Living In The Mix

Two weeks ago, the Elders Quorum in my ward held it's monthly game night. This is an activity that our quorum started doing several months ago. This was my second time going to the activity, and I had a great time. It was a room of guys playing a geeky space conquest board game while eating junk food on a Saturday night. No big deal, right? For the other men there that night it may have been just a regular night out with other guys, but for me it meant a bit more. You see, I was the only (openly and known) gay man there that night, and it was the first time in my life that I walked into a social situation with straight guys and felt comfortable and like I was part of the group.  32 years old, and I was finally able to experience that connection.   I didn't realize it or think about it until after the night had ended and I had returned home. I went into the bedroom, and when Emma woke up I talked to her about how the evening went. I apologized to her...

This last weekend was the 189th Semi-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All I have to say is WOW! It was a beautiful conference. It's probably my favorite to date. So much to think about and apply into my own life.  Last week I spoke on the topic of how those within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, despite coming from a place of genuine love, can cause hurt and pain from the things they say and do.  This part 2 will address this same topic, but from the other end of the spectrum, from those of the LGBTQ+ community.  I have come to appreciate the PRIDE flag. For me, it means that there's a lot about human sexuality, gender identity, and love that we don't know or understand. There are all different kinds of love. Love is diverse. To me, the flag is taking PRIDE in diversity of love. Even if a type of love doesn't fit within the bounds of your own personal beliefs, you still honor and respect tha...