General Conference is that time, twice a year, when the highest leaders address the Church in 16 hours (16 hours!) of international live broadcast. Usually the brethren repeat the same old preaching year after year, but if they are going to say something a little different to change the direction of Mormonism, this is the…
Two weeks ago the LDS Church released a new video at mormonandgay.lds.org highlighting the story of a family that actively embraces their gay son within the bounds of Mormonism, presumably in a way condoned by the Church. The video dispels common myths and portrays a loving family that accepts their son even though he is neither trying…
Since I was a child learning how to read, I have been reading the Book of Mormon. I still open it and read it. But I have never studied it harder than when I was a missionary in California. It was in the last 6 months of my mission that I really started to look deep at it, and when I did, I kept finding things that didn’t belong. This bothered me… My initial doubts in the book started as a missionary because I was bothered by the persistent realization that the contents of the Book of Mormon served its author, Joseph Smith, and his 19th Century audience more than they served the characters in the text.
I work on my garden every day. Every day. It needs to be watered daily–twice daily during those awful 90 degree days. The weeds never end. They always come up and need to be pulled, and just when I think I’ve pulled every last one, twelve more appear. But every day something is different. A new flower has bloomed. Another one doubled in size over night. Something I planted didn’t like the summer heat and now its gone. A cat dug up something I need to fix. I’ve had to learn to work hard and be patient, because the payoff is delayed from the initial labor. I have to deal with disappointments. Sometimes something doesn’t grow or doesn’t turn into the flower that I wanted, but the garden is still beautiful. Really, these are the lessons that I needed.
I had to! #mormonobsession #sorrynotsorry #lattergays #pride #nycpride #pride2016 #mormons A video posted by Natalia (@xonataliajxo) on Jun 26, 2016 at 9:08pm PDT
The End of Belonging Today is my anniversary; I can overshare if I want to. Last week I wrote a post during a dark moment that I intended to publish today titled The End of Belonging. In it I expressed how I felt 8 months after I discovered my husband was involved in a secret relationship…
On Saturday I went on a date. Because I got married so young and separated so recently, I haven’t been on many dates since 2008 when I was a student at BYU in Utah just coming out of the closet. My date was a man my age who also married young and recently divorced, so we…
Earlier today several key leaders of the LDS Church called a press conference to discuss religious freedom and nondiscrimination legislation for the LGBT community. I have to commend the Church generally for a tone and policy that is radically improved from even just 5 or 6 years ago when I was a student at BYU. But as a whole, I found their statements lacking and ultimately hypocritical.
Having experienced anti-gay bullying at the hands and mouths of LDS members, leaders, and official publications, statements implying they have always been against such persecution, feels more like a slap in the face than a sincere change of heart.
Unpacking the Vitriol Behind the 2004 and 2008 Gay Marriage Bans After the state of Utah made its defense of Amendment 3 (gay marriage ban) to the federal appeals court this month, the Utah Attorney General told the gay couples who are suing for the right to marry, “it’s not personal by any means.”1 I…
On Saturday morning my thirteen-year-old sister snap-chatted me a cute, if dorky, picture of her and my dad in Sunday best with goofy grins and the caption, “Going to General Conference.” It’s that time again. No matter how long it has been since I stopped practicing Mormonism, I can’t seem to miss conference. Between my family, my…
A significant and oft-quoted axiom in the Book of Mormon is “wickedness never was happiness.” In context, the passage explains why sinners inherit the Kingdom of the Devil after they die and are resurrected, but the saying is more popularly applied to the present. “The way of the Lord is the way of happiness. Wickedness…
Shortly after Michael and I got married, we decided we would celebrate the solstices. The decision had very little to do with any New Age beliefs or anything like that, although I have long been interested in the cosmic and archetypal origins of modern holidays. It was more about starting something new. Our marriage was…
I am, by nature, a pleaser. I have always been uncomfortable around conflict, and I tend to compensate by being extra polite to avoid conflict in any form. It’s a personality trait that was especially on display when I was a Mormon missionary in LA. In keeping with the Book of Mormon scripture, “He that…
NPR put out a new video short called TransMormon about a girl named Eri Hayward. I met Eri back when I was a BYU student in 2008. I didn’t know her well, so it was nice to hear about her journey through this documentary. I think Eri’s story unveils some of the issues I mentioned…
My husband didn’t grow up Mormon, and so his family is very different from mine. The first time I went to stay with them in Washington, I experienced coffee for the first time. I woke up early because I wasn’t used to the time change, and went into the kitchen for a cup of orange…
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