About Lyn

I was Mormon royalty, tracing my bloodline back to Joseph Smith, the Founder of the Mormon Church and my great, great uncle. My family was venerated by the community for this linage and held up as an example to emulate but we had to be more devoted, more faithful, more perfect. After four generations of unbroken obedience and devotion, I broke from my faith and family, my heritage. I tell my story in my upcoming memoir, We Were Smiths: Escaping the Shadow of Joseph Smith’s Mormon Legacy. When I saw through the lies of my faith, I had to walk away from everything I’d known to be true, my family and community.It’s a revelation of how my leaving led to the unraveling and fracturing of my family and our quest to redefine what family means when a legacy becomes toxic and a burden. I share my journey from heretic outcast to enlightened survivor.