Scope and Contents Courtney Moser grew up in Franklin County, Idaho. Moser was raised in the LDS Church. After high school, he served a mission in Japan. Moser went on a mission because he wanted to get away from the family farm and also because he knew he was gay and he thought it would make him straight. When Moser returned, he went to Utah State University. He thought he could be straight and even attempted conversion therapy,...

Scope and Contents This is a series of three interviews with Rick Pace. Rick was born in Provo, Utah. He grew up in Morgan, Utah, where he was raised in the LDS Church. As a boy, Rick felt different but did not have the language to explain his difference. He describes realizing he was having same-sex attraction and what it was like growing up in a LDS family and LDS community with this secret. Pace talks about the messages the LDS...

Scope and Contents Patty Reagan was born in Lima, Peru. Her parents worked for the State Department. Reagan’s family eventually moved to Denver where she lived throughout most of her youth. She describes growing up in Denver and the cultural diversity she experienced there, specifically in her high school. After high school, Reagan worked for the CIA. She eventually left the CIA and attended BYU where she earned her Master’s in...

Scope and Contents Larry Reimer decided to become an infectious disease specialist while attending the University of Arizona. In his early medical career, he discovered a desire to care for patients with cancer. Reimer also describes his early experiences with HIV/AIDS. He encountered the disease at an STD clinic and first realized the dangers of the epidemic at the VA in Salt Lake City, where he still does infectious disease and...

Scope and Contents Patricia Rickers was born in Elko, Nevada, and grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rickers was raised Catholic. She talks about her experiences in the Salt Lake City Catholic community, as well as her interactions with the dominant LDS Church culture in Utah. After finishing school and getting married, Rickers got a job with the Utah Tax Commission. She talks about the difficulties she faced in earning raises and...

Scope and Contents Kim Smith grew up in Bountiful, Utah, in a small LDS community. Smith talks about her family and describes growing up as a member of the LDS church in Bountiful. She talks about dating and tells the story of meeting and marrying her husband, Steve. Kim and Steve had two children. Smith characterizes her marriage and talks about the religious and spiritual elements that influenced her relationship with Steve....

Scope and Contents Richard Starley was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father’s family, LDS pioneers, had left England and settled in Fillmore, Utah. After meeting and marrying, Starley’s parents decided to move from New York to Fillmore. Starley, though, was raised in downtown Salt Lake City. He describes being Catholic in majority LDS Salt Lake City. When Starley was in high school, his family moved to Magna, Utah. In Magna,...

Scope and Contents Bill Walsh was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. After going to college at St. John’s University in Minnesota, Walsh moved to Utah. He served as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and worked at the Guadalupe Center in Salt Lake City. Walsh then worked at Utah Issues where he as an advocate for needy people who were not getting their needs met. In particular, Walsh was an advocate in health policy....

Scope and Contents Ben Williams was born in Texas and raised in southern California. In 1972, Williams joined the LDS Church and moved to Utah to go to BYU. He knew from an early age that he was attracted to boys and talks about what it was like to grow up with that difference. Before going to BYU, Williams went to Cal State Fullerton, where he also joined the gay student union. After his boyfriend joined the military, Williams began...