A Croatia & Slovenia Mormon Excommunication Story w/ Sara and Mitja Lakner Bevc | Ep. 2042

What happens when faith, culture, and conscience collide?

In this gripping full-length interview, Sara (American) and Mitja (Slovenian) share their deeply personal Mormon journeys—from conversion, missions, marriage, and cultural clashes to faith crises, public dissent in Utah church meetings, and ultimately, excommunication.

With raw honesty, they open up about the emotional toll of leaving the LDS Church, the pressure to conform, navigating belief in a mixed-faith marriage, and the high cost of asking difficult questions. Featuring moments of courage, heartbreak, and awakening, this episode explores what it means to choose integrity over silence.

Key Moments Include:
-Serving a missions in Croatia
-Struggles with identity, marriage, and belief
-Mitja’s public opposition in sacrament meeting
-Facing church discipline and excommunication
-Sara’s emotional departure from the LDS Church

A powerful story of love, loss, disruption—and starting over.

Show Notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here: https://www.mormonstories.org/a-croat...

Timecodes:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:18 The beginning of Sara’s Mormon Story
00:06:06 Sara on serving a mission in Croatia
00:11:45 History of Croatia and Yugoslavia and Slovenia
00:25:42 Temple trips outside of the country
00:37:15 Mitja’s Mormon story begins
00:42:19 Roman Catholic church is the predominate religion in Slovenia, but he was not interested in religion
00:47:55 Has his first lessons after his brother’s baptism - baptised 4 years later
00:59:33 Missionary told him he was ready to be baptized
01:05:22 Key components to him being baptized LDS
01:21:24 Living in Slovenia as a young married Mormon couple
01:32:29 How was the Mormon lifestyle in Slovenia?
01:45:52 Why are baptism rates so low in Eastern Europe?
01:53:05 Decided to move back to the US during Covid
02:09:44 He was bothered by the church investing in big pharma
02:14:41 What culture shocks did he experience moving to Utah?
02:36:38 How is Sara feeling at this point?
02:54:25 Explaining what it means to sustain or oppose in LDS church - people do not oppose
03:11:57 Would she have handled this differently if they were still living in Europe?
03:14:16 Choosing to vote “opposed” in their home ward
03:18:05 Mitja standing up and opposing
03:27:00 Mitja decides to go bare his testimony at church
03:39:05 Mitja’s fast & testimony talk from June 2023
03:52:17 A mass email was sent to the whole ward
03:57:26 His brother decides to stand up to bare his testimony
04:14:12 Kirton McConkie letter - prohibited from going on church property
04:29:32 Letter about their disciplinary council
04:36:48 Sara’s letter to the Stake President - asking to attend his disciplinary council
04:39:18 Stake President’s response letter
04:43:36 Mitja is excommunicated
05:05:38 What are they hopeful of right now?
___________________

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