Latter Day Bridge Builders

#047 -- Inside the World's Strangest LDS Mission (Ashton's Mission Experience Part 2)

Ashton returns for a deep, personal follow-up to our episode on his unique mission call to the Family and Church History Headquarters mission in Salt Lake, a mission staf

#046 -- An Ex-Mormon Therapist Answers Your Deconstruction Questions ft. Andy Newman

Andy Newman, a licensed therapist, ex-Mormon, and creator behind @andynewmanlpc joins us to role-play through real scenarios we hear constantly in the ex-Mormon and nuanc

#045 -- He Played Lucifer in the Temple. Then He Left the Church. (ft. Corbin Allred)

He played Lucifer in the LDS temple endowment film for a decade. Then, after 43 years as a member, Corbin Allred left the LDS Church — and he hasn't necessarily been quie

#044 -- "Everything Is Polygamy": A Historian on Mormonism's Founding Trauma w/ Linda Hamilton

Historian, author of The Fourth Wife, and grad student Linda Hamilton joins Juliet for a deep dive into Mormon polygamy: how it actually worked, who it actually harmed, a

#043 -- Two LDS Converts: Why We Joined (And Why One of Us Left) w/ Stevie Johnson

Two Converts, Two Paths: Temple Experiences, Polygamy, and Finding Your Place as an Outsider Mitch and Ashton are out this week, so Stevie takes the host chair alongside

#042 -- The Viral Video That Made Mormons Uncomfortable w/ Abi Finny

Abi Finny (@abi.finny) joins Juliet, Ashton, and Mitch to talk about the viral "temple to Taco Bell" video that got her labeled too crass by some and celebrated by others

#041 -- An Evangelical's Guide to the Restoration (ft. Steven Pynakker)

What do Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals actually have in common and where do things go sideways? In this episode, Mitch and Ashton sit down with Steven Pynakker of M

#040 -- "You Don't Struggle With This": Women & P*rnography in LDS Culture (w/ Madi Davis)

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 h

#039 -- History as a Bridge: A Mormon Historian's Honest Take (ft. Dr. Benjamin Park)

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 Asso

#038 -- Doubt Your Doubts (Tackling Cliches Series)

"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

#037 -- Attending Church as a Non-Believer w/ Colton Scott

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, retu

#036 -- Love, Hate and PRIDE: The LDS/LGBTQ+ Conundrum

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; ac

#035 -- Ex-LDS and Lesbian: Crystal Nye and the Tipping Points That Led Her Out of Mormonism

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

#034 -- Loving Those Who Leave the LDS Church: Jeff Strong, Author of "Torn"

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 belongin

#033 -- Keeping Covenants & Finding Connection: Thriving as a Gay Latter-day Saint

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

#032 -- Mission at Mormon Church Headquarters: The Good, The Bad, and The Awkward

On Latter Day Bridge Builders, Ashton shares his mission story serving in Salt Lake City in the Family and Church History Headquarters Mission full-time and only about 35

#31 -- Juliet's Mission Experience

Juliet served her mission in the Independence Missouri Mission — but spent most of it in rural Kansas, an hour from the nearest missionaries, 500 square miles of farmland

#030 -- The Cult Episode! Ex-Mormons and Faithful LDS Members Weigh In

Is the LDS Church a Cult? Who knows! But either way, people do call it a cult, and that doesn't seem like that will be changing any time soon. Join us as we talk about WH

#029 -- "You are Not God. This isn't Heaven." ft. Patrick Mason

Patrick Mason, historian, Fulbright Scholar, and holder of the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University, joins Latter Day Bridge

#028 -- LDS Dating- Values, Consent, and Faith Transitions (Oh MY!)

Tiana Chambers is a community organizer and event planner who ISN'T a matchmaker (even though she matches people?). She sat down with us to talk about some of the trickie