Transgender
It is hard for me to imagine a Jesus who would not have walked among those whose love and concern lit the Y tonight and would not also have brought his light as well to show love.
Each year on November 20th, we remember transgender people, gender-variant individuals, and those perceived to be transgender murdered because of hate. For many left behind, there is a feeling of obligation to speak for those who can speak no more, to tell their stories, and to support one another.
The Utah Supreme Court issued an opinion affirming the right of transgender individuals to update their sex on legal documentation. The opinion states, “A person has a common-law right to change facets of their personal legal status, including their sex designation.”
I discovered that being trans isn’t a social choice, but the cure for a disease of the mind and body called gender dysphoria. It wasn’t until I acted in faith by trying a new name and pronouns in a limited setting that I started to taste the relief that was in store for me. It was a small and simple act of faith, akin to reading the Book of Mormon.
While applauding the increase in transparency and clarity the new handbook provides, Affirmation remains concerned that Church policy diminishes the lived experience of LGBTQ individuals.
I’ve been through years of suffering, challenges, and change in my life. Having been a Latter-day Saint, and having that legacy of pioneers in my heart, I had an example in persevering through struggle.
We, as cisgender people, have to make the effort to understand. We have to see transgender individuals for the beautiful people they are and recognize their contributions to society and our own lives.
The Affirmation Trans* Mormons, Families & Friends affinity group is space of support for Transgender Mormons, family, friends, and allies to share experiences and learn together about trans* issues. Trans*…
“Ultimately, an individual often gets to a point where they must live the way they feel internally, in their mind and heart, how they are,” Hall explained. “Identity is a sense of self that’s in the mind, in the heart, and in the soul that transcends the actual physical biology, whatever that may be.”