July 21, 2025 Show with Laura Perry Smalts on “Transgender to Transformed: A Story of Transition That Will Truly Set You Free”

Iron Sharpens Iron

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:03

Live from historic downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home of founding father James Wilson, 19th century hymn writer

00:11

George Duffield, 19th century gospel minister George Norcross, and sports legend

00:16

Jim Thorpe. It's Iron Sharpens Iron. This is a radio platform in which pastors,

00:23

Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today.

00:31

Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

00:38

Matthew Henry said that in this passage, we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse and directed to have a view in conversation to make one another wiser and better.

00:50

It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours, and we hope to hear from you, the listener, with your own questions.

00:57

And now, here's your host, Chris Arnzen. Good afternoon,

01:10

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet

01:15

Earth who are listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com.

01:21

This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Monday on this 21st day of July 2025.

01:32

Before I introduce to you my guest today and our topic, I want to announce the time and the venue through which you can view

01:45

John MacArthur's live -streamed funeral. Phil Johnson told me when the funeral was going to be held, but he said he was under strict orders from Grace To You and Grace Community Church that we were not to divulge this information to the public until today.

02:10

I'm not sure why, and Phil wasn't sure why they were making him wait. But I have the permission now to let you know, because I've been getting people from all over the world asking me this, even as far away as South Africa and Australia.

02:28

But on Saturday, August 23rd at 10 .30

02:35

a .m. Pacific Time, 12 .30 p .m. Central Time, 1 .30

02:40

p .m. Eastern Time, you can view the live -streaming of John MacArthur's funeral at gracechurch .org.

02:49

That's gracechurch .org. So I'm delighted to finally have the permission to pass that information on to you.

03:03

We are going to be having a memorial program in tribute to John MacArthur on this program,

03:13

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, on Friday, the 1st of August, featuring

03:18

Phil Johnson, the executive director of John MacArthur's media ministry, Grace To You.

03:24

And also joining me will be someone who worked with and for John MacArthur, a very good friend of mine,

03:35

Dr. Doug McMasters, who is currently the pastor of New Hyde Park Baptist Church in New Hyde Park, Long Island, New York.

03:45

He at one time was the director of pastoral correspondence for Grace To You.

03:52

He will be joining Phil Johnson and I, or and me,

03:57

I should say, for that memorial program in tribute of John MacArthur.

04:04

That's Friday, August 1st, as always, 4 to 6 p .m.

04:09

Eastern Time here on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. But today is only the second time

04:16

I have ever interviewed someone who has lived through and repented of transgenderism.

04:27

And some of you may recall that, and I can't even believe it's been over a year ago, but on July 1st of last year,

04:39

I had a program with William Allen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. And the theme of that program was

04:47

From Transgender to Transformed by Christ. And William Allen gave his personal testimony on how

04:56

Jesus Christ rescued him from and cleansed him of this past life of his as a transgendered person, so -called.

05:09

And through William Allen's recommendation, I discovered my guest today, Laura Perry Smoltz.

05:17

She lived for nearly a decade as a transgender man named

05:23

Jake before realizing the deception of the transgender lifestyle and leaving it all behind.

05:30

Embracing her true identity as a woman, she shares her story at churches and conferences in articles and on various programs like Iron Sharpens Iron Radio to help others find the same freedom she has.

05:44

And Laura is on staff with First Stone Ministries in Oklahoma City and has been featured in the

05:53

AFA documentary, that's the American Family Association documentary, in his image.

06:00

And she also operates a website that you should definitely take advantage of, which also features a podcast, edenredemption .org,

06:15

Eden's with an S at the end, redemption .org, edenredemption .org.

06:22

And we're going to be discussing her book as well, Transgender to Transformed, a story of transition that will truly set you free.

06:33

My honor and privilege to welcome you for the very first time ever to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, Laura Perry Smoltz.

06:42

Hi, thank you so much for having me on. Pleasure to be here. Oh, it's my pleasure, Laura. And I praise

06:49

God that you have such a eager willingness to tell such a personal and private story.

07:00

This is the kind of story that not many people would want to be very public about.

07:06

And yet you, for the sake of rescuing lives and by God's grace, rescuing souls, you are eager to tell your story to anyone who will listen.

07:21

And I'm going to give our email address right away for anybody who cares to join us on the air.

07:28

It's chrisarnson at gmail .com, chrisarnson at gmail .com.

07:34

As always, give us your first name at least, city and state and country of residence. Only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.

07:45

And Laura, if you could start our discussion today by telling us something about your website, edensredemption .org,

07:59

and tell our listeners what is of value for them waiting for them there on that website.

08:07

Sure. And one quick note, I'm actually a former employee at First Stone Ministries.

08:15

We started this ministry, my husband and I started a new ministry since praying that book.

08:21

So our ministry is actually called Eden's Redemption, and it's a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization.

08:30

If anyone would like to support us or check us out, our goal and our focus really is to help train the church how to love, how to reach the

08:41

LGBT and then and how to disciple them, how to minister to them. But then, of course, also reach the

08:48

LGBT that are struggling. We also help a lot of parents. And so the website is

08:53

I have ideas for so much more content that God has on my heart that I've not had a chance to develop yet.

09:00

But we're going to be making some Q &A videos, getting back to our podcast. I've got a lot of articles.

09:06

So we're really excited about what God is doing in this ministry. And just a quick note on why we call it

09:13

Eden's Redemption. Actually, months of labor and prayer with the Lord and really seeking the

09:19

Lord for the vision of this ministry. And initially we were going to call it

09:24

Created Freedom because we wanted to share with people the glory and the beauty of what

09:30

God created, that his design of human beings and of male and female is not a bad thing.

09:36

You know, we're under the curse of sin. And so sometimes it seems like a flawed design because it's so hard.

09:42

Relationships are hard. People are hard. We sin against one another. And sometimes that design becomes so broken.

09:48

But God's design was absolute perfection and beauty. But, you know, we're under the curse of sin.

09:56

And because of sin, we have distorted ideas of what it means to be male or female. But then we also put it on our hearts to talk about not only the creation of what he intended, but the redemption and the glory of what he brings when he transforms lives.

10:13

And ultimately the hope one day, the promise that we will be made new, that we will have new bodies for all eternity and we will never be under the curse of sin again.

10:24

And so that's really the story and the heart behind the name in our ministry. Just out of curiosity, since you are featured in a documentary that was produced by the

10:35

American Family Association, have you met or become familiar with M .D. Perkins?

10:42

I have, yes. He was on the filming team. So we got to know him a little bit.

10:48

Yeah, because I've had him on the program several times. And what a wonderful brother in Christ he is.

10:57

In fact, if anybody listening wants to look up his interviews, just type in Perkins, P -E -R -K -I -N -S, and you will find several interviews

11:11

I've conducted with M .D. Perkins. And he also has written a book,

11:19

Dangerous Affirmation, The Threat of Gay Christianity. And there will be,

11:26

I believe, two of those interviews focused on that book. But if you could begin your story now, going all the way back to your earliest memories, including the kind of spiritual or religious atmosphere, if any, in which you were raised, and your earliest memories of thinking that there was something not quite right with you being viewed by your parents and everybody else as a little girl.

12:05

And I do know that not everybody who has been through what you have been through as a so -called transgender person, we know that nobody could really change their gender, but not everybody has the same story.

12:26

I was surprised by William Allen's story, the first person who was a so -called transgendered individual that I interviewed.

12:38

And he knew that he was not a woman. He knew that he was not a little girl when he was a young person.

12:46

He just wanted to be one. And on top of that, he was never attracted sexually to men.

12:56

He told me he was never even effeminate in the way he behaved.

13:03

He was involved in employment and activities that are most often associated with men, and very comfortable in those roles.

13:17

So he has a different experience than many, I'm sure. But tell us about your story.

13:25

Yeah, I grew up in a Christian home, and we were one of those families that were there every time the door was open, involved in lots of little programs.

13:38

And my mom was the piano player, my dad was a deacon, and they were involved on committees and teaching

13:45

Sunday school and a lot of other things as well. Was this an evangelical home? Yes, it was a

13:51

Baptist church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, kind of northeast Oklahoma. And for the most part, everything looked really normal.

14:01

And now that I have an adult perspective, I look back and I realize how good I really had it.

14:07

But children often don't know that everybody else has brokenness too. We don't have the perspective that adults do.

14:14

And a lot of times we think that we're the only ones that have broken lives. So I had a very good childhood for the most part, and I was in a very loving home.

14:26

But there were still a lot of problems. I think just because we're all under the curse of sin, we are all sinners raising other sinners.

14:33

And so now looking back, I have so much grace for my mom. I have cried so many times and repented to her and called her and said,

14:40

I'm so sorry for everything I've ever thought or said. Being an adult and being a parent is so much harder than I ever realized.

14:47

So I've changed my perspective a lot. But from a child's perspective, my mom and I had a lot of problems.

14:54

I think there were various reasons for that. One, she had miscarried two boys between my brother and I.

15:02

So when I was born, I think she was still under a lot of grief from those two babies that she had lost.

15:10

In fact, the second one was very traumatic. She had a near -death experience and she just about died.

15:19

So she was very, very close to my brother as a little child. And I would often hear her talking to other people about how wonderful my brother was, that he was a golden child, he never did anything wrong, he was a perfect child, he never cried.

15:31

I just would go on and on and on. And then I would hear her talk about me and I was like, Laura is so annoying. She's such a handful.

15:39

And all of that was true. And in fact, this was funny. My husband has a knack for asking or maybe a gift for asking people tough questions.

15:51

And all my life, I grieved and grieved and grieved and grieved over the fact that my mom called me annoying.

15:56

And I was called annoying a lot. My brother, sister, the people. And, you know, he asked me one day, he said, well, were you annoying?

16:07

And the truth was, I pestered people and I was always trying to get attention. I talked way too much.

16:12

I would butt in, you know, and I would just pester the daylight out of my brother and sister. And so, you know,

16:17

I just never faced the fact that even though I had been sinned against in some ways, that I had responded in sin.

16:24

I had so much sin in my own heart. And instead of recognizing my mom was under an enormous amount of stress, she was trying so hard to be the perfect mom, the perfect wife, the perfect Christian.

16:37

And when she was taking on too much, not only three kids, but a job and all the duties of the house.

16:45

And she was under so much stress, she started having severe health problems. And if I picture my mom from childhood, all

16:51

I see is the stress on her face. And so a lot of times her interactions with me were like, go away, get off of me, leave me alone.

16:58

Which now I kind of understand, but as a child, I felt so rejected by my mom. And my dad was very opposite.

17:05

He was very, very affectionate and loving. And he spent an enormous amount of time with me, which I didn't realize how much sacrifice that took.

17:12

My dad would sit down and play games with me every night. And my mom never would because she had to do laundry and cooking and cleaning and all these other things.

17:19

But I just began to interpret. It's just amazing how the enemy twists those things. And I began to believe as a little child this lie that my mom didn't love me.

17:28

And it wasn't true, but I was interpreting these circumstances. I felt so much rejection from my mom.

17:35

And I had a sister that was very involved in her music. She was a professional horn player. In fact, she became one of the best in the world.

17:42

She really was extremely talented. But she never had time for me and never wanted to play with me.

17:48

And so there was this division in my house. Okay, girls don't like me. Girls don't accept me.

17:54

I'm not one of them. So from five years old, I'm beginning to feel like I shouldn't have been a girl.

18:00

I fit in more with the boys. But then as I went to school, I was uncomfortable around girls.

18:06

I didn't trust girls. I didn't know how to interact with them. And so I would just go play with the boys.

18:13

And I was athletic and I fit in with them well because they were always just playing sports. So that worked well when

18:18

I was a child. But I began to believe this lie that I was rejected by the girls.

18:23

And all my life, I've said that I was rejected by girls growing up. And I look back, I think the truth is that I was the one who was uncomfortable around them.

18:32

I remember them trying to include me, but I just never felt like I was one of them. And so I think

18:39

I just began to believe early on that I was rejected, that I didn't fit in. And I had a lot of bitterness and anger toward my mom.

18:49

And this is one thing the Lord showed me about how huge of a problem bitterness and emotional walls are.

18:59

There's a verse in Proverbs, I think it's 1719, that says, He who builds a high gate invites destruction.

19:06

And I remember building these emotional walls toward my mom. And the Lord reminded me of these ancient cities that had these huge impenetrable walls.

19:15

And if an enemy was coming against them, all they had to do was lock the people inside and the people were safe. But if the enemy wanted to take the city bad enough, all they had to do was wait outside for the people to starve.

19:27

And this happened to Judah, for example. And they were under siege for so long that they were eating their own children.

19:34

And that's what happens when we build emotional walls. And we think we're protecting ourselves, but we're actually starving ourselves of the love that we need.

19:41

So then when my mom was making efforts to love me, I just wouldn't receive it. And it began to reinforce this lie.

19:50

And there were little things that would happen that would reinforce this lie, like layers. Any interaction that didn't go well.

19:58

I remember one time in particular, I was getting out of our minivan.

20:05

And it was before they had the button that would make it close slowly and safely. So my brother reached around behind him and slammed it.

20:12

Well, he didn't realize it was right there. And it hit me on the neck. And I was screaming in terror. I thought I died.

20:17

I'm picturing myself about getting decapitated. I'm like a little child. And I'm screaming to my mom.

20:22

And she didn't even listen to me and grabbed my hand and said, come on, we're late for church. And it was like one of those moments where I just went, it's true.

20:31

My mom really doesn't care about me. And she just, like my brother can never do anything wrong.

20:37

And so those deep seeds of bitterness and anger grew throughout my life. And no matter what my mom was doing, all

20:43

I could see was that she didn't love me. And I began to build a deep bitterness towards God for making me a girl.

20:50

I felt like it wasn't fair. I didn't like myself. I didn't feel like I fit in. And I struggled for most of my childhood, feeling like I never fit in.

21:00

And I would write stories about being a boy. I was always a writer. And I would, sometimes on paper,

21:06

I wrote a lot of it down, but also just in my head at night, I would rehearse this over and over and over until I almost became this character that I'd created for myself.

21:14

This boy character that had all these amazing adventures. And I would just live in this character vicariously.

21:21

And so I think there was this internal war and this internal conflict in me growing up that hated being a girl and became bitter at God for making me a girl.

21:31

And we are going to pick up on your fascinating story when we come back from our first commercial break.

21:37

Once again, if anybody has a question that you'd like to submit to Laura Perry Smoltz, our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com.

21:50

chrisarnson at gmail .com. Give us your first name at least, city and state and country of residence. Please only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.

21:58

Don't go away. We're going to be right back. James White here of Alpha Omega Ministries announcing that this

22:16

September, I'm heading out to Pennsylvania to speak at two events that my longtime friend

22:21

Chris Arnzen has lined up for me. On Thursday, September 18th at 11 a .m.,

22:27

I'm speaking to men in ministry leadership at Chris's Iron Sharpens Iron Radio Free Pastors Luncheon at Church of the

22:35

Living Christ in Loisville. Then, on Sunday, September 21st at 1 .30

22:40

p .m., I'm speaking at Trinity Reformed Baptist Church of Carlisle on the theme, Can We Trust the

22:46

Bible is the Authentic and Inerrant Word of God? I hope you can join Chris and me for both events.

22:52

For more details on the Free Pastors Luncheon, visit ironsharpensironradio .com.

22:58

That's ironsharpensironradio .com. For more details on Trinity Reformed Baptist Church of Carlisle, visit trbccarlisle .org.

23:08

That's trbccarlisle .org. God willing, I'll see you in September in Pennsylvania for these exciting events.

23:28

I'm still praising God for the addition of Gold Wealth Management to the

23:33

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio family of advertisers. They are veteran -owned and operated and built on the values of honor, courage, commitment, and service to others, the same values that were instilled in the owner during his eight years in the

23:49

Marine Corps. Gold Wealth Management is offering free reports on current market conditions, the threat of BRICS, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the coming digital currency, and how to protect your savings and retirement accounts with real assets like physical gold and silver.

24:12

There is absolutely no pressure and no obligation. Request your free reports today.

24:19

Call 623 -640 -5911. That's 623 -640 -5911.

24:28

Or visit goldwealthmanagement .com slash iron.

24:35

That's goldwealthmanagement .com slash iron. And tell them

24:41

Chris from Iron Sharpens Iron Radio sent you. Don't wait. Be informed. Be prepared.

24:47

With Gold Wealth Management. CEO and president of Lebanon Phil Credit Union.

25:07

And we're excited to be part of the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio family. At Lebanon Phil Credit Union, we're proud to serve the community with six convenient locations across Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, and we're growing.

25:19

We offer competitive rates on everything from loans to savings, and we're dedicated to providing top -notch member service.

25:26

We pride ourselves on the credit union movement of people helping people. We are deeply involved in our community, supporting local events and organizations that help make a difference.

25:36

When you join Lebanon Phil Credit Union, you'll immediately notice the difference. Our focus on meeting your financial needs with personal care and a friendly touch.

25:45

LFCU can also offer you better rates and lower fees than our competitors. To find out more, please visit us online at LebanonFCU .org.

25:55

Membership eligibility is required, federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration. Terms and conditions apply.

26:07

This program is sponsored by Hope TR Ministry. Hope TR Ministry is a podcast produced by Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Walker, Michigan.

26:20

We are dedicated to sharing Reformed Biblical content every Wednesday and Friday. Tune in for sermons, lectures, and interviews exploring distinctive

26:29

Reformed doctrines. If you are looking for Christ -centered content, simply search

26:35

Hope TR Ministry on your favorite podcast platform to begin listening today. Hope TR Ministry also offers

26:43

Morning Meditations, a daily podcast featuring Reformed devotionals designed to nourish your soul.

26:51

Start your day with these spiritually enriching messages by tuning in to Morning Meditations, wherever you get your podcasts.

27:01

I'm Simon O'Mahony, pastor of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

27:06

Originally from Cork, Ireland, the Lord in his sovereign providence has called me to shepherd this new and growing congregation here in Cumberland County.

27:15

At TRBC, we joyfully uphold the Second London Baptist Confession, we embrace congregational church government, and we are committed to preaching the full counsel of God's Word for the edification of believers, the salvation of the lost, and the glory of our

27:30

Triune God. We are also devoted to living out the one another commands of Scripture, loving, encouraging, and serving each other as the body of Christ.

27:39

In our worship, we sing psalms and the great hymns of the faith, and we gather around the Lord's table every

27:45

Sunday. We would love for you to visit and worship with us. You can find our details at trbccarlisle .org.

27:53

That's trbccarlisle .org. God willing, we'll see you soon.

28:09

I'm Pastor Bill Shishko of The Haven, an Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Comac, Long Island.

28:16

I hold the Iron Sharpens Iron radio program hosted by my longtime friend and brother,

28:22

Chris Arnzen, in the highest esteem, and I'm thrilled that you're listening today. I'm also delighted that Iron Sharpens Iron is partnering with one of my favorite resources for Reformed Christian literature for decades now,

28:36

Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service. Well, with the economic nightmare that we're all currently enduring, cvbbs .com,

28:49

I want to enable you to build a wonderful personal library of the best literature that the

28:54

Reformers, the Puritans, and the great Christian minds of today have to offer, and at affordable prices.

29:01

Not only does cvbbs .com offer up to 50 % off retail prices, but you'll get an added 5 % off orders of $50 or more by using promo code

29:16

IRON, I -R -O -N. An added 5 % off all of your orders of $50 or more from Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service.

29:29

That's cvbbs .com, making the joy of reading the finest in Christian literature more affordable.

29:38

Oh, and make sure that you tell them you heard about them on Iron Sharpens Iron radio.

29:47

And don't forget, folks, cvbbs .com is now shipping worldwide.

29:53

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

30:10

Praise God for the generous monthly financial support of Royal Diadem Jewelers.

30:16

Educated by and affiliated with the American Gem Society, Jewelers of America, and the

30:23

Gemological Institute of America. For the perfect custom -designed engagement ring, or any one -of -a -kind piece of jewelry created exactly according to your imagination and specifications,

30:35

Royal Diadem Jewelers has you covered. No matter where you live in the world,

30:41

Royal Diadem will walk you step -by -step through every stage of the process, and even hold a high -tech internet virtual visit using state -of -the -art jewelry design technology to serve you.

30:53

They start by listening carefully to determine your needs. They're interested in making what you want, not what they want to sell you.

31:00

From rough design to digital model, to photo -realistic image, to wax prototype model, to the finished product, they're continually listening to your input, likes and dislikes, making any changes necessary along the way.

31:15

This will ensure that your custom jewelry will turn out exactly as you dreamed, and well beyond your expectations.

31:24

Visit royaldiadem .com. That's royaldiadem .com today.

31:30

Sterling Vanderwercker, owner of Royal Diadem Jewelers, his wife, Bronnie, his business partner and manager,

31:37

Brian Wilson, and the entire family, thank you all for listening to, praying for, and supporting the work of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

31:50

And not only does royaldiadem .com automatically, every month, provide financial support for Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, on top of that, they are giving us a mind -blowing, enormous bonus.

32:05

Anybody in our audience who purchases jewelry from royaldiadem .com, whether jewelry that they already have in stock, or if you're having a one -of -a -kind, customized piece of jewelry created, either way, if you're buying jewelry for yourself or someone you love, please go to royaldiadem .com

32:24

and mention Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, because they are giving us 100 % of the profits from any sale to our listeners who mention

32:35

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio when purchasing their jewelry. So please go to royaldiadem .com

32:40

and mention Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. Not only will you be blessing yourself or someone you love with an exquisite, head -turning, stunning, breathtaking piece of jewelry, but you'll also be helping

32:53

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio remain on the air. That's royaldiadem .com, mention Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

32:59

We're now back with Laura Perry Smoltz, the author of Transgender to Transformed, a story of transition that will truly set you free.

33:10

And we have been in the middle of Laura's childhood memories of not feeling comfortable around girls, feeling much more comfortable around boys, wishing that she was a boy, writing stories that depicted herself as a boy.

33:32

Just out of curiosity, just as I asked William Allen, did you ever experience same -sex attraction to girls?

33:44

You know, there were times in my life where I had sexual experiences with girls.

33:51

There was a part of me that I always wanted to be a man that had a girlfriend and ultimately a wife, but I really wasn't attracted to girls.

34:04

I was naturally much more attracted to men, but I just didn't like the idea of being in a gay relationship, because I just saw myself as a man.

34:16

And I think I was honestly just very, very jealous of my brother. And so it was like, if I could reverse the roles, then

34:25

I would be the man and then I would find a woman, even though I really didn't have attraction to women. And I used to say, actually, when

34:31

I lived as trans, that I cared a whole lot more about who I was than who I did. Not as a person, but just as whether they were male or female.

34:41

I wanted to be seen as a man, and that was a lot more important to me. Now, when you say you were jealous of your brother just because of his being biologically male, or were there other specific reasons you were jealous of him?

34:55

That was part of it. A lot of it was the way my mom always talked about him, that he was like the perfect child. Oh, okay.

35:01

You know, those kind of things. But also, he was very athletic. We were both athletic, but he was even more so than me.

35:09

But he was also older. He was six years older, so he had a much more mature and stronger body. But also because he was really popular, and it was weird because he was actually very introverted, but the girls always liked him.

35:23

I was hurt a lot when I was, oh, I don't know what age he was.

35:28

He was six years older, so when he was in high school, whatever age I was. But girls would befriend me, and I would think, wow, these girls like me.

35:36

And then I would realize, oh, it's because they're trying to get to my brother. And they thought, you know, if they would be really nice to me, then

35:42

I would put in a good word. And this happened a lot. And so that was just another layer of me not trusting girls.

35:50

But also because he was able—he just had—girls were just attracted to him.

35:56

And they just wanted to be with him and wanted to be around him. And he'd fit in well with the guys, you know.

36:02

And so I think that was a lot of the reason I was jealous. Now, what were the influences, the external influences, that may have been encouraging you in your mind to believe that this was a completely acceptable way to think?

36:24

The leftist agenda has saturated everything that we see in television, movies, literature, music, art, even religion.

36:39

And even denominations and congregations that profess to be Christian are all the way from being either soft or silent against the sin of anything within the

36:55

LGBTQ acronym or full -fledged, loud and vocal and excited to promote these things.

37:05

That would be certainly from the leftist apostate end of the spectrum.

37:12

But what were the influences on you? I know that you must have had some kind of knowledge, being raised in an evangelical home and a

37:22

Baptist home, that this was wicked things to think about or to pursue.

37:31

But was there anything counteracting that that was giving you more support in the sinful way you were thinking?

37:40

It's weird because I grew up in the late 80s, early 90s.

37:47

And so I was born in 1982. So this was really not in culture anywhere.

37:53

I mean, it was very much in the shadows. And there's been this transgender and LGBT culture since the ancient days.

38:01

I mean, you can find this in ancient pagan lifestyles and ceremonies. But in modern culture,

38:07

I had never even heard the word transgender. I really didn't know anybody that was gay. I really didn't know much of that culture, except I'd had a few encounters with girls.

38:19

I was molested at eight years old by a boy. But that opened up a door of sexual curiosity. And so I had a few encounters with girls here and there.

38:28

But I don't know that at the time that I really even recognized that it was any more sinful than doing sexual things with boys.

38:35

I had a guilty conscience, and I didn't know why. But I don't really ever remember being taught about sex at that age.

38:43

It was just a guilt that I had within. But I really had no concept of living as the opposite sex other than when

38:51

I was in middle school to high school age. I remember seeing Mory Povich had a show where these guys were coming out in drag.

39:02

And you had to guess which ones were actually women and which ones were men dressed as women. And I remember being amazed that you couldn't tell.

39:09

But other than that, I really had not even heard the word transgender. So it's a very different culture.

39:16

In fact, that was actually strange. I remember when I embraced this lifestyle when

39:22

I was 25 years old in 2007. I'd never heard the word transgender. I looked it up on Google and just like girl becoming a boy just to see like, has anyone ever thought this?

39:33

I thought it was like, I must be going crazy. This is like, who thinks like this?

39:39

But then I was shocked when there were like thousands of results. And at that time, it was such a taboo thing.

39:46

It was so secretive. I didn't tell anybody at first other than my trans support group. And it wasn't until like 2015, really, when it started to become very mainstream culture.

39:58

And a lot of that started, I think, with Bruce Jenner coming out. I remember feeling like there was a shift in culture, like just this wave of girls transitioning after that.

40:15

And believe it or not, I know I'm much older than you. In fact, I think

40:20

I'm 20 years older than you from what you said. You said 82, you were born, right? Yeah, I was born in 62.

40:27

But believe it or not, even I remember a television show that was, you know, for the time, a very mainstream show.

40:40

There was nothing that I can recall, very scandalous. I don't think my parents or my mother especially would have let me watch anything that was scandalous.

40:51

And it was called Medical Center. And believe it or not, the lead character,

40:58

Dr. Joe Gannon. Performed by Chad Everett. He had a friend either from high school or college.

41:10

That was portrayed by Robert Reed, who played Mike Brady in the Brady Bunch.

41:18

And Dr. Gannon was very distressed and upset because his friend from school.

41:27

Had revealed to him that he wanted to get a sex change operation. Keep in mind that this show went off the air in 1976 when

41:36

I was only 14. And at first,

41:44

Dr. Gannon was was trying to talk him out of it, I believe, as much as my memory can recall.

41:51

And the character played by Robert Reed had a son who was just totally upset by it.

42:00

And then the character played by Robert Reed goes through with the full blown.

42:09

Surgery and everything, and Dr. Gannon comes to accept it. And he said to the son who was very angry, the son of Robert Reed's character who.

42:25

This is long before they use the term transgender. He said to him, and I'm just going by memory now.

42:37

He said to the young boy, Dr. Joe Gannon said, your dad's a woman now.

42:44

A very real and a very beautiful woman. Now, if you could just imagine

42:50

Robert Reed, the actor in drag, that was a very ridiculous statement for.

42:57

Dr. Gannon to make, but so the left was even infiltrating

43:03

TV then. Because they were trying to make this appear like it's just.

43:11

A an acceptable thing. We shouldn't shun this. We shouldn't be opposed to it.

43:17

And. Were there any influences from the spiritual and religious realm that were supporting this kind of mindset?

43:30

And, you know, I don't even know how public you were going with it at first. But did you have did you seek a sad conscience by visiting any left wing churches or watching left wing religious programming, et cetera?

43:51

No, and a lot of that was because I had just totally rejected God. So to back up just briefly, by the time

43:58

I was when I was 14, I was diagnosed with a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome. So I had cysts all over my ovaries.

44:04

They were telling me that I was likely never going to get pregnant. I was in excruciating pain every single day.

44:12

Absolutely unbearable to the point like I would fall out of my chair writhing on the floor. I was in incredible pain every single day because of my ovaries.

44:20

And I began to hate my female system. I began to be so angry with God for making me a girl.

44:26

I didn't want to be a girl. I didn't feel like I fit in with the girls. I didn't like being a girl. And just so many things.

44:31

But then to have that kind of pain and then telling me that I was likely never going to get pregnant anyway. And not that I really wanted to be a girl at that time, but I still wanted to have kids.

44:41

And I still didn't have any concept of living as the opposite sex at that time.

44:47

I just didn't think that was a reality that I could live that way. And so I was so angry with God.

44:55

And it's interesting because the year before that, my life to be a missionary. Now, I don't think

45:00

I knew the Lord. I was not saved. I did not have the Spirit of God. But I knew the truth growing up.

45:07

And I knew there was a call on my life at an early age. But after that, it was the next year that the enemy really started coming after me,

45:16

I think. I started to be so angry with God.

45:22

I was so bitter toward my mother. And it's just like Romans 1 actually makes so much sense of what happens when people embrace these lifestyles.

45:32

It starts with Romans 1 .20 that says, paraphrasing just a bit, but it says that God has revealed himself to everyone on some level.

45:42

That God is evident by the things that he has created. But then it says, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened, professing themselves to be wise.

45:56

They became fools. And it says later on, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. And as they're given over to initially the lust of their own heart when they reject

46:06

God, if they continue to reject God, it says they're given over to a natural lust. If they continue to reject

46:13

God, it says they don't even want to retain God in their mind. They don't even want to think about God. They want to pretend God doesn't exist.

46:19

And it says then they are given over to a reprobate mind that completely rejects the truth. And that's exactly what happened to me.

46:26

I mean, you talk about the Bible diagnosing your heart. I look back, and it's exactly what it says. They glorified him not as God, neither were thankful.

46:33

And I can look back. I was so angry at God. I rejected God. And that's where this idea really started to take a greater hold.

46:43

And it started with the lust of the heart. I got into so much sexual sin. I was trying to salve the wounds of my heart by getting the praise and the—I wanted to be desired,

46:59

I guess is the way I'm trying to put it. I wanted to feel desired.

47:04

I wanted to feel love. Ultimately, I was looking for love. But I had always hated myself so much, and I'd always felt rejected.

47:12

I had had a lot of health problems in my life, and I struggled with my weight a lot. I've always—my weight's always been up and down.

47:19

And so every time I would lose weight, which was only through really extreme dieting and an enormous amount of exercise.

47:26

I had to work very, very hard. And then I would get all this attention from guys. And I would be just—all the guys were wanting to date me.

47:33

And as soon as I would gain the weight again, they would just scatter like roaches. And so I began to believe that the only value or worth

47:39

I had is in keeping my body looking good and what I could give away sexually. So in high school,

47:45

I got into an enormous amount of sex just with anybody that would pay any attention to me. Male or female?

47:52

Yeah, mostly male. At that time, I really was not attracted to females, but I did have a few interactions with females.

47:59

But mostly because I had created this insatiable sex drive. And I didn't realize at the time, just because my hormones were so far out of balance, that my testosterone levels were off the chart.

48:16

And some people point to that and say, well, that's just proof that you should have been a man. No, it's proof that I had a hormone imbalance.

48:23

I was so strong that I remember going to the gym at 16 years old and being able to outlive grown men.

48:30

Wow. You made it to the gym. Yeah. But I was—like

48:36

I said, I was just having sex with anybody and everybody who would pay any attention to me. And as soon as they would break up with me,

48:43

I was devastated. I had no self -worth. I'd be suicidal until I would get somebody else interested in me.

48:49

And I just became a horrible, self -obsessed narcissist. And throughout high school and college, this just yo -yoed as my health would get bad and I'd gain weight again.

49:01

And I finally ended up in college with an enormous pornography addiction just absolutely ruling my life.

49:10

And fantasizing night and day about, I should have been a man. Like, if I was a man, this would have all worked out.

49:17

But I eventually joined an adult hookup site and was just having random one -night stands all over the state.

49:23

Wow. Just trying so hard to feel desired because I hated myself so much.

49:29

I had deep self -hatred. And when that wasn't working out, I started obsessing over the idea of becoming a man.

49:37

And I thought if I was the man, then I could control these relationships. Not that I wanted to abuse anyone, but I just mean,

49:44

I always felt like I was always the one being broken up with. And I just thought if I was the man, then

49:50

I could love a woman. I could treat her like she deserves. I could romance her. And that's when

49:56

I started fantasizing about that and looking that up. And I found a support group where I was living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

50:04

And I showed up at the support group of these people that claimed they were transgender. And within five minutes, they're like, oh, you are definitely transgender.

50:12

Just hearing the smallest bit of my backstory. And I was worried that I would never look like a man.

50:19

And they said, oh, don't worry about it. After taking a year of hormones, no one will ever know you were a girl.

50:25

And that's really what the hook was for me. When I heard that, it was like I could embrace this broken person that I hated so much.

50:33

I could eradicate the existence of Laura. And I could reinvent myself. And that's ultimately what

50:39

I was really longing for. And we do have Agnes in Moorhead, Minnesota, who has a question for you.

50:48

Did your parents ever find out about the way you were living and about your transgender delusion in your mind before you had actually gone to the lengths of getting surgery?

51:03

You know, I never mentioned it as a child. My parents were shocked when I came out. But they always knew that I was really tomboy.

51:10

They knew that I had trouble fitting in with girls, things like that. But they never saw any signs of that.

51:17

But they didn't realize how deep this was, not only in my writings and me rehearsing this story in my head every night, but also video games.

51:28

I was always really into video games. And I loved being able to create my own male character. And so I'd play these role -playing games where I could play me as a man.

51:37

I was having, like I said, not a lot, but a few encounters with girls where I would pretend to be the boy.

51:43

So there was so much going on behind the scenes that they were completely unaware of. Wow.

51:48

And guess what, Agnes? You have won a free copy of Transgender 2

51:54

Transformed, A Story of Transition That Will Truly Set You Free by Laura Perry Smoltz.

52:00

And by the way, I don't think I've read this earlier. Ray Comfort, who has been on this program,

52:05

I'm sure not an unknown name to our listeners, Ray Comfort says of this book, this book offers a living hope and healing for those struggling to find their true identity and encouragement for families who love them.

52:21

If you could please, Agnes, give us your complete mailing address so that Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service, cvbbs .com,

52:31

can ship that book out to you. And we're going to our midway break right now. And once again, if you'd like to join

52:38

Agnes with a question of your own, our email address is chrisarnsen at gmail .com. Give us your first name at least, city and state, and country of residence.

52:48

Please only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal or private matter. And I could readily understand a subject like this evoking very personal and private questions from our audience, people who may be going through this kind of thing in their own lives, either because of something going on in their own mind and heart or their child or just someone they know.

53:14

And we will obviously accept anonymous questions as well. But if it's a general question, give us your first name, city and state and country of residence.

53:22

Don't go away. We're going to be right back after these messages. I'm Dr.

53:32

Joseph Piper, President Emeritus and Professor of Systematic and Applied Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

53:41

Every Christian who's serious about the Deformed Faith and the Westminster Standards should have and use the eight -volume commentary on the theology and ethics of the

53:51

Westminster Larger Catechism titled Authentic Christianity by Dr. Joseph Morecraft.

53:57

It is much more than an exposition of the Larger Catechism. It is a thoroughly researched work that utilizes biblical exegesis as well as historical and systematic theology.

54:09

Dr. Morecraft is pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, and I urge everyone looking for a biblically faithful church in that area to visit that fine congregation.

54:20

For details on the eight -volume commentary, go to westminstercommentary .com, westminstercommentary .com.

54:28

For details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, visit heritagepresbyterianchurch .com,

54:37

heritagepresbyterianchurch .com. Please tell Dr. Morecraft and the saints at Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, that Dr.

54:44

Joseph Piper of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary sends you. When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the

55:10

New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors. It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the

55:18

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the

55:23

NASB. This is Darrell Bernard Harrison, co -host of the Just Thinking Podcast, and the

55:30

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Tom Budd of First Baptist Church in Lindale, Texas, and the

55:38

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Kent Keller of Faith Bible Church in Sharpsburg, Georgia, and the

55:46

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Andrew Rappaport, the founder and executive director at Striving for Eternity Ministries, and the

55:55

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Mark Romaldi, pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Greenbrier, Tennessee, and the

56:04

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Christopher Cookston, pastor of Prineville Community Church in Prineville, Oregon, and the

56:15

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Matt Tarr, pastor of High Point Baptist Church in Larksville, Pennsylvania, and the

56:23

NASB is my Bible of choice. Here's a great way for your church to help keep

56:28

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. Pastors, are your pew Bibles tattered and falling apart?

56:34

Consider restocking your pews with the NASB, and tell the publishers you heard about them from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

56:44

Go to nasbible .com. That's nasbible .com to place your order.

56:55

Hello, my name is Anthony Uvinio, and I'm one of the pastors at Hope Reform Baptist Church in Quorum, New York, and also the host of the reformrookie .com

57:04

website. I want you to know that if you enjoy listening to the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio show like I do, you can now find it on the

57:11

Apple's iTunes app by typing Iron Sharpens Iron Radio in the search bar. You no longer have to worry about missing a show or a special guest because you're in your car or still at work.

57:21

Just subscribe on the iTunes app and listen to the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio show at any time, day or night.

57:28

Please be sure to also give it a good review and pass it along to anyone who would benefit from the teaching and the many solidly reformed guests that Chris Arnzen has on the show.

57:37

Truth is so hard to come by these days, so don't waste your time with fluff or fake news. Subscribe to the

57:43

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio podcast right now. And while you're at it, you can also sign up for the reformrookie .com

57:49

podcast and visit our website and the YouTube page. We are dedicated to teaching Christian theology from a

57:56

Reformed Baptist perspective to beginners in the faith as well as seasoned believers. From Keech's Catechism and the

58:02

Doctrines of Grace to the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Leviticus, the Reform Rookie podcast and YouTube channel is sure to have something to offer everyone seeking biblical truth.

58:12

And finally, if you're looking to worship in a Reformed church that holds to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, please join us at Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Coram, New York.

58:22

Again, I'm Pastor Anthony Ovinio, and thanks for listening. I'm Dr.

58:33

Tony Costa, Professor of Apologetics and Islam at Toronto Baptist Seminary. I'm thrilled to introduce to you a church where I've been invited to speak and have grown to love,

58:43

Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Coram, Long Island, New York, pastored by Rich Jensen and Christopher McDowell.

58:51

It's such a joy to witness and experience fellowship with people of God like the dear saints at Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Coram who have an intensely passionate desire to continue digging deeper and deeper into the unfathomable riches of Christ in His Holy Word and to enthusiastically proclaim

59:08

Christ Jesus the King and His doctrines of sovereign grace in Suffolk County, Long Island, and beyond.

59:15

I hope you also have the privilege of discovering this precious congregation and receive the blessing of being showered by their love, as I have.

59:24

For more information on Hope Reformed Baptist Church, go to hopereformedli .net

59:30

That's hopereformedli .net Or call 631 -696 -5711

59:39

That's 631 -696 -5711

59:44

Tell the folks at Hope Reformed Baptist Church of Coram, Long Island, New York that you heard about them from Tony Costa on Iron Sharpens Iron Puritan Reformed is a

01:00:02

Bible -believing, kingdom -building, devil -fighting church. We are devoted to upholding the apostolic doctrine and practice preserved in Scripture alone.

01:00:12

Puritan Reformed teaches men to rule and lead as image -bearing prophets, priests, and kings.

01:00:18

We teach families to worship together as families. Puritan is committed to teaching the whole counsel of God so that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea.

01:00:32

We sing the Psalms, teach the law, proclaim the gospel, make disciples, maintain discipline, and exalt

01:00:38

Christ. This is Pastor David Reese of Puritan Reformed in Phoenix, Arizona.

01:00:44

Join us in the glorious cause of advancing Christ's crown and covenant over the kings of the earth.

01:00:51

Puritan Reformed Church. Believe. Build. Fight. PuritanPHX .com

01:01:07

This is Pastor Bill Sousa of Grace Church at Franklin here in the beautiful state of Tennessee.

01:01:14

Our congregation is one of a growing number of churches who love and support

01:01:19

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio financially. Grace Church at Franklin is an independent, autonomous body of believers which strives to clearly declare the whole counsel of God as revealed in Scripture through the person and work of our

01:01:35

Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, the end of which we strive is the glory of God.

01:01:42

If you live near Franklin, Tennessee, and Franklin is just south of Nashville, maybe ten minutes, or you are visiting this area, or you have friends and loved ones nearby, we hope you will join us some

01:01:55

Lord's Day in worshiping our God and Savior. Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about Grace Church at Franklin.

01:02:05

Our website is gracechurchatfranklin .org. That's gracechurchatfranklin .org.

01:02:13

This is Pastor Bill Sousa wishing you all the richest blessings of our

01:02:19

Sovereign Lord, God, Savior, and King Jesus Christ, today and always.

01:02:30

Hi, this is John Sampson, pastor of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona.

01:02:35

Taking a moment of your day to talk about Chris Arnson and the Iron Sharpens Iron podcast.

01:02:40

I consider Chris a true friend and a man of high integrity. He's a skilled interviewer who's not afraid to ask the big penetrating questions while always defending the key doctrines of the

01:02:50

Christian faith. I've always been happy to point people to this podcast knowing it's one of the very few safe places on the

01:02:57

Internet where folk won't be led astray. I believe this podcast needs to be heard far and wide.

01:03:02

This is a day of great spiritual compromise, and yet God has raised Chris up for just such a time.

01:03:08

Knowing this, it's up to us as members of the body of Christ to stand with such a ministry in prayer and in finances.

01:03:16

I'm pleased to do so, and would like to ask you to prayerfully consider joining me in supporting

01:03:21

Iron Sharpens Iron financially. Would you consider sending either a one -time gift or even becoming a regular monthly partner with this ministry?

01:03:29

I know it would be a huge encouragement to Chris if you would. All the details can be found at ironsharpensironradio .com

01:03:36

where you can click support. That's ironsharpensironradio .com. Puritan Reformed is a

01:03:44

Bible -believing, kingdom -building, devil -fighting church. We are devoted to upholding the apostolic doctrine and practice preserved in Scripture alone.

01:03:54

Puritan Reformed teaches men to rule and lead as image -bearing prophets, priests, and kings.

01:04:01

We teach families to worship together as families. Puritan is committed to teaching the whole counsel of God so that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea.

01:04:14

We sing the Psalms, teach the law, proclaim the gospel, make disciples, maintain discipline, and exalt

01:04:20

Christ. This is Pastor David Reese of Puritan Reformed in Phoenix, Arizona.

01:04:27

Join us in the glorious cause of advancing Christ's crown and covenant over the kings of the earth.

01:04:34

Puritan Reformed Church. Believe. Build. Fight. puritanphx .com

01:04:51

Attention all ironsharpensironradio listeners. There is no doubt we are living in difficult times.

01:04:57

Our country is facing out -of -control government spending, a looming trade war, a race towards a traceable digital currency, and the growing

01:05:06

BRICS alliance, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.

01:05:13

All signs are pointing to major shifts in the global economy. More and more countries are dumping the

01:05:19

U .S. dollar, and that should be a wake -up call. That's why I urge you to call my friends at Gold Wealth Management, advertisers here on Ironsharpensironradio.

01:05:29

They are offering free, no -obligation reports on market conditions, the

01:05:35

BRICS threat, the future of digital currency, and how to protect your wealth with physical gold and silver.

01:05:42

Do you already own physical gold or silver, but were never fully educated and still have questions?

01:05:49

Maybe you're unsure how it fits into your overall plan. Call for a free evaluation and educational call with the team at Gold Wealth Management.

01:06:00

Call 623 -640 -5911. That's 623 -640 -5911.

01:06:09

Or visit goldwealthmanagement .com slash iron.

01:06:15

That's goldwealthmanagement .com slash iron. Don't guess.

01:06:22

Don't delay. Get the information you need to make a sound, informed decision.

01:06:28

Tell them Chris from Ironsharpensironradio sent you. That's Gold Wealth Management.

01:06:34

Welcome back. Before we return to our fascinating conversation with Laura Perry Smoltz about her life and story of transition that will truly set you free.

01:06:51

The title of her book, as we've been mentioning earlier, Transgender to Transform.

01:06:57

Before we return to that fascinating conversation, I just have some important reminders for you.

01:07:03

Folks, if you really love this show and you don't want it to go off the air, please go to ironsharpensironradio .com,

01:07:09

click support, then click click to donate now. You can donate instantly with a debit or credit card.

01:07:16

If you prefer snail mail, sending a physical check from your post office to a physical address, well, there will also be a physical address that appears on your screen when you click support at ironsharpensironradio .com

01:07:28

where you can mail your checks. Made payable to Ironsharpensironradio. If you want to advertise with us, whether it's your church, parachurch, ministry, your business, your private practice, like a law firm, a medical firm, or maybe it's just a special event that you want to promote, whatever it is, if it's compatible with my beliefs,

01:07:49

I would love to help you launch an ad campaign because we're just as much in urgent need of your advertising dollars as your donations.

01:07:56

So send me an email if you're interested in advertising to chrisarnsen at gmail .com

01:08:03

and put advertising in the subject line. And folks, as urgently as we need your donations,

01:08:08

I never want anybody in my audience to give their own church, where they're a member, less money than they normally give their church on the

01:08:18

Lord's Day in order to bless Ironsharpensironradio with a financial gift.

01:08:23

Please never do that. In other words, never cut into the finances that you have set aside specifically for giving to your own local church on the

01:08:33

Lord's Day in order to bless us. And also, if you're really struggling to survive and make ends meet, wait until you're back on your feet and more financially stable before you send us a financial gift.

01:08:44

But if you are blessed financially above and beyond your ability to provide for church and family and you have extra money for benevolent, recreational, and even trivial purposes, well, if you love the show, please share some of that money with us at ironsharpensironradio .com.

01:08:59

Click support, then click click to donate now. Last but not least, if you're not a member of a

01:09:06

Christ -honoring, biblically faithful, doctrinally sound, and theologically solid church, no matter where you live on the planet

01:09:13

Earth, I may be able to help you because I've helped many people spanning the entire globe in our audience find churches that are biblically faithful, sometimes even within just a couple of minutes from where they live.

01:09:26

So that may be you too. If you are without a biblically faithful church home, send me an email, no matter where you live in the world, to chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:09:35

and put I need a church in the subject line. And that's also the email address where you can send in a question for Laura Perry Smoltz about her having victory in Christ over her past of being a so -called transgendered person.

01:09:56

And she is really doing all she can to bring praise, honor, and glory to God through her writing and speaking engagements and other activities.

01:10:08

We have Veronica in Derry, New Hampshire who has a question for you.

01:10:14

Veronica wants to know, you said that your Christian mother was shocked when you finally came out of the closet.

01:10:23

How long before that was when you actually began to transition so -called into a male?

01:10:30

And how did your Christian family respond and behave toward you after that?

01:10:37

Yeah, actually it was a little bit of the opposite. I started living as trans before I came out to my parents.

01:10:43

I was living about an hour away but at the time I had such a shallow relationship with them.

01:10:50

I was deeply bitter towards them but mainly I would have said back then that I was angry at them and they were being so hateful and all this and trying to keep me down.

01:11:01

But the truth is I was angry at God and they represented God to me and they represented the

01:11:06

Christian faith that I'd been raised in. So I didn't want much to do with them and I was just living such a simple life and I was convicted all the time.

01:11:16

I knew that I was living in sin and I didn't want to be found out. So I was dreaded when they were around me but maybe seven or eight months after I'd been living as trans

01:11:24

I'd been on hormones for a few months. It was actually their anniversary and I was so selfish and self -centered.

01:11:35

I either didn't remember or didn't care that it was their anniversary. Didn't really want to meet them but I kind of begrudgingly accepted their invitation and my mom could tell that I was trying to look like a man.

01:11:47

I hung in that way for months. My hair was very short. I was binding my chest but they cried a lot.

01:11:56

They were in shock. They were in a lot of grief and I would have said you were being so hateful and all this but I look back and I knew they loved me.

01:12:05

In fact, at one point I remember thinking I wish my parents didn't love me so much because I want to go do what

01:12:11

I want to do and I don't like being convicted. I didn't like them reminding me that this was sinful but the truth is they were actually very loving towards me and they didn't always handle it right.

01:12:24

They made some mistakes. They said some things I probably shouldn't have said but God used it anyway. I remember my mom saying how could you do this to us?

01:12:32

Lord really convicted her later that it wasn't that I was doing it against them. I was in so much pain.

01:12:38

I hated myself and I just had this deep anger toward God and so I think even though they didn't handle it all right what happened was everybody else in my life affirmed this.

01:12:55

Everybody else supported this. Everybody else in my life told me that I was brave and heroic and this was great.

01:13:02

My parents are the only ones and I also had an aunt that didn't really as well but I wasn't in a lot of contact with her at the time but my parents really kind of they were like a lighthouse.

01:13:15

They remained solidly firmly planted on the rock but they continued to shine a light on me and continued to love me and they were the ones

01:13:21

I turned to when I was tired of all the lies. So even though for a long time

01:13:26

I hated them and we had a very shallow relationship their stand for Christ and for their faith ultimately paid off because they were the ones that I turned to and there's a

01:13:37

Bible verse in Proverbs that says he that rebukes a man will in the end find more favor than he that flatters with the tongue and I think that's such a good reminder as Christians that when we're willing to lovingly share the truth we will end up having a far greater impact than those who flatter those who just want to be liked and want to be well spoken of so I'm grateful and thankful to my parents even though they didn't do it perfectly.

01:14:05

Now when you said that you believed that your mother was in error when she said how could you do this to us are you saying that because she should have been infinitely more concerned about what you were doing to offend

01:14:25

God? Yeah, I mean and I really wasn't doing it to hurt them

01:14:31

I mean I was angry at them but it really wasn't about them and in fact this is really

01:14:38

Satan's counterfeit of what Jesus said Jesus said unless we are born again no one will enter the kingdom of heaven and so or not we anyway unless anyone is born again he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven so I you know this is a cannot even see it right right you know we all know that we're broken we all know that there's something desperately wrong with us and I've learned that Satan is the master at presenting the brokenness of this world presenting the brokenness of our lives and then giving a a thousand solutions that are false and this is just one way that's like your life is broken there's something wrong with you and but this is the solution that's because I was transgender and I've actually found that I over the years

01:15:29

I have listened to hundreds of testimonies of all different walks of life not just transgender but you know from drugs and alcohol to gangs to prostitution whatever people get into and in many of the cases they grew up in church some did not but the no matter what kind of background they grew up in you would see the same prize of the heart the same needs even though the circumstances were very different and the journeys were different but you would see that you would see the same human heart the same lies they believed the same desires to find acceptance and love and worth and value to know that their life mattered and in almost every case what turned them away from God because all of them had some knowledge of God even if it was just I know there's a

01:16:13

God I know you know whatever it might be but in almost every case what turned them away from God was something that had happened in their life some kind of brokenness some reason they hated their life they hated themselves they grew up in a bad family or you know whatever kind of brokenness there was and they said if God is good why did he allow this in my life or you know some form of that maybe not the exact words but something to that effect and I found out over and over and over and over again that people they know there's a

01:16:46

God that they're subject to on some level they may not know the details of the gospel but the reason that people turn away from God is because they start believing that God's not good and on the flip side of that Romans I think it's 2 .4

01:16:58

says it's the goodness of God that leads to repentance I think that's such a pivotal key issue and it's why so many walk away from the faith

01:17:08

I've seen it over and over in fact just a short time ago I was ministering to a young man that is dealing with whether he might be

01:17:16

LGBT and things like that but I really the Lord put it on my heart to ask about what he thinks of God and sure enough he had some mistrust of God he had deep issues with God and that's where the real issue was and I believe that if we address that first that's the deeper need then the

01:17:37

Lord will take care of of everything else it's an outflow of a heart that's angry at God Amen We have

01:17:47

Chance in Weehawken, New Jersey and Chance wants to know how long ago did you have actual surgery surgery done and is the surgery to an extent where it is irreversible

01:18:06

For me thankfully I had two surgeries I had but I did not have genital reassignment surgery the

01:18:14

Lord really scared me but I had a breast yeah I'm thankful because I desperately wanted it but I did have my breast removed in 2009 and then a couple of years later

01:18:27

I think it was either 2011 or 2012 that I had a hysterectomy and had the ovaries removed so but when

01:18:34

I started looking into the genital reassignment surgeries I was horrified when

01:18:39

I realized how fake this all is I realized this is completely artificial and I was so angry at how devastating the results are

01:18:50

I mean that this would not ever be real but also that there were all kinds of horrible complications and at that time

01:18:56

I don't know if they've improved any there's always a risk but at least at that time they were saying like up to 40 to 60 percent would lose all sexual feeling permanently and I was so angry and I thought why would

01:19:11

I do all this and spend all this time and money and out of here I was like halfway transitioned

01:19:16

I looked like a man and I had a much lower voice and I had facial hair and I had a job where I was known as male and I had a partner at that time that was actually another transgender he was male to female and I was female to male but you know he we pretended like we were married we were never legally married but he called me his husband you know and all of those things that I was doing and then

01:19:42

I realized that these surgeries aren't real that this was not ever going to make me a man and actually even after my chest surgery that was the first surgery

01:19:52

I had about two years into the lifestyle I thought it was going to be this amazing transformation that this surgery was going to allow me to be legally male

01:20:03

I was able to get my driver's license changed my birth certificate changed and I was able to get rid of this burden that I hated so much

01:20:11

I just hated my breasts and I remember after that surgery at first just being on cloud nine you know it was like everything

01:20:18

I've ever wanted I was on this high like a drug high but after that started to fade away and I was just back to my normal life

01:20:25

I got very very depressed and I couldn't figure out why but even my boss noticed and I finally realized that the reason that the surgery or the reason

01:20:35

I was depressed was because I realized that that surgery hadn't made me a man and I started thinking about the body and I thought well how much of the body do

01:20:46

I have to remove or add before I become a man like at what point do you actually transition and I didn't realize what scientists have discovered that there are over 6500 different ways that genes are expressed between men and women that there are biological thousands of biological differences and that our bodies are designed not just as one or two parts that are male or female but the entire body is designed as male or female and so that's why

01:21:15

I remember realizing there's something so much deeper than this and I just started thinking what does it even mean to be male or female?

01:21:25

Yeah, well you just said moments ago that you used to have a much deeper voice

01:21:31

I'm assuming through hormone treatment I'm praising

01:21:36

God I'm sure along with you that that seems to have reversed because I have seen interviews with people who have lamented transgender surgery and when

01:21:51

I have seen women interviewed it appears at least at this point in their lives that their lower voice more masculine voice is either irreversible or is going to take a long time to return to its higher and more feminine pitch.

01:22:15

Yeah you know and I'm not sure a lot of people have asked me about that there could be a number of factors

01:22:21

I mean it may just be a miracle of God I've actually known some other former transgenders that their voices have returned to a female voice as well.

01:22:30

It's still not a 100 % it's not as high as it was but part of that probably is just because I was younger and I also smoked for 13 years but honestly the ones that I've seen where their voices returned are those that have come to Christ but there may be others that have come to I don't exact numbers

01:23:16

I don't know the exact numbers but I don't know the exact numbers but I free copy of Transgendered Who Transformed, a story of transition that will truly set you free by our guest,

01:23:55

Laura Perry Smoltz, who revealed to me before the program that her husband's first name is

01:24:03

Perry. So it's kind of interesting and providential that she found the man to spend the rest of her life with the same first name as her maiden last name.

01:24:15

And we have an anonymous listener who asks, how alarmed should parents be and what should they do when they occasionally see their son or daughter at a very young age in playtime wearing the clothes of an opposite gender?

01:24:41

Yeah, I, you know, there is, it depends on what the child's motivations are.

01:24:52

Years ago, before, I mean, it's always, we always want to discourage it, but as far as what's going on in their mind, first of all, it's not a reason to panic.

01:25:01

I would, first of all, thank the Lord that he brought this to the surface, that you've seen it, that you can be aware and you can start helping them.

01:25:10

But I have seen hundreds of messages, especially on like, I see a lot of comments on YouTube videos where people will say, you know, when

01:25:22

I was a kid, I was so jealous of the opposite sex, or there was a time where I thought I was the opposite sex, and then

01:25:28

I grew out of it. This happens all the time. This is actually very normal at some age, maybe not a deep -seated belief where they really believe they're trans, but just like my mom said,

01:25:39

I was so jealous of boys when I was growing up because they could run around with their shirts off and I couldn't, you know, things like that.

01:25:46

Or, you know, my brother got more attention or whatever it might be. This is, I hear these stories all the time.

01:25:53

So just because the kid is, and kids are sometimes just curious. So just because a kid is prying it doesn't mean that they think they're trans, but it's a good opportunity for a conversation about why this is not good.

01:26:05

They've done studies that if a kid is allowed to cross dress and take on the name of the opposite sex, like all these things actually encourage them and make the lie even more embedded.

01:26:22

And so it encourages them and they will believe more and more that they're trans rather than growing out of it.

01:26:28

If they're not affirmed, if they're not given a new name and allowed to socially transition, studies had showed that 85 to like 95,

01:26:36

I forgot the exact percentage, but right in that range percent would grow out of it, especially after puberty.

01:26:44

But the opposite happens when they're socially transitioned.

01:26:50

And so, but it's also a good opportunity sometimes if the child really is doing more than just experimenting.

01:26:59

Well, and you might also be aware of like what they're watching on TV. Are they hearing this from school? Just ask some good questions.

01:27:06

But if there really is a desire to dress as the opposite sex, for some emotional reason, we really need to address what's going on in the hearts.

01:27:17

Why do they not like who they are? And in fact, a lot of times I start with, if somebody, you know, if little

01:27:23

Johnny comes to me and he says, you know, I really wanna be Susie. My first question is, well, first of all,

01:27:30

I would say, thank you so much for telling me. This must be hard for you to talk about. I'm here to listen. But then say, why don't you like Johnny?

01:27:38

You know, I found that that's where the real root issue is that the transgenderism is not the root of the problem, it's the fruit of the problem.

01:27:47

And so it usually starts with the self -hatred, jealousy, envy of others, feeling like you don't fit in, wishing you were somebody else.

01:27:55

And so that's the real, where the real issue is. So I think discerning that in a young child, they may just be experimenting and having fun, but have a conversation about, oh, that's not good.

01:28:06

You know, we need to embrace who

01:28:11

God created us to be, you know, and have those good conversations. I'm so glad that you said that, because I think that many parents, even

01:28:20

Christian ones, you know, we're talking about a very young child, like, clop, clop, clop, he's walking out of his mother's bedroom with his mother's shoes on, and everybody just breaks up laughing, and don't do anything other than let the kid have a little laugh.

01:28:44

But I'm glad that you said that you should, and of course, I know you meant gently, and not in any kind of a terrified or alarmed way, but gently, you know, teach the kid, no, no, you don't wear mommy's shoes.

01:28:59

You don't wear anything that mommy wears, you know. And I know

01:29:04

I've brought this up before on my show. But one thing that I hate, which women seem to find adorable,

01:29:14

I don't know how many Christian women find it adorable, but we've seen this time and time again in so many

01:29:22

TV commercials that I can't even count the number of times that I've seen this, where the big, macho, burly dad typically with a beard and looking like he does something involving hard manual labor for a living is sitting down with eye makeup and a big lady's hat on and jewelry as he has a tea party with his little girl.

01:29:57

And people think, oh, isn't that so adorable that that dad loves that little girl so much that he wants to dress up just like she's dressed up, like a fairy princess, even though he's a man.

01:30:12

I think that that's horrible. And you could have a tea party with your daughter without dressing up like a woman, can't you?

01:30:23

No, I totally agree. And I'm so glad that you mentioned that. As I started studying this,

01:30:30

I realized that God created male and female for purposes far greater than what

01:30:35

I understand, I'm sure. But the little bit that I understand, just scratching the surface,

01:30:41

I am blown away by God's design. The lengths that he went to, to design us as male or female.

01:30:46

And in fact, I have a teaching on it. If anybody's interested, you can go to YouTube, look up Eden's Redemption.

01:30:52

I've only got a few videos up so far. We're hoping to make a lot more videos. I've got so much content that I wanna create.

01:30:58

But look up, it's called, I think it's called Displaying God's Glory in Our Gender. And I talk about God's design of male and female and how nearly every part of the body,

01:31:11

I mean, with the bones, the heart, the muscles, the lungs, the brain. I mean, there are so many differences.

01:31:17

And those differences, when you start studying it, ultimately point to the roles that God gave us.

01:31:23

And like Ephesians 5 says that, marriage is a representation of Christ and the bride.

01:31:32

And I think this is so incredibly important that God created us male and female on purpose with a very intentional design.

01:31:41

And it's not arbitrary. And it's not just because God needed us to reproduce.

01:31:47

There are organisms in this world that are asexual, not humans, obviously, or not animals, but tiny organisms.

01:31:56

But I mean, he could have, he's not bound by the laws of science, he created the laws of science. He had an intentional design this way for a very significant reason.

01:32:06

And there's such beauty in the male and female roles. And I think when we distort those roles, we give such a distorted picture.

01:32:16

And I think when these incredibly strong men act like girls, there's actually, it gives a confusing picture to a little girl who's looking up to her father to be strong, to be the protector, to be the guardian.

01:32:33

She needs the opposite of what she is. I think that's so important. Amen. Let's see.

01:32:41

We have Louis in Port Jervis, New York.

01:32:47

And Louis said, how long after you transitioned through medical means, did you begin to reverse and how many surgeries, et cetera, were required?

01:33:04

Well, I lived as trans for about nine years. And throughout that process,

01:33:14

I kept going deeper and deeper into that lifestyle. But it was never enough. It was like a drug high.

01:33:20

For a while, it would suppress the pain and it would be fun and exciting, and then it would wear off.

01:33:26

But ultimately, I kind of came to this place where I recognized that this wasn't real, that it was not ever going to be real.

01:33:33

I was depressed, I was suicidal, but I didn't know what the solution was. And I didn't have any desire to detransition.

01:33:40

At the time, I just felt like I was stuck that way. And it was like, well, at least everybody else thinks

01:33:46

I'm a man. And I had a job where I was known as a man. I had a partner that called me a husband. So I was content to just live out the rest of my life as a man, even though I recognized,

01:33:57

I was kind of disillusioned. But it wasn't until I came to Christ, and my mom ultimately was part of that journey.

01:34:06

When I came out as trans, it really broke her. And she, for years, had been praying for me because I had already had about eight or nine years of rebellion toward God.

01:34:16

So this wasn't the first time I'd come up with some shocking thing that I'm getting into, but this really broke her.

01:34:23

And she went home that night and just fell on her face before the Lord and prayed up to God. And she said, God, I'm so tired of trying so hard.

01:34:30

I can't fix this. And she realized that she couldn't fix me. And she just began to surrender me into the

01:34:35

Lord's hands. And for the first time in her life, one thing I forgot to mention earlier, when

01:34:41

I was growing up, she had a very distorted view of God. She was very performance -based. And so she said she felt like she was on a performance treadmill for God, never being good enough, never doing enough.

01:34:52

And so she was always trying to earn God's favor through good works, rather than doing those good works out of the outflow of her relationship with God.

01:35:02

She didn't understand having a relationship with God. So that event kind of broke her. And she came to the end of herself, and she really surrendered her life to the

01:35:10

Lord in a new way. And she said she began to climb up on the potter's wheel every day and allow the

01:35:16

Lord to change her. And as he began to change her, God was working on me, and she was praying for me, but not in this obsessive way.

01:35:25

I think there's some parents that we help in this ministry who, honestly, sometimes we make an idol of our kids, and they become obsessed with their children instead of surrendering them.

01:35:37

But when my mom began to surrender me into the Lord's hand and began to allow the Lord to change me, I began to see little by little over time that he was changing her.

01:35:47

We weren't in a very deep relationship. We didn't talk a lot. But throughout that season, that nine years,

01:35:53

I could see little by little that she was more at peace, that she wasn't so worried and stressed out.

01:36:01

And the Lord really opened my eyes one day to what he'd done in her. And when God really revealed to me how much he had transformed her, that she was not the mother

01:36:10

I'd grown up with, that she was full of peace and faith, I knew the gospel was true. And it's like,

01:36:16

I knew Christ was alive. But this wasn't just some dead religion. This was a living God.

01:36:21

And I went home that night and just began repenting of everything I could think of, totally surrendered my life to the

01:36:27

Lord. I got radically saved. Just knew I was never gonna be the same.

01:36:32

And in fact, I thought, this is what it's like to be born again. I tried to recreate myself, but all of a sudden

01:36:38

I had been made alive and been born again by the spirit of the living God. I knew I was never gonna be the same.

01:36:45

And I was so, the change in me was unbelievable. Just my heart began to change.

01:36:52

Thoughts began to change. Desires began to change. But I was going to be a man of God because I thought, well,

01:37:00

I know this was wrong. I've repented of everything I can think of. I know this wasn't God's will, but I've had all these surgeries.

01:37:06

There's nothing I can do about it now. I can't reverse all this. So I'll just be a man of God. But over time, the

01:37:13

Lord began to convict me more and more. I didn't know anybody else that had detransitioned. And I thought,

01:37:19

I don't even know what that would look like. And I would tell that over and over. I can't, I can't just,

01:37:25

I have a beard. I don't have any breasts. My voice was a lot lower at the time.

01:37:32

And, but the Lord gave me an insatiable hunger for the word of God.

01:37:37

And I was consuming the word through the audio Bible, the Bible studies, teachings, all day long in my headphones at work.

01:37:45

And then more when I would get home, I was listening to Christian videos all the time. And the

01:37:51

Lord began to convict me more and more and more. And one night, I remembered that I had dedicated my life to being a missionary.

01:38:00

And I wanted like this radical sold out life to the Lord. I'd been reading a lot of stories about missionaries and people that had just given their all for the gospel.

01:38:08

And I wanted my life to count. And I threw myself on the floor and I said, God, I want everything you want for me, or for me.

01:38:16

I don't wanna miss anything. I don't wanna miss your will for my life. I don't wanna stand before you ashamed. And just cried out with all my heart.

01:38:23

I said, God, what do you want from me? And I thought that the Lord would kind of give me a checklist of things that I needed to do.

01:38:29

Cause that's the mentality I was raised in, performing for God, giving all the rules and things.

01:38:36

And of course God wants us to obey, but out of a heart that trusts him and loves him. I didn't quite get that yet. But the

01:38:43

Lord impressed this question so heavy on my heart. And it's like the Lord asked, if you stood before me tonight, what name would

01:38:50

I call? And it stunned me because I had, I knew that I was under so much conviction.

01:38:56

I knew this wasn't the Lord's will, but I kept pretending like I didn't have any other choice.

01:39:02

But I knew in that moment, it was like he was calling me to face this. And he reminded me of John chapter one, that it says all things are created by Jesus Christ.

01:39:12

And he said, you can't claim to love me and yet reject my creation. You know, just in my heart.

01:39:20

And I thought I was being condemned. I thought there was no way that I can ever go back.

01:39:25

I just thought the Lord was saying that I was being condemned, but that's not what

01:39:30

God was saying at all. And I just felt so deep in my heart, you know, not audible or anything like that, but just,

01:39:40

I felt it deep in my spirit, that the Lord said, let me tell you who you are. And that's what began to free me.

01:39:48

It wasn't like at that moment I went, oh yes, I want to be a woman. But it was for the first time,

01:39:55

I began to switch my thinking from what I wanted and what I wanted to accomplish for God and what

01:40:01

I wanted for my life to what does God want. What, who did God create me to be?

01:40:07

And I began to see myself rather than seeing myself as, trying to think out of word that part of it.

01:40:16

But anyway, I started seeing myself as a part of God's life, as the part of the life of Christ.

01:40:21

The Bible talks about how we're part of the body of Christ. And I began to see that I was a part of his plan rather than just adding

01:40:31

Jesus to my life. That goes back to something we were taught a lot in youth group growing up.

01:40:37

I would always hear this phrase, Jesus is the missing piece in your life. That's not a wrong phrase or a bad phrase.

01:40:43

I mean, we all have this God shaped hole and I get that. But I think the impression a lot of young people get when they hear things like that is your life is pretty good.

01:40:51

You need to figure out what you wanna do for your life and get all the things that you want and do the things that you want and just add

01:40:56

God to it rather than saying we're supposed to be crucified with Christ and to live as part of his life and part of his body and his kingdom.

01:41:10

And so when I finally realized that I just surrendered everything to the Lord, it took me a couple of months of wrestling with the

01:41:16

Lord. I honestly became a little bit suicidal. I would have rather died because there was so much pain and I didn't know why.

01:41:24

All I knew was it was so painful to face all of that. But that's when I walked away and I honestly didn't know how to detransition.

01:41:32

I didn't know if I would ever have any of the surgeries. I didn't know what to do. All I knew was the

01:41:38

Lord was calling me to walk away. As I did, he began to help me forgive those who hurt me.

01:41:44

I think forgiveness was such a huge key. Forgiving my mom and others who had hurt me, letting go of all the bitterness, repenting of all the things that I had done.

01:41:53

And as I began to replace the lies with the truth of the word of God, he just began to heal those things little by little and it was harder to be a man faded away.

01:42:02

And God just began to heal my body and I began to look more feminine again. My voice began to get higher again.

01:42:08

We actually tried to, I had surgery several years, about three years ago to get breast implants.

01:42:16

But they made me very sick. I ended up, it's a bit of a long story, but I've had autoimmune disease my whole life and I didn't realize that there's recommendations for those that have autoimmune disease to not get breast implants.

01:42:29

So I ended up having severe health problems that I'm still dealing with. But, so I've just not been able to have any surgeries to really detransition.

01:42:39

I'm doing, I'm living the best female version that I can. But I've had surgeries that other women have had.

01:42:46

I've had my breast removed and a hysterectomy. So, but even those that haven't, to answer, to go back to the question,

01:42:53

I know that's a bit of a long answer, but I wanted to make sure I talked about how Christ rescued me. Oh, of course. That's the most important part of this story.

01:42:59

That's exactly, that's the most important part. If you don't get anything else today, the Lord, I did nothing to fit to myself.

01:43:06

The Lord absolutely rescued me out of a pit of darkness and he's the one who healed me and delivered me and transformed me.

01:43:14

But I have known several people who have had genital reassignment surgeries and they can't get that back, but they're living the best that they can as the sex that God made them.

01:43:28

And that is such a beautiful thing. And God knows what our bodies are able to do, just like anybody else who, if a man has some kind of accident and he gets, his genitalia is damaged or cut off,

01:43:43

I mean, sometimes that doesn't make him a woman. That's right. Any more than a man who has made those mistakes can still be a man, even without genitalia.

01:43:56

So, God is able to redeem, to transform. God has so transformed my life.

01:44:04

And he ultimately brought me an amazing husband that I mentioned earlier. We were married about, or I met him about five years after I detransitioned.

01:44:13

So it took a little time, you know, but God has brought me an amazing husband, such a great man of God.

01:44:21

And so now we're doing ministry together and it's not been easy. It's a hard road being in ministry.

01:44:29

And I don't think I was really prepared for how hard ministry is sometimes.

01:44:35

There's a lot of warfare, but it's been so worth living for Jesus. At the time,

01:44:41

I thought I'd be miserable. I thought I'd never be happy again, but I've discovered that living for Christ is so worth anything that I have given for him.

01:44:51

He has given back so much more. Amen. It's interesting. William Allen had a similar experience when he first was born again.

01:45:02

He thought that he was going to live as a born again woman and that he was actually baptized at his church because he deceived everyone, including the pastor, that he was a woman.

01:45:15

And the guilt of sin overwhelmed him so much that he eventually, at first he just began a secret return, if you will, to looking like a man.

01:45:31

I mean, he always was a man, but returned through surgical and other means to resembling more of a man.

01:45:43

And then he finally went back to his pastor and admitted the sin that he had lied to him in the church, that he was a woman.

01:45:51

And they welcomed him back with open arms and re -baptized him. Oh, sorry, go ahead.

01:46:00

No, no, I was gonna... Yeah, that should be the response of the church.

01:46:05

A lot of people have asked me about this. And I think that there's such a fear sometimes in the church of how are we going to respond to people?

01:46:20

And we need to absolutely love people, but not leave them in their sin. We should encourage them.

01:46:26

And I will never forget my mom. I'm so grateful to my mom.

01:46:32

As angry and bitter as I was at her all those years, for no good reason, I believed so many lies from the enemy about my mom that just weren't even true.

01:46:40

I didn't understand her own pain and her own brokenness. But my mom did so much to disciple me when

01:46:47

I came out. She's such a huge part of my story. And I remember just being so broken and I wanted to stay living as a man of God.

01:46:57

And I said, mom, I don't feel like a woman. I just, I can't even imagine being a woman again.

01:47:04

There's so much pain there. And I really didn't even know why. I didn't connect it to all my brokenness. And my mom said, honey,

01:47:11

I believe that if you will trust God, he will change your feelings, but you've got to walk by faith.

01:47:18

And that was huge for me. I needed to hear the tough truth because it would have been easy for my mom to say, oh, honey,

01:47:26

I think you can just keep living as trans. God won't want, you know, or whatever. And I would have felt better, you know, at the moment.

01:47:34

But I had no idea the transformation that God had in store for me. And we need to be willing to speak the hard truth in love, to encourage people to come out of their sin and brokenness and into the light of Christ, into the glorious light of his kingdom that we would be transformed into who

01:47:56

God really created us to be. Amen. And we've got to go to our final break. Don't go away. We'll be right back.

01:48:15

It's such a blessing to hear from Iron Sharpens Iron radio listeners from all over the world.

01:48:21

Here's Joe Riley, a listener in Ireland who wants you to know about a guest on the show he really loves hearing interviewed,

01:48:30

Dr. Joe Moorcraft. I'm Joe Riley, a faithful Iron Sharpens Iron radio listener here in Italy.

01:48:36

I'm from County Kildare, Ireland. Going back to 2005, one of my very favorite guests on Iron Sharpens Iron is

01:48:43

Dr. Joe Moorcraft. If you've been blessed by Iron Sharpens Iron radio, Dr. Moorcraft and Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia are largely to thank since they are one of the program's largest financial supporters.

01:48:56

Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming is in Forsyth County, a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.

01:49:02

Heritage is a thoroughly biblical church, unwaveringly committed to Westminster standards. And Dr.

01:49:08

Joe Moorcraft is the author of an eight volume commentary on the larger catechism. Heritage is a member of the

01:49:13

Hanover Presbytery built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone and tracing its roots and heritage back to the great

01:49:23

Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Heritage maintains and follows the biblical truth and principles proclaimed by the reformers.

01:49:31

Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and God's glory alone. Their primary goal is the worship of the

01:49:38

Triune God that continues in eternity. For more details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, visit heritagepresbyterianchurch .com.

01:49:46

That's heritagepresbyterianchurch .com. Or call 678 -954 -7831.

01:49:53

That's 678 -954 -7831. If you visit, tell them

01:49:59

Joe O 'Reilly and Iron Sharpens Iron radio listener Mattoy and Councilor Kildare are sent to you.

01:50:04

I'm Pastor Keith Allen of Lindbrook Baptist Church, a

01:50:30

Christ -centered, gospel -driven church looking to spread the gospel in the southwest portion of Long Island, New York and play our role in fulfilling the

01:50:38

Great Commission, supporting and sending for the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth. We're delighted to be a part of Chris Arnzen's Iron Sharpens Iron radio advertising family.

01:50:49

At Lindbrook Baptist Church, we believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired word of God, inerrant in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God's will for salvation and the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak.

01:51:06

We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, was purchased by Christ on the cross and is received through faith alone, apart from any human merit, works, or ritual.

01:51:23

Salvation in Christ also results in righteous living, good works, and appropriate respect and concern for all who bear

01:51:31

God's image. If you live near Lindbrook, Long Island, or if you're just passing through on the

01:51:36

Lord's Day, we'd love to have you come and join us in worship. For details, visit Lindbrookbaptist .org.

01:51:43

That's L -Y -N -Brookbaptist .org. This is Pastor Keith Allen of Lindbrook Baptist Church reminding you that by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves.

01:51:55

It is the gift of God, not a result of words, so that no one may boast of the

01:52:01

Lord's blessing and the knowledge of himself. When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the

01:52:18

New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors. It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the

01:52:26

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the

01:52:31

NASB. I'm Dr. Joe Moorcraft, pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church in Cumming, Georgia, and the

01:52:39

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Anthony Uvino, founder of thereformrookie .com

01:52:46

and co -founder of New York Apologetics, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

01:52:52

I'm Pastor Tim Bushong of Syracuse Baptist Church in Syracuse, Indiana, and the NASB is my

01:52:58

Bible of choice. I'm Eli Ayala, founder of Revealed Apologetics and staff member with the

01:53:03

Historical Bible Society, and the NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Josh Miller of Grace Bible Fellowship Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the

01:53:12

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Joe Bianchi, president of Calvi Press Publishing in Greenville, South Carolina, and the

01:53:22

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Jake Korn of Switzerland Community Church in Switzerland, Florida, and the

01:53:32

NASB is my Bible of choice. Here's a great way for your church to help keep

01:53:37

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. Pastors, are your pew bibles tattered and falling apart?

01:53:44

Consider restocking your pews with the NASB, and tell the publishers you heard about them from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

01:53:53

Go to nasbible .com, that's nasbible .com to place your order.

01:54:03

Welcome back, and don't forget that this program is paid for in part by the law firm of Buttafuoco and Associates.

01:54:09

If you're the victim of a very serious personal injury or medical malpractice anywhere in the

01:54:15

United States, call 1 -800 -NOW -HURT, 1 -800 -NOW -HURT, or visit their website 1 -800 -NOW -HURT .com,

01:54:24

1 -800 -NOW -HURT .com. Please tell Daniel P. Buttafuoco, attorney of law, that you heard about his law firm from Chris Arnzen of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

01:54:33

And we are now back, and we have an anonymous listener who asks, when in your dating or courtship relationship with your now husband, did you reveal all of these things about your past?

01:54:47

And my follow -up question is, has all of the surgeries and other things that you've done to revert back to your formal self been completely successful?

01:54:58

Are there any negative remnants that hang on? Yeah, this is part of what amazed me about my husband.

01:55:08

He actually, we had a mutual friend that introduced us, and he, well, she had been telling me about him before she told him about me.

01:55:18

So I got really interested, and she told me that the Lord put it really heavy on her heart that she was supposed to introduce us.

01:55:25

And so she's telling me about him, I'm getting more and more interested, and I said, okay, I'd like to meet this guy. And then she told him later that I was interested after we had gone, bit of a long story, but basically we were helping her move a couple of towns over and we went out to dinner just as friends.

01:55:44

So then after that, she told him that I liked him. And he looked me up, and she told him a little bit about my story and my testimony.

01:55:52

And so he knew my background in the ministry I was in, and he knew that I'd lived as transgender and saw my testimony, and he was so interested after that.

01:56:00

Wow. And what amazed me is he would send people my testimony, and he would say, look at what

01:56:06

God has done in her life. And I would say, aren't you embarrassed that this girl that you're dating used to live as transgender?

01:56:13

And he would always tell me, and he's told everybody that has ever asked him, he said, when God saved her, he made her a new creature in Christ.

01:56:22

And that's what 2 Corinthians 5, 17, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.

01:56:30

And that is what his response always was. So he didn't see me as my past.

01:56:36

He saw me as a broken girl that God had totally transformed. And so I'm incredibly grateful to him.

01:56:43

And I think God just put that love in his heart, and he was able to see past that.

01:56:49

As far as the surgeries, I answered a little bit of that earlier, but we tried to do breast implants, and it just wasn't,

01:56:57

I just got very sick from them. I've not been able to have any other surgeries, but it was really hard.

01:57:04

When I was single, I would have liked to have had kids, but it wasn't a huge deal. But then after I got married, that desire to have children with my husband became so alive, like I had never experienced in my life.

01:57:17

I didn't understand that desire inside the covenant of marriage for the two to become one, even though there's a spiritual and emotional aspect of that where the two become one flesh, but it's also intended for the two people to become one flesh and a child.

01:57:35

And I have a stepson, but he was already grown at the time. He was 19 when I got married, so it wasn't quite the same.

01:57:42

But I really longed to have children. That was an incredible grief. I spent months, or probably over a year, grieving and crying night after night, crying myself to sleep.

01:57:53

I was just devastated at the guilt and the remorse. But God in his providence, we've not felt led to adopt just because I travel a lot for ministry.

01:58:04

If God wanted us to adopt, and I would be glad to just be a mother, but we're also a little bit older.

01:58:10

We got married when I was 39. So we've just not felt called to adopt. But he did give us last year an incredible golden retriever puppy.

01:58:19

And it's funny how much of a mother's heart it has brought out of me. God has used him to bring so much healing to me, and even so much more understanding of my mother, but also realizing,

01:58:32

I'd kind of realized before that I was never meant to be transgender, that God had always created me to be a female, that I was just more tomboy as a kid and things like that.

01:58:42

But when I began to love on this puppy and began to raise him, we had him since six weeks old. And I realized that I was a woman all along, that,

01:58:52

I mean, just the desire to be a mother and picking up that dog.

01:58:57

And it's like everything in my being came alive. It's like, oh my goodness, this is what I was created for.

01:59:03

And I began to realize that everything I'd studied when I was studying, and it's in that teaching

01:59:09

I mentioned earlier on YouTube, when I started saying that the entire female body truly is created for the roles that God gave us.

01:59:17

And I felt it when I picked up that puppy as my little baby, realizing that God had created me for this.

01:59:23

And I'm so incredibly grateful. And then also I prayed for spiritual children, but unfortunately just surgically,

01:59:30

I'm not able to go back. Well, you have been a joy to interview. I look forward to return visits from you.

01:59:37

And I wanna remind our listeners that Laura's website is edensredemption .org.

01:59:43

Thank you so much for this fascinating interview. I wanna thank everybody who listened. I want you all to always remember for the rest of your lives that Jesus Christ is a far greater savior than you are a sinner.