Episode 772: Bryce Cook, LDS Father of Two Gay Sons, Longtime Ally

My friend and mentor Bryce Cook (married, father of 6 children/7 grandchildren) joins us to talk about how he and his wife Sara navigated the road of having two gay sons (which started in 2003 when their son Trevor came out as gay). Bryce talks about how his worldview of gay people dramatically changed upon learning his good/talented/spiritual son is gay. Bryce talks about Trevor “wanting companionship” just like he saw with his parents (Trevor married his husband Ben in 2023). Their third son Tanner also came out as gay after he saw how his family responded to Trevor’s coming out. Bryce talks about deep spiritual promptings that he and Sara needed to do something with the knowledge they gained and not be silent, which led to the formation of All Arizona in 2012. Bryce talks about how their home became a safe place for queer Latter-day Saints and the resulting spiritual/sacred experiences that followed—and how the annual All Arizona conferences provided support/community to LGBTQ members and education/understanding for their family members and church leaders. Bryce talks about the promptings he received to write about this topic, which became a groundbreaking widely-circulated essay called “What Do We Know of God’s Will For His LGBT Children? An Examination of the LDS Church’s Position on Homosexuality (see show notes). This essay (which has helped me better understand this issue) is powerful and brings more insight/understanding (and possibilities) for queer Latter-day Saints and those who support them. Thank you, Bryce and Sara (and your wonderful family) for teaching how to better love and support. Your story is a beautiful family love story. I encourage everyone to listen to Bryce’s podcast and read his essay—I believe you will have better tools to support LGBTQ Latter-day Saints and their families. Links: Bryce’s essay: mormonlgbtquestions.com/ All Arizona: www.allarizona.org/ Bryce/Sara’s earlier podcast (episode 116): soundcloud.com/user-818501778/episode-116-bryce-and-sara-cook-active-lds-6-children-including-two-gay-sons