Family
Once I had accepted myself, the self esteem issues melted away. I came to terms with my religion. I realized I could never leave the church. I am a Mormon; being gay will not change that. I am gay; being a Mormon will not change that. I am not some mistake that God made, he knows me and he wants me to be happy.
The recent Supreme Court refusal to rule on four appeals in cases where lower courts had struck down same-sex marriage bans (and the subsequent legalization of same-sex marriage in the four appealing states) has elicited strong responses across the country, but especially in the states affected. We asked a few within the Affirmation community to share their thoughts and feelings with us.
Affirmation – LGBT Mormons, Families and Friends in Mexico are excited to host the Third Annual Conference of Affirmation Mexico, which will be held from November 14 to 16 at El Ejecutivo Hotel in Mexico City, Mexico. Join us for a weekend of uplifting activities, including speakers, musical performances, a testimony meeting and visits to historic sites. Registration available now.
We welcome you to the new Spanish Affirmation page: afirmacion.org. This website can be the beginning of a new perspective for your life, or your family and friends. We are constantly adding new authentic content and we hope you can find the answers you are looking for.
The great temptation in my life has been to prematurely resolve the great problems quickly and easily in one direction or another. But there have been profound moments in my life when I have been forced to acknowledge, like Moses, “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.”
Women have been there for me at every important juncture of my life and in my search for personal meaning. I want to be there for them too. If the brothers don’t care enough about the needs and the pain of our sisters to take the time to listen, and if we aren’t willing to listen deeply enough to discern a way to make a difference, to make things better, we’ve failed.
I was able to arm myself with some tools to tackle some of the hard things I am dealing with thanks to the wonderful people I was able to meet and hear speak.
A recording of Salt Lake City’s June 22nd Affirmation FHE, “Finding our Spiritual Footing,” is provided here by the Affirmation Podcast.
For many of us this was a completely unexpected journey we embarked upon when our children came out; one with a steep learning curve that has put us through the classic stages of grieving and brought us into the light of unconditional love and unequivocal acceptance of these children with a core identity different from our own.
My son said, “If anyone knew who I really was, they would hate me.” These were the same thoughts he had regarding us before he had come out to us. So Wendy and I took on the task of liberating him of that shame.