4 Ways to Support Gay Members at Church - LDS Livg

Contents:

• ONE GAY MAN'S POWERFUL JOURNEY AWAY OM THE CHURCH AND BACK AGA (+ IMPORTANT INSIGHTS FOR FAI AND WARD MEMBERS)
• GAY MORMON SHAR WHAT IT'S LIKE BEG GAY FAY-ORIENTED CHURCH (+ THE POWERFUL INSIGHT THAT CHANGED HIS PERSPECTIVE)
• WHAT N YOU SAY WHEN A FAY MEMBER OUT AS GAY? 7 IAS OM A LATTER-DAY SAT MOM
• CHURCH RELEAS NEW WEBSE: MORMON AND GAY
• 4 WAYS TO SUPPORT GAY MEMBERS AT CHURCH
• A MISSN PRINT'S BETIFUL RPONSE WHEN A MISSNARY CAME OUT TO HIM AS GAY
• WATCH: GAY MORMON, HIS BISHOP, AND STAKE PRINT HOLD PANEL DISCSN ON HOW TO INCLU LGBTQ MORMONS THE CHURCH
• "I’M NOT ASHAMED OF WHO I AM": STUD C MEMBER COM OUT AS GAY, SHAR TOUCHG MSAGE FOR LGBT YOUTH
• GAY LATTER-DAY SAT SHAR HEARTFELT MSAGE ALL MEMBERS NEED TO READ: "IT GETS BETTER"
• "YOU ARE MY PEOPLE": INACTIVE GAY MORMON SHAR POWERFUL INSIGHTS AFTER ATTENDG CHURCH FOR THE FIRST TIME YEARS
• POWERFUL CHURCH VIO: LDS FAY REACTS TO GAY SON COMG OUT
• MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH
• GAYSTORI AND ROURC FOR THE LGBTQIA+ LATTER-DAY SAT COMMUNY
• RENNTRE GRATUE GAY à PARIS, (75)

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

By the time he was 5 years old, Tom Christofferson knew he was gay—he jt didn’t have the vobulary to exprs what he was feelg. “I still had this hope that somehow if I served a missn and did the bt I uld that my reward for dog the right thg would be to no longer be gay.

’”Soon afterward, 1984, Christofferson cid he was unable to rencile his homosexualy wh his membership the Church, so he asked to be exmunited.

GAY MORMON SHAR WHAT IT'S LIKE BEG GAY FAY-ORIENTED CHURCH (+ THE POWERFUL INSIGHT THAT CHANGED HIS PERSPECTIVE)

“I had to fd out if I uld be gay and happy, and I wanted to feel like I had some tegry about my journey. And at that time, if you jt intified as gay, that was enough to be exmunited. Christofferson says his parents experienced different phas as they procsed the realy of their son’s homosexualy.

WHAT N YOU SAY WHEN A FAY MEMBER OUT AS GAY? 7 IAS OM A LATTER-DAY SAT MOM

Next, beme a e of fastg and prayer, wh fay members every fast Sunday askg for the Lord to heal me, to ‘take away the gay’ om my life.

CHURCH RELEAS NEW WEBSE: MORMON AND GAY

Havg watched his fay members go through the procs of acceptg his homosexualy, Christofferson offers the followg advice for those who are g out: “Give your parents permissn to grieve the loss of the child they thought they were gog to have. “Beg gay is not simply an attractn, nor do necsarily refer to sexual behavr. Beg Mormon is also a way of beg and relatg to the world and exprsg inty, so beg gay and Mormon is a doubly rich existence for me—a unique way of beg, relatg to the world, and sharg light, love, telligence, and tth of God and my relatnship to God.

”In fact, Christofferson has e to believe that beg gay is one of the greatt blsgs of his life. But bee I am gay, there me a time when I had to know, not merely believe, that J Christ liv, that I will be rurrected as He was, and through the power of the Atonement I n ga strength and power to bee His worthy disciple. ”In his new book, That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon's Perspective on Fah & Fay, Tom Christofferson shar lsons that he, his fay, and his fellow Sats learned while tryg to love as God lov.

Josh Searle was one of many gay Mormons whose stori were featured on the Church's webse, is jt one of the Church vios that shared his story:. Recently, he wrote this post on his blog, one which he gave permissn to republish me, beg a gay Mormon has felt like stg at a dner table watchg everyone around me enjoy the food and nversatn. The rt of n only s and I want to leave the table and seek other tabl that will let me partake as a gay man a gay relatnship.

4 WAYS TO SUPPORT GAY MEMBERS AT CHURCH

Lookg purposefully to their ey I ask, “How is any gay member expected to stay at this table we ll the Gospel of J Christ?

A MISSN PRINT'S BETIFUL RPONSE WHEN A MISSNARY CAME OUT TO HIM AS GAY

Speakg om personal experience, I have tasted the food found at other tabl and felt fed and my hunger satisfied the gay relatnships every emotnal and physil way. Was I betrayg my membership the Church by sharg a meal wh people who intified as gay? I uldn’t have known at the time, but this softeng of my heart was preparg me for when my own teenage son me out as gay jt weeks after I was elected mayor.

As much as he tried to supprs his gay nature, jt wouldn’t—uldn’t—go biggt fear when Kyle said the words “I’m gay” was losg him. Durg our procs of tryg to better unrstand Kyle, same-sex attractn, and Church teachgs, beme readily apparent how aquately so many of are unrstandg and lovg our LGBTQ our fay was litely dancg through the “what do we do now that we have a gay child” phase, there were some our Church muny who were credibly wonrful, who exprsed how Kyle’s news didn’t change anythg for them. ” Others offered herbal remedi or phone numbers for gnive the more extreme si, we were hand s-old books about the satanic abomatn of homosexualy that were bookmarked and highlighted.

Consirg how far the Church has e tryg to better unrstand and accept members who experience same-sex attractn or intify as gay, lbian, or bisexual, the sensive and unrmed reactns were both hurtful and alienatg. Too often, the word gay is myopilly associated only wh erotic or romantic behavr.

WATCH: GAY MORMON, HIS BISHOP, AND STAKE PRINT HOLD PANEL DISCSN ON HOW TO INCLU LGBTQ MORMONS THE CHURCH

And all are blsed wh myriads of wonrful attribut—pennt of beg gay—that make them a uniquely amazg human. All around he’s a pretty awome kid … who jt so happens to also be gay.

When Kyle and I were both terviewed for a universy study on microaggrsns wh the Church, was the first time two years I was able to hontly talk about our experienc after Kyle me out as gay. How much different would Kyle’s overall sense of peace be if our prr years of LGBTQ nversatns had foced on LGBTQ people’s abily to both be gay and have a happy and healthy life—even wh the Church, if they choose that path and are able to do Whney L.

"I’M NOT ASHAMED OF WHO I AM": STUD C MEMBER COM OUT AS GAY, SHAR TOUCHG MSAGE FOR LGBT YOUTH

Clayton expounds, “I now speak directly to Church members who experience same-sex attractn or intify as gay, lbian, or bisexual. I never would have believed , but I am serly grateful that He has blsed me wh a gay child. The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats recently lnched a new webse, Mormon and Gay, which provis rourc for Church members who intify as gay, lbian, or bisexual and their ward and fay down to three sectns, the webseptur the stori of Latter-day Sats who intify as gay, lbian, or bisexual and their fai; outl the Church's official beliefs regardg same-sex attractn; and offers rourc to help members better unrstand sexual orientatn and fd answers to equently asked returned missnari to victims of sexual abe to parents of gay and lbian children, the stori Mormon and Gaytells are btally hont yet betiful their openns and sights.

People who live God's laws n fully participate the law of chasty appli to all of God's the "Unrstandg" sectn of the webse, the Church clarifi and distguish terms like sexual orientatn, sexual attractn, emotnal attractn, lbian, gay, bisexual, and inty.

Bee the webse foc on homosexualy and same-sex attractn, do not discs genr dysphoria or transgenr issu. As Mormon and Gay stat, "same-sex attractn and genr dysphoria are very different. "Acpanied wh vios om our apostl, Mormon and Gay leav the overall msage that "God lov all of .

GAY LATTER-DAY SAT SHAR HEARTFELT MSAGE ALL MEMBERS NEED TO READ: "IT GETS BETTER"

Those who experience same-sex attractn or intify as gay, lbian, or bisexual. Clearly people who experience same-sex attractn or intify as gay n make and keep promis to God.

In a recent podst by LeadgLDS, a panel cludg Ty Mansfield, Print of North Star (an anizatn that provis support for Church members ncerned about sexual orientatn and genr inty), and three former bishops, discs how bishops n support gay members their ward. ” If someone wants to e the word “gay” stead of the term “same-sex attractn, ” let them.

Let them know they are wanted and wele at panel members agreed that whether someone is privately experiencg same-sex attractn or is openly livg a gay liftyle, bishops should reach out and let them know they are wele and wanted at church.

"YOU ARE MY PEOPLE": INACTIVE GAY MORMON SHAR POWERFUL INSIGHTS AFTER ATTENDG CHURCH FOR THE FIRST TIME YEARS

After Cal Burke wrote his heartbreakgly hont story about the moment he first told someone he was gay on Twter, immediately began makg an impact. " He ntued, "I want anyone who is a member of the Church who is gay or lbian to know I believe you have a place the kgdom and I regnize that sometim may be difficult for you to see where you f the Lord’s Church, but you do. Hckley, “People quire about our posn on those who nsir themselv so-lled gays and lbians.

Watch here on October 5th, Tom Christofferson, thor of That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon's Perspective on Fah and Fay, joed his former stake print and his former bishop for a panel discsn on LGBTQ cln the LDS Church. Christofferson, an openly gay, temple-worthy Mormon, was exmunited the 1980s but returned to the Church a few years ago.

POWERFUL CHURCH VIO: LDS FAY REACTS TO GAY SON COMG OUT

The Church lears who helped Christofferson work toward rebaptism, his then-stake print and then-bishop, Dave Checketts and Bce Larson, joed him on stage to share their experienc wh Tom and expla how Church members reacted to havg a gay uple worshippg their midst. ► You'll also like: One Gay Man's Powerful Journey Away om the Church and Back Aga (+ Important Insights for Fai and Ward Members)"I had been prayg for many years to fd some peace between the proclamatn on the fay, the posn of the Brethren, who I sta wh all my heart, and how to have a gospel relatnship wh members of this [LGBTQ] muny, " Checketts explaed. In That We May Be One, Tom Christofferson shar perspectiv gaed om his life's journey as a gay man who left The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats and then returned to .

MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH

Latter-day Sat and origal Stud C st member Stacey Harkey shared a Facebook msage on December 19, 2018, which he me out as gay. No matter if you’re gay or straight e talk to me if you have any qutns and ’ll stay between .

The followg is an excerpt om That We May Be One, A Gay Mormon's Perspective on Fah & Fay by Tom may rell a mpaign a few years ago that was lled “It Gets Better. ” After a rash of gay teenage suicis, a group Los Angel got together to create a vio of famo people sendg the msage to kids that growg up gay n be horrible, but really do get better, and life is worth livg.

If you are a gay or transgenr teenager, please believe me that really do get better. ► You'll also like: One Gay Man's Powerful Journey Away om the Church and Back Aga (+ Important Insights for Fai and Ward Members)While you may al wh issu of bullyg at school, by and large your generatn is the most acceptg, most open-md we have seen, wh an almost born sense of fairns and cln.

GAYSTORI AND ROURC FOR THE LGBTQIA+ LATTER-DAY SAT COMMUNY

Please start wh the knowledge that there is nothg shameful about beg gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr, or queer. Homosexualy is simply a fact this world, and s occurrence is somewhat more equent than havg green ey or red hair and somewhat ls equent than beg left-hand.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, apparently when some of my nephews were young teenagers at a fay rnn and had jt learned that I would shortly be arrivg wh my partner, they were sharg some lghter about gays g to the rnn when my mother me around the rner. Their urageo openns is a great favor to you your stewardship: the same way we wouldn’t mix young men and young women sleepg arrangements at mpouts and treks, we wouldn’t put all the gay kids the same tent. The pot is this: hangg out wh straight kids all their liv hasn’t turned the gay kids straight.

RENNTRE GRATUE GAY à PARIS, (75)

Certaly the reverse would also be te: spendg time wh the gay kids is not gog to make the straight kids gay. What we most need to foc on is ensurg that the gay kids e to the event, knowg that they are wanted and will not be the subject of celty or difference. Many of are livg ttimony that there ed is a place the Church for LGBTQ people; more important, the opportuni to mature, grow, and season the thgs of the Spir are available to all, gay and straight, if they will do the work to accs them and support is given to assist them that his book, That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon's Perspective on Fah & Fay, Tom Christofferson shar lsons that he, his fay, and his fellow Sats learned while tryg to love as God lov.

I stopped attendg LDS church servic regularly after g out as gay 10 years ago—the same year the First Princy wrote a letter to be read aloud LDS ngregatns askg Church members to vote their time and rourc support of Proposn 8, and siar referendums around the world, fg marriage as beg only between a man and a woman.