This is first of a two-part episode of the BCC Zeitcast. In this episode, long-time friend and guest of BCC, MikeInWeHo tells his story of how he found the Mormon Church, lost it, found it again, and has become one of the most recognized and beloved members of the Bloggernacle.
Download this episode here or subscribe to the BCC Zeitcast in iTunes.
MikeInWeHo, Bloggernacle Commenter of the Year
This episode, as well as the second part found here, addresses a broad range of topics related to the LDS Church, its policies regarding homosexuality, same sex marriage, and politics. Please keep in mind that this podcast is not a position paper on the LDS Church or any of its teachings, doctrines, or public policy decisions. The commentary represents exactly what it sounds like: two guys shooting the from the hip about their personal experiences with the events of the past few years surrounding the LDS Church and political movements regarding homosexuality.
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By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog 
Any chance to get to know MikeInWeHo better is a good thing. If you are in the Nauvoo area, alone or with your family, let me know. I’d love to have you attend my ward with my family.
I feel impressed to say that, if I have any trouble with either the ladies or the men over that picture, I swear I will take it down.
Mike, you are hot girlfriend.
I love shooting from the hip, but I promise not to make trouble.
I just went in and and looked at the comments, too! Seventy Seven pages… Scott speaks the truth. :) Yay Mike! I love hearing from you.
Great podcast, gentlemen.
Mike, you’re the best, and it pleases me that you are willing to hang around here. Thank you for your example.
I loved your answers Mike. And I hope you do make it to Sunstone this summer- I’m going to try, and I’d love to finally meet you IRL. Can’t wait to hear the second half of this…
Wait, “WeHo” is pronounced “West Hollywod”? Who knew? So is “SoHo” prounounced “South of Houston Street”?
Truly amazing Zeitcast. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I look forward to the next part.
On another note, I am horrified all my old comments (almost all of them sincerely regretted) from years past are so readily available. I hate the internet.
I believe that I had the honor of being the first bloggernaclite to meet Mike at Sunstone. Photo is here: https://bycommonconsent.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/mikeinwehosunstone.jpg. He looks a little frightened…
“On another note, I am horrified all my old comments (almost all of them sincerely regretted) from years past are so readily available. I hate the internet.”
I take comfort in knowing that unless I run for Congress, no one in going to care enough about what a fool I have been / am to bother looking any of it up. ~
I had no idea MikeInWeHo was such a hottie. Now I’ll give the Zeitcast a listen.
Fantastic Zeitcast, guys. I’ve heard pieces of this story before, but it was great to hear the whole thing straight from the horse’s mouth.
Hot pic, btw. Almost thou persuadest me to switch teams…
Mike, if you don’t know the actual disposition of your membership record, I’d be willing to bet money that your name is still on the rolls somewhere, probably in the massive lost address file in SLC. So when they announce the membership numbers at conference, I bet you”re actually represented in that number.
Part 2 is up. I was going to hold off until Monday, but couldn’t wait.
This is great, Scott and Mike. Thanks for putting this together.
Very cool podcast. Mike is a great example for both Mormons and gays. May we all be more like him.
Kristine, I’m pretty sure I met him first!
Mike is a great example for both Mormons and gays.
Not to mention gay Mormons and Mormon gays.
MCQ–fine. But did you hug him? And do you have a photo?
Yeah, didn’t think so ;P
I was going to make a crass comment but now it’s just redundant.
Kristine, the photos I have of my encounter with Mike are for our eyes alone. Sorry.
This is really great; thanks for pulling this together – both of you.
This was a lot of fun to listen to. I think this is the first time I have ever heard a story about the Lord impressing someone to leave the church when I have thought, “That makes sense”. It makes sense that both the gospel can be true and the Lord cares enough for Mike to guide him out of the church (for the time being? For eternity? Who knows?)
I also never realized that you could pull up all our past comments and read them on one page. How humiliating. I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut until I grow up a little more.
Stephanie, only the authors can do that- not just anyone. So it’s far less of a worry than perhaps it seems. :)
Tracy, I’m not sure why that would be less of a concern. If you feel bad about your behavior on the blogs early on, as I do, it is no consolation, not any at all.
mmiles–don’t worry. Even the most pathetically nerdy of us (like those who are blogging at 1 am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning) generally have enough of a life that we don’t spend a lot of time evaluating commenters’ oeuvres.
Indeed. In the years I’ve been writing here, this is the first time I’ve looked up someone’s comment history.
mmiles,
Just for you, sometime next week I’ll put up a post with the first comment from all the “regulars” at BCC. Or not.
(28)- Let’s have a contest to guess instead. WAY more fun.
Dude, Scott, I had no idea you could create a collection of pages of one’s comments. You’ll need to show me how to do this, or is this just an admin function?
(Yes, I’m listening to the podcast right now).
Only Admins, Tracy, and GST.
Yeah, let’s not do that, Scott. Could be excrutiatingly boring or terminally embarrassing. Especially if that comment got you banned.
Another excellent idea! Thanks MCQ! We will play, “Who got banninated for saying [insert comment]?”
Man, that would be so much fun as a Wednesday afternoon time-waster.
Trogdor! The Banninator!
Mike is amazingly handsome and extremely intelligent. Wow!
Pleased to get to know you a bit, Mike! Like Stephanie (22) I found myself nodding my head at your interpretation of your feeling to leave the church as an impression from God. Lately I’ve found that I’m much less concerned about people’s short-term choices than I used to be, since I think God leads us where we need to be, and sometimes, for some reason, that requires a windy detour before (probably?) merging onto the textbook straight and narrow.
In other words, I place more trust than I used to in other people’s decisions based on inspiration to them.
Also, this comment stuff is nuts.
So, Mike recently Tweeted that he was moving to Hollywood. Is he going to change his handle to “MikeInHo”? (May tarnish his rep.)
I thought about that. Think I’ll stay MikeInWeHo after the move (which is right up Sunset Boulevard only two miles anyway). My office is in West Hollywood and goodness knows that’s where I do most of my blogging.
People actually read my tweets? Yikes. Who knew?
Mike, I just listened to part 1. Wanted to listen to it yesterday but a one bedroom apartment and a sleeping baby do not listening to a podcast very tenable (headphone connection does not work).
It was quite an extraordinary and interesting personal story you shared. Thank you.
I kind of like the way you still spend a lot of time reading the Book of Mormon.
I think you are being guided by the spirit and I’m glad that your connections/friendships with Mormons have been so positive.
Also, despite being fairly sure that I’ve annoyed the crap out of Steve, I think I also am in a category of someone who has never been banninated by THE MAN.
And saying that out loud is probably NOT a good idea.
But when has that ever stopped me.