Voices of Hope
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.
- Update frequency
- every 72 days
- Average duration
- 59 minutes
- Episodes
- 12
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2023
011 - Preston Jenkins
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 exper…
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 al…
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 …
008 - Mary Thompson
Sallie & Danielle speak to Mary Thompson. She shares her perspective of learning of her husband Spencer’s same-sex attraction and why they decided to share their story publicly. Mary processes things…
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 circums…
006 - Tera Brown
Sallie & Danielle talk with Tera Brown, and get an update since she and her husband Curtis shared his story of Same-Sex Attraction in 2014, as part of the Voices of Hope project. Tera talks about kno…
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 alre…
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 f…
003 - Jenn and Anjanette - Host Introductions
Jen’s story was originally featured in a Voices of Hope video in 2015. In this episode, she expounds on her story by sharing the fears that she felt about coming out as gay after having been married …
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 proje…
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 journ…