Evil Changed Me: Lauren Matthias on True Crime Journalism and Her Mormon Faith—Pt. 2 | Ep. 2041
July 16, 2025
90,520
4,749
743
6.07%
Search the Record
IndexedEvery word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
Mormon Stories Podcast Episodes Around July 16, 2025
See what was published immediately before and after this episode.
2:08:41Now PlayingEvil Changed Me: Lauren Matthias on True Crime Journalism and Her Mormon Faith—Pt. 2 | Ep. 2041
Chapters
YouTube Description
as posted by the channelIn this intimate follow-up episode, journalist Lauren continues her powerful story—this time focusing on her path from reporter to advocate, wife, and co-founder of Hidden True Crime. Lauren shares the deeply personal journey that brought her to Dr. John Matthias, their relationship, marriage, and parenting as a mixed-faith couple—all while navigating the high-stakes world of reporting on religious extremism and the Lori Vallow Daybell case.
She reflects on pivotal moments in Mormonism, including the excommunication of progressive voices, the Church’s stance on same-sex marriage, and the Ordain Women movement. As her career unfolds, Lauren breaks major stories from inside Mormon and FLDS communities, reporting from Hildale, Utah, and uncovering secrets in St. George.
Her life is upended again by the Daybell case, which becomes the catalyst for launching Hidden True Crime. Balancing her professional calling with profound personal loss—her brother’s accident and coma—Lauren makes the gut-wrenching decision to attend Lori Vallow Daybell’s trial anyway.
This episode is a moving reflection on belief, justice, trauma, love, and the power of storytelling to make sense of chaos.
From breaking the Daybell story to building a platform
A deeply personal account of faith, loss, and love
Includes exclusive insight into Chad Daybell’s patriarchal blessing and courtroom revelations
Show Notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here
Timecodes:
___________________
Evil Changed Me: Lauren Matthias on True Crime Journalism and Her Mormon Faith— Pt. 2 | Episode 2041
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 as well as 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
3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions
🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today
Onetime or recurring donations
Join this channel to get access to perks:
Our Platforms:
🌐Mormon Stories Blog
🍎Apple Podcasts
🖼️Instagram
Contact us:
📧 MormonStories@gmail.com
📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117
Mormon Stories,mormon stories podcast,lauren matthias mormon stories,lauren matthias,hidden true crime,hidden true crime mormon stories,mormons,leaving mormonism,mormon stories lauren matthias,john dehlin,mindy caldwell,true crime,mormon crime,lds,lds crime,true crime stories,crime stories,john dehlin mormon stories,mormon wives,mormon women,mormon stories interview,hidden true crime daybell,book of mormon
Links & Promotions
Guests & Subjects Covered
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.