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New Heights, New Friends More than 90 GLBT Mormons Gather at Denver Prepared by James Kent and Hugo Salinas
From Mexico to Canada and from Hawaii to Maryland, some 90 gay and lesbian Mormons flew to Denver, Colorado, for an unforgettable conference weekend. Friday The event opened Friday evening with a social mixer and delicious refreshments. We played a game that involved matching numbers, meeting new people, and learning more about them. After the mixer we crossed the hall for a special screening of "Lost Tribe," a documentary about Sue-Ann Post's visit to the Affirmation conference in Salt Lake City two years ago. "I hope you all enjoy the film and I want to thank all of you again for co-operating so wonderfully with what must have been quite an intrusive process," wrote Sue-Ann in an email read by Alyson Bolles before the screening. "I think the essential decency, warmth and humor of you guys really shines through in the film, and has charmed everyone we've shown it to." Lost Tribe is scheduled to be aired in Australia in November. Sue-Ann's new book, "The Confession of an Unrepentant Lesbian Ex-Mormon (or Hanging Out with Gay Mormons in Salt Lake City) ," is available for purchase by visiting Sue Ann's website at www.sue-annpost.com.au  After the movie some of us went straight to bed, while others went dancing and yet others gathered at the hospitality suite to chat, play board games, and watch movies. Saturday After the Saturday breakfast, we enjoyed a number of workshops that focused on different facets of our personal journeys, Affirmation's mission, family relationship, sexuality, and the GLBT experience. At noon most of us scattered to the wind, while the Gamofites (gay Mormon fathers) gathered at Dixons Downtown Grill for their traditional lunch. The 25 Gamofites who gathered collectively represent 59 children, 54 (and a half) grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren. This year's Michael Farr Award for outstanding leadership and service to Gamofites went to Larry Mann of Alexandria, VA. The evening banquet was a grand event, with Affirmation legend Imelda taking pictures, mingling with the crowds, and flirting with admirers. After a delicious dinner, Affirmation leaders announced the winners of the 6th Annual Writing Awards Contest, an important program that over the years has nurtured and promoted writers to explore the gay Mormon experience. The first award went to Connell O'Donovan for his essay, "Losing My Religion — Or, How I Baked a Custard Pudding and Lost My Belief in Mormonism." The complete list of winners and winning entries is posted on the Affirmation website (www.affirmation.org/awa). This year, the following people were nominated for the Mortensen Award for outstanding leadership and service to Affirmation: Alyson Bolles, Jason Giles, Michael Lambert, David Melson, James Morris & Aaron Vinck, Hugo Salinas, and Brus Leguás Contreras. Contreras' nomination was a milestone in Affirmation-the first time an Affirmation leader form South America was nominated for this award. The Mortensen award was given to Hugo Salinas, who was recognized for his contributions in web development, newsletter creation, Spanish translations, and history preservation. "I know that Affirmation is true!" said Hugo as he accepted the award, triggering the audience's laughter and cheers. "Affirmation survives because of the remarkable efforts made by a small group of people," he added. "If you feel that you are in a stage of your life when you can donate some of your time, talents, or resources to a good cause, please volunteer!" Don Johnson, a well-known professor at the University of Colorado, gave a moving keynote speech, sharing with us some of the pains and joys of his journey as a gay Mormon. Don's excommunication occurred exactly on the day of the first national gay rights march in the nation's capital in October 1979, where he discovered Affirmation and marched with the gay Mormon contingent in that parade. "I would hope that each of your journeys take you to a path of personal power, self-love and growth," said Dr. Johnson, "and that we will all see the refiner's fire in our own lives as one of the great blessings. May you have joy in your lives and paths. God bless."  Listen
to Olin Thomas present Dr. Don Johnson Listen
to Dr. Don Johnson's keynote speechAfter Dr. Johnson's remarks, we had the pleasure of listening to the Denver Gay Men's Chorus. Now entering their 23rd season, the DGMC is comprised of 120 members, all volunteers, including African Americans, Hispanics, and one lesbian. The members range in age from 19 to 60+ years. We felt right at home with the chorus, as we learned that director David Dunbar is a BYU graduate, gay, and comes from Mormon background. The chorus sang, among other favorites, "Lead Kindly Light," "The Morning Trumpet," and "Morning Poem." A lot of people went out to enjoy Denver's splendid night life; but some of us, too tired for a night out, were content with visiting at the Hospitality Suite. Sunday LDS Reconciliation of Salt Lake City hosted the Sunday devotional, an inspiring event that included traditional Affirmation hymns, the listing of some 100 fellow gay Mormons whom we have lost to AIDS, and uplifting speeches by Mark Packer, Ollie and Delores Olsen, and Russ Gorringe. We sang the Affirmation version of "Come, Come, Ye Saints," "Beacons of Truth," the gay LDS version of "Because I Have Been Given Much," and the first verse of "God Be With You Till We Meet Again." Listen
to Russ Gorringe introduce the devotional program Listen
to Mark Packer's talk Listen
to Ollie and Delores Olsen's talk Listen
to Russ Gorrienge's talkA we enjoyed a delicious Sunday brunch, four members of the Portland Chapter stood up to announce that the 2006 Affirmation Conference will be held in Portland, Oregon. We received this news excitedly, as many still have fond memories of the 1998 conference held there. Alyson Bolles nominated Olin Thomas to run for one more term as Affirmation's executive director. Our thanks to the Denver Conference Planning Committee for all their work in preparing this conference: Micah Bisson (Chairperson), Olin Thomas (Budget), Nann Lawyer (Conference Packets/Registration), Mark Hansen (Saturday Workshops), and Russ Gorringe (Sunday devotional). God be with you all till we met again. 
For a larger report with additional pictures, go to www.affirmation.org/conference.
by Olin Thomas It is with great pleasure that I confirm my candidacy for a third term as Affirmation's Executive Director. If you were at the Conference in Denver recently, you will remember that Alyson Bolles actually nominated me at our closing luncheon. There are many projects in the works from my first two terms that I would like to complete and new projects I would like to see initiated. Progress is finally being made on modernizing our database, for example. Within the next year it will be possible to update your personal information directly on the web, with full password security. We are also making great progress at establishing new Affirmation chapters, both in the United States and internationally. Another great conference is being planned and will take place in Portland, Oregon next October. The future of Affirmation is promising, but only if we keep up our efforts and generate new awareness of both Affirmation and the issues which are important to us. I genuinely wish to be in the forefront of those efforts and ask for your vote of confidence to lead Affirmation in 2006.
by Olin Thomas The annual meeting of the Council of Chapter Representatives, more commonly called the "Leadership Meeting", took place September 30, 2005 from 3:00 to 5:00pm, at the start of the Conference "Reaching New Heights" in Denver, Colorado. Representatives from the chapters in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Portland, Denver, Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Phoenix were present. We would like to report the following decisions and highlights, and a more extensive "state of Affirmation" report will be published in the December Affinity. Couple's Membership Restored The Council agreed to restore a special membership rate for couples, at $40. We believe this is an important symbolic gesture during an era of conflict over marriage equality. Couples in which both members are fully active in Affirmation are encouraged to donate an additional $10 or more when possible. New Treasurer Announced Mike Miner is retiring from his role as Affirmation's treasurer. Bruce Maughan of Palm Springs, CA, has been nominated and confirmed as the next Treasurer. This year saw the collection of dues payments increase, but larger donations decline. A generous donation to the Irwin Phelps scholarship fund allowed us to provide assistance to eleven persons to come to this year's Affirmation Conference. Membership Secretary Announced The position of Membership Secretary has been created within Affirmation. The first person to fill this role will be Aaron Vinck of San Francisco, California. He will be responsible for better organizing and maintaining our membership database. Next Year's Conference: Portland! Next year's conference will definitely be in Portland, Oregon, from October 20-22, 2006. No decision has been made concerning the 2007 Conference. Current prospects include Los Angeles, California, and Washington, DC. Other future options include New York City and Orlando, Florida. Chapters interested in hosting a Conference are encouraged to contact members of the executive committee. Cornerstones Announced The executive committee will try to plan two Cornerstones in the coming year. One will be in Portland, Oregon and the other in Phoenix, Arizona. The dates for this will be announced later; however the Phoenix event will occur in the winter and the Portland event in the Spring. A Cornerstone is a weekend of business and social meetings between the executive committee and any interested Affirmation members
Days after Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson signed a historic document extending health care benefits to the domestic partners of city employees, Affirmation's Executive Committee issued the following statement: As gay and lesbian Mormons, we applaud mayor Rocky Anderson in his decision to offer health benefits to gay couples. We live at a time when many political and religious leaders aggressively campaign against the rights of gay and lesbian couples and their families. Affirmation is pleased that Mayor Anderson is taking the initiative to extend health care benefits to people who otherwise might not receive them. Surely this is the kind of compassion taught by Jesus Christ who ministered to all regardless of social standing or way of life. Mayor Anderson knows that we gays and lesbians do not start families because we want to destroy the institution of the family. We do it because of the profound love and commitment that we feel towards our spouses and our children. We hope that Mayor Anderson's compassionate actions will serve as an example for not only other politicians but especially religious leaders. Olin Thomas, Alyson Bolles, James Morris, and Hugo Salinas Executive Committee Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons
by Hugo Salinas October 2005 Affirmation has its most active chapter in Santiago, Chile, where some 20 people meet twice a week for activities that cover all of Affirmation's objectives, from building each other's faith and engaging in fellowshipping to educating the community and fighting for equal rights. Several of our Chilean sisters and brothers speak or read English. The director of Affirmation Santiago has just asked us to send literature in English that might further help them understand the gay experience in general and the gay LDS experience in particular. Michael McGrorty, from Portland, is helping coordinate this shipment. We are especially interested in people who could donate copies of the following books:
 earthlink.net.
Dad: “It's like God put a pair of new glasses on me” By Jason Clark 4 October 2001 Bryan Olsen, a student at Emory University, is one of the young men and women featured in the cover article of the October 10 issue of Time magazine. When Bryan's Mormon family learned that he was gay, at age 15, they sent him to a boot camp for wayward teens in Ensenada, Mexico, where he suffered various kinds of abuse. "I could only come home when I wrote my parents and promised to be straight and Mormon," says Bryan, who today is 21. To this day the reconciliation is not complete. Without financial support from his parents, Bryan is completing his college education with the support of the Point Foundation. But Bryan and his partner Kyle are welcome for dinner at Bryan's parents's home in Woodstock, Ga. "I don't believe that men should be together," says Bryan's father. "but I love him as my son. And he and his partner are good boys." "It's like God put a pair of new glasses on me… I thought I could talk him out of [being gay]. But it's not something you can talk someone out of."
Loren Jenner, Spirited Yearling Wounded. Logan, UT: Angel Warrior Publishing, 2005. (230 pp.) ISBN 1-4116-3723-2, $14.95 To purchase this book, go to www.lulu.com/content/133763 To learn more about Loren Jenner, go to www.lorenjenner.com Loren Jenner, a lesbian woman from LDS background, has just published Spirited Yearling Wounded, a candid account of her bouts of depression, her suicide attempts, and the journey that finally lead her to affirm her gay identity, acknowledge God's love, and find inner peace. Writes Jenner, "This book is… written for the wounded soul unable to reconcile his/her sexuality and spirituality-those who have attempted suicide, are thinking of suicide or survivors of the successful… My foremost concern is for salvation, happiness, and contentment of souls in turmoil." This 230-page book can also help those who have survived sexual abuse-especially those who come for an LDS background and also identify as gay or lesbian. From the Back Cover: Meet Spirited Yearling Wounded, a young Mormon woman in the Mountain West who tries to take her life and finds herself unexpectedly in a mental institution. Spirited comes face to face with questions like, Do I live my life according to church doctrine and repress my sexuality to become a Goddess in the afterlife? Or do I honor my essence and express my sexual orientation with integrity only to be among murderers and adulterers when I die? Is it worse to live a lie or go against church doctrine? Can I be rehabilitated, or does the quest for rehabilitation encourage the repression of my spirit? Is it more important who I love, what I am or how I love? On her spiritual path, she addresses the issues of sexual abuse, sexual identity, life and death, and the differences between God, the gospel and the church. Where will Spirited's faith and fate lead her?
by Jason Clark One wonders what LDS Public Relations must think about the fact that the most famous reality TV Mormon, Rafe Judkins, is a 22-year old gay man who was born in Salt Lake City and attended Brown University. "I'm a gay Mormon, Ivy League-grad wilderness guide," says Rafe. "There are so many things about the Mormon religion that I want to bring to my life." "When I have a husband and kids, I want us to have Family Home Evening on Monday nights and all get together and play board games or do whatever. The Mormon Church has so much good that you can take from it." To read Rafe's bio and see a video clip, go to http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor11/survivors/bio_rafe.shtml
Read story in the Salt Lake Metro
At its recent annual conference, the John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) announced that its Board of Directors had unanimously offered the position of Executive Secretary to John Hamer and Mike Karpowicz of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Executive Secretaries are the chief administrative officers of the association. JWHA is an independent association of historians who study the Latter Day Saint movement. Similar to the Utah-based Mormon History Association (MHA), JWHA is based in Missouri and was founded 33 years ago, primarily by members of the RLDS church (now Community of Christ). Today the organization has 500 members, including historians, students, and enthusiasts from within the various Restoration churches (the Community of Christ, the LDS church, the Strangite church, Bickertonite Church, the Remnant Church and others), as well as many more with no Restoration affiliation. John Hamer (35) and Mike Karpowicz (31) are a gay couple who have been in a committed relationship for the past 8 years. They are both independent researchers working on the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. John's historical work includes making maps for history texts and for museums. At the recent conference, Mike presented a paper contrasting the diverging trends between the hierarchies of the LDS church and the Community of Christ since 1844. John was raised in the LDS church but has not been a believing member since childhood. Mike was raised as a cultural Catholic and developed his interest in the Latter Day Saint movement after meeting and becoming acquainted with members of John's family who are Mormon. Their appointment to this leadership position jointly as a committed couple is a strong statement of acceptance by an important Latter Day Saint association. Links: John Whitmer Historical Association GALA: Gay and Lesbian Acceptance Community of Christ Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons P.O. Box 46022 Los Angeles, CA 90046 National Phone Line: (661) 367-2421 To see a directory of current Affirmation chapters, visit www.affirmation.org/chapters Executive Director: Olin Thomas AFFIRMATION GAY & LESBIAN MORMONS is a non-profit support group serving
Gay and Lesbian Mormons, their families and friends since 1977. AFFINITY
is the official publication of the Affirmation National Executive Committee.
About AFFINITY and E-AFFINITY AFFINITY is available both as an email text and as a web-based document. Although both versions are free of charge, we encourage you to become a dues-paying member and thus help us advance Affirmation's important mission. If you wish to receive a text version of AFFINITY by email, simply
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