Search Results: BYU
Plenary session featuring artist Matthew Gong and journalist and author Samantha Allen from the 2020 Affirmation International Conference, a conference hosted annually by Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families & Friends for the entire LGBTQIA+ Latter-day Saint community. This year’s conference was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly established to express Mormon culture and to examine the relevance of religion to secular life.
The very first of our monthly virtual firesides! This month, we were thrilled to have former BYU Cosmo the Cougar Charlie Bird as our guest speaker with musical performances by West End leading lady Savannah Stevenson.
The need to stay connected has never been more important than it has been amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. From our chapters to the international organization, the Affirmation community is doing so much to meet this need in new ways that are likely to become a part of Affirmation for many years to come.
National non-profit organization Affirmation LGBTQ Mormons Family and Friends, began its first Hawaii chapter in the Laie community this year, said organizers, due to a need voiced by BYU–Hawaii students and faculty.
Nathan Kitchen is president of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families & Friends, a nonprofit that supports LGBTQ individuals and their families as they navigate the intersections they occupy in life, including the ways they interact with the Mormon church, whether they’re members or not. Kitchen, an alumnus of BYU, spoke with me to discuss the changes and ambiguity in the honor code, its impact on students, and what could instead be done to create a safer and more loving environment for LGBTQ individuals.
As I began my drive, I viewed the hillsides, fields, and woodlands here in upstate New York. Such scenery has become my chapel of holy reflection, and I was lost in the beauty of my surroundings. Despite the fact that the snows have only just receded and the color scheme is still tawny, slate, and charcoal, I still see God’s creation in all of it. I find God in nature, and God finds me there, too.
There is no mention in Church policy of any prohibition of any form of physical intimacy for unmarried couples of any sexual orientation outside of abstaining from sexual relations. It’s not unreasonable that living a chaste and virtuous life at BYU would mean anything different than what has been expected of students their whole lives as active and worthy members of the Church.
How do I handle this anger I’m feeling and still be authentic? How do I bridle these passions, and channel this anger so I can feel Christlike love again? The Lord and I talked it over quite a bit in the past week, and I’ve found an answer. It’s not everyone’s answer, but it’s mine.