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He felt firmly that you could be a Mormon without letting church leaders tell you how to do it or that you were on the wrong path. He was the original guru of understanding and accepting your own identity as a gay Mormon. He always understood the purpose of Affirmation wasn’t to shape anyone’s beliefs but to help them find their own faith- wherever that took them.
Coming out as gay became a template for more changes in my life. I began to ask myself, “If I mistakenly cast my queerness as a deficiency, what about other character traits that I thought were weaknesses?” Like a spiral of dominoes, I put down my put-downs and saw myself take shape.
Until there is full acceptance of LGBTQ+ Mormons, their marriages, and families within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Affirmation will be there to provide a place of refuge and support. Donate and ensure the support is there for those LGBTQ+ Mormons of today and the future who will seek the same support we obtained that helped us feel whole, gave us the dear friends we have today, and provided us hope and helped us find joy!
If you have ever participated in Affirmation’s communities of safety, love, and hope or felt the support of Affirmation’s network of mentors and peers, you have done so in the path that Paul blazed before you with love and as a visionary.
Here are the top 10 most-read stories from Affirmation published in 2021. Stories published on the Affirmation website are from, for, or about the LGBTQIA+ Latter-day Saint community around the world.
This year, conference attendees had the opportunity to receive a limited edition enamel pin featuring the 2021 Affirmation International Conference logo and theme in English, Spanish, and Portuguese as a keepsake and reminder of their conference experience; a physical piece of a virtual conference. Only 250 of these pins were created. Less than 24 pins remain available.
Affirmation is seeking volunteer Spanish-English and Portuguese-English interpreters for various virtual meetings being held by Affirmation international and other Affirmation communities around the world.