My Name is Steve | 35 Years of Prayer Couldn’t Change Me | Leaving Mormonism & Finding Freedom episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 16, 2026 · 8 MIN

My Name is Steve | 35 Years of Prayer Couldn’t Change Me | Leaving Mormonism & Finding Freedom

from Welcome to the weekly MormonNewsRoundup where Al & Dives ruminate on the great and spacious Beehive! · host Mormon News Roundup

Steve was a sixth-generation Mormon who spent decades believing that faith, obedience, and prayer could change the deepest parts of who he was. For 35 years, he tried to live a life shaped by expectation, fear, and devotion—while quietly struggling with his identity.Everything changed after 9/11, when a moment of global shock triggered a personal crisis of belief. What followed was a rapid unraveling of every foundational assumption Steve had about the Church, his faith, and his future. In just a few hours of research, he says the entire system he had built his life on collapsed.This is Steve’s story of leaving Mormonism, rebuilding his life from the ground up, and ultimately finding peace, family, and love outside the Church. Today, he is married to his husband, co-parents a blended family of six children, and describes a life that is happier and more authentic than he ever thought possible.Steve’s journey includes his involvement in controversial LDS-era “reparative therapy” culture, his divorce and rebuilding of relationships, and his eventual transition into a life he describes as free from fear and religious constraint.He concludes with a simple statement:“My name is Steve, and I’m an Ex Mormon.”Additional Reading: https://wasmormon.org/profile/steve-lee/Original Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFLGJyXG-UQPlease consider making a donation by joining our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/MormonNewsRoundup Email: [email protected] Website: https://mormonnewsroundup.org/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonnewsroundup Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormon_news_roundup/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093511869924 X: https://twitter.com/NewsMormon New episodes LIVE every Sunday and Monday nights at 9:30PM ESTPlease like and subscribe and hit the notifications bell. Remember remember, no unhallowed hand can stop this podcast from progressing!The Mormon News Roundup is NOT affilated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Steve was a sixth-generation Mormon who spent decades believing that faith, obedience, and prayer could change the deepest parts of who he was. For 35 years, he tried to live a life shaped by expectation, fear, and devotion—while quietly struggling with his identity.Everything changed after 9/11, when a moment of global shock triggered a personal crisis of belief. What followed was a rapid unraveling of every foundational assumption Steve had about the Church, his faith, and his future. In just a few hours of research, he says the entire system he had built his life on collapsed.This is Steve’s story of leaving Mormonism, rebuilding his life from the ground up, and ultimately finding peace, family, and love outside the Church. Today, he is married to his husband, co-parents a blended family of six children, and describes a life that is happier and more authentic than he ever thought possible.Steve’s journey includes his involvement in controversial LDS-era “reparative therapy” culture, his divorce and rebuilding of relationships, and his eventual transition into a life he describes as free from fear and religious constraint.He concludes with a simple statement:“My name is Steve, and I’m an Ex Mormon.”Additional Reading: https://wasmormon.org/profile/steve-lee/Original Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFLGJyXG-UQPlease consider making a donation by joining our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/MormonNewsRoundup Email: [email protected] Website: https://mormonnewsroundup.org/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonnewsroundup Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormon_news_roundup/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093511869924 X: https://twitter.com/NewsMormon New episodes LIVE every Sunday and Monday nights at 9:30PM ESTPlease like and subscribe and hit the notifications bell. Remember remember, no unhallowed hand can stop this podcast from progressing!The Mormon News Roundup is NOT affilated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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My Name is Steve | 35 Years of Prayer Couldn’t Change Me | Leaving Mormonism & Finding Freedom

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Steve was a sixth-generation Mormon who spent decades believing that faith, obedience, and prayer could change the deepest parts of who he was. For 35 years, he tried to live a life shaped by expectation, fear, and devotion—while quietly struggling...

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