David Melson grew up in Boone County, Illinois, and resides in Olney, Maryland. When he was 28, living in Orlando, he received the missionary discussions and converted to the Church. After serving an LDS mission in Asia, David married in the Atlanta Temple—a marriage which lasted for only six months. In June 2006, David came out during testimony meeting in his ward in Derwood, Maryland. “The greatest blessing that the Lord has given me in my life is to be sent here to this earth as a gay man,” David told his ward. “Being gay has given me the greatest trials and the greatest blessings imaginable. It has enabled me to love and understand and reach out to others in a way that would not be possible otherwise.” David began to attend Affirmation meetings in 2003. He served as director of the Washington DC chapter and chaired the 2007 Affirmation conference. David served on Affirmation’s executive committee for four years, one of them as assistant director and three of them as Affirmation president. During his tenure as president, David focused on activism and advocacy. With special interest in issues such as marriage equality, homeless yputh, and LGBT suicide, David worked closely with allied advocacy organizations including the Human Rights Campaign and Soulforce. “Affirmation is alive and vital, making a difference each week in the lives of individuals –often the victims of fear or of bullying– and in so doing, changing the world around us and changing the institution that taught us our values and then broke our hearts,” David wrote recently. “We have taken the higher road, we have planted our rainbow flag ‘high on the mountain top,’ and for this journey, we celebrate.”