I thought I might be the only gay Mormon in the whole of the UK.
I needed a family.
And they came together for me.
When I came out, my family didn't want anything to do with me.
I was looking and hoping for
A community of support
for people who would honor my own personal agency.
I went to my first conference five years ago.
It was kind of the first time I had been in a space where
I was really able to be all of me
The part that is Mormon, the part that is queer.
Affirmation transformed my life.
I was very sad.
Really Sad.
Because I understood that I lived in sin
or that I wouldn't be accepted as I am.
And, after coming to know Affirmation
I understood that I could do more for other people
and for myself as well.
I was serving as a YSA bishop
and had a few LGBTQ kids in my ward
and listening to them kind of transformed me.
For me, Affirmation is a place where my soul can heal,
it is a place where my soul feels free,
and feels at peace.
For my years of my life I allowed
society at-large
to determine who I am and my worth.
Through Affirmation and the people I've met here
I've come to discover that I offer something very unique to the world.
I found Affirmation when I was in a really dark place.
Affirmation brings me peace and hope.
It's always been really important for me
to find groups where there are people who understand
at least some aspect of my experience
My family when I came out were completely shocked.
My extended family just wanted to pretend that nothing was happening.
That was extremely painful for me.
It was not easy to accept myself. It was difficult.
I had a lot of trouble. I cried. I felt depressed.
I then searched search on the Internet for gay Mormons
and Affirmation appeared.
Affirmation came along at a time in my life
where I was feeling fairly self-conscious about
me as a trans woman
and me as a trans Mormon
I am a Mormon mother of three
Our oldest daughter, Annie, came out as gay when she was about 13.
What Affirmation means to me
is
safe space
safe people
family
away from my own family.
Being gay and active in the church is
kind of a not the norm that we see usually.
Affirmation does a really good job at combining those things together.
Affirmation teaches me that this is God's plan for me.
and that God really loves me as I am.
From the first time I walked in the door
at the first Affirmation London conference
that was a life-changing experience for me.
We don't judge each other.
We just enjoy each other's company.
And when we're together we can feel at home
relaxed and at peace.
I participate in Affirmation because I feel safe
I feel spontaneous
I can be myself without being judged
and without being singled out.
I found a place where I could kind of reclaim
my Mormoness in a way that I could
also be queer.
Affirmation is for me because it
unites me with my LGBTQ brothers and sisters
and it helps me be a better ally and a better person.
Affirmation has become the answer for me
helping each other
men and women of different religious traditions
and even different sexual orientations
or gender identities
to achieve a reconciliation
first of all with oneself
then with our Heavenly Father
and after that with society, with other people.
Affirmation has been wonderful for us
because it's something we've done together
and it's a way we can love and be loved.
It's given us the opportunity to
minister to many, many, wonderful people
who normally we wouldn't have met in our lives.
Being gay is a gift from God.
Affirmation has helped me to
recognize that and helped me to accept that.
In Affirmation I've had the opportunity to serve people
to help, to talk to them
explain how wonderful this organization is.
It's a place where you can make friends.
You feel happy being who you are.
You can vent, you can share who you are.
And you see that you are not alone.
There are many people just like you.
Through Affirmation I have been able to more
wholly reconcile who I am
as a gay male and a person with a Mormon background.
Affirmation is really unique.
It connects you with people who can help you
understand your gender or your sexuality
through that unique lense of growing up Mormon.
I found out that I was not alone.
What Affirmation did for me
was it gave me a community
to be able to tell my stories
and to heal.
That was the most valuable thing Affirmation gave me
in my journey of coming out
and accepting myself for who I am.
There I was at the Affirmation conference
overwhelmed by the amount of trans Mormons
and gay Mormons
and straight Mormons
and all these Mormons who understood
and even if they didn't understand, they just loved
We stood to sing "The Spirit of God like a fire is burning"
For the first time in 10 years I started to sing.
And
I sang at the top of my lungs
and cried the whole time I was singing.
For me that meant Affirmation was my home.
It's been my home ever since.
Today I am very happy. Really happy.
Because the Lord does not look at my sexuality.
He really looks at my heart.
He knows who I am.
And Affirmation is about saving lives.
It was an amazing experience
just seeing our daughter's eyes and soul
find light again
that was really helpful to us
to find community
and find a family
for our family
Affirmation really changed my life.
And I am sure that it can change the lives of other people.
Even save lives.
I feel like I'm home when I come to Affirmation.
I feel like this is where my family is.
Coming to Affirmation has given me a place to belong
and has let me have that chosen family.
Coming to Affirmation
I found that family again.
And I found love
acceptance
I'm very grateful for being in Affirmation
and for the wonderful work
it has done in the past 40 years
to make a safe space
for those like me
and those who want to help.
I want to leave
something to make the world easier
for the people who come after me
and Affirmation is the place I can leave that.
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