Last of Ten

We are kicking off the month of June with an exciting collaboration focusing on dads. We have assembled a panel of brothers to discuss their experiences as fathers. Thanks to Jeff, Brian, Cory, and Scott for sharing your stories and insights. We hope everyone enjoys it! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4pf1GSreQRM8yUiI1MgzRQ?si=d8gDav1wSkS9nJKzSEOTIg Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/last-of-ten/id1723773489 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/0a985c4d-f117-4f6c-a921-9bd387bedf0c/last-of-ten iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/139710663/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lastoften_podcast?igsh=YmVyNzRyeWludmoz&utm_source=qr Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@last.of.ten.podca?_t=8mWiRBtgiWl&_r=1 Email: thelastoften@gmail.com

Jeff and Stacey open up about their faith transition. We learn about the value they found through their obedience and devotion to the LDS church and its leaders, as well as the overbearing demand of time, service, and expectation that gradually misaligned the priorities of their values with the priorities dictated to them by the church. We learn what they gained, what they lost, and where they stand today.

Stacey takes the mic this episode. We loved learning more about her formative years. She describes how different her family dynamic is from ours, and what her first thoughts were about Jeff and our family. It was fun to hear her perspective and discover more about her hidden battles. We honor the sacrifices she made for her faith and her family. And we greatly appreciate her willingness to come on and share so much. We love you Stacey!

Jeff opens up about his struggles with our family moving, finding and losing friendships, and trying to fit in at school. He shares with us the influences affecting him through high school and how the decision to serve a mission changed his trajectory. We get to hear about some of his fun and challenging stories from his mission in Scotland. And how his mission experience impacted his testimony of the LDS church. Be sure to check us out on Instagram and Tik Tok for pictures that coincide with each episode!

In the next few episodes, we get to know our oldest brother Jeff, and his wife Stacey. Jeff is our oldest brother and the 2nd in line. It was fun to hear more about his childhood and early adult years. Dustin and I have no memory of Jeff before he married Stacey. In this episode, he shares his early memories growing up in the 70s and how different the world and the dynamic of our family were in those beginning years. Although his experiences through childhood were much different than ours, we can still see the common threads that tie us together.

**T.W. This episode contains adult themes and content, and is for mature audiences only ** The conflict of Max's sexuality and efforts to stay in the church come to a tipping point as he is referred to controversial church-sponsored groups such as North Star and Affirmation. He battles severe mental health distress including thoughts of suicide. He allows himself to experiment with some same-sex dating and soon after meets Dustin. They both talk about their love story, and eventually meet more of Dustin's family. They also share their experience of going back to Brazil together to visit Max's family and the happy place of healing they are in today.  Kyle Ashworth - Host of Latter Gay Stories: Experience with North Star https://youtu.be/eLEuAYnzd0M?si=4hZx6qXx1n8k51Ht *If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide help is available. Call or text 988, or go to https://988lifeline.org/

We continue with Max's story post mission. (To hear about his mission experiences jump over to our episode "A Tale of 2 Missions Part 2). He talks about his experiences coming home to a nearly empty branch and trying to navigate work, education, and church responsibilities. He opens up about his internal battle with same-sex attraction, and the consequences of finally confessing to his church leaders. We learn more about the circumstances that motivated him to journey all the way to Utah, USA, and the culture shock he weathered.

Prepare to fall in love with our brother-in-law and favorite co-host Max. He shares memories of his early childhood through his adolescence, describing what it was like to grow up in Brazil. We learn about his family dynamic and his emotional turmoil. Wrestling feelings of isolation, loneliness, and the effects of bullying, all while having no emotional support. He shares tender memories of a beloved Aunt who took him under her wing and helped soothe the emotional wounds. And how his family relationships stand today.

Dustin opens up about his path to self discovery through early adulthood. He voices his frustrations having to navigate the waters of dating and relationships in the dark, with no tools or guidance, and the risks he and others face because of the lack of education and normalization of Queer healthy relationships. He describes his hesitancy to engage with parents and other family, the friends and community who provided support along the way, and how his family relationships have evolved through the years. He also shares how his healthy, authentic, and unapologetic marriage with Max has empowered him and helped him shed old insecurities.

We promised real, raw, and unfiltered life stories, and Dustin delivers just that. He has arguably had the most controversial upbringing of all of us, and he gets straight to the heart of his struggles and frustrations. In part one, he shares his identity shaping experiences from childhood through his adolescence. His conflicts with our parents with his attempts at self-expression, the shedding of religious pressures and expectations, as well as coming to terms with his sexuality. Listener beware! Prejudices will be challenged!

Love is in the air this episode! Bonnie and Cory share their love story, talking about how they met, how they fell in love, and ways they have fortified their relationship through the years.

Our hubbies Cory and Max continue with their mission stories to Brazil. We pick up where we left off in Cory's story, as he continues wrestling with the excruciating pain of a massive kidney stone. He shares his frustration with what he felt was neglectful leadership, and the sweet relief when he finally got back to the states and received treatment after so much long-suffering. Then we get to hear from Max who served in Campinas. He shares his family's response to his choice to serve, as well as his experiences serving in the mission office, and the different perspectives he gained through seeing more of the back office operations. Both Cory and Max reflect on how their mission experiences affected their faith at the time, and how they view their mission experiences now.

In this 2 part series, we brought both of our hubbies on to share their LDS mission stories in Brazil. Although they both served in Brazil, they both come from very different backgrounds and had very different experiences. In Part 1, we go over the bulk of Cory's experience with serving in Sao Paulo. He faced many challenges ranging from difficult and even unstable companions, to trust issues with leadership, and some more traumatic health concerns. All while gaining a deep love for the people, culture, and beauty of Brazil.

We brought our brothers Jeff and Brian in on this one, to trauma bond over our different yet common experiences delivering newspapers through the years.

We get into some of our favorite early memories with our parents and siblings.

What we're about and where we hope to take this.

Podcast Trailer