Video: Nathan Kitchen presented with the 2024 Affirmation Mortensen Award

Within every organization, there are individuals whose leadership, skills, commitment, and service make a positive difference in the lives of others and whose contributions further the organization’s mission. This is especially true in Affirmation.

Each year, the Affirmation community has the opportunity to nominate members who have significantly and positively impacted the lives of those within Affirmation to receive the Mortensen Award, awarded each year during the Affirmation International Conference. The award was created and named in honor of Paul Mortensen, who was the first recipient of the award. Paul was one of the founders of Affirmation and a staunch supporter until his death in late 2021.

Nathan Kitchen (Winner), Laurie Lee Hall (2023 Winner), and Olin Thomas (Mortensen Award Committee Chair)

The recipient of the 2024 Affirmation Mortensen Award is Nathan Kitchen. When making the announcement during the 2024 Affirmation International Conference, Olin Thomas, Chairperson of the Mortensen Award Committee, shared:

Nathan Kitchen “served two full terms as president of Affirmation, providing four years of steady leadership during a difficult time in our organization’s history. During this time, he was recognized as Affirmation’s face to the media. He established Affirmation as a go-to organization at the intersection of the LGBTQ Mormon and Mormon-adjacent communities. His leadership extends back to being the face of the active Mormon same-sex community at the time when the policy of exclusion was leaked in 2015, and he was the strong voice leading the organization at the time the policy was rescinded three years later, calling for all members of Affirmation to share and post their stories in its wake. His voice will continue to resound as his important memoir, The Boughs of Love: Navigating the Queer Latter-day Saint Experience During an Ongoing Restoration, arrives in bookstores this fall. His steady hand guided the organization through the pandemic and into the virtual conference era, and he extended the worldwide leadership of Affirmation chapters by engaging the board of directors with local chapter leaders via area committees. Most importantly, he led the creation of the current mission, vision, and bylaws, clearly establishing Affirmation as a place to land, heal, serve, and be authentic. He then lived daily as an example of these priorities in every interaction with others.”

Laurie Lee Hall, the 2023 Affirmation Mortensen Award winner, presented the award.

Other nominees for this year’s award included:

• Wesley Acastre
• Joel McDonald