Girlscamp

The intersection of Mormonism and scary stories is surprisingly fruitful. Or is it that surprising? Bayley and I have a spooky and silly time reading all your tales of ghosts, demons and devils but with a Mormon twist. And we explore some haunted Mormon lore too. Listeners beware! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hayley-rawle/support Learn more about your ad choice...

Feeling entirely overlooked on the front row during Relief Society was Brialee's last straw that led to her leaving the LDS church. Before that, she had given Mormonism - which she was baptized into at age 9 without her mom's permission- her all. Bria speaks about navigating foster care and adoption as a child, facing intense pressure to dress modestly and discovering historic and current racism t...

I said not to hold back with the questions and you certainly didn’t! In this solo episode I address the full gamut of post-Mormon subjects- from pornography to officially removing records from the church to my spiritual beliefs now. Like any good campfire chat, I’m keeping it real. Pull up a chair! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hayley-rawle/support Please note t...

After converting to Mormonism at 17-years-old, Emilie Kiser was all in on the religion. She opens up about the details of her whole faith journey into and then out of Mormonism. We discuss Mormon convert imposter syndrome, what it's like to gain a gigantic following on TikTok while navigating a faith transition and the moment she and her husband Brady decided to distance from the church (hint: it...

Welcome to Ambyland, campers! This week Amber shares her Mormon/Post-Mormon saga- from snark forums and slut-shaming to sex-positivity and self-love. She speaks to the magic of this new chapter in her life and how she's brought bits and pieces of Mormonism into it too. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hayley-rawle/support Please note this episode may contain paid e...

With all the mystery that shrouds the Mormon temple, I do my best to lay it all out on the table. After an (albeit chaotic) rundown of what goes on inside, we talk through your stories, experiences, thoughts and feelings. I laugh, I cry and I process a good amount of religious trauma along the way. Hey, what else is Girlscamp for? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/h...

Abby grew up as devout an evangelical Christian as they come, but when she went to college for a theology degree things quickly started to shift. Now she finds joy and peace outside of organized religion in a state of "theological fluidity". We swap stories of our intense religious upbringings, geek out about the literary richness of the bible and relate on giving up our former God-ordained mean g...

Before we dive into the Mormon influencer phenomenon, Kylie and I discuss her upbringing as a Utah non-Mormon who went to Catholic school. We compare the differences between what we learned about Jesus, swap sex education stories and analyze Kylie's burning question about whether or not Mormons think she's going to hell. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hayley-rawl...

Grief is a beast and adding a post-Mormon layer makes it even more confusing and complicated. After Maddy’s dad died, she has deconstructed not only her ideas of death, but also of life. We speak about the ways Mormons tend to handle loss and how Maddy’s approach has been vastly different. There are no easy answers, but there is a lot of discovery, hope and life along the way.  --- Support this po...

Last year Maddy's dad suddenly and unexpectedly died. Today she opens up about what it's like to experience such an immense loss, especially so fresh after deconstructing Mormonism. But before we dive into the nitty gritty of grief, we back up and talk about Maddy’s Mormon story and what led her to eventually leave the church (which includes a roommate turned romantic partner, a penchant for plant...

It doesn't get more quintessentially Mormon than a low-budget cultural hall wedding reception between two 20-year-olds who've known each other for a few months. Or so I thought, until I read the wedding story submissions for today's episode. I give the lay of the land on Mormon wedding culture before diving into the stories which include a temple ceremony panic attack, a mid-wedding-day loss of vi...

Growing up Mormon comes with some baggage and Indy Blue opens up about what it's been like for her to unpack. She speaks about her experience facing judgment as a teen on the internet, how her now-husband helped her see a life outside of Mormonism and how she's expanded her spirituality since leaving. We also discuss why we're both trying to tap more into our feminine energy and how Barbie functio...

What do you do when your wife leaves the LDS church and your whole world is upended? Zac Hayward speaks in today's episode to the believing side of a mixed-faith marriage before he also eventually left. We discuss in-depth the harmful rhetoric around those who leave, his hopes to become mission president and the role of church history in deconstruction. And there may be a tear or two shed along th...

Laura Danger of ThatDarnChat lends her expertise on creating an equitable split of the domestic labor, especially for those of us raised religious with very restrictive views on gender roles. We talk about my viral Mother's Day video calling out "all men", what to do if your partner thinks they're helping out around the house more than they really are, how women can learn to prioritize their own n...

Today Reagan Curtis joins me to dissect what goes down at BYU - the good, the bad and the beard cards. As THE Mormon religious university, looking at BYU culture sheds light on a lot of things about Mormonism generally. We dig into rogue firesides led by progressive professors, outdated religious ideas passed off as academia and landlords who report their tenants for... well, you'll just have to l...

The Mormon in-laws are, well, Mormon in-lawing. Today we're unpacking stories about raspberry leaf tea drama, a MIL refusing to wash tanktops and a wedding that grandpa refused to attend. Along the way I share about my own in-law situation, where I'm at with deconstructing Christianity and how I'm feeling hormonally. You never know what you're gonna get, but that's how we like it here at Girlscamp...

Bentley is back at Girlscamp! We share our reactions to your post-Mormon starter pack submissions (the classic steps of leaving the church, "must-haves" and "must-dos" and all of the post-Mo stereotypes). Along the way we chat everything from Game of Thrones to Skims underwear to Starbucks orders to the differences between a Mormon and a post-Mormon sex life. --- Support this podcast: https://podc...

I hope you have your bonnets and bloomers ready, because this week we're diving in to all the wild things that went down on Mormon trek. Listeners beware, there is some true trauma. But there's some lighthearted trek craziness along the trail as well. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hayley-rawle/support Please note this episode may contain paid endorsements and ad...

By popular demand, Jaci Marie Smith comes to Girlscamp! I was honored to sit down with Jaci and talk through her story of leaving Mormonism. She shares about her relationship to religion growing up, her reasons for stepping away and how she chooses to share on a very public platform about her post-Mormon journey now. And of course, we can't help but frequently mention how we're in our hoe era. Jac...

Get ready to get enchanted by Ash Adams. Ash shares the spiritual path she took from ultra-traditional Mormon (and self-proclaimed Duggar wannabe) to palm reader with a deeply expansive view of spirituality. Among other things, we compare palm readings and patriarchal blessings, share predictions of the future of the LDS church and dive into how deeply rooted Mormonism is in our identities. Chatti...

Gather 'round the fire for a good old girls camp testimony meeting. But this time, we're doing it our way! I share your testimonies of moving on from Mormonism- what you've learned, what you've gained, how you've found peace. There's talk of not paying tithing, finding lost items, parental relationships and so much more. No promises, but you may feel the post-Mormon spirit burning in your bosom. -...

Kadie comes on the pod today to share her experience leaving the Mormon church and then discovering she is transgender. She tells about growing up in a religion with strict gender constructs, deciding to serve a mission despite some Reddit discoveries about Mormonism, getting married at BYU and then divorced, and how she ultimately realized she is transgender. While her experience as a transgender...

Magic underwear, Jesus jammies, angel chaps... that's right, we're talking about Mormon garments. And boy is there a lot to cover. And there WAS a lot covered when I was a garment wearing gal myself. We talk through a lil' history of garments, what it was like to wear them (think body image issues, sensory problems, general discomfort) and what it's been like to stop wearing them. --- Support this...

Get ready to step into your feminine rage as we talk about all things Mormon modesty. First I tell my own tale of modesty run ins as a Mormon teen and then we dive into your experiences. There are stories of t-shirts required over swimsuits, stapling fabric onto knee length skirts and an 8-year-old being chastised for wearing spaghetti straps. The conclusion? Modest is not, in fact, hottest. --- S...

Come hang with Sal Osborne and I! Sal gives us campers a behind the scenes look at what went into her Hulu documentary Mormon No More. She shares more insight into her upbringing, why she left the church and where she's at now. We talk about divorce, raising kids outside of religion, confessions in a Mormon mom friend's mini van, becoming post-Mormon pioneers and much, much more. P.S. The sound is...