures on their own terms, or not.Whether you're in, out, or somewhere in between, this one's for anyone who's ever felt like the history didn't quite match the story they were told.🔗 Find Ben's work at BenjaminEPark.com YouTube: @BenjaminParkHistorian🌐 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👕 Merch Store:https://ldbb-shop.fourthwall.com

"Doubt Your Doubts." Is It Actually Good Advice?

In this episode of Latter Day Bridge Builders, Mitch, Juliet, and Ashton dig into one of the most well-known phrases in LDS faith crisis conversations: "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." A line from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's October 2013 General Conference talk, Come, Join With Us.

Is the advice itself bad? Or is it the way it gets deployed that's the problem? The three co-hosts explore the difference between a phrase that invites reflection and one that shuts conversation down entirely, as well as share personal stories about how this cliché landed (or didn't) in their own lives.

Topics covered:

- The full context of Uchtdorf's original quote and what he actually meant

- How "doubt your doubts" can function as a thought-stopping technique

- Juliet's experience teaching seminary under the instruction to "never plant doubt"

- Ashton's take on how doubting his faith actually strengthened it over time

- Why "doubt your concerns" and "doubt your legitimate questions" don't hit the same

- Mitch's wish for more spaces (inside and outside the church) where people can genuinely wrestle with hard questions

Referenced in this episode:

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Come, Join With Us (October 2013 General Conference): https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2013/10/come-join-with-us?lang=eng

Kelsey Sorensen, "Doubt Your Doubts: Is It Actually Good Advice for LDS Members?" — Exponent II: https://exponentii.org/blog/doubt-your-doubts-is-it-actually-good-advice-for-lds-members/

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What does it look like to stop believing in the Church but still show up every Sunday? In this episode, we sit down with Colton Scott. A born-and-raised Utah Mormon, returned missionary (Scotland & Ireland), and BYU grad who describes himself as a product of "the Utah factory." Colton shares the story of how his sister's faith transition in 2023 sent him down a rabbit hole of investigation that ultimately broke his shelf, and how he's navigated life as a PIMO (Physically In, Mentally Out) ever since.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Colton's background: mission, LDS Business College, BYU, and growing up in a deeply devout family

- How his sister's faith transition triggered his own investigation (CES Letter, LDS Discussions, and more)

- The things that had been on his shelf for years: the Book of Mormon, the SEC's $5M penalty against the Church, Brigham Young, and LGBTQ issues

- What it was like to tell his bishopric (in two different wards) that he no longer believes, and why both experiences went better than expected

- The tension of being PIMO: staying for community, family, and the 80% he still agrees with

- Baptizing his son while no longer believing, and the harder questions ahead (temple recommends, weddings, priesthood circles)

- Whether attending church as a non-believer means "feeding the beast" and how each person has to find their own tolerance level

- The Church's culture of "all in or all out," and whether that's changing- How Colton's moral compass and standards have stayed intact through his deconstruction

- The autonomic nervous system response to leaving behind lifelong religious habits

- Brian McLaren's four stages of faith: simplicity, complexity, perplexity, and harmony

- A discussion of Jeff Strong's book Torn and Elder Holland's circle moment

If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, leave a review, and consider supporting the podcast financially — links are below.

You're not alone out there. 🌉

🌐 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

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It's Pride Month, and we're getting personal about our own histories with LGBTQ+ issues and the LDS Church.

Juliet opens up about a chapter in her early Mormon years; actively campaigning for California's Prop 8 in 2008. Knocking on doors and holding signs, despite personally believing gay marriage wasn't wrong. She reflects on outsourcing her moral compass to God, the cognitive dissonance that came with it, and the quiet relief she felt when Prop 8 was later overturned.

Mitch shares his own slow evolution from casually using slurs in a church environment where that went uncorrected, to becoming a more genuine ally.

Ashton, coming from a place of honest self-described unawareness, and brings in scriptural perspective in order to question whether religious institutions should define a single path for sexuality and morality.

Together, we explore why labeling religious opposition to LGBT rights as simply "hateful" often misses the mark, the incongruity of the church's involvement in Prop 8 versus its usual political neutrality, and the irony of a church with a polygamy history campaigning for "one man, one woman" marriage.

Show Notes:

On the Record: A Chronology of LGBTQ Messaging Within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — a 109-page PDF from the podcast Latter Gay Stories — https://lattergaystories.org/record/

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Ashton and Juliet welcome Crystal, a gay woman raised in the LDS Church in Iowa, to share her journey of secrecy, shame, and eventually stepping away from church activity. Crystal describes growing up with strong church expectations (her dad served in leadership), not feeling safe discussing emotions at home, and living a double life after a secret high school relationship with a girl. She recounts intense sexual shame, suicidal ideation, and a pivotal “worthiness” dynamic when her dad questioned her in the stake president’s office. Therapy helped her name her experience, begin coming out, and navigate family reactions. Crystal contrasts supportive friends and a compassionate bishop with systemic church power dynamics, explains panic attacks and depression tied to church participation, and shares how love, nature, and community helped her leave and build a healthier life.We go deep in this episode and hope you are willing to go deep with us.🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuil...📸 Follow us on Instagram: / latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: / latterdaybridgebuilders ☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridg...

Ashton and Juliet host author Jeff Strong to discuss his Latter-day Saint-focused book Torn and what drove him to write about faith struggle, deconstruction, and belonging. Jeff shares how his son came home early from the MTC 13 years ago, the “fog of war” that followed, and how family and community reactions created misunderstanding, rejection, and years of pain before finding a healthier way forward. Drawing on experience as a bishop, church employee, BYU teacher, and mission president, he describes common misconceptions: active members underestimate how many leave, misjudge why they leave, and assume life falls apart afterward; while some post-Mormons dismiss why thoughtful, informed people stay. The conversation emphasizes empathy, humility, “new wine in new bottles,” and building bridges to protect marriages, parent-child relationships, and ward culture.Purchase "Torn" here: https://www.amazon.com/Torn-People-Le...🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuil...📸 Follow us on Instagram: / latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: / latterdaybridgebuilders ☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridg...

Skyler Sorenson joins us share his story as a covenant-keeping Latter-day Saint who experiences same-sex attraction, is temple married to his wife Amanda, and is a father. He discusses his book Exclude Not Thyself and why he uses the word “thriving” to challenge assumptions that faithful gay Latter-day Saints can’t find joy in the Church. The conversation covers navigating labels and assumptions from both active members and critics and how to avoid judging others while still making moral choices. Skyler explains why “maybe someday” language about doctrine can create religious paralysis, encourages keeping options open, and emphasizes staying connected to others to maintain access, love, and understanding.🌐 More episodes & links: https://linktr.ee/latterdaybridgebuil...📸 Follow us on Instagram: / latterdaybridgebuilders 🎥 TikTok: / latterdaybridgebuilders ☕ Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LDSBridg...