"Groomed" for Mormon Motherhood Perfection - Chelsey Rencher Liaga | Ep. 2132

Joining John & Mergi Dehlin today is Chelsey Rencher Liaga, here to share her Mormon story of how she was “groomed” for Mormon motherhood, and how this hindered the development of her own mental health and self identity. Chelsey was born in Gilbert, Arizona (a heavily Mormon community) and had a typical Mormon upbringing. She suffered from perfectionism as a child, which later led to body dysmorphia issues and an eating disorder that affected her time on her mission in Spokane, Washington. After her mission she met her husband at BYU, and they quickly started building their perfect Mormon family. Chelsey describes the stress she felt early on in their marriage to cook, clean, and uphold the household, and how she eventually overcame this stressor. She also details her career as a therapist, her experiences as a working mother, and working at LDS family services. Topics include: -Perfectionism -Purity culture -Motherhood -Mixed faith marriage -Mixed race marriage -Mental Health This is a pervasive issue in Mormonism that we know many Mormon women can relate to, and hope that Chelsey’s story can help other LDS women feel seen. TRIGGER WARNING: This episode discusses eating disorders. Please listen responsibly. Show notes can be found on the Mormon Stories website here: https://www.mormonstories.org/groomed... Timecodes: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:00:55 - Intentions 00:02:46 - Her Mormon story begins 00:12:23 - Groomed to be a mom 00:32:40 - Perfectionism 00:44:38 - Purity culture 00:46:02 - Mission to Spokane, WA 00:59:54 - Battling orthorexia 01:10:42 - Education and Career 01:23:40 - CPTSD among Mormon women 01:27:25 - Dating and Marriage 01:34:59 - Faith crisis after mission 01:46:29 - Marco Polo group 01:54:27 - Internship at LDS Family Services 01:59:42 - Mormonism on mental health 02:17:55 - Re-building 02:35:00 - Reclaiming autonomy 02:48:40 - Female Mormon Influencers 02:51:41 - Final questions 02:57:24 - Conclusion ___________________ 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?d... Patreon:   / mormonstories   Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/mormonsto... Paypal: https://paypal.me/mormonstories Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @mormonstories   Our Platforms: 🌐Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes 🎙️Patreon:   / mormonstories   ✳️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7d... 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🖼️Instagram:   / mormstories   📱TikTok:   / mormonstoriespodcast   🎮Discord:   / discord   Contact us: 📧 [email protected] 📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117