Part 3: Kimberly details the sacrifices required when she made the decision to transition

Kimberly Anderson is a self-actualized woman who has made the change from living for 45 years as a Mormon man to living openly as a woman. Before her transition, she lived, worked, and thrived for decades as a spouse, parent of two children, faithful Mormon, professional photographer, and university professor (BYU, UVU, Snow College).

Kimberly has a BA and an MFA from Utah State University, has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally as a professional photographer, and has work in various collections throughout the Intermountain West. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University, Snow College and Utah Valley University. She is the founder/photographer for the Mama Dragons Story Project which was recently featured on Mormon Stories Podcast.

This interview kicks off a 4-part series on Transgender/Intersex education within Mormonism.

Part 2: Kimberly tells about her LDS mission experience, her marriage, and having children

Kimberly Anderson is a self-actualized woman who has made the change from living for 45 years as a Mormon man to living openly as a woman. Before her transition, she lived, worked, and thrived for decades as a spouse, parent of two children, faithful Mormon, professional photographer, and university professor (BYU, UVU, Snow College).

Kimberly has a BA and an MFA from Utah State University, has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally as a professional photographer, and has work in various collections throughout the Intermountain West. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University, Snow College and Utah Valley University. She is the founder/photographer for the Mama Dragons Story Project which was recently featured on Mormon Stories Podcast.

This interview kicks off a 4-part series on Transgender/Intersex education within Mormonism.

Part 1: Kimberly describes her early life as a child and teen raised in the LDS Church

Kimberly Anderson is a self-actualized woman who has made the change from living for 45 years as a Mormon man to living openly as a woman. Before her transition, she lived, worked, and thrived for decades as a spouse, parent of two children, faithful Mormon, professional photographer, and university professor (BYU, UVU, Snow College).

Kimberly has a BA and an MFA from Utah State University, has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally as a professional photographer, and has work in various collections throughout the Intermountain West. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University, Snow College and Utah Valley University. She is the founder/photographer for the Mama Dragons Story Project which was recently featured on Mormon Stories Podcast.

This interview kicks off a 4-part series on Transgender/Intersex education within Mormonism.

In this episode we discuss what happens when religions or religious people praise abusers in front of their victims.

In April 2017, Keith Robert Vallejo, a Mormon bishop, was convicted of 10 counts of forcible sexual abuse and one count of object rape, involving two women – who were both staying at his home at the time of the rape/abuse.

During his sentencing hearing in Provo, Utah, Fourth District judge Thomas Low (who is currently serving as Mormon bishop of the Valley Hills First Ward of the Heber City Utah North Stake), praised Vallejo as a "an extraordinarily good man" in front of his two victims.

You can hear his full statement here: https://soundcloud.com/user-592916436/judge-thomas-low-statement

In today’s Mormon Stories Podcast episode we are interviewing Ashlie.  Ashlie currently attends a Mormon ward where a former bishop who has abused two separate victims who were both ward members.  He was convicted of rape for the first offense has been fully reintegrated into the ward at the expense of his victims (who also remain in the ward).  According to Ashlie:

• After the former bishop served time in prison, wealthy ward members pooled a large amount of money to have his name removed from the sex offender’s registry in Florida.
• He has been reinstated with full membership status back into the ward, and is currently serving as seminary teacher and as a high priest teacher.
• Many ward and stake members have not been informed of his former abuses.
• The victims and their families have been marginalized by the ward and stake for not being more “forgiving,” and for not “understanding the atonement.”

Today we will be discussing Ashlie’s perspective on the impact of protecting abusers at the expense of the abused, along with how this has impacted her own faith journey.  Ashlie’s stories includes:

• Her conversion to the church.
• Her temple marriage that ended in divorce
• Her inappropriate excommunication for drinking alcohol
• Her rebaptism into the church by Bishop Mark McConkie (Colorado Spring)
• Her re-marriage (elopement, then temple sealing)
• Her experience in a ward where three successive bishops were excommunicated
• Her “shelf breakers” and faith transition (which happened only a month ago).

This episode includes a beautiful shout-out to Kristin Marie (Bennion), so check it out!

In this episode we discuss what happens when religions or religious people praise abusers in front of their victims.

In April 2017, Keith Robert Vallejo, a Mormon bishop, was convicted of 10 counts of forcible sexual abuse and one count of object rape, involving two women – who were both staying at his home at the time of the rape/abuse.

During his sentencing hearing in Provo, Utah, Fourth District judge Thomas Low (who is currently serving as Mormon bishop of the Valley Hills First Ward of the Heber City Utah North Stake), praised Vallejo as a "an extraordinarily good man" in front of his two victims.

You can hear his full statement here: https://soundcloud.com/user-592916436/judge-thomas-low-statement

In today’s Mormon Stories Podcast episode we are interviewing Ashlie.  Ashlie currently attends a Mormon ward where a former bishop who has abused two separate victims who were both ward members.  He was convicted of rape for the first offense has been fully reintegrated into the ward at the expense of his victims (who also remain in the ward).  According to Ashlie:

• After the former bishop served time in prison, wealthy ward members pooled a large amount of money to have his name removed from the sex offender’s registry in Florida.
• He has been reinstated with full membership status back into the ward, and is currently serving as seminary teacher and as a high priest teacher.
• Many ward and stake members have not been informed of his former abuses.
• The victims and their families have been marginalized by the ward and stake for not being more “forgiving,” and for not “understanding the atonement.”

Today we will be discussing Ashlie’s perspective on the impact of protecting abusers at the expense of the abused, along with how this has impacted her own faith journey.  Ashlie’s stories includes:

• Her conversion to the church.
• Her temple marriage that ended in divorce
• Her inappropriate excommunication for drinking alcohol
• Her rebaptism into the church by Bishop Mark McConkie (Colorado Spring)
• Her re-marriage (elopement, then temple sealing)
• Her experience in a ward where three successive bishops were excommunicated
• Her “shelf breakers” and faith transition (which happened only a month ago).

This episode includes a beautiful shout-out to Kristin Marie (Bennion), so check it out!

As part of our series on meetings with Mormon General Authorities, we interview Scott Duke. Scott met with Elder Christoffel Golden of the Seventy November 15, 2012.

In this episode, Scott recounts:

-His LDS mission experience and the troubling historical issues he put on his “shelf”
-His confusion about the role of personal revelation within the framework of the Mormon Church
-How he “came out” about his faith crisis to his wife and family
-How he landed an opportunity to meet with a General Authority of the Church as a last effort to restore faith
-The events and impressions of the meeting with Elder Golden
-The letter he wrote to Dieter F. Uchtdorf and the subsequent response
-The emotional fallout and impact on his family that resulted from his non-belief