As part of our ongoing series on 21st century Mormonism outside of the United States, today we interview Douglas Stilgoe. Douglas is a 23 year old, 3rd generation Mormon raised in Warwickshire, England (Coventry England Stake).
Douglas’ story is interesting for many reasons:
- He discusses life as a Mormon in the UK in the 2000’s.
- He was raised in the same area as Tom Phillips, the high-ranking Mormon church leader in the U.K. who lost his faith and left the church AFTER receiving his 2nd anointing.
- His story explores how painful and damaging Mormonism can be on families when a parent loses their faith.
- He discusses his own very recent loss of faith as a young adult in the U.K., after being a very devout believing youth (just over the past year).
For more information on Tom Phillips and the 2nd Anointing, click here.
Great interview! I thought I had heard almost everything about the church but there were some new things here, particularly about the temple training. Thanks
I would love to see the research that Douglas compiled using only church sources. Great interview! Listening to others that h e had similar experiences helps validate the feelings that I’ve had. Many with a very similar timeline to my own.
Great interview thanks guys very well said and put together. I have learn some new things.
Thank you for sharing your story Douglas- I am sure this was not easy. Our family went through this as well starting at the end of 2018. It is hard and shocking to learn all the info the church has hidden away from us for so long. We lived in the UK for a while so it is interesting to see people in other countries going through all this as well. Wishing you and Alex all the best!
thanks for putting into words, that which i have been unable to say, from someone who was in your childhood ward xx
I have watched Douglas Stilgoe’s “Nemo the Mormon” podcasts for a while. I’m sure he’s a reasonably nice guy, but if I was to describe him solely on his online content, I would sum him up as a gifted pickle sucker.