Elected as Affirmation President in 2018, Nathan Kitchen (he/him/his) grew up in Orem, Utah. When he was 15, he moved to Illinois and finished high school. He served a two-year mission in Alabama, where on a lonely Tuscaloosa country road, he had a tooth knocked out during a head-on collision. The dentist who saved his tooth was so cool that Nathan decided right then and there to become one himself. He received his BS from BYU Provo and a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from Southern Illinois University.
After a residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, he moved to Arizona and opened his private practice in Mesa. Nathan is the proud father of five remarkable children who are the pride and joy of his life. When Nathan was 17 he came out to his bishop and, as was all too common in the 1980s, was counseled to ignore his sexuality, tell no one, get married, and things would turn out okay. Over the years Nathan served faithfully in the church, twice as a counselor in ward bishoprics, as stake young men’s president, and on the high council until the lack of authenticity slowly created a dangerous collapsing shell of a man.
Realizing the path to self-care and healing for all involved was to abandon the counsel of the 80s, he came out to himself, spouse, brothers, sisters, parents, children, friends, and staff. Much was lost, including his marriage of 23 years. But much was gained. Nathan is the co-founder of Fathers in Affirmation, Affirmation’s GBTQIA/SSA father’s group. In 2015 he spoke out nationally in print and television media highlighting the devastating ramifications of the November 5th exclusion policy on his children and LGB Mormons worldwide.
As a speaker, he opened the 2018 annual ALL Arizona conference exploring the lifesaving issue of identifying supportive communities as an LGBTQ Mormon. As a writer, he is a permablogger at Out of Obscurity (outofobscurity.org) where he regularly explores issues we grapple with as a community of LGBTQ Mormons.