2022 Affirmation International Conference
In-Person. October 7-9. Salt Lake City, UT.
Salt Palace Convention Center
Until the 2022 Affirmation International Conference!
Registration Rates
| General, In-Person | Individuals (1) | $85 |
| Couples (2) | $75 | |
| Families/Groups (3+) | $65 | |
| General, Virtual | Individuals (1) | $0 |
| Church Leaders, In-Person | Individuals (1) | $0 |
General Registration Includes Dinner Friday.
Couples, families, and groups must be registered together for the discounted rate. Individuals may not be added to registrations later.
Conference Theme
"Rooted in Love"
Information
Welcome!
We are excited to once again embrace LGBTQIA+ current and former Latter-day Saints from around the world at the 2022 Affirmation International Conference. After two years of being virtual, we are returning in person to the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, UT, October 7-9.
Expand the sections below to navigate conference information, including volunteer opportunities, sponsorship and vendor information, and more.
Special Room Rate
Affirmation has secured a special room rate of $259 + tax per night for the 2022 Affirmation International Conference at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center. This hotel is within walking distance of the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Virtual Participation
As in years past, the plenaries (large group sessions) will be available virtually. We're currently exploring options to provide some hybrid in-person/virtual sessions on Saturday in addition to the plenaries. To access the conference virtually, please register and select the virtual option.
Conference Schedule
The schedule below is tentative. Specific session information will be published soon.
For those in town or coming into town on Thursday, join us for some food, fellowship, music, and fun at Encircle!
The first in-person meeting of the Affirmation Board of Directors since 2019. Board members and staff only.
All the goodness of our monthly virtual Affirmation Community Leader meetings, but in-person!
All Affirmation board members, area directors, and leaders of Affirmation regions, chapters, and affinity groups attending the conference are invited to be in a group photo following the community leader meeting.
Display of portraits of LGBTQIA+ Mormons by Melinda Hannah. The goal of the portraits was for viewers to see the person, the soul, and not the label while also helping those on the journey of discovery themselves to know without a doubt their innate beauty and dignity; to see themselves the way Melinda believes God sees them. Ten of these portraits will be displayed throughout the 2022 Affirmation International Conference.
All attendees must pick up a name badge from the registration table. If you have not registered prior to the conference, the registration staff can assist you.
New to Affirmation or the Affirmation International Conference? This session is for you! Learn more about Affirmation, how to navigate the conference, and get to know other first-timers.
To open the 2022 Affirmation International Conference, Affirmation President Nathan Kitchen will welcome us and speak about this year’s election of the next president. We will break bread together and enjoy a meal in each other’s company accompanied by beautiful piano music. We will hear from transgender activist Sue Robbins; the illustrator best known as The NakedPastor, David Hayward; and country music artist Michael Todd. Doors open at 6:40 PM. Name badges are required for entry, so be sure to stop by the registration table to pick yours up prior to the session.
The World’s Best Rainbow Youth Conference! Affirmation youth ages 12 – 18 are invited to participate in activities created especially for them! Many of our youth come back to participate in the youth track year after year, and we love to see new faces!
All attendees must pick up a name badge from the registration table. If you have not registered prior to the conference, the registration staff can assist you.
Join us for the first session of the Parents and Allies conference track, where we will have the opportunity to get to know each other and share our stories. Please note that this session begins at the same time as this morning’s plenary session.
The World’s Best Rainbow Youth Conference! Affirmation youth ages 12 – 18 are invited to participate in activities created especially for them! Many of our youth come back to participate in the youth track year after year, and we love to see new faces!
Affinity group meeting for LGBTQIA+ individuals, their families, and friends transitioning out of Latter-day Saint orthodoxy or former members of the Church. Join us in this discussion about maintaining, finding, or growing your own spirituality. What can you do as you travel on your life’s path to discover or strengthen your connection with the Divine?
Affinity group meeting for LGBTQIA+ believing Latter-day Saints desiring to be involved in church activity and are affirming of all marriages, relationships, or celibacy/abstinence.
Affinity group for those impacted by mixed-orientation marriage in their family life processing difficult realities, sharing stories, and supporting families.
LGBTQ+ teens raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints face unique challenges, as do those who love and support them. Over the past two years, researchers at Utah State University have conducted interviews with 38 LGBTQ+ teens and their parents as well as with 25 LGBTQ+ Latter-day Saints about ways to best support LGBTQ+ teens. In this session, we present key findings from these interviews that focus on 1) the unique microaggressions experienced by LGBTQ+ teens in LDS contexts, 2) ways that parents can build positive relationships with their LGBTQ+ teens, and 3) how church leaders can effectively minister to LGBTQ+ teens within an LDS framework.
Parents & Allies will have the opportunity to learn from the experiences and wisdom from a spectrum of LGBTQIA+ adults. Our goal is to bring a perspective of hope for the future of our LGBTQIA+ youth. Participants will have an opportunity to write questions to pose to the panel. This is a powerful annual event.
This training, developed by the QPR Institute, will cover how to Question, Persuade, and Refer someone who may be suicidal; how to get help for yourself; general suicide prevention, the common causes of suicidal behavior; the warning signs of suicide; and how to get help for someone in crisis. This training will be provided by certified trainers.
Affinity group meeting for LGBTQIA+ current and former Latter-day Saints, their family members, and allies aged 50+.
Affinity group meeting for trans* Mormons and their friends and family. We encourage learning and education of trans* topics relating to daily life and the gospel.
Affinity group meeting for those who are asexual and/or aromantic
Affinity group meeting for self-identified people of color and allies gathered to explore multiple identities and the intersections of race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and LDS faith.
Affinity group meeting for LBT+ women and mothers.
Many of us suffer from the internalized effects of feeling rejected by our Church communities. We can carry with us a sense that there is something wrong with us that seems to be generated from within, which can further our toxic belief that our queer sexualities have precluded us from enjoying the privileges of love and acceptance. In short, we carry the burden of an internal sense of rejection, shame, and humiliation, which fuels self-defeating thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Furthermore, these functions are often accompanied by the false hope that if we are just good enough, then we will finally be loved and accepted in the ways we need. In this short workshop, I present the science of how self-hatred develops, why it produces thoughts and feelings that lead to self-sabotage and are difficult to quit, and how we can generate, in spite of it, an abiding sense of love and acceptance for ourselves and others around us.
Affinity group meeting for any person who identifies as gay, bisexual, trans, queer, questioning, or SSA in Affirmation who is a father.
Affinity group for those impacted by mixed-orientation marriage as a straight spouse.
Short talks from members of the Affirmation community spanning the spectrums of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, belief, and relationship with the Church. Speakers are encouraged to share stories and insights that that educational, uplifting, and thought-provoking.
Speakers are still needed! Sign up above under Propose a Workshop or AffirmTalk.
Sexuality is commonly a taboo subject and is often relegated to secret or non-existent spaces, especially in religious cultures like Mormonism, with sexual shame being a common factor among many of its members. Coming from a culture where sexuality can be treated in rigid ways, it can be healing to have safe spaces to talk openly about questions and concerns. Come enjoy a candid Q&A where attendees can ask trained professionals questions about sex and sexuality.
From her earliest years, when Jessica Bair was being raised as a boy named Jonathan, she knew she was a girl. But born into the Mormon church, she also knew that saying so out loud could cause her to lose everything-her family, her faith, her life on earth and her eternal soul. This is the story of a woman faced with an impossible choice between the life into which she was born, and the one she was born to live.
We’re thrilled to have Jessica Bair Oppenheimer, Brianna Oppenheimer, Lauren Bair, Kellie Bowen Myers and likely others from the film with us for a Q&A discussion following the film.
Contributors to the essay collection “I Spoke to You With Silence” will read excerpts of their pieces and discuss their various experiences grappling with faith and identity.
This training, developed by the QPR Institute, will cover how to Question, Persuade, and Refer someone who may be suicidal; how to get help for yourself; general suicide prevention, the common causes of suicidal behavior; the warning signs of suicide; and how to get help for someone in crisis. This training will be provided by certified trainers.
Drawing upon insights as Queer Person of Color, Return Missionary, and Marriage & Family Therapist, Tekulve Jackson-Vann, will assist attendees in increasing their appreciation for the unique narratives of queer members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, particularly queer members of color. Drawing upon the metaphors of closets and Lehi’s tent in the wilderness, attendees will be provided a framework for creating safe places for queer members of the Church to tell their unique narratives. As a result of attending this session, attendees will be prepared to transform their homes, neighborhoods, and wards into safe places where the narratives of queer members will be welcomed, respected, and viewed as valuable contributions to the overall narrative of Zion.
The World’s Best Rainbow Youth Conference! Affirmation youth ages 12 – 18 are invited to participate in activities created especially for them! Many of our youth come back to participate in the youth track year after year, and we love to see new faces!
Conference Sponsors
Thank you to the following businesses, organizations, families, and individuals who have sponsored the 2022 Affirmation International Conference. Their support ensures that our conference is financially accessible to the LGBTQIA+ Latter-day Saint community, assists our volunteer leaders traveling to the conference from around the world, and ensures that Affirmation has the resources to sustain current and create new programs to support LGBTQIA+ current and former Latter-day Saints and their families and friends.
For more information on sponsorships or becoming a conference vendor, please download our e-packet.
Platinum Level Sponsors
Gold Level Sponsors
Silver Level Sponsors
