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I received spiritual insights, bit by bit, teaching me and giving me peace and understanding. Being gay would not keep me from becoming the man God wanted me to be. I now believe that it is only the gay me, not some imaginary straight me, that will be able to do and become what he is supposed to in this life.
Just as the New York Times recently called Taiwan a “beacon” for gays in Asia, I am hopeful the church here will become the same thing for Latter-day Saints in other Asian areas.
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.
As I have educated myself about the Transgender (Trans) community, things seemed to fall into place in my head and heart. For the last several years as I have been in more inclusive spaces, it has helped me feel more comfortable with who I am, with what I need to do to feel right in my body and with admitting to myself and all the people in my life that I am Transgender myself.
By the Affirmation Executive Committee
Despite the struggles and rejection many of us have experienced in our home wards and stakes, many of us have testimonies of the Gospel and want to participate in the work of building the Kingdom of God both in and beyond the Church.
Many of us come to General Conference wondering if there’s a place for us in the church, and yearning for church leaders to speak to the doubt, pain, confusion and fear so many of us feel. Here are our take-aways from the 2014 October General Conference.
I can envision Christ wrapping His arm around the shoulder of the one who I’ve deemed my ‘enemy’ and saying “This is my Friend. Please, love them.” He’s giving us the opportunity to lay down our weapons, and see that this person before us can, too, be our friend.
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.