Affirmation news from November of 2013

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Affirmation Women to Connect Via Phone Night
Monday, November 11, 6 PM Pacific/9PM Eastern
 November 2013
 Please join us for our very first monthly Women of Affirmation phone conference call. This will be a time to get together and chat. It'll be like having tea together, just on the phone!
 We will take time to get to know each other, have a little spiritual thought, and then have time for group reflection. All who identify as women are welcome. Please join us!
 For conference call dial-in number and access code, please contact Tina Richerson: tina (a) affirmation (dot) org.















 
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The Nauvoo House

Revisiting Nauvoo: A Retreat
“To arrive where we started and know the place for the first time”
November 2013
 LGBT Mormons, their Families and Friends are invited to a spiritual/leadership retreat in historic Nauvoo, IL, during May 2-4, 2014 (stay may be extended Thursday May 1 to Monday May 5). This retreat is not just for LGBT people, but for all those who desire to serve in the LGBT Mormon community.
 Why Nauvoo
 Nauvoo was a formative place for the church. As the last gathering place before the divisions that followed Joseph Smith’s death and the trek West, Nauvoo is key to understand our history.
 The concept of returning to one’s place of origin is expressed in one of T.S. Elliot’s most famous poems:
The end of all our exploring
 Will be to arrive where we started
 And know the place for the first time.
In the same way as many LGBT Mormons are exploring their spirituality on their own terms -discovering a new place in the Church or outside of the Church, and perhaps finding new meaning and interpretations to things they once believed they knew- returning to Nauvoo will be an opportunity to beginning to understand all the diversity in the Restoration that traces its origins back to things that happened in Nauvoo.
 Registration & Lodging
 Lodging in the historic Nauvoo House will be cost $15 per person per night. The registration cost for the retreat, which will include meals, will be announced next month.
 For this event we have reserved the Nauvoo House, owned and operated by the Community of Christ. Located in the center of Historic Nauvoo and mere yards away from the Mississippi River, this is the home where Emma Smith lived till her death in 1879. The upstairs bedrooms and attic of this old house have been converted into simple, dorm-style rooms. Downstairs, we will cook in Emma’s kitchen and share meals in her parlor.
Note: For those wishing to have more privacy, we are holding a block of rooms at the  Nauvoo Family Inn, with rooms with 2 queen beds at $81 per night.
 Transportation
 Those flying to this event will carpool from St. Louis International Airport to make the 3-hour drive to Nauvoo. Attendees will have to share the cost of renting cars. More details will be announced later on. There will be some flexibility for those wishing to fly in on Thursday or to return on Monday.
 Nauvoo is 4½ hours from Chicago and 6 hours from Minneapolis.
Tentative Schedule

Thursday evening  
 or Friday afternoon:    Meet in St. Louis and carpool (3 hours) 
Friday evening:    Opening Sessions & Dinner
Saturday morning:    Breakfast & Workshops 
Saturday afternoon:     Historic Tours 
Saturday evening:    Dinner and Evening Program 
Sunday morning:    Devotional, Testimonies & Lunch 
Sunday afternoon 
 or Monday morning:    Carpool to St. Louis 















 
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© 2012 Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons
 www.affirmation.org
 PO Box 898
 Anoka, MN 55303
    
 









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2013 • 2012
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 Randall Thacker 
Annual Affirmation Elections Approaching
 by Hugo Salinas
 November 2013
 Later this month Affirmation members will receive by mail a ballot to choose next year's president. Only Randall Thacker has declared his candidacy. As every year, the election ballot will also include a line for a write-in candidate.
 For the first time in our history, the ballot will also include a vote on proposed changes to the bylaws. An advance draft, as well as an explanation of why these changes are being proposed, is posted at www.affirmation.org/draft. In order to be counted, please return your ballot promptly. If you have questions about your membership status or have recently moved, please contact Corresponding Secretary Olin Thomas by email at  wot3 (at) aol (dot) com or by phone at 703-864-5527.
Declaration of Candidacy: Randall Thacker
 Dear Affirmation Family,
 It has been an honor to work with you during the past year as Affirmation President. In some ways it seems unbelievable that a year has almost passed, yet when I evaluate all that our hard-working Board of Directors and International Leadership Team have done within the last 10 months, it literally seems like a miracle that so much could be accomplished in so short a time!
 We have grown tremendously as a community, not only in significantly increased participation, membership, leadership, and financial resources, but also in spirit! We have grown in the confidence that our Heavenly Parents and Savior love us and cherish us beyond what we can ever comprehend; and that we have an Affirmation community that includes literally thousands of accepting LGBT Mormons, family members, friends and allies worldwide with whom we can commune online, at local gatherings, and at our annual international conference.
 November is the month when you have the opportunity to vote for your Affirmation President. I look forward to the potential opportunity of serving another year as your President and hope to receive your vote of confidence. Let’s continue to move forward and extend our reach to the many more thousands of LGBT Mormons, families and friends worldwide who are looking for our support.
 Sincerely,
 Randall Thacker
 President
 Affirmation: LGBT Mormons, Families & Friends















 
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© 2012 Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons
 www.affirmation.org
 PO Box 898
 Anoka, MN 55303
    
 









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 Wendy Montgomery
Wendy Montgomery Appointed to the Board of Directors
 November 2013
 We are pleased to announce that Wendy Montgomery, of Bakersfield, CA, has accepted an appointment to Affirmation’s Board of Directors. Wendy was born and raised in Southern California. She has always been a member of the LDS Church. She and her husband Tom were married in the Los Angeles Temple in 1995, and they have 5 children.
 In January of 2012, Wendy and Tom found out that their oldest son (who was 13 years old at the time) was gay. “It has at times been unbearably painful,” says Wendy, “but it has also been an enlightening, spiritual and joyful journey.” Today she has many new LGBT-supportive heroes in the LDS community.
 Wendy is a voracious reader, loves history, and is doing everything she knows how to make the LDS Church more welcoming and inclusive of its gay members.
 For a full list of Board members, please visit the Board of Directors Page.















 
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© 2012 Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons
 www.affirmation.org
 PO Box 898
 Anoka, MN 55303
    
 












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2013 • 2012
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 Wendy Montgomery
Wendy Montgomery Appointed to the Board of Directors
 November 2013
 We are pleased to announce that Wendy Montgomery, of Bakersfield, CA, has accepted an appointment to Affirmation’s Board of Directors. Wendy was born and raised in Southern California. She has always been a member of the LDS Church. She and her husband Tom were married in the Los Angeles Temple in 1995, and they have 5 children.
 In January of 2012, Wendy and Tom found out that their oldest son (who was 13 years old at the time) was gay. “It has at times been unbearably painful,” says Wendy, “but it has also been an enlightening, spiritual and joyful journey.” Today she has many new LGBT-supportive heroes in the LDS community.
 Wendy is a voracious reader, loves history, and is doing everything she knows how to make the LDS Church more welcoming and inclusive of its gay members.
 For a full list of Board members, please visit the Board of Directors Page.















 
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© 2012 Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons
 www.affirmation.org
 PO Box 898
 Anoka, MN 55303
    
 














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Marriage Equality in Hawaii
Religious Freedom Not at Stake
Randall Thacker Featured in No More Strangers
Sam Fullmer: “I Support Marriage Equality in Hawaii”


Sam Fullmer: “I Support Marriage Equality in Hawaii”
by Hugo Salinas
 November 2013
 Sam Fullmer, center, demonstrated last week at the Hawaii State Capitol Building, where legislators are debating a law that could bring marriage equality to the Aloha State.
“I was born and raised Mormon from Provo, UT,” writes Sam. “I am now gay and I am in a committed relationship. Although I see the Mormon faith on the wrong side of this issue, I am happy to know that there are still people out there who are Mormon as well as LGBT allies. Thank you for all the support and prayers you all offer.”
Same-sex couples are today allowed to marry in 14 states, the District of Columbia, and several tribal jurisdictions, covering one third of the U.S. population. The state of Illinois will be added in June of 2014. Same-sex marriages are also recognized by many branches of the federal government and by the state of Oregon. Over 50% of Americans support the right of same-sex couples to marry.















 
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© 2012 Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons
 www.affirmation.org
 PO Box 898
 Anoka, MN 55303
    
 









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2013 • 2012
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 Lismarie Nyland with husband Michael
Affirmation Group Gathers in Seattle
 By Lismarie Nyland
 November 2013
Note: If you live in or near Seattle, please join the Seattle Affirmation Facebook group.
 This past Sunday evening, I was finally able to make the trek over to Wendy and Scott Reynolds’ home for an Affirmation potluck. What a fun time! We all gathered around their table, ate chili, talked, and laughed. I find that at every Affirmation event I have been to, despite everyone's different backgrounds, we come together in a spirit of common understanding. This was no different.
 When everyone was finished eating, Geoff McGrath took charge and we all moved to the Reynolds’ family room to do a little future planning. Justin and Matt Keyes (brothers) stepped right up to head up the next two events: a holiday party on December 7 at a more central Seattle location (to be decided), and an event at the North Seattle Stake Center in January or February.
 A big thank-you to the Wendy and Scott for hosting all of us and to Geoff for making sure we planned more gatherings. I'm excited for the future of our small, but growing Affirmation group here in Seattle.















 
WHO WE ARE
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© 2012 Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons
 www.affirmation.org
 PO Box 898
 Anoka, MN 55303
    
 











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2013 • 2012
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Tawnya Smith
 Tawnya Smith Robert A. Rees
 Robert A. Rees Tim Weymann
 Tim Weymann Randall Thacker
 Randall Thacker Tina Richerson
 Tina Richerson  
Affirmation Leaders Discuss Statements Made during General Conference
Tawnya Smith: “The most important thing is your relationship to the Divine”
November 2013
 On October 9 Affirmation sponsored a conference call to discuss the recent LDS General Conference, which included statements by Elder Oaks and Elder Nelson condemning same-sex marriage. Titled “Revelation, Agency, and Integrity,” the transcript of the call is now available on the Affirmation website.
 The five panelists were Tawnya Smith, Robert A. Rees, Tim Weymann, Randall Thacker, and Tina Richerson. John Gustav-Wrathall and other callers also made important contributions to the discussion. The call included a discussion about relying on the Spirit to interpret General Conference messages, how to stay safe in environments that are sometimes hostile towards us, and the importance of using our free agency to chart our personal journey.
“The most important thing is your relationship to the Divine, and that you’ll know whether it is right for you based on what guidance you’re given,” said Tawnya Smith. “What are you called to do? It has really nothing at all with other people and other people’s views or opinions or beliefs about you.”
 “It is my hope and deepest desire that people are able to deeply root in themselves their relationship and feel the power of God’s love, and put that above and beyond anything else,” said Tina Richerson. “And to know that love is the answer, love is always the answer.”
Read the full transcript on the Affirmation website.















 
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© 2012 Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons
 www.affirmation.org
 PO Box 898
 Anoka, MN 55303
    
 









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2013• 2012
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Michael Amesquita 
Why My Straight Mormon Friends and Their Families Should Support ENDA
Gender, race, and religion are currently protected in the workplace but being LGBT is not
by Michael Amesquita
November 2013
Coming out as gay to my family was hard, but coming out to my “Mormon family” might have been even harder. Why? My conversion (thank you Elders Burdette and Sellers) was deeply spiritual; I did not want to risk the chance of losing the Church or my amazing Mormon friends in Las Vegas by coming out. For years I was the little orphan Michael from Illinois that always had a place in Vegas for Thanksgiving, Christmas, General Conference, Easter, and sometimes I had double or triple bookings because all my “second” sets of parents were always making sure I had a place to go. These were the same friends that even surprised me with a date auction to raise money for my mission!
Maybe you can imagine that after 15 years of friendships, I feared the worst. Thankfully, every single one of those friends had pretty much the same reply: “Mike, all I care about is you and that you are happy. I love you no matter if you are gay or straight.” It is my Mormon friends and their families that I write to. If you still care about my being happy and if you still love me, please ask your House Representative to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
You might worry that supporting ENDA might conflict with the LDS Church’s position on same-sex marriage. It does not. It means you want to ensure that I cannot be discriminated against in the workplace or when applying for a job based on my sexual orientation or gender identity. Two Mormon Senators even helped pass ENDA in the Senate this week, including Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT. He does not support marriage equality but understands that no American should be fired because of who they are. And even the LDS Church supported a similar city ordinance in Salt Lake in 2009.
I am one of the 8.2 million Americans who identify as gay or lesbian and am only protected in the workplace in 21 states. I cannot get fired for being Mormon, but I am fortunate my religion is now protected. As we know, it wasn’t always that way.
Gender, race, and religion are currently protected in the workplace but being LGBT is not. To my Mormon friends and their families – please contact your local House Representative and tell them you have friends who are happy being who they are and do not want them discriminated against in the workplace. Tell your Representative to support ENDA.














 
WHO WE ARE
Who We Are
Faces of Affirmation
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Youth
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International EVENTS
Calendar
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© 2012 Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormonswww.affirmation.org
PO Box 898
Anoka, MN 55303