Teen Stays Faithful after CES Letter and Mormon Stories Podcast - Gustavo Hernandez | Ep. 2152

From Mormon Stories Podcast by Dr. John Dehlin

May 25, 2026 · 3h 32m

About this episode

Gustavo Hernandez shares his journey of navigating faith and mental health challenges while remaining active in the Mormon Church.

Content Warning: Discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation. In this episode of Mormon Stories, Gustavo Hernandez from Mexico City shares his experience growing up Mormon in Mexico, discovering difficult church history as a teenager, and ultimately choosing to remain an active, believing member of the Church while navigating doubt, anxiety, and faith crises. Gustavo opens up about the shame culture surrounding worthiness, pornography confessions, and perfectionism in Mormonism –including how teachings from leaders like Spencer W. Kimball deeply affected his mental health as a young teen. He discusses experiencing panic attacks, existential dread, and suicidal thoughts while trying to reconcile faith, church history, and his desire to feel accepted by God. Along the way, Gustavo encountered the CES Letter, Mormon Stories, exMormon Reddit, temple controversies, Joseph Smith’s polygamy, the priesthood ban, Freemasonry, and multiple First Vision accounts. Despite everything, he chose to stay active in the Church, serve a mission in Guatemala, and eventually became an institute teacher in Mexico. The interview includes topics like what it’s like being Mormon in Mexico, growing up in…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. John Dehlin

Guest: Gustavo Hernandez

Topics covered

faith crisis
Mormon culture
mental health
church history
personal testimony
suicidal ideation
youth experiences

Keywords

Mormon
faith
CES Letter
mental health
suicide
church history
youth
anxiety
perfectionism
mission

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mormon Stories, CES Letter

Books & works: Book of Mormon

Places: Mexico City, Guatemala, Mexico, Catholic culture