Tani Berlo was raised in Australia as a biracial Mormon of Maori descent. Showing an early love for history, Tani asked many questions of her LDS seminary teacher regarding science and history that caused concern. This included questioning the validity of the "Lamanite" identity (from the Book of Mormon) handed to her as a descendent of the Maori people. Later in Tani's teenage years she was shamed by her LDS church leaders for normative sexual exploration, and was ultimately summoned to a disciplinary council where she was asked sexually explicit questions by multiple men, and was disfellowshipped by the church. This led to significant sexual shame as a temple married Latter-day saint. After having children, Tani experienced significant post-partum depression and an opiate addiction, which when combined with her questioning of Mormon truth claims, led to a full-on faith crisis. Today Tani hosts a TikTok channel on history with over 1.1 million followers. https://www.tiktok.com/@taniberlo https://www.youtube.com/c/Taniberlo/videos https://www.patreon.com/taniberlo Chapters: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:08:10 Parents convert in 1993 and childhood upbringing 00:22:00 Early Mormon adolescence, modesty & purity culture, gender roles 01:05:00 Shamed for homophobia working for Apple 01:08:30 Getting into a toxic relationship 01:09:45 Asked sexually graphic questions during Disciplinary Council & disfellowshipment 01:28:00 The dark side of Mormon dating/marriage culture 01:34:30 Tani’s Mormon temple experience(s), & marriage 01:38:30 Early marital sexual shame & dysfunction 01:45:00 Toxic teachings and young motherhood 01:51:45 Suicidal ideation & opiate addiction 02:03:45 Teaching Gospel Doctrine...in slacks! 02:10:00 Troubling things she learned studying LDS church history 02:20:00 Racist BOM teachings replacing Maori culture 02:23:30 Grieving over the loss of faith 02:28:00 Struggles with substances 02:29:00 Faith Crisis effect on husband & marriage 02:34:00 Extended family reactions 02:41:00 Tani’s health and happiness after losing her Mormon faith 02:47:00 Resentment at opportunities lost 02:52:00 Becoming a social media content creator 03:09:00 Deprogramming from toxic purity culture, anti-perfectionism 03:17:10 Plans/Hopes/Dreams for the Future 03:20:00 What Mormon Stories has meant to her Episode Show Notes: https://www.mormonstories.org/podcast/maori-leaving-the-mormon-church-tani-berlo/ International Mormon Stories: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxq5opj6GqOCxLRrgFTEpSC7QyH6v5Sub 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 Amazon Smile: Be sure to select “Mormon Stories” website: https://smile.amazon.com app: https://amz.run/5r2M 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 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 #Taniberlo #mormonstories #mormon