I Am Blessed to Have a Gay Father and a Lesbian Mother

Gabriela and Luiz Correa with others from Affirmation.

by Gabriela Correa

I am the only daughter of my parents’ marriage, but I have a sister who is three years older than me form my mother, born before she met my dad. I was born within the conventions of Mormon doctrine. I testified on the first Sunday of the month. I participated in all the primary and the Young Women.

My parents separated when I was still in elementary school. At that time I could not understand what was happening between my parents. We stayed with my mom and my dad came to visit us.

There was a period in our lives that my sister and I went to live with Dad. He always told us to go to church. He always got up early on Sundays, made breakfast for us, and took us to the door of the Church, but he did not enter. I always wondered why my father, who always encouraged people to go to church, to pray, and to read the scriptures, did not enter the church with others on Sundays.

When I was 10 or 11 years old, my mom decided to tell us that our dad was gay. It seemed strange that he did not tell us himself, but that did not change our relationship much. He was our father. Two years later he met me and my sister to talk, and with great difficulty told us what we already knew.

In the beginning, my father being gay wasn’t an issue. The difficult thing began when my mother also decided to come out of the closet when she decided to marry another woman. That was like a deluge of cold water. How can I have the two gay parents? Had I had done something wrong? Was God punishing me?

I did not have much courage to talk to people about this. I remained faithful in the Church and had a great desire to serve on a mission, just as my father did. I felt that I had made the right decision to prepare for a full-time mission.

But in 2015, the Church came out with a policy of not allowing children of homosexual couples to be baptized unless they were 18, disavow their parents’ relationship, and move from their home. That was like a knife in my heart because I loved my parents. I could not disavow them. However, I also had the great desire to serve the Lord on a mission.

How could I make this life decision? How could I leave behind everything I wanted and loved? After much thought, I decided I could not serve a full-time mission. How could I teach people that homosexuality is a mistake, a sin, since my parents were gay and had found happiness in their lives? The love my parents had always given me, and with all that I had learned, my decision was not so difficult. I support my parents fully. I love them. They are my foundation. I know that they haven’t done anything wrong. They just followed their hearts to find happiness.

I am very proud of my parents. I would not change them for anything in this life. I am living proof that having parents who are gay does not make you gay. I am heterosexual and I 100% support LGBT people. I am a member of Affirmation, right next to my father.

Today, I am proud of my parents. I do not hide them from anyone. I don’t believe we have been deprived of the blessings of our Heavenly Father. I know that I am a special daughter of Him and that He, being my Heavenly Father, understood my choice to be with my earthly parents rather than serve a mission.