01/09/2026
“I was the youngest of seven kids raised in a strict LDS family where being temple worthy was everything, and I struggled with [explicit content] from age ten.
I was abused as a teenager and carried that secret in deep shame🥹
I served a mission in Harrisburg while hiding my sins, but realized one morning I was preaching the gospel I wasn’t living.
I was sent home from my mission, married quickly, had four children, and lived a double life, breaking my covenants.
My marriage fell apart in 2020 after thirteen years of marriage.
My sister-in-law challenged me to pray every day, so I began going into a sound room at work to kneel and beg God for help🤍
God told me to stop drinking coffee and alcohol, and when I admitted I couldn’t do it alone, He took the desire away completely.
The most terrifying moment came when God told me to repent, and I sobbed knowing excommunication awaited, but I felt His overwhelming love assuring me I would be okay.
I saw Matthew 11:28 on a plaque at church before my bishop’s meeting, and the words about finding rest completely undid me because I was exhausted.
I was excommunicated, but I felt peace because I had finally created a direct relationship with God through prayer.
I struggled with why God would ask my gay friend to marry a woman in the temple, but God told me this wasn’t my problem to solve.
I went back to church, got baptized, and my twin boys got baptized the same day my son received the priesthood and my ex-wife moved out.
I didn’t have a testimony of tithing and was terrified about finances as a single dad.
I started paying anyway, and God has provided every single time, showing me that when I listen and obey, He always makes it work.
I prayed specifically for a wife who loved God as much as I did, and that’s exactly what happened.
We eloped and were sealed in the temple this March.
The greatest change in my life has been learning to hand everything to God and trust Him completely, and I would do it all again for the relationship I have with Him today.”
-James🌻
credits: Comeback podcast
“I was the youngest of seven kids raised in a strict LDS family where being temple worthy was everything, and I struggled with [explicit content] from age ten.
I was abused as a teenager and carried that secret in deep shame🥹
I served a mission in Harrisburg while hiding my sins, but realized one morning I was preaching the gospel I wasn’t living.
I was sent home from my mission, married quickly, had four children, and lived a double life, breaking my covenants.
My marriage fell apart in 2020 after thirteen years of marriage.
My sister-in-law challenged me to pray every day, so I began going into a sound room at work to kneel and beg God for help🤍
God told me to stop drinking coffee and alcohol, and when I admitted I couldn’t do it alone, He took the desire away completely.
The most terrifying moment came when God told me to repent, and I sobbed knowing excommunication awaited, but I felt His overwhelming love assuring me I would be okay.
I saw Matthew 11:28 on a plaque at church before my bishop’s meeting, and the words about finding rest completely undid me because I was exhausted.
I was excommunicated, but I felt peace because I had finally created a direct relationship with God through prayer.
I struggled with why God would ask my gay friend to marry a woman in the temple, but God told me this wasn’t my problem to solve.
I went back to church, got baptized, and my twin boys got baptized the same day my son received the priesthood and my ex-wife moved out.
I didn’t have a testimony of tithing and was terrified about finances as a single dad.
I started paying anyway, and God has provided every single time, showing me that when I listen and obey, He always makes it work.
I prayed specifically for a wife who loved God as much as I did, and that’s exactly what happened.
We eloped and were sealed in the temple this March.
The greatest change in my life has been learning to hand everything to God and trust Him completely, and I would do it all again for the relationship I have with Him today.”
-James🌻
credits: Comeback podcast