On the surface, it seems like a well-meaning offer. Why not at least make an effort to include youth? Deep down, I find it offensive on a couple of fronts.

I’ve always had a great love of the sea. To some extent I suppose it’s genetic at least on my mother’s side of the family.Sometimes  it feels really good to get away for a few hours. Sometimes I even learn a few things about myself or life in general while walking on the beach. This […]

What I so often see is that a person will become so adamant about a certain cause that it becomes the lump in the balance that tips them over. I think it’s always a wise policy to recognize that God rules the universe, not me. Yet, I must recognize that I must take care to not place everything on one side of the scale. We must keep things in balance.

Wisdom and encouragement can sometimes come in unusual packages. Sometimes they can be great choruses or works of music created by some of the great composers. Sometimes, in words written by the saints and apostles of ages past as well as today. And sometimes from  an annoying ear worm or some very pretty flowers.  3 […]

After making somewhat of a nuisance of myself in How Silence Feels, people have wondered just what it is I think that local church leaders should be saying about homosexuality. I think it is an easy question, at least in my mind, but may be a little overwhelming for others. Then again, it’s a subject […]

For me, true misery would be a life where I only did the easy things, because the only things I would have in my life are the things that are easy to get. There is plenty that I want out of life that is hard to get and I have no problem fighting for them. I’m happy that I have to fight for them.

For every unkind word or misinformed judgement, the Lord has turned it around. Even those who spoke the words have changed their opinion of me.

I reluctantly focus on the negative responses I have received from members of the Church, but only because it illustrates the discrepancies in the attitudes of church members to homosexuality. Though I was told and still believe that my worthiness is a matter of my behavior, not my automatic feelings, those who have dealt unkindly with me have been more worried about my identity than my behavior

In Taking the Plunge: A Leap of Faith, I wrote that I wasn’t as concerned about changing policies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Boy Scouts of America, as I was seeing the hearts of people change to be tolerant and loving towards those with same-sex attraction. I realize that […]

My concern is for those who are still in the throes of trying to reconcile their feelings with the teachings of the Church. It is also for those who are the parents, family, and friends of those who experience same-sex attraction. How long can a person go on feeling abandoned and disconnected before they choose the only path that seems to hold out a sense of belonging and connection? How long can you endure silence of one influence before you open your mind to others?

I was “out” long before it was so fashionable. Back in my day of “openness”, people hadn’t really heard of blogs. Videos like you can find on YouTube took hours and days to download. Conversations were mostly done on mailing lists and newsgroups. Most people who read this won’t even know what a newsgroup is.

I have always repudiated any philosophy that is based on a victim posture. This idea that women are frail, inferior, and in need of male protection is the most odious philosophy I can think of in terms of damage to women. I raised strong children who can make their own decisions and deal with the consequences of those decisions.

I try to be understanding about people wondering about me. I know that I’m an enigma. I know that I and my story take some getting used to.

The truth is, I think it is a losing battle if I am the only combatant. I am just too weak and too worn out to fight it alone. I am not fighting alone. My Captain and close Friend is Jesus Christ, and he is more powerful than even the cosmos. As Lyte described him, he is the one who “changest not.”

With all of these sources of information and commentary in all of the places where members of the Church can see them, it can result in confusion when the only thing being said is what everyone but the Church is saying.