Mormon Church, Mormons, LDS, North Star, Evergreen Internatnal, gay Mormons, reparative therapy
Contents:
- AFFIRMATN, THE GAY MORMON SUPPORT GROUP, HAS SEEN A ‘SEA CHANGE’ S 40 YEARS
- GAY MORMON GROUP TO MEET WH CHURCH OFFICIALS
- CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE
- GAY MORMONS
- GAY MORMONS GRAPPLE WH FAH, SEXUALY
- GAY MORMON
- LONGTIME SUPPORT GROUP FOR GAY MORMONS SHUTS DOWN
AFFIRMATN, THE GAY MORMON SUPPORT GROUP, HAS SEEN A ‘SEA CHANGE’ S 40 YEARS
A muny of support for Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and Queer Mormons and those who love them. * gay mormon group *
Affirmatn, a support group for gay Mormons, was born 1977, at a time when admissn of same-sex attractn among the LDS fahful was a matter of ner turmoil, ep shame and relig rejectn — even a e for the time, the LDS Church viewed their sexualy as perverse and sful, and their love as unholy. Any acceptance of gays had to be, 40 years later, hundreds the church’s LGBTQ muny, their fai and iends, are celebratg Affirmatn’s anniversary openly and wh gto at a three-day nference at the Utah Valley Conventn Center Provo — many embracg their gayns and their group has a full-time paid executive director, John Gtav-Wrathall, members more than a dozen untri and, by the end of 2017, will have hosted 19 events cludg regnal nferenc and this annual natnal this meetg, which began Friday, there were ssns for youths, mothers, fathers, alli, advot, people of lor, spo and LDS lay lears. ”The group has seen a “massive sea change, ” Gtav-Wrathall says, the relatnship between The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats and s gay members.
”Affirmatn began as a simple effort by activists at Brigham Young Universy: Assure gay Mormons they were loved and not alone, while strivg to stop them om killg themselv.
“You were eher ex-gay and Mormon or ex-Mormon and gay, ” says Gtav-Wrathall. ”Even when parents were acceptg of their gay children, he says, “ was rare for them to bee public advot.
GAY MORMON GROUP TO MEET WH CHURCH OFFICIALS
Affirmatn, a support group for gay Mormons, was born 1977, at a time when admissn of same-sex attractn among the LDS fahful was a matter of ner turmoil, ep shame and relig rejectn — even a e for suici. * gay mormon group *
”Gtav-Wrathall’s own vout LDS mom and dad stggled wh how to balance parental love wh church standards, which, at the time, said even beg gay was a s. ”The executive director was exmunited om the church, but matas his Mormon belief and has been attendg his LDS ngregatn Mneapolis sce ’s LDS Church says beg gay is not a s, though actg on is.
It ntu to oppose gay marriage, though did support Salt Lake Cy’s and Utah’s anti-discrimatn measur. It also recently endorsed the LoveLoud ncert Orem, whose missn was to raise money to prevent gay suicis. Ironilly, two of the church’s most visible actns — supportg California’s Proposn 8, which fed marriage as only between a man and a woman 2008 and, 2015, sayg that same-sex Mormon upl are “apostat” and generally barrg their offsprg om Mormon ruals until they turn 18 — propelled the nascent LDS gay rights movements greatly enlarged the number of Affirmatn participants, he says, but also stretched s rourc to meet the needs of an ever-growg populatn.
“We need to be a rource for those who are gay and Mormon, as well as those who have left the church.
CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE
After s of silence, Mormon church\nofficials have agreed to meet wh a gay Mormon support group that\nhas sought to fe unrstandg between the fah's lears and\ns gay members. * gay mormon group *
”The gays tell their stori and church officials listen, he says, “then they tell their stori and we listen.
GAY MORMONS
is an official webse om The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats. The se’s purpose is to help everyone better unrstand same-sex attractn om a gospel perspective. * gay mormon group *
Gee, Utah, to raise money for the ncer treatment of the mother of a gay man the muny, and the Fire Hoe is one of the few venu town that hosts LGBT events.
She's a "mama dragon, " a term the Mormon muny to scribe mothers who fiercely advote for gay rights. "I thk every gay Mormon child wish for a mom like that, " Garett says wistfully. "There's no pri center or gay club or place that un , " Kyle says as he walks out to the night.
It had always been challengg to be gay and Mormon. The Church had often fought agast the risg ti of marriage equaly; s members were major fancial backers of 2008's Prop 8 California, which briefly banned same-sex marriage the state before beg more progrsive Church members voiced strong disapproval, Garett, like many Mormons, believed the spirual lears were warmg to gay rights.
GAY MORMONS GRAPPLE WH FAH, SEXUALY
Where do gay Mormons stand the Mormon Church? * gay mormon group *
The Church had been takg small but signifint steps forward, acknowledgg that beg gay isn't a choice and that fai should accept their LGBT loved on. )When the cisn me down, legalizg same-sex marriage all across the natn, Garett felt an emotn he didn't often feel as a gay Mormon man: vditn. ) Statistilly, that means that the Church has hundreds of thoands of gay followers.
GAY MORMON
For Ben Jarvis, the tensn between Mormon teachgs and his sexualy led him to leave the Church of J Christ of Latter-Day Sats. But Affirmatn, a support group for gay, lbian and bisexual Mormons, has helped Jarvis and others reta and share tradns, whether or not they are "officially" church members. * gay mormon group *
Its official policy toward homosexualy is that "actg" on one's sire is a s and that same-sex marriage is agast God's, twenty-six, and Garett, twenty-four, have had a long, plited relatnship wh the relign to which they were born. Neher of them associated wh or even knew any Church's official policy toward homosexualy is that "actg" on one's sire is a s and that same-sex marriage is agast God's will. "I felt a strong obligatn to be out there for other gay Mormons to see.
LONGTIME SUPPORT GROUP FOR GAY MORMONS SHUTS DOWN
The posn of the Mormon Church on gay marriage and homosexual behavr. * gay mormon group *
That night, they met another gay Mormon uple at Olive Garn for a celebratn over pasta and a bottle of whe for Kyle's brother and sister--law, they did not tell their fai. He is also openly gay, but unlike Garett, he is celibate. His relign and his homosexualy are equal parts of him, and he says he don't want to put "eher inty the closet.
Garett uld only assume that his parents believed they had one gay son who stayed celibate orr to bt serve his fah, and another who abandoned relign to have a meangful has never wished to be seen as the good gay son. They ed to thk of Garett as gay and Logan as havg "same-genr attractn, " as if one is a more ser form of the same medil ndn. But now "I've learned that beg gay is not somethg that they choose, " says Shawn.
Mormon lears do not speak of a gay or lbian sexual orientatn, though they now fully acknowledge that many people 'stggle wh same-genr attractn.' * gay mormon group *
After the policy was released, Shawn, unable to sleep, sent his thoughts to his wife and two gay children: "How do I rencile wh my fah or Church when is distancg self om my sons and me? "Logan has never wished to be seen as the good gay, like Shawn, was vastated by the policy, seeg as yet another door beg shut her sons' fac. Over time, they've renciled their fay wh their fah by viewg the policy as a clarifitn of a posn on homosexualy the Church already says sometim people ask her how she n be part of a Church that don't accept her sons.
"Ey BerlSteve, seventy-one, and Lrel, sixty-eight, are matter-of-fact when speakg about the Church and homosexualy, which they nsir to be sometim at odds wh each other whout terferg wh the profound love they have for their son. To many gay Mormons, this was spirually cshg: Polici are guil, but revelatns are Church Elr Rsell NelsonGee Frey/GettyMormons believe fai are eternal, and when someone leav the Church by personal rignatn or through Church disciple, the future of their relatnships is lled to qutn, here on earth and otherwise. "The Church has given LGBT youth a very bleak choice, " says Mch Mayne, an openly gay Mormon and former lear a California ngregatn, rponse to the recent revelatn.
"It's the ultimate way of sayg that God hat gay people.