KIRSTEN SWANSON:
It's time again for Utah StoryCorps. Everyday people sharing their stories at the StoryCorps recording booth in Logan.
DELILAH RIGHTER:
Jennifer Walker grew up a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. By the time she got to college, Jennifer decided only to date fellow members of the church. It was important to her to get married in a Mormon temple. Then Jennifer met Andrew, who, despite not belonging to the LDS church, immediately felt like home.
JENNIFER WALKER:
So we were at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.
ANDREW WALKER:
Go Cougs.
JENNIFER WALKER:
We had two classes together. So I had one with you in the fall and one in the spring.
ANDREW WALKER:
I'm like, totally attracted to you, and you have no idea who I am.
JENNIFER WALKER:
I had no idea you were. I remember one of those first days leaving class and walking down the hill. And I was asking you about your family. Halfway down the hill, you said, "Yeah, my dad died in a plane crash. When I was 4."
It stopped me in my tracks. Like what? I just barely met you. And it was like, wow, that is a big thing to share, really right off. And I actually was really attracted to that. Because you weren't hiding stuff.
I knew that because of our religious differences it may not work out. And so I tried to not love you. I tried to break up with you once. And I think it lasted like a day.
ANDREW WALKER:
I remember being really attracted to you because your faith was important to you.
JENNIFER WALKER:
You joined the Mormon church. About a year after we met.
ANDREW WALKER:
Yeah.
JENNIFER WALKER:
And then we got married a year after that,
ANDREW WALKER:
Just like you wanted, in the temple.
JENNIFER WALKER:
In the temple, the thing I said was so important.
ANDREW WALKER:
And I should say, just like we wanted. That was important to me, too.
JENNIFER WALKER:
It's really ironic. Having these words come out of my mouth right now.
ANDREW WALKER:
Yeah.
JENNIFER WALKER:
Because we don't do that anymore.
ANDREW WALKER:
No.
JENNIFER WALKER:
Our son Sam came out to us as gay. And I had to face for myself the reality that I was living and practicing a religion that diametrically opposes who my son is. And I felt like I had to choose between my religion and my kid. And it has been a five year undoing, where I firmly now am happy to say out loud, "I am standing with my kid."
ANDREW WALKER:
We had a picture of all four of us around the temple. The whole idea of framing those photos in the temple is this is our eternal family, and this is where we're going to be. The hard part was, here's a faith saying, "No, this is not where your son belongs".
And I remember you saying, "This has got to be hard on Sam to come downstairs and see this every day."
And then you said "Actually, it's ... um ... it's hard on me,"
JENNIFER WALKER:
One of the most poignant moments during that time for me is when you got out your drill, and you took the temple down and moved the pictures so that we're all literally closer together. I never thought that removing the temple would actually be what brought us together. We're a family and you're loved no matter who you are,
ANDREW WALKER:
Yeah.
JENNIFER WALKER:
And you're loved because of who you are.
KIRSTEN SWANSON:
Support for Logan StoryCorps comes from Cache County and from USU Credit Union, a division of Goldenwest.
