All Out in the Open
All Out in the Open is a resource for LGBTQ Latter-day Saints and those who love them. Our goal is to help listeners connect with themselves, with their families, with their community, and with God. Hosts Charlie Bird and Ben Schilaty help listeners open up to themselves and those around them. Clare Dalton digs into the scriptures and teaches how they can be a catalyst for personal revelation. Iese Wilson takes listeners on a tour of LGBTQ Latter-day Saints all over the Church and introduces us to modern day pioneers. Michael Soto and Liz Macdonald highlight the amazing work of those who are building and strengthening their communities. Learn more at www.alloutintheopen.org.
Episodes
This week in our IN the Scriptures episode, Clare Dalton sits down with Ben Bernards, an author, blogger, podcaster, and a beloved youth speaker known for his energetic love of the gospel. He is also a husband and father to three daughters—two of whom are trans.
Together, Ben and Clare dive into the Doctrine and Covenants and reflect on what it means to truly embrace light and truth: by trusting God, overcoming fear, and l...
Our OUT and About episode this week looks a little different. Our guest Adrian (name changed) from Indonesia isn’t able to come out publicly, so he shared his experiences as an LGBTQ+ Latter-day Saint with host Iese Wilson, who retold them to Ben Schilaty.
We’re grateful for every story bravely shared on All Out in the Open.
This week’s ALL Together episode features Cynthia Winward and Susan Hinckley, hosts of a podcast and authors of a book called At Last She Said It. They started their podcast to amplify the unspoken thoughts and feelings of Latter-day Saint women who feel out of place.
Cynthia and Susan discuss the power of hearing people’s stories, embracing change as individuals and a living Church, and loving our family members as God d...
On this week’s OPEN Up episode, Ben Schilaty and Charlie Bird share heartfelt and powerful insights gathered from a survey of LGBTQ+ Latter-day Saints. What do they wish their families, leaders, and fellow Church members understood? From deeply personal reflections to recurring themes of faith, pain, and hope, this episode gives voice to experiences too often overlooked. Whether you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community or seeking to bet...
This week, Clare Dalton sits down with Stefanie Reinsch to discuss Doctrine & Covenants 71–83. Stefanie shares her journey of revelation and resilience. From serving a mission to coming out as bisexual to now pursuing PA school, she reminds us that there’s more than one way to walk with God.
On this week’s OUT and About episode, Iese Wilson talks with James Grant, a gay, neurodivergent Latter-day Saint from England currently serving on his stake high council. James shares his journey of coming out after years of denial and the role community and connection played in that process.
A former missionary leader introduced James to the Questions from the Closet podcast and Gather Conference, which he later attended ...
On this month’s ALL Together episode, hosts Liz Macdonald and Michael Soto sit down with Landon Phillips. Landon shares his journey of coming out, transitioning, and stepping into the world of LGBTQ+ advocacy. From focusing on faith-based spaces to working with Equality Arizona, Landon has used his voice as a trans person to foster change at both local and national levels. He also talk about building queer joy and community—includi...
In this week’s OPEN Up episode, Ben and Charlie discuss the concept of deliverance, drawing parallels between the ancient Israelites and the LGBTQ+ community.
They explore how the Spirit can push us to act, even when the path is difficult, scary or uncertain. They also acknowledge the trailblazers who helped pave the way for our deliverance and how knowing that others will follow in our footsteps influences our choices.
What does it take to build Zion?
This week on IN the Scriptures, Clare Dalton sits down with Patrick Mason, professor of religious studies and history at Utah State University, to discuss Doctrine & Covenants 51-70. These sections follow the early Saints as they moved to Missouri to establish Zion.
Clare and Patrick explore what Zion really means and the effort required to create it: We must radically change o...
OUT and About: Iese Wilson sits down with Icaro Paraguassú, who shares his experiences as a gay Latter-Day Saint from Brazil. They discuss faith, identity, diversity, and the need for resources that reach every language and culture.
Icaro reflects on the rainbow as both a symbol of LGBTQ+ pride and a covenant with God, and how we each reflect the light of Christ in our own way. His rainbow pin opens conversations and offer...
In this heartfelt episode of ALL Together, Liz Macdonald and Michael Soto sit down with Bryce and Sara Cook, parents of two gay sons and founding members of ALL (Arizona LDS LGBT). After their sons came out, Bryce and Sara felt called to speak up, build bridges, and foster community. They hosted support groups in their home and organized an annual conference for LGBTQ+ individuals and families navigating faith and identity. Their e...
This month on OPEN Up, Ben shares a deeply personal story about navigating the reactions of his local Church leadership after he performed a same-sex wedding.
Ben and Charlie discuss the scrutiny that LGBTQ+ Latter-Day Saints often face and how others Church members can help them feel seen.
In this special episode of THE Exclusive, Ben Schilaty is joined by Emilee Cutler and Spencer David Smith to talk about the upcoming Gather Conference, taking place this June in Provo, Utah. Now in its third year, the conference creates a Christ-centered space where LGBTQ+ individuals and those who love them can connect, learn, and feel seen.
Emilee shares her personal journey from fear to peace as the mother of a gay son,...
This month on IN the Scriptures, Clare Dalton and Sean Nicholes—a gay Latter-day Saint, psychiatry resident, and member of the U.S. Air Force—explore Doctrine & Covenants 41-50.
In these sections, the early Saints were dealing with rumors both inside and outside the Church. Clare and Sean discuss how these stories help us learn to challenge stereotypes and love those who are different from us. When we discover our non-...
In this month’s episode of OUT and About, Iese Wilson sits down with Liv Mendoza Haynes, a queer, Mexican Latter-Day Saint. Liv shares how her unique intersection of identities shapes her spiritual journey.
Liv reflects on joining the Church and serving a full-time mission in Mexico—and the complex emotions of teaching people from her own cultural background. Blessed to be in a mixed-orientation marriage full of mutual lov...
This week’s ALL Together guest Malissa Larson knows firsthand the power of community. A former homeless youth and first-generation college graduate, she worked her way through school and now serves as a Neighborhood Specialist for the City of Phoenix, helping to connect and uplift communities.
In the episode, Malissa discuses with Liz Macdonald and Michael Soto the importance of meeting people where they are—slowing down, ...
OPEN Up: Charlie Bird and Ben Schilaty tackle the overwhelming noise surrounding LGBTQ+ topics in the Church and society, sharing personal stories of feeling excluded, politicized or dehumanized. Those experiences can bring a lot of loneliness but also a deeper, more complex faith.
Loving God and loving our neighbor go hand in hand—Ben and Charlie ask us to ponder, what does it truly mean to love our LGBTQ+ neighbors? Whil...
This week on IN the Scriptures, Clare Dalton sits down with Ady and Cora Johnson—returned missionaries, newlyweds, adventurers and active members of the Church. They dive into Doctrine and Covenants 29-40, exploring how God asks us to leave parts of our old selves behind. As we change, we may grieve the life we thought we’d live, but there is also incredible joy in becoming who we’re meant to be.
In this episode of OUT and About, Iese Wilson interviews Wallace Pelesasa—a fellow Samoan and gay Latter-Day Saint.
Growing up in a large family, Wallace attended church mainly to appease his father. His testimony didn’t truly ignite until his military service, where he met people whose faith inspired him. As he built a relationship with God, Wallace also embraced his own identity and discovered his mission to build bridg...
This week on ALL Together, Liz Macdonald and Michael Soto sit down with Clare Dalton, host of IN the Scriptures and curator of the Gatherings curriculum, and Jen Dille, project manager at the Center for Action and Contemplation. Together Jen and Clare started monthly Ally Nights—safe spaces for learning, connection and support for LGBTQ+ individuals and those who love them.
The episode explores what it means to be an ally...
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