Please note the date change to March 24

In Part 1 of this two-part Hearth, Bob shared a powerful description of his experience growing up in a homophobic and transphobic culture and being challenged by his Christian discipleship to undergo a sea-change to become an ardent Ally. In the follow-up fireside coming up on March 10, Bob will share his observations about how Latter-day Saints can participate in “the restoration of all things” by being open and receptive to forging a better, more practical, and more spiritual way forward in opening their hearts, homes and congregations to their LGBTQ brothers and sisters and all others who seek fellowship with us. Bob is a religious scholar and a devoted LGBTQ+ ally who has been learning from and ministering to LGBTQ Latter-day Saints for half a century. 

Until his recent retirement, Bob was Visiting Professor and Director of Mormon Studies at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He is the co-founder and Vice-President of the Bountiful Children’s Foundation, and co-founder and president of FastForward for the Planet, a new non-profit initiative designed to unify the faiths of the world in addressing climate change and earth stewardship.

Bob has published widely on Mormon and Religious Studies. His most recent publications are A New Witness to the World: Reading and Re-reading the Book of Mormon (2020) and Why I Stay2: The Challenge of Discipleship for Contemporary Latter-day Saints (2021).

Bob has served as a bishop, member of the Baltic States mission Presidency, high councilor and Institute Teacher, currently he and his wife, Gloria, are engaged in interfaith work in Marin County. He can be reached at bobrees2@gmail.com.