The Rainbow Mormon Podcast has come out of my experience of a gay man growing up in the LDS Church and my work as a counselor working with hundreds of gay LDS clients and seeing the difficulties that these people face in trying to be honest with who they are while trying to live a belief system, that is very important to them, but conflicts with who they feel they are. The hope with this podcast is to hopefully bring about deeper understanding about the experience of gay members of the Church, and past members of the church. It is also the hope to provide resources in being more loving and compassionate to these people.
My Name is Danny Caldwell, I am the host of Rainbow Mormon Podcast but I am also a Mental Health Counselor in Orem, Utah. I specialize in working with those struggling with a conflict between faith and sexuality and those going through faith crises and faith transitions. I am a former member of the LDS Church but I respect the belief systems of all those I work with even if I do not share those same beliefs. I am the father of 3 amazing boys and live happily in Utah with my partner Ty. I enjoy the outdoors and love most outdoor recreation. I love seeing musical theatre, and play the bagpipes and a little guitar.
Hi Wendy. I’m a listener/contributor. I’ve known Bill for over 5 years personally, and am glad he has increased his site to include other pod-casters.
I’ve got a question/request for you. Do you ever work with LDS couples having sexual issues that trace back to a shaming culture around the entire topic? I know, for example, that D. Michael Quinn once commented that girls are taught to be non-sexual people and then POOF,..on their wedding night, they become sexual (somehow).
I grew up during the Spencer Kimball era, where men like Mark E. Peterson, Bruce McConkie, and others, ruled with iron-fists. Back then, a culture existed that confused me until I realized the leadership was itself divided and confused. On one hand sex was so sacred you can’t talk about it. It was just not part of life. And on the other side, it was so nasty, dirty and disgusting it was, as I grew up believing, a “tolerated evil” which was part of the flesh–but once children were born, it should be eliminated.
Anyway,…my question is general, and wondering if you ever want to do a pod-cast on the topic. It might be interesting?….
Wendy…with the advent of the marijuana vote in Utah, would you consider doing a pod-cast specifically on the LDS position of trying to legislate morality, and how that seems to counter with practices like Brigham Young owning and operating liquor distilleries.
Might be interesting as well?