003 - Jenn and Anjanette - Host Introductions

Jen & Anjanette have been part of the North Star Community since the beginning. Jen expounds on her story, which was featured in a Voices of Hope video in 2015. She shares the fears that she felt about coming out as gay after having been married to a man for 18 years, and what finding a community within North Star really meant to her. She discusses how she came to reconcile her feelings in her marriage, as well as what keeps her anchored in the Gospel.
Jen and Anjanette also recount how they first met and how their initial perceptions of each other were off, despite Anjanette not having attractions towards women. Anjanette tells her own story of growing up and learning to cope with her own struggles with addiction. Later she finds resources for those addictions, only to understand just how lonely it can be for a woman in the church to deal with addiction at all.
Anjanette dives into her own experience of being a single member of the church, and how that is something she's still working to understand and accept. That experience gives her empathy to understand members of the LGBT community that are single or who have chosen to be. Anjanette closes with her desire to get personal perspectives from members navigating these conversations and how the things she’s learned have affected her evolving relationship with God.

Show Notes

Jen’s story was originally featured in a Voices of Hope video in 2015. In this episode, she expounds on her story by sharing the fears that she felt about coming out as gay after having been married to a man for 18 years, and what finding a community within North Star really meant to her. She discusses how she came to reconcile her feelings in her marriage, as well as what keeps her anchored in the Gospel. 

Anjanette dives into her own experience of being a single member of the church, and how that is something she's still working to understand and accept. This experience gives her empathy to understand members of the LGBT community that are single or who have chosen to be. She shares her desire to get personal perspectives from members navigating these conversations and how the things she’s learned have affected her evolving relationship with God.  She also tells her own story of growing up and learning to cope with her own struggles with addiction. Later she finds resources for those addictions, only to understand just how lonely it can be for a woman in the church to deal with addiction at all. 

What is Voices of Hope?

The personal stories shared on this podcast serve as an extension of the book and video project, Voices of Hope. It is a living repository of faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sharing stories of how they seek to reconcile their sexual orientation or gender dysphoria, or of those they love, with their faith. You’ll hear how they have chosen to embrace the restored gospel, the inherent challenges they face, and how they’ve found peace and hope in their decisions.

As you listen to these candid and touching stories, you may find elements of their journeys that echo your own. Wherever you fall in this spectrum of experience or in your journey on the path of discipleship, you’ll find a safe place here.

Voices of Hope is a project of North Star International. North Star is a faith-affirming resource for Latter-day Saints addressing sexual orientation and gender identity, and who desire to live in harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the doctrines and values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.