Mormon Stories #559: Michael Ferguson and Seth Anderson's Fight Against Gay Conversion Therapy Pt. 1

J Seth Anderson and Michael Adam Ferguson were catapulted into the public spotlight when they became the first same-sex couple to be legally married by the state of Utah. Seth and Michael both grew up in LDS homes, completed full-time missions for the Church, and throughout their twenties, undertook tortuous journeys to renegotiate their relationships with both the institution and with the faith of their childhoods. Seth and Michael recently completed their graduate work at the University of Utah--Seth finishing his master's degree in social history focusing on the history of sexuality in the Western United States, and Michael defending his PhD dissertation in bioengineering in which he developed new analytical methods for monitoring brain activity using fMRI. Since November 2012, Seth and Michael have been embroiled in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against a gay conversion therapy organization in New Jersey named JONAH: Jews Offering New Alternatives to Healing (formerly Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality), filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center. On June 25, 2015, a New Jersey jury unanimously found JONAH liable for multiple counts of consumer fraud and unconscionable business practices. Seth and Michael are actively involved in education and advocacy on behalf of LGBT and queer individuals, including the project Team Truth (http://teamtruth.org) -- a grassroots campaign they are creating with advocates and allies to end the lies and harm of gay conversion therapy. Pt 2:    • Mormon Stories #560: Michael Ferguson and ...   Chapters 00:00 Intro 09:01 Upbringing and what the church meant to Michael 10:07 Roadshows, seminary, family 11:32 First time experiencing sexual feelings & subsequent anxiety 16:08 Commitment to the church. 17:26 How Seth's experience matched Michael's 20:00 Michael's testimony 22:36 Mission experiences, bargaining with God 28:44 Coming back from his mission. Dating a UoU medical student 29:16 Wanting to talk to his bishop of the singles ward. Coming out 30:40 BYU counseling center. First foray into 'reparative therapy'. 31:40 Coming out to his parents 32:48 Maddening circularity of a theory developed in the patriarchal society of the 50s 34:21 Breaking off with the medical student. 35:18 Graduating BYU (biochemistry). Musical talent 35:44 Seth's experience, deciding to be celibate 38:22 Temple service as another theme. Working hard on being righteous 41:43 Michael's path continues - Harvard School of Public Health 45:50 Becoming involved with a Christian Exodus affiliated group 57:52 Cost of the program 1:01:45 Why Northstar when there was Evergreen? 1:05:15 2009 -Dark times 1:07:06 Diving deeper into mormon history 1:14:03 A way to maintain the façade 1:14:28 Closing thoughts