Mormon Stories — Priesthood

Mormon Stories and the Archive of Priesthood Authority

The podcast Mormon Stories has become an unintentional repository for how Latter-day Saint priesthood authority actually functions when confronted with dissent, intellectual inquiry, or moral objection. What began as a platform for faith exploration has evolved into a documented record of disciplinary councils, excommunications, and the mechanisms by which institutional power asserts control over individual conscience. For those examining the historical exercise of Mormon priesthood authority in the modern era, the hundreds of recorded interviews provide something the official Church archives deliberately omit: the voice of the accused, the punished, and the expelled.

Documenting the Disciplinary Process

Since its inception, Mormon Stories has captured narratives that reveal the procedural reality of priesthood governance. The podcast has recorded accounts from former bishops, stake presidents, and general members who faced Church courts not for criminal behavior or theological apostasy in the traditional sense, but for asking questions that challenged official narratives or advocating for institutional reform.

Consider the pattern visible across multiple episodes: Sam Young, a former bishop, faced excommunication after organizing ProtectLDSChildren.org to end sexually explicit interviews between clergy and minors. His disciplinary council became public record through Mormon Stories, revealing how priesthood leaders interpreted child protection advocacy as apostasy. Natasha Helfer, a licensed marriage therapist, underwent a membership trial for publicly discussing sexual health and advocating for mental health practices that diverged from Church teachings on sexuality. The recordings exposed how professional expertise conflicts with priesthood authority structures. Simon Southerton, an Australian geneticist and former bishop, detailed his excommunication for discussing DNA evidence regarding Book of Mormon historicity, demonstrating how scientific findings become subject to ecclesiastical judgment when they contradict foundational claims.

These cases share a common thread. The priesthood, described in Mormon theology as the power of God on earth, appears in these accounts primarily as an instrument of boundary maintenance rather than pastoral care.