Top 10 Most-Read Stories from Affirmation for 2020
by Joel McDonald
Here are the top 10 most-read stories from Affirmation published in 2020. Stories published on the Affirmation website are from, for, or about the LGBTQIA+ Latter-day Saint community around the world.
10. Video: Affirmation LIVE Virtual Fireside with Charlie Bird and Savannah Stevenson
by Charlie Bird and Savannah Stevenson
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. View Fireside.
9. Affirmation Membership Approves New Mission and Vision
by Affirmation
From July 8th to July 22nd, members of Affirmation had the opportunity to review these recommendations and vote on whether to make the changes to Affirmation’s Charter & Bylaws. Over 98% voted to approve. Read More.
8. Be one: Listening to the LGBTQ+ students at BYU
by Laurie Illions Rodriguez
They were born into OUR Mormon families. They grew up singing the same Primary songs, learning the value of family relationships and wanting that for themselves, being taught they are each a child of God, learning to love one another, learning to get their own answers through prayer, and learning to stand up for what is right, even if they must stand alone. Read More.
7. Church Leaders Session, 2020 Affirmation International Conference
by Panelists
The Church Leaders Session 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. View Session.
6. I don’t think God views being gay as incompatible with the gospel
by David Doyle
There are many things about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that I really like, things that resonate with me. I like that our God isn’t silent, that God answers prayers, and wants to reveal new things to us. It’s just that where church intersects with how I was made by our Creator, there is tension. Read More.
5. Affirmation president’s efforts to improve relations between BYU and LGBTQ community
by Nathan Kitchen
You can claim change when any privileges available to heterosexual people are available to homosexual people and any privileges available to cisgender people are available to transgender and gender non-binary people. Until then, we all have work to do for our marginalized population of LGBTQ students. Read More.
4. The Most American Religion’s Transgender Temple Architect
by Nathan Kitchen
The photo that accompanies the recent Atlantic article about the Church is the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, the design and construction of which was directed by Laurie Lee Hall, the former Chief Architect of Temples for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was forced from her position for no other reason than she was a transgender woman. Read More.
3. Honor code no longer discriminates between same-sex and straight couples
by Joel McDonald
BYU released an updated honor code, removing all references to homosexuals or same-sex relationships. Instead, the code now calls for students to, “Live a chaste and virtuous life, including abstaining from any sexual relations outside a marriage between a man and a woman.” Read More.
2. New Church handbook provides some clarity but minimizes LGBTQ identities
by Affirmation
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. Read More.
1. Our Decision to Divorce and Remain a Family
by Laura Skaggs Dulin & John C. Dulin
We regret the messages in society and our communities that continue to tell LGBTQ people that what is inside of them or the relationships they form are no good. We continue to work for increased understanding that leads to change. Neither one of us regrets our family or the love we found within it. “To love another person is to see the face of God” and we have loved and seen each other deeply. Read More.