In this powerful continuation of our interview with Ben and Justine, we explore their raw and honest journey from deep devotion in the LDS Church to personal awakening, heartbreak, and healing. They share how their relationship grew during Justine’s school years, navigating early marriage, financial and gender-role challenges, and the burden of trying to live up to faith-based ideals. From motherhood identity struggles to confronting doctrinal issues and discovering their voices during a faith crisis, this episode is full of vulnerable, eye-opening moments. Highlights include: -Gender roles & pressure in Mormonism -The cost of silence during a faith crisis -LDS Discussions & uncovering hard truths -Healing from betrayal, rebuilding marriage & reconnecting with family -Their plea for empathy from believing members Whether you're in faith, out of faith, or somewhere in between—this is a story about agency, partnership, and finding truth together. Show Notes: https://www.mormonstories.org/canadian-mormon-couple-questions-church/ Timecodes: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:11:19 Engaged & married in Toronto Temple 00:31:26 Expectations & unfairness around gender roles 00:50:53 Nothing left for me 01:01:47 Denouncing the church’s religious bigotry 01:13:16 Ben’s reconnection with his parents & culture 01:19:10 Intense betrayal in reading Rough Stone Rolling 01:36:14 Ben’s last chance General Conference 01:42:31 Shannon drives several hours to talk to Justine in person over her anti-lgbtq post 02:04:14 Ben & Justine talk about his deconstruction 02:11:32 Ben & Justine learn about cults 02:28:43 Justine pleads with her family to understand their family’s choice 02:45:40 Ben apologizes to his parents. They got their only son back 02:50:04 Plea for active members: we leave for a reason, please have empathy 02:56:28 Ben addresses his parents (in Spanish) 03:00:06 Thank you Mormonism for what you gave me, but I don’t need you anymore ___________________ At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals. Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology 2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis 3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions 🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/mormonstories Paypal: https://paypal.me/mormonstories Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6OgmoqJbOVRq-Lv1P7SzA/join Our Platforms: 🌐Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes 🎙️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories ✳️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404&nd=1 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 🖼️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories 📱TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast 🎮Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF Contact us: 📧 MormonStories@gmail.com 📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117