Affirmation Conference Talks and Reports
Today I am a person who succeeded in life, for everything I struggled for and sought, I became a confident and determined person. With all that happened, I never lost my faith and spirituality. Today I accept myself. My family accepts me. Most important of all, I built new castles for my life.
Our time here has a purpose. You were born LGBT. You were born to lead and fight for this cause, and that is our privilege. We want to have the opportunity to prove that we are worthy and enlightened as members of the LGBT community and as members of the LGBT Mormon community.
I know that things don’t always work out beautifully. They certainly don’t for me. In the times that my life gets really really hard, it helps to remind me that God does have a plan for me, that He does care for me, and that He can see the full picture when I can only see part.
What do we truly want? What does God want us to be? If we are not honest with ourselves on this journey, we risk losing our very worth. If we deny another’s chance to live honestly, we put them in danger. Follow wherever life pulls you; whether you believe that pull is from God or from your own intuition, just follow it.
I feel distant, but at the same time not, from the church. I feel far away in the physical sense, not knowing sometimes how to introduce my husband, but close because I am with my Heavenly Father, and being close to Him unites me with the church and unifies my marriage.
Gregory Prince traces the development in the Mormon Church’s handling of homosexuality, future possibilities for change, and how medicine has evolved its understanding. He discusses the need for gay, lesbian, and bisexual Mormons to have healthy relationships with the church.
The purposes of Affirmation are fulfilled if we remain cohesive as an LGBTQ people; if we remain true to one another. So long as the purpose of the organization remains to provide safety and a space for learning for LGBTQ Mormons and former Mormons we will be fulfilling God’s plan for us.
So much of what the Affirmation Conference is about is the face-to-face connections, hugs, conversations in the hall, shared meals, and just being with and seeing others who have some idea what we’re going through, because they have been there. But for those who were not able to join us live in Provo last weekend, here are links to videos of all the plenary sessions of the Affirmation conference, in English and Spanish!
Conference time is coming soon, and we are excited to have amazing speakers, programs and workshops focusing on youth empowerment, trans and genderqueer stories, self-care, intersectionality, finding an authentic spiritual path, and much, much more!
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