We have different backgrounds and paths but this too is my story. Abusive childhood, depression, anxiety, finding a home in the culture of LDS, falling for a boy and marrying him and now 28 years later estranged from the church. 6 kids in tow. My husband did follow me out and though never close with his family things are even harder now. I am searching for who I really am after remaking myself to fit the mormon mold for so many years, decades... and how that looks for the future of Mt career and my marriage and my children. It's definitely up in the air. We were never traditional... I work outside the home and my husband chose many times to decline going to school and stayed home with the kids. The flack I got for that, the rude comments, because I didn't fit their mold... the despicable things that were said to my children, the things the bishop said to my kids in meetings without my knowledge. And the icing was much like Liz, LGBTQ+ concerns. I can't be affiliated with that (and to top it off I'm a women's Healthcare provider who believes in body autonomy and gender informed care). So thank you. For all 15 hours or so ❤
I was a white, divorced, middle aged convert, working 2 jobs and trying to serve a calling. I totally loved it but soon realized I was always going to be an ousider. My friends in the church were people who'd left and returned; the other scarlet letter women (my words). The last time I went to the temple I left heartbroken because I realized I would never have "that" life. I still love the Lord but He isn't a religion or a building or a denomination.
I haven't ever anticipated an episode of this podcast like this before!! So excited for the conclusion of Liz's story. Thank you as always, for giving a platform to fascinating people and their lived experiences.
Same! I watched the first two episodes live but couldn’t with this one. I was chomping at the bit to get to it! Love Liz and glad she’s in a place to share her story.
“It’s OK to say goodbye!” So great! People come and people go, they teach you, you teach them, and then we each/all spin off onto a different path. With gratitude we can remember the good and bad lessons (they all teach). My most profound connections have lasted long and have lasted short. With the wisdom of my age, my gratitude is there for each AND i have said goodbye so often. I love Mormon Stories, so many great ones! AND this one is really touching me to the core.
Liz's streaking movie jogged my memory back to 1960 when I moved to San Francisco for my first job out of college. As I am now perched on the edge of eternity, I'd better get this story out now. I shared an apartment with friends in a building full of young singles. On Friday evenings we would gather on the roof and party. As we were having fun, a young woman in a bikini suddenly arrived, a Mormon girl from Ogden! This was my first view of a live girl in a bikini, maybe my first view of a live Mormon girl. At that time bikinis were being accepted in Europe but not the U.S. We had only seen them in magazines. So this was kind of sensational. So this was just as electrifying as Liz doing her streak as a Mormon. Soon after, I was offered a job in Salt Lake City and snapped it up. Seeing all those Mormon girls in bikinis was not my prime reason for wanting to move to Utah, but it didn't hurt. Thinking back, this Mormon girl couldn't be her true self in Ogden, but in San Francisco her true self exploded. I can't wait to see Liz's story in a movie.
Found this Mormon Story Podcast quite amazing. AS I spent over 10 years hitch-hiking every which way. After 13 years of Catholic School in Connecticut. Ended up in Utah married. My wife Kelly at the time thought me to be a bit wild (Irish/Polish mix) Go figure given her background, of he mother who was Mormon and Alcholic. (Long story.) Hence we divorced. without allegation of course. Worked it out that I was to be with the kids ages 4 and 7 in summer and with mom during school time. With me by the way, from Utah we ended up in Harlem New York. Got to know the BLACK GODFATHER their who had been a hit man prior to that. We learned a lot. Got a nickname I heard as God Father told me, "they got a name for you... calling ya'll you be the crazy white boy." (Anotgher long story) At the New School in NY where I studdied writing. So back in Utah eventurally started a company. Was called Street Legal Theatre. Gotta get back their someday. And to this day I find many black women to be absoulutely beautiful! And Liz before leaving the Mormon church, ya might consider having more than one husband! I'm good and ready... (Just joking of course)
I love Liz. She is such a genuine person and not afraid to realise her own bumps in the road. I am a 53 year old mother in New Zealand who is not particularly religious. I only drink Champagne on special occasions because that is what I like. Love a gin and tonic once in a while on a hot summer's day. I have never been a smoker, I have never done any kind of d**gs because I take a lot of anti-seizure medication for epilepsy and was scared of the interaction. But I will not go without coffee - ever! I love it. I love the taste of it, the way it makes me feel, I love the ritual of going out for a coffee. The past three years I do it in the middle of my daily 5km walk with my Labradoodle called Coco ( or before.) I have done it for 30+ years. I also have bottles of Cold Brew at home (that got me through lockdowns during the P.) My daughter has a coffee machine but she's not here at the moment so it is tucked away. CEREAL FOR DINNER!!! I had cereal for dinner tonight with strawberries and bananas. My son had a proper dinner but I didn't want what I had planned for him so cereal it was . Cornflakes, cheerios and rice bubbles are my top three. John and Margi you are bringing out some amazing people in 2023. I'm also not averse to a Coke no sugar. Liz, I think you're amazing. Just keep doing you. I'm really pleased to have "met" you.
Boy, I am truly blown away by this MS episode! One of my favorites ever. Liz, I hope you keep on standing out because baby, you ARE beautiful, brilliant, amazing and beyond brave. Thank you for sharing your story.
Wow, I didn’t know what I was in for this week! I binged Liz’s story and it truly was epic. 2023 and MSP is as fresh as ever. Thank you for sharing, Liz!
This was a very long, but very compelling series. Ms. Lambson's openness about her family and faith struggles is very touching and I have so much respect for her for sharing her story. Her creativity and beauty are so inspiring! I also love how she is so charitable towards the positive aspects of LDS communities. One could hope that Mormonism could reform itself to keep those strong aspects of community and shed the more toxic aspects of its doctrine.
Absolutely loved this series interview! Liz’s story not only was relatable (I joined the church in high school for similar reasons) but she is an all over amazing story teller! I’m sad it’s over!
What an amaaaazing interview. The part where Liz talked about needing a creative outlet and to be doing creative work really hit home. I was born into the Church in the 90s and was also taught in Sunday School/YW that if I chose to have a career, I was being greedy and taking away from my woman-ly domestic role. But I realized I felt so strongly called to science that if I wasn't doing scientific work, I would be super depressed. I'm also grateful for Liz and John talking about infantilization. That particular phenomenon drives me nuts and gets very little air time, so I was starting to think it was just me!
I am at the end of Part 4 and sad to see it end. Liz's stories are multiple some with trigger warnings and all compelling told in an even voice ; no meltdowns and smooth sailing from chapters in her life For anyone reading ths part shines out as the best with Liz giving some more detailed unreleased anecdotes. I feel I know her after xnumbers of hours .A truly one of a kind Mormon stories podcast I hate to say goodby ..Than you ]]]
I can't quite put my finger on what it is about this (series of) episode(s) but it has brought me a sense of peace and connection that I find myself so thankful for. Thank you to Liz for sharing her story in this way. I've never been mormon but come from a orthodox christian background and have always felt a little bit different myself, so I really appreciated this one and followed all the way through.
Minute 1:57 or so OF 1726 : Great comment, John! And, it is like, “OK, you’ve gotten this far, but NOW, NO MORE! No more growing, just stop and now let us treat you like children!” Indeed, the Church’s Ah Ha! Moment needs to be how to partner, how to collaborate, how to INTENTIONALLY bring members to their highest Spiritual Self! And not like marketing: Let’s do a focus group to see how we can keep them sucked in. Anyway, great comment, John. A further exploration of this point would be cool. I am LOVING these 4 parts! This is wonderful and thought-provoking on so many levels. I may need to see all the parts again to capture what I haven’t gotten in the first go-around.
Looking forward to my party invitation 😅 lol! As a never Mormon, I certainly couldn’t imagine listening to 12+ hrs worth of a Mormon story, but Liz was so enthralling. I had to keep going through the end. Liz, you are a beautiful human!
While I appreciated the level of detail accross these 4 parts, I think some of the stories were dragged out a little longer than I would consider optimal. I can think of a few other guests that had either greater involvement with the church or more unique perspectives that did not get more than 1 or 2 parts, let alone 4 hour episodes. Other than the availability of the guests, is there a criteria for determining the number and length of episodes?
I am definitely a rambler! It’s my bad for just being too detailed. As a writer who thinks cinematically, it’s hard for me not to describe characters and settings in detail when I tell a story, which definitely slowed down the narrative as we worked our way to the eventual point of resignation. Thank you for your patience as a listener!
I also want to give huge, huge props to John and Margi because they were so generous with me with this long-form approach. It’s one of the unique features of this podcast, how guests are given this opportunity to explore through open conversation.
@Joshua Guerra - It was on the longer side. And I value respectful critiques. This won’t be the rule, and I’ll also say that many many folks have really valued Liz’s story….so part of this is just taste/preference. Hoping we’ll get you more of the stuff you love soon!!! And thanks for your epic gift Liz!!!
One trick I use to move the podcast along is to increase the listening speed by clicking the tiny gear icon in the upper right corner (RU-vid) which offers a pull down menu for playback speed.
To me MSP is not just about level of involvement in the church. It is about stories of humanity and each individuals experience. Consider that a lot of the audience has never been Mormon. They come for the appeal of something they’ve never experienced plus the parts of human experience that they can relate to. Do you understand that John is not bringing these stories to light just to meet your needs?
I love your top I found it very profound and almost symbolic. Taking off the straps almost like taking the ropes away from the church. Cutting the toxic strings out of your life. But also bringing openness in how you raise your kids or talk about sensitive things. No longer having to hide what you would actually like to wear and no more strings of shame attached it’s actually so inspirational. All of this was amazing thank you to Liz and the whole Mormon stories family/crew for making these interviews happen! Much love from a never religious person.❤
Liz's story has triggered so much in me. I have had experienced similar (not the same) trauma in my life and listening to her has made me tear up or cry multiple times because she is letting me know that I'm not alone and I've felt alone for most of my life.
I remember picking out my wedding dress. My mom and mother-in-law and I went to this one lady's house. Long sleeves, no cleavage showing at all. My ex-mother-in-law realized I needed Isotoner white slippers for the Temple. Her house was completely white. And in a spare bedroom a closet was devoted to LDS wedding dresses. My mom was Catholic, so we've always dressed modestly, it's how I feel comfortable.
I was 38 years old when I finally got, like a revelation, that my Spiritual Self did not need to be connected to a religion. It seems silly, I know, that it took me that long to figure that out but that’s the way it was for me. Indeed, about 20 years earlier, when I could no longer stand the lies and mis-match truths I, with great sadness “gave up” my Spiritual Self. It was hard for me to squelch my Spiritual Self but that’s what I thought I needed to do because religion and spirituality were joined. Hah! what a great and joyful insight when I got they were not joined!
I am finally finishing the series with Liz... It took me three and a half days, but I did it. Wow, Liz gave me ideas to turn into English Classes, (I am an English Teacher in Brazil!!!). I loved this Mormon Story podcast.
Liz and I have a lot in common and a lot of differences. She's already done everything I ever wished I could do and more! Thank you for your story and your creativity, Liz.
You look beautiful in this color!! The makeup, the hair, the everything. (Not that you didn't look beautiful before). I think your happiness and confidence is shining through. 😍😍
Factors of one's life experiences like troubled family life can make you more vulnerable to cult-like orgs...especially if the appearance of the organization resembles something you consider ideal/perfect. Many cult recruiters know that specific life experiences make individuals more accepting/vulnerable to their ideology and they use that to their advantage.
This story is important and Liz is clearly a talented person with a lot of stories. I couldn’t finish this. I love John and Margi and I think Margi is the perfect co-host. That being said, I think the 4 parts episodes were unnecessarily long. I could see a John trying to keep the guest focused but he’s too kind and polite. I love Liz story and I think it’s a very important one but she went on and on … don’t want to be rude but there was a lot of holier than thou energy and this podcast was all over the place which is too bad because the story was very compelling. 😊
I feel your little smiley face at the end is passive aggressive and just your comment to be hollier than thou. I can respect your opinion that this was unnecessarily long however looking at the many other comment can you not see that plenty of others appreciated every second of it. So it is your opinion. There is a segment of MSP that they repeat often and it just doesn’t appeal to me. I don’t bother to comment on all of those videos though, I just skip them. I am a single mom in SLC who has loved every second of Liz’s story. I have been fighting some DEEP depression, at this point the doctors have labeled it treatment resistant. To me, these days have flown by. What was 2 hours felt like 30 minutes and I actually got around to taking my Christmas tree down. I love that John takes constructive criticism well. I know that he’s heard a decent amount about the lengths of episodes but I’ve learned to trust his intuition and knowledge of when a story has enough to offer to his audience.
@@kissykay07 I am sorry I hurt your feelings. There was zero smirk from my end. I tried to be as kind with my comment as possible. This is the first time I have commented anything negative. I think I was very clear that Liz’s story was important. I also made clear she’s a talented individual. I have been checking her work today. I think sometimes this podcast lacked focus maybe because she’s an artist and had so much to share. I did think some comment came off as holier than thou. I am from Europe so I guess my mind works different than yours in Salt Lake City and that’s ok. That is how I felt and I am sorry if I offended you.
@@kissykay07 I am one of those people that doesn’t critique a podcaster on content because there’s SO MUCH content on RU-vid that if I don’t like something, I move on to something else. There is no formula for “everyone will like this all the time,” so if I were a podcaster (which I’m not), I would do what I liked to do, what interested me, & probably never read the comments! Too much stress in that! I’ve been enjoying your replies to some of the comments here on this thread. They’re articulating how I feel too.
No pioneer heritage here. Pioneer day is kinda sour for me, and I'm a white hetero male second-generation LDS. Pioneer Day is a bit ridiculous to this non-Utah living person.
What a beautiful soul. I too was living in an abusive home and went to the LDS church as my safe place. Their teachings convinced me that if I married a RM in the temple, my future would be bright. Praying to a God who lives on planet called Kolab does not speak truth to me.
Ok. So here is my comment: I rewound this podcast every time I got distracted & felt like I missed something! It made it even LONGER but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to miss a word! 👍
Omg Liz I loved your whole interview! Yes I stuck out to the end and get to go to the party! 🥳 if you call it sticking out because that was so entertaining and enlightening. John and Margi, I felt your love and empathy the whole time in the interview. Liz thank you for sharing your story. I admire your courage and strength very much. Your song was also lovely and I teared up!
Just finished all four parts and appreciated every word. So many parts of it felt familiar and so many more were eye opening. I listened to parts of it with my teen daughter, and Liz’s perspective helped put words to some of the things she is experiencing. As a musician, writer, and artist myself, I was so glad to hear someone express the way that the divine manifests itself so strongly in those spaces as well. Liz, thank you for sharing your beautiful journey in such a heartfelt and powerful way.
By the way modem physiological studies have found purpose for appendix. It ha s evolved several times for different species even. It is reserve for good gut bacteria, in case of food poisoning or something similar. It is no more extra part or evolutionary mistake. People, who have had appendix removed have more certain type of health problems, especially ones to do with gut health. That is why it is no more necessary removed, if it is infected. Nowadays alternatives to appendoctomy are under development and antibiotics are considered as alternative.
You might like "Amish in America" or whatever his channel's name is called. I'm in central OH, so I run into them all the time, especially when we go down to our cabin. Most of the time people convert for marriage. Yes, that happened to me, I went back to my old self. I love Shirly temples. There's this city north of here my dad will take me too. There's this bar (ironically at a Marriot hotel), he'd order a martini, and I'd get a few Shirly temples. I'm on psych meds, so yeah. I love your name by the way. Living on a Dime to Grow Rich would advocate eating cereal for dinner rather than spend a whole bunch of money going out to eat or fast food or whatever.
Made it through all 4 episodes. Love it! Thank you Liz for sharing. It means so much to not feel alone in the process of healing from similar experiences. Now just waiting for my invite to the Liz and John party :)
Sorry, I always write tons of comments. My LDS friend and I went to a club in Mexico. She was having not a good time. The dance floor was covered with smoke. Our friend's cousin or somebody that was older had to test our drinks to make sure they weren't spiked.
Very fresh, insightful and raw. Slippery slope being out in the world, but it is our personal relationship with Jesus that matters, not what organizations we belong to, Bravo Liz.
I loved these episodes. I don't watch a ton of the interviews, but I'm really glad I've caught up on a bunch of them recently and this one particularly. Liz is amazing! What's not to like about a gal who has costume changes each episodes?! Love her. Also, I'm always delighted to see episodes with Margi! She's is absolutely wonderful and I just love the perspective and heart she brings to interviews she's involved in and although I realize John and Margi aren't the point of the interview; I love seeing the dynamic between the two of them.
I am not super political and I don’t want this to come off to political, but I do want to kind of give a nod towards John in that he states that he is a registered Republican and the fact that he can have this podcast and talk to people of all kinds of backgrounds and be open minded and appreciate everybody’s differences, and even Fighting for the rights of many of them just goes to show that there is so much nuance with what party one affiliates with. So the assumption that a Republican is a certain way, and has a certain set of beliefs cannot be assumed right away. I am like Liz in that, I don’t really want to attach myself to any of them. Lol.
I love the song! it reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad would always play live sessions from singer-songwriters over our sound system. And I have a similar experience going from forcing myself to try to sing high even though it's not my natural singing range to embracing my masculine traits and singing lower and suddenly being like "cool I'm actually not half bad at singing if I'm in the correct range" (but I'm not a musician. it's just singing in the car)
I decided I didn't want to have kids of my own. We ended up with a civil divorce. Then the LDS church didn't work anymore. I played the clarinet and am in a local choir (not a part of a church). I have practice on Tuesday.
I like the song. Sweet melody as a child’s story. I can’t sing low if my life depended on it. Enjoy your voice range. It’s unusual and beautiful. I used to have a choir director (female) with the same voice. How sad for Liz’s parents. 😢 Otherwise, fascinating story.
Yay Heartstopper and Young Royals! Yes, though, there is some uncomfortable fetishizing that goes on of BL. Sounds like Liz has a solid foot in it rather than a fetish
Just curious, Liz, do you believe the initial premise of the BoM, that Jewish tribes crossed the Atlantic millenniums ago, and that native Americans (Indians) are descendants of that original migration?... Or do you believe that native origins are the result of a crossing over on the land-connect that used to be between Asia (Russia) and present-day Alaska (millenniums ago)... That second explanation puts the heritage of the natives closer in line with your mother's Asian heritage, and further away from roots in Judaism... Loved hearing your story, BTW...
Just... wow. Thank you, Liz, for your vulnerability and your openness. Also, thank you for your beautiful song! I can't express here how much the lyrics touched me in my current state. It was truly a gift.
