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It is only then when we touch the pain that we are in a position to be able to mourn. To be able to enter that second covenant. To mourn with that person. It is only then that we can truly comfort. That we can be good friends… Only then, when we understand the pain, can we offer words of comfort that reach deeply. And only then can we take upon ourselves the name of Christ.
Read a report of the first Affirmation Europe conference that was held in June this year. People attended from the UK, Ireland, Germany and Spain. “Never have I witnessed such beautiful vulnerability. With each word uttered I received revelation that God indeed loves every one of his children.”
Affirmation held a virtual meeting of LGBTQ/SSA Mormons, Families & Friends in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling on marriage and the First Presidency letter responding to it. Participants shared experiences of family, friends and Church members and leaders responding to these events. The purpose was to learn from both positive and negative experiences, and to discuss ways to deal with stress and conflict and to engage in constructive dialog.
I am recently returned to church activity, and at times I’ve wondered whether there is a place for me among Affirmation’s brilliant collection of voices, lives, and experiences. Over the course of the Millennials Retreat, I felt a powerful new sense of belonging. Affirmation is for me, too.
Participants came with open hearts, right from the beginning sharing the most vulnerable elements of their journeys and their lives: their hopes, their pain and their questions, their skepticism and their faith. Read more here about the conferences held in South America this past month.
Affirmation members from across the country and from all walks-of-life came to Fort Myers, Florida last week to participate in workshops, discussions, social events and spiritual edification. Some of us were looking for answers to life’s toughest questions. Others just needed a friend. Whatever life story was shared, the heart felt plea from Affirmation leaders and the few members whom trod familiar paths was to be authentic and be yourself.
By Carson Tueller
When I really need to be inspired, I don’t usually look to the world-level inspirers. When it really counts. I go to the inspirers of my everyday life.
We respect the right of all people to tell their own story. However, it is vital to point out that these stories belong to the couples who own them in their personal lives and should never be used to manipulate others into false hope or dictated life choices.
There is a reason that LGBT Mormon testimony meetings are so powerful. It is because we have had to wade through rivers of doubt and climb mountains of rejection to know what we know. When we choose to put Gospel principles to the test, we must fight gravity, push against the current.