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The Affirmation Conference Is Just Days Away Go to the computer now, download the registration form, put in the mail with your check today, and come to conference by Dave Melson, conference chair August 2007 It is past time for exciting new announcements, and by now we hope that you have heard about all of the great speakers and entertainers that will be there. The 2007 Affirmation Conference in Washington, D.C. is just a few days away. It is time to make a commitment and time to mail in your registration. If you have never been, conference will give you an entirely new perspective and appreciation of what Affirmation really is. If you have been to conference before, you probably will never forget all of the emotions that can be experienced in one short weekend – the excitement of greeting old friends and making new friends, the warmth of our common bonds, the tears that flow not only during the devotional service but at other unexpected moments, the laughter and joy of impromptu gatherings at odd times. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of Affirmation by Matt Price and a brave group that met in the shadows in Provo. Stonewall was recent news, the first gay and lesbian march on Washington was not even conceived, you could still be arrested — or institutionalized — in a few states for simply being a homosexual. It would be another year before the first cases of “gay cancer” would appear, later to be know as GRID — the acronym AIDS didn’t exist yet — and we could not begin to imagine the horror that it would all bring. We could not comprehend the number also who would die by the own hands as the result or religious persecution. October marks the anniversary as well of the First and of the Second Gay and Lesbian March on Washington, the first national Coming Out Day, and of the death of Matthew Sheppard. Today, the fear has given way to pride, we are increasingly accepted as a part of mainstream society, and even in a few corners of the LDS Church. We can marry (void where prohibited) and we can raise families. The road was not easy, the defeats have been beyond our worse nightmares, but we have so much to celebrate and so much hope and momentum to launch ourselves into the next thirty years. We invite you to stand with us next month, literally in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol Building and declare the beginning of A More Perfect Union. It costs a little bit of money, but not as much as one might expect. It takes a little bit of time, a three-day weekend will do (or stay a little longer and enjoy the sites of the nation’s capital). Hotel rooms in DC are scarce, but we can find you a place to stay. Come for the speakers. Come for the entertainment. Come for the celebration. Come for the special moments. But please, go to the computer now, download the registration form, and put in the mail with your check today, and come to conference. And, if you have never cried through the last chorus of “God Be With You ‘til We Meet Again,” come.
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www.affirmation.org