Mormon Stories had the real privilege of interviewing Daniel “Wayne” Sermon of Imagine Dragons, along with his wise and talented wife Alex Sermon, an accomplished professional ballerina, in their home in Las Vegas. In this interview, the Sermons open up about their lives as Mormons (Part 1), their life with Imagine Dragons (Parts 2 & 3), and their journey out of Mormonism (Parts 4 & 5).
Their interview is so inspiring….especially regarding their devoted partnership, and we hope you find insight and encouragement from their experience.
Finally, we are incredibly excited to have Wayne Sermon as a keynote speaker at our THRIVEDAY Conference dedicated to healing, growth, and community after Mormonism held on November 17, 2019 in Salt Lake City. You can get your tickets to see Wayne and many other amazing and inspiring speakers here: https://thrivebeyondmormonism.com
Part 1 – Growing up as Mormons:
Part 2 – The Beginnings of Imagine Dragons:
Part 3 – Rise to Super-Stardom:
Part 4 – Progression in Their Mormon Faith:
Part 5 – New Path Forward:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
14 Responses
An amazing series of interviews. Thought I would just listen to one hour of them today. Ended up listening to them all.
I really enjoyed listening to Alex and Wayne’s interview. Thanks for sharing your story!
Daniel (Wayne) and Alex,
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. I just listened to the whole thing. You guys seem so down to earth and authentic. The way you described your views on life and religion fall right in line with my own. I guess it’s somewhat narcissistic of me to say I love the way you think. :)
There have been some events in our faith journey that were so scary to anticipate, but then turned out for the better. One was coming out to our family, the other was talking with our children, and the other was going on Mormon Stories to share our story with the world. I was afraid for my business and friendships. So, I can only image how you must of felt to put yourselves out there. I’m so glad we did it, and if only one person was affected by it for the better then it was worth it. I’m sure your story will touch the lives of thousands who need to know they are not crazy. I think you both are very brave for sticking your necks out.
Truly this will be one of those epic episodes. Thank you for sharing your story with the world. Many lives will be changed for the better.
Such a great Story & I love their relationship. Thanks for sharing! ❤️
Seriously wonderful interview. My husband and I have been studying church history, beginning with polygamy, since the summer of 2017, and this interview touched me so deeply. We are still slowly figuring out how to be authentic with our family and friends and neighbors and church community. We live in Kaysville, UT, in the thick of it. Our youngest child passed away of a birth defect in Oct 2008 when he was 5. He survived low birth weight, NICU procedures, and cleft lip surgeries. He was such a joyful, darling child. It was the most traumatic thing to lose a child. It is what keeps me connected to heaven, to Source, to belief in a Higher Power. There are no words to describe how your interview touched me this week. Thank you for your vulnerability, openness, and love, and for your inspiring music. I teach piano, and one of my students played Demons at my Popular Recital last month. She was fantastic! Music is my passion! We loved “Love Loud”! We love Imagine Dragons! Thanks for your inspiration to the world and for doing this interview with John. We look forward to whatever Imagine Dragons does next! And we know we can make it through to the other side of our faith transition because of interviews like this. Thanks again. Hugs.
I posted before the end and just heard Alex say she is coming! I am so excited to meet her! Such a loving, wise person!
To Thrive Nov 17!
To Thrive!
Penni Daun Eads! You were my first piano teacher: Logan, 1984! So sorry to hear about your son. I would love to catch up with you, but perhaps not so publicly. Maybe John/Mormon Stories could get us in touch with each other through our e-mails (if you consent, of course.). I guess it is pretty likely that you don’t remember me, since I’m sure you had a lot of students, but I certainly remember my early piano lessons.
Just found Penni’s e-mail on her webpage, so no need to get us in touch. Great interview as always, by the way!
What a great interview! Thanks Alex and Daniel (Wayne) for sharing your thoughts with us. Very inspiring! Loved it all!
The quote the MTC president shared is originally from Eleanor Roosevelt. “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” I first heard it 20-some years ago, and I’ve often quoted it myself. :)
I recently saw ID live for the first time, went home and read Wayne’s Wikipedia bio where I noted he wasnt active anymore. I grew up in the same ward as his wife, Alex and so wondered about her too. Internet led me to this MS website and this interview. I thought I would just skip around the videos some but ended up watching all 4 through the wee hours of the morning. Enlightening to say the least! I find it brave of them to publicly discuss their journey together. So many people have questions and concerns and faith crises, not all of them take the individual away from the church, but its good to know they arent alone.
The most frustrating thing for me, when people leave the Church, is this mentality that love supersedes all, or that “I don’t care what you do as long as you’re a good person”. If there is no god, then there is no “good” and there is no “bad”, so it’s impossible to be a “good” or “bad” person. It’s equivalent to saying, “I don’t care what you do as a human being as long as you like ‘The Matrix’.”