Recently we held a fireside at our home. There was no specific topic, speaker or agenda. We simply sent out the invitation and 20-30 people came. Many were our LGBT+ friends who live in the area and a few visitors…
Grace
Tag: reconciiation
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…
Clarity
It has been over four years since Wendy and I found out that Jordan was gay. Three wards, two states and a persistent search for a ward family to call home. I have documented our experience in our first ward…
Emotional Distance
Recently, I was asked to give a lesson from a Conference address in October by the new apostle Elder Renlund. The last few lessons I have taught have been a significant struggle for me to teach. My heart was devastated…
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…
Sadness
A couple years ago, a member of the Bishopric in a previous ward shared how happy he is in the Church. He shared how happy the gospel makes him and his family. He finished it off with, “I don’t even…
Trust
Today was my first day in a new ward. It is unavoidably true that one of the reasons for our move was to find a fresh start in a new ward. By way of synopsis, our son Jordan came out…
Seeing Through My Tears
I live about two hours from the Los Angeles Temple. Recently, I made my first trek there since my son came out gay about almost three years ago. I have always instinctively kept my temple recommend active and remained worthy…