Learning to See the Gray: Corey’s Story, Part 1

In Part 1 of our conversation with Corey Buse, we go back to growing up Mormon in Utah in the 1990s, where church, family, friends, and community were all deeply intertwined.

Corey was raised with a strong emphasis on exact obedience and doing things the “right” way. That framework gave him discipline and conviction, but it also shaped how he approached friendships, differences, and eventually his mission.

Serving in New Jersey exposed Corey to people who saw religion very differently than he did. For the first time, he began asking what the gospel looked like from the other side of the doorstep. A change in mission leadership also challenged his assumptions about rules, obedience, and what actually makes someone an effective missionary.

Corey didn't come home from his mission having lost his faith. In many ways, he came home more committed than ever. But he also came home seeing more gray in a world he'd once understood largely in black and white.

This is Part 1 of Corey's story. In Part 2, we follow what happened as those early shifts in perspective eventually became something much bigger.