In this episode Peter Danzig discusses how his experience as a social worker to (primarily) LDS Church members led to an increase in sympathy for LDS homosexuals, a loss of his traditional LDS testimony, and his decision to write a letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune to protest the action taken against former BYU Professor Jeffrey Nielson, and the LDS Church’s urging of members to support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
The music from this episode was played live during the interview. For more about the Danzig’s music, check out their web site here.
Listening to this interview makes me remember something Lyndon Cook used to say in a religion class at BYU more than 20 years ago: “The GA’s are like elephants–they never forget and if they step on you, you’re squashed!”
Great interview! I’m happy to see you have found peace!
I’m right in the middle of listening to the podcast, and it’s so interesting for me personally because it was this very issue that initiated the process of “losing my testimony bits at a time” like Mary said about what she was feeling while her husband went through his crisis of faith. I take comfort in the knowledge that my wife and I aren’t crazy, there have been others before us experiencing a parallel story…
Thank you for sharing…
All this helped do was shake the dead wood off the tree. No offense.
This is the sort of attitude that harms the church more than it does any good.
Oh se7en, can you really mean that? Is the individual that disposable to God? Please reconsider.
se7en,
Offense taken.
I appreciate the Danzigs opening themselves up and sharing pivotal moments of their lives with the Mormon Stories community.
I was touched during the podcast when Mary explained how she was able to hold onto the respect she had for Peter. Deep inside she knew he was a good person.
The advice Peter gave for spouses confronted with marital challenges related to the religious changes/differences was priceless –
“Take a step back and remember what you love about each other. Take a step back and renew…Why did we get together in the first place?…When you can take a step back and it’s worth it, look at it as a long journey. That love with bridge that gap.”
They are great examples for those facing the same challenges. It was evident to me throughout the podcast that the Danzigs had nurtured a true love and appreciation for each other, and may have even come of out it with a stronger marriage.
The song 10,000 miles was beautiful and perfectly placed! I recommend checking out the song on their website. When you visit, you can skip to the song using the controls at the top right corner of the page.
I don’t see the Danzigs being that high profile as far as the church goes. So I question why someone gets thier hands slapped in writing a letter to the tribune vs someone who writes something far more contoversial on a very popular blog that may reach just as many people as Peters letter but nothing happens to them at all.
Maybe its because of our poor history with the press ie Nauvoo Expositor !!
I really appreciate the Danzigs for sharing their story. Their music during the podcast actually brought me to tears in the middle of my workout this morning. Many of my spiritual experiences within mormonism stem from emotions brought on by uplifting music and this was a reminder to me of the fact that much of what is good and beautiful in the world is not exlusively available in the institutional church.