Martine, a Belgian convert to Mormonism, shares what growing up in Belgium was like and how she and her sister end up converting to Mormonism. She eventually made it to the United States to attend General Conference and get her Patriarchal Blessing when her sister decided to serve a mission. Due to connections with several families of missionaries, she finds a job as a nanny and eventually makes it to BYU where she is reintroduced to Stuart, whom she'd briefly met as a missionary in Belgium. Though he hadn't known her well, Stuart instantly recognized Martine at a Young Single Adult (YSA) activity and things took off from there until he asked her to be with him for eternity. Martine happily accepts this proposal from an established, generational Mormon returned missionary. However, the engagement is soon jeopardized by challenges between Martine's desire to follow the brethren's admonitions not to put off having children (and wanting a dozen of them!) as the quintessential Mormon housewife with Stuart's practicality regarding his ability to financially support children while still having several years of school left. Martine & Stuart Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxq5opj6GqOCEEDV9TG4qj_l40TqfmHMV Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:20 Intentions 00:08:15 Martine’s background and early years in Belgium 00:11:00 Religious background (Catholicism) 00:14:30 Martine & her sister meet Mormon missionaries and convert 00:54:15 Difficulty of getting Patriarchal Blessing leads to first visit to Utah 01:04:00 Branch President Excommunicated for embezzlement, adultery, and Martine learns about polygamy for the first time. 01:10:00 Comes back to U.S. to Nanny 01:18:30 Stuart’s Mormon background & Smith lineage 01:29:00 Stuart’s mission to France-Belgium: seeing Martine, missing the Vietnam draft. 01:36:00 Martine and Stuart meet. What they saw in each other. 01:41:30 Teaching French to missionaries at the Language Training Mission 01:47:00 Harmful Mormon teachings about birth control and miscarriages, marriage and babies 01:50:00 Stuart reconciling his desires with the prophet (pragmatism), covert vs. pioneer stock intensity 01:55:30 Martine the Temple, & garments 02:10:30 How hurtful it is when members say those who leave never really believed ABOUT US: Mormon Stories Podcast is the longest-running and most successful podcast in Mormonism - hosted by Dr. John Dehlin. At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We also occasionally interview scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals. Our overall mission is to: 1) Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology, 2) Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis, and 3) Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions. Mormon Stories Podcast is a product of the Open Stories Foundation - a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to supporting Mormons in religious transition. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today: One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Our Platforms: Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404&nd=1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF Contact us: MormonStories@gmail.com PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117 #MormonStories #Mormon #lds