Tag: homosexuality

What Can’t Be Said

Tonight, I went to a seminar called “Being a Good Latter-day Saint & Supporting God’s LGBTQ Children” a Listen, Learn, & Love production by Richard Ostler.  The seminar was a high school auditorium in Mesa Arizona full of Mormons who…

The Safe Way

LDS Living recently had an article with excerpts from Tom Christofferson’s book “That We May Be One, A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Faith and Family.”1  Within LGBTQ+ Mormon circles, Tom’s book is controversial in that he tells his story of…

Sacred Spaces

Recently, I attended my fifth Affirmation Conference.  Affirmation is a support group for LGBTQIA Mormons.  It is a remarkably diverse space that includes not just inactive/ex-Mormons but active queer Mormons and active allies.  It bridges a wide span of both…

Rejection and the Family

Five years ago, my son was a 13-year-old deacon in our church.  He came out on Super Bowl Sunday, 2012.  For the year previous to that, my wife and I were very concerned as he was notably going downhill and…

Anger

I have a visceral memory from last year.  I remember stumbling out of Sacrament meeting with Wendy shaking and heaving with pain and despair.  Half way to our car, we just turned to each other and held each other weeping.…

A Tale of Two Weddings

Sunlight diffused through the trees over the wedding.  A light breeze cooled the summer day to a perfect temperature.  The wedding arch was decorated in lace and beautiful white lilies.  The groom stood to the left of the wedding officiant…

The Scarlet Letter: Apostasy

“…if truth were everywhere to be shown, a scarlet letter would blaze forth on many a bosom…” The last few weeks have been agony.  On November 5th, the Church shifted its policy regarding LGBT members.  Now any LGBT person who…

The Doctrine of Celibacy

When Mormons speak of the Law of Chastity, they often define it as remaining celibate until marriage.  In actuality, it would be more properly defined as remaining abstinent until marriage.  Today, the words abstinent and celibate are frequently used interchangeably,…

What Words Can’t Define

Mormons, like most Christian’s, in pursuit of greater spiritual understanding, pursue Christ’s words in scripture. Who’s words, on any given subject, are more authoritative than those of the Savior himself? Even more notable are subjects on which Christ never spoke…

It’s Complex

“On one occasion Jesus came upon a group arguing vehemently with His disciples. When the Savior inquired as to the cause of this contention, the father of an afflicted child stepped forward, saying he had approached Jesus’s disciples for a…