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Mensaje de Don Fletcher, ex-obispo del área de San Francisco, durante la Conferencia Anual Internacional de Afirmación “This is the Place” en septiembre de 2014, Salt Lake City
I am recently returned to church activity, and at times I’ve wondered whether there is a place for me among Affirmation’s brilliant collection of voices, lives, and experiences. Over the course of the Millennials Retreat, I felt a powerful new sense of belonging. Affirmation is for me, too.
Why LGBT Mormons, families and friends are marching in Pride this year! “It is a way of reaching people on the outskirts, if you will, and letting them know that as disciples of Christ, we would welcome them with open arms, just as He would. Indeed that is what this activism is about. I have seen it give young gay Mormons the will to go on, to stay alive. This is why I march.”
Members often see themselves and others as belonging to one of two tribes: The Liahonas or the Iron Rodders. Liahonas are led primarily by the Spirit, whereas the Iron Rodders are guided by the commandments. None of us are strictly one or the other, but a mixture of both with, hopefully, the wisdom to use them properly and in the right combination. Both are important. That is why we are counseled to both pray and study the scriptures regularly.
He said he wished that every single one of us were members of his stake; that he wished every member of the Church had the quality of testimonies he had heard shared among us; that we had had to work and struggle against opposition and doubt to come to a deeper understanding of the Gospel, and find our place in it, and he wished for every member of his stake to work at claiming their faith as authentically as we had.
Relación de la primera de muchas noches de hogar en Chile. Todo estaba preparado: las sillas acomodadas, los vasos dispuestos, aguas de sabor sobre la mesa… ¡hasta papel higiénico en el baño! Ahora a esperar. ¿Había nervios? ¡Por supuesto que si! Nunca habíamos recibido visitas tan especiales en nuestro hogar; venían preguntas como ¿cuántos vendrán? ¿las indicaciones de cómo llegar fueron claras?
We are only days away from our annual international conference! Join 500 other LGBT Mormons, Families & Friends from around the world for a weekend of a lifetime! This coming weekend many of us will gather together in Provo, Utah for our 34th annual international conference. If you haven’t yet registered but plan to attend, please register today at: conference.affirmation.org
Participants came with open hearts, right from the beginning sharing the most vulnerable elements of their journeys and their lives: their hopes, their pain and their questions, their skepticism and their faith. Read more here about the conferences held in South America this past month.
Listening to Megan’s parents speak was very touching to me. Again, I felt the challenge that parents face in navigating their faith and the love they have for their children. Hearing how much they cared about their daughter, even through the challenges, was very encouraging to me. I could truly feel the love that they have, not only for their daughter, but also for the LGBT community.
Overall, I left this fireside with my heart filled with hope, and with an overwhelming sense of love for who I am, and for those around me. I truly enjoyed this evening, and I am so glad that we have opportunities to come together to support each other, to love each other, and to help each other.