One Gay Man's Powerful Journey Away om the Church and Back Aga (+ Important Insights for Fai and Ward Members) - LDS Livg

Contents:

• GAY BROTHER OF MORMON APOSTLE SHAR HIS SPIRUAL JOURNEY
• GAY BROTHER OF LDS APOSTLE OPENS UP ABOUT FAH, LGBT ISSU NEW BOOK
• MORMON APOSTLE’S GAY BROTHER SHAR HIS RELIG JOURNEY, PREACH LOVE FOR HIS FORMER PARTNER, FAH AND FAY
• LDS APOSTLE'S GAY BROTHER WORRI FOR FUTURE OF LGBT PEOPLE THE CHURCH
• GAY BROTHER OF MORMON APOSTLE
• GAY MORMON THOR, BROTHER OF AN APOSTLE, BUILDS BRIDG BETWEEN THE LDS AND LGBTQ MUNI
• GAY BROTHER OF MORMON APOSTLE SHAR HIS JOURNEY AND A MSAGE OF LOVE NEW BOOK
• CAN MORMONS AND GAYS UNE? GAY BROTHER OF LDS APOSTLE SAYS ‘Y’
• U. PANEL FEATUR TOM CHRISTOFFERSON, GAY BROTHER OF LDS APOSTLE
• LDS LEAR FAY AS EXAMPLE OF HARMONY BETWEEN CHURCH, GAYS
• ONE GAY MAN'S POWERFUL JOURNEY AWAY OM THE CHURCH AND BACK AGA (+ IMPORTANT INSIGHTS FOR FAI AND WARD MEMBERS)
• POLICY CHANG ANNOUNCED FOR MEMBERS GAY MARRIAG, CHILDREN OF LGBT PARENTS
• MORMON APOSTLE'S GAY BROTHER SHAR HIS RELIG JOURNEY, PREACH LOVE FOR HIS FORMER PARTNER, FAH AND FAY

GAY BROTHER OF MORMON APOSTLE SHAR HIS SPIRUAL JOURNEY

15, 2015, and Christofferson's phone was vibratg nstantly wh g msag about a new policy announced by the First Princy of The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats regardg children same-sex unns not beg able to receive prithood ordanc and gay marriage as grounds for, a self-scribed "happy gay Mormon, " sent a text to his brother, Elr D. "The tenr brotherly exchange is one of many personal acunts shared by Tom Christofferson his new book, "That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Fah and Fay, " set to land on bookshelv Sept. "For me, beg gay is one of the greatt blsgs of my life bee I me to a pot where I felt I really had to know that Christ liv, that his Atonement and rurrectn are reali that have impact my life, " Christofferson told the Deret News.

GAY BROTHER OF LDS APOSTLE OPENS UP ABOUT FAH, LGBT ISSU NEW BOOK

"More importantly, his story has been a healg agent and a source of hope for our gay brothers and sisters, many of whom have spent far too long the lonely shadows at the margs of our fah.

Dpe hours of prayers, days of fastg and years of service, he was still gay, he wrote the book's no ncept of how to rencile beg gay and Mormon, the uple's marriage was annulled and Christofferson asked to be exmunited om the church. He troduced himself, explaed he was gay and a relatnship, and wonred if he was wele at the LDS Church.

Tom Christofferson has a msage for Mormon parents of gay children: You don’t have to choose between your offsprg and your n love both. Bee the LDS Church teach that beg gay is not a s, but actg on is, some Mormon parents ci that, to be fahful, they have to reject their kids same-sex relatnships. Don’t ndone fai feel that, to support their gay children, they mt abandon their cherished church, which has labeled LGBTQ members gay sexual relatnships — married or otherwise — as “apostat.

MORMON APOSTLE’S GAY BROTHER SHAR HIS RELIG JOURNEY, PREACH LOVE FOR HIS FORMER PARTNER, FAH AND FAY

”Christofferson, the 60-year-old gay brother of LDS apostle D. ”Which is how he argu all Christians should choice for gay Mormons themselv, however, is more stark and pably paful: Eher pursue an timate same-sex relatnship and possibly be st out of the church or live as a celibate wh .

He picked the has been an unpredictable odyssey, full of twists and turns, to arrive at this place of peace, he says his jt-published book, “That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Fah & Fay. ”It wasn’t until he was junr high and lled a “homo” that he looked up the word “homosexual” a dictnary and found a fn for what he was feelg. The marriage was annulled after a short while, and he broke the news to his son was gay.

LDS APOSTLE'S GAY BROTHER WORRI FOR FUTURE OF LGBT PEOPLE THE CHURCH

Believg that his attractn to men meant he no longer uld be a participatg Mormon, Christofferson asked to be exmunited om The Church of J Christ of Latter-day more than two s, he lived as a gay man, eventually settlg to a monogamo relatnship wh an ialistic doctor he met San some the LDS hierarchy back then utned agast , the Christofferson clan weled his partner to the fay, cludg him as a spoe all activi and even allowg the uple to share a bed durg was a joy-filled and satisfyg relatnship for 19 years, Tom Christofferson rells, but somethg was missg. Fally, the gay former missnary approached the ngregatn’s bishop to troduce himself and ask if he would be urse, replied then-Bishop Bce Larson whout hatn, and brg your partner. Brotherly love and a hard-edged policyThe most difficult chapter to wre, Christofferson says, was the one about the LDS Church’s November 2015 policy, which spelled out new l about gay Mormon upl — dubbg them apostat and generally barrg the blsgs and baptisms of their children until they are 18.

GAY BROTHER OF MORMON APOSTLE

“I was stunned, ” the gay Mormon wr. ”The closens between brothers persists, but so do the gay man’s qutns about the policy. ”Maybe will prompt more Latter-day Sats to ask for more knowledge, he says, and prophets to ask more the meantime, he advis Mormon parents and fai to accept the realy of their gay children’s liv and choic.

”Some Mormons will “mise this book, ” Evans fears, “as some sort of weapon agast gay members. ”For his part, the thor hop his book has value beyond the msage about gays.

GAY MORMON THOR, BROTHER OF AN APOSTLE, BUILDS BRIDG BETWEEN THE LDS AND LGBTQ MUNI

”No matter what road a gay Mormon may take, says Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, fay, iends and fellow believers should start wh “passn and unrstandg. LDS apostle’s gay brother worri for future of LGBT people the church. So I was grateful for the chance to have lunch wh Tom a uple of weeks ago to discs his new book, That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Fah and Fay (Deret Book, Sept.

As a preteen, maybe 12 years old, a kid lled me a homo.

GAY BROTHER OF MORMON APOSTLE SHAR HIS JOURNEY AND A MSAGE OF LOVE NEW BOOK

I am a homo. RNS: So that’s how you learned the language about beg gay? And I never experienced the turmoil over beg gay on my missn.

Then I got home and wh a week I was stunned to disver I was still gay. I lled my parents and told them my wife and I were separatg, and why: “I gus bee I’m gay. I had a strong belief J Christ and the Book of Mormon, but I uldn’t see a place for myself as a gay man the LDS Church.

So I need to beg the journey of fdg out what meant to be gay. Would I be wele to worship your ward as a gay man who is a mted relatnship? The policy also clud a provisn that children of gay upl uld not be baptized until they turned 18.

CAN MORMONS AND GAYS UNE? GAY BROTHER OF LDS APOSTLE SAYS ‘Y’

Tom is gay and his brother, Todd, is a member of one of the church’s top erng bodi — the Quom of the Twelve Apostl. ’” Tom rpond, “It n’t have been easy for you to have a gay brother who is pretty public.

” Sce that night, Tom has reflected on how the LDS Church and s members al wh homosexual members and LGBT issu.

U. PANEL FEATUR TOM CHRISTOFFERSON, GAY BROTHER OF LDS APOSTLE

The marriage was annulled, and he broke the news to his parents that he was gay. The now 60-year-old remembers that he “uldn’t figure out how to be gay and Mormon so I cid to be gay and happy. Christofferson scrib himself as a “happy gay Mormon, ” a stat he said he has achieved after tense trials.

“I hadn’t been able to e to the ncln of how to be gay and Mormon. I jt wanted to figure out if I uld be gay and happy. He said ’s not an tobgraphy, nor is a “recipe book” for how to live a “happy gay Mormon” liftyle.

’ I said to him, ‘Look, n’t have been easy for you to have a gay brother who don’t seem to shut up, ” Christofferson said wh a snicker.

LDS LEAR FAY AS EXAMPLE OF HARMONY BETWEEN CHURCH, GAYS

“Have the urage to be together, learn om each other, ” he pleads wh gays and Mormons.

“That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Fah and Fay” is available now.

archived form do not nstute a republitn of the LAKE CITY — A crowd of about 700 gathered to listen to a panel discsn featurg Tom Christofferson, thor of a new book that chronicl his story of life as a gay man away om the Mormon Church and his spirual journey back. The youngt Christofferson served a missn and was married 1984, but soon realized he need to e out as gay, he shar his book.

ONE GAY MAN'S POWERFUL JOURNEY AWAY OM THE CHURCH AND BACK AGA (+ IMPORTANT INSIGHTS FOR FAI AND WARD MEMBERS)

Christofferson’s book, “That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Fah and Fay, ” is available at Deret Book. Insi rmatn on Apostle's Gay Brother. As some of you may know, Christofferson's brother is gay.

He is close wh Todd, and some thk that Christofferson wants a softer relatnship wh the church and their gay members.

What is te, is that Todd was behd the mormonsandgays webse, and although he wants to be lovg to gay people, he is fely of the belief that celibacy is the only appropriate actn for gay mormons. Otherwise I don't see a reason why they would want to keep a celibate gay man om a TR that wants one.

POLICY CHANG ANNOUNCED FOR MEMBERS GAY MARRIAG, CHILDREN OF LGBT PARENTS

It will be tertg to see what happens, as seems like a lot of the Q15's cisns on policy for s gay members is funnelled through the worldview of Christofferson's brother as some sort of tt se for whether celibacy is realistic or not. So I was grateful for the chance to have lunch wh Tom a uple of weeks ago to discs his new book, That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Fah and Fay (Deret Book, Sept. I also thk that his rponse to the qutn about whether the fay dynamics of his own experience of havg a gay brother has fluenced his approach and his advocy on this issue as an apostle is very important and stctive.

Obvly the church has s doctre, but n members of the church, say, support gay marriage, or other thgs that are related to this bill, that the Church teach agast? ” and I gus, I mean, uld be terpreted that if people supported gay marriage that would be agreeg wh somethg that was agast the church? “So would supportg gay marriage threaten somebody’s membership the church?

“We’ve reported on your suatn, you have a brother who is gay, and you’ve talked about how that has impacted your fay. ImageYoung Adults Together Church: Mormon and Gay Webse. In the first few months after beg lled as a bishop, I was surprised when three sets of parents my ward each approached me private to let me know that they had a child who intified as gay or transgenr.

MORMON APOSTLE'S GAY BROTHER SHAR HIS RELIG JOURNEY, PREACH LOVE FOR HIS FORMER PARTNER, FAH AND FAY

As a new bishop, was dntg to reach out to a member of my ward who intified as gay and need spirual help.