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Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons—Serving Gay & Lesbian Mormons and Their Family and Friends Since 1977
Editorial: Building the CASE for Affirmation
What Are We All About?
Executive Director David Melson &
Assistant Executive Director George Cole
When someone asks you what Affirmation is, what do say? How do you explain Affirmation? Are we a political, social, religious-oriented organization? The 2009 Executive Committee in its first meeting decided that we needed to determine just who we are, why we are here, and where we are going before we can be effective in the things that we hope to accomplish. We identified four areas to help guide us in our tasks:
Communication. We like and feel comfortable with people and places and situations that we know and that are familiar. Humans tend to hate what we fear, and we often fear that which we don’t know. Most people who fear or hate gay people do so because they have never known very many gays very well, and they don’t know better. In close-knit Mormon communities, that situation is magnified. So when church members are told that being gay is a sin, or that you must support Prop 8 to save the world from Satan, they simply don’t know better. Gay Mormons can easily believe there’s no one to talk with about being gay and LDS; they can easily believe they are doomed to be outcasts; and they can easily lose their self-esteem. Affirmation is here to foster and to create communication – between gay people, between gay people and their families, between the LGBT community and the Church, and among our own.
Advocacy. Affirmation is there to speak out. To bring gay Latter-day Saints together to speak as one. To climb together, high onto the mountain top, where our rainbow banner will be unfurled. Much of the homophobia that we endure in our society each day is brought about by well-intended organized religion, and, as was recently demonstrated in California, by our LDS brothers and sisters, most of whom have no idea that their actions and ignorance have caused such hurt. Affirmation’s advocacy actions include not only educating the public via our website, but also participating in initiatives that promote GLBT rights, speaking out through the media, engaging with the LDS church and its leaders, and responding to anti-gay rhetoric and actions carried out by the LDS Church.
Safe Spaces. A gay teen who is out or who is considering coming out to her or his bishop or LDS family has good reason to feel that she or he is not safe; sometimes there is fear of physical aggression, and very often of emotional or spiritual abuse. Similarly, a gay couple with a small child in many places in this country cannot trust that their child is going to be safe.
Affirmation is dedicated to making our world, and particularly our Church (or former Church) a safe space for all. This includes not being bullied, ridiculed, condemned, or cast out for one’s sexual orientation. In the meantime, our conferences, our chapter meetings, and our homes will provide a safe space for those of God’s children who find themselves to be both gay and Mormon.
Ending the damage. Suicides. Lesbian or gay teens forced onto the street. Families torn apart when a parent or sibling comes out as gay. Young children being made to feel second rate because they have two moms or two dads. Millions of dollars, that could have been spent to help those in need, wasted to scare people into believing that gays are “out to destroy your family.” Teaching homophobia as a family value. These reasons and others are poisoning our world, they have damaged or destroyed too many lives, and they must stop. That many people in the Church never intended the damage that resulted from their actions only speaks to the failure of the Church to teach the values of the Gospel. Affirmation must and will fight to end the damage.
These are the four critical parts of our mission the encompass who we are and what we seek: communication, advocacy, safe spaces, and ending the damage caused by the Church's policies and rhetoric. Communication. Advocacy. Safe spaces. Ending the damage. Those four points make up the CASE Affirmation is making with the Church and the community at large. To put it another way: “Affirmation seeks to improve communication and advocate for safe spaces in the Church and in the global community that will end the damage caused by misguided policies towards gay people and their families.”
Affirmation Calendar 2009
March 21
Equinox March on Salt Lake City
March 19 - April 5
“Facing East” staged in San Diego
April 17-19
Cornerstone Conference in Phoenix
June
Pride celebrations held across the world
June 8
Anniversary of the revelation that lifted the ban on African-Americans males holding the priesthood (1978)
June 11
Anniversary. Affirmation was organized on this day in Salt Lake City (1977).
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July 18
Young Adult Cornerstone in San Francisco
July 24
Pioneer Day
September 18-20
Affirmation's Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, UT
October 11
National Coming Out Day
December 1
World AIDS Day
December 8-9
Anniversary. Affirmation was organized nationally in Los Angeles (1979).
December 25
Christmas
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Mini-Conference to Be Held in Phoenix April 17-19
First of Three Conferences Scheduled for 2009
An Affirmation tradition, the Cornerstone Conference returns after four years, as Affirmation members gather this April in sunny Phoenix, Arizona.
“A Cornerstone Conference is a mini-conference, as opposed to the full Annual Conference. A Cornerstone event may be limited in scope, such as the Women’s Cornerstone Conference held in 2005, or by geography, as was the case with the Mexico City Cornerstone Conference held in 2004,” explained Executive Director David Melson.
Affirmation’s Executive Committee has announced three conferences for 2009, starting with the Southwest Cornerstone conference in April 17-19 in Phoenix, Arizona, followed by a Young Adult Cornerstone Conference in San Francisco on July 18, and capped off by the Affirmation Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, October 18-20.
“More Affirmation members will attend a conference in 2009 than any year in Affirmation’s history,” said Assistant Executive Director Micah Bisson.
The Southwest Cornerstone Conference in Phoenix will feature an intense program of meetings, fun, sun, and party, and will be held in conjunction with the 2009 Phoenix Pride Festival. The Conference itself will focus on gay Latter-day Saints in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Southern California. Conference Directors David Douglass and Tony Gale are promising a unique and exciting program designed to strengthen Affirmation’s presence in the southwest United States. And, you will be able to party down and enjoy all of the festivities and events of Phoenix Pride. The Executive Committee will also be meeting in Phoenix simultaneously.
Although the conference will focus on members in the Southwest, all Affirmation members and friends are welcome to attend. Registration forms and lodging and travel information will be available on the Affirmation web site later this month, but mark your calendar now for the April 17-19.
The 2009 Young Adult Cornerstone will be held in the heart of San Francisco on July 18. Although some activities and sessions will be limited to those 30 and younger, there will be plenty for everyone to do. The Executive Committee will be meeting nearby, July 17-19, and when you get tired of meetings, it’s San Francisco!
All of this leads up to the 2009 Annual Conference in September. Sites under consideration for 2010 Cornerstones include Florida, Brazil, Chile, California, Ohio, and Missouri.
“The Cornerstone Conference is one more way to experience Affirmation, and is something that David promised when he ran for Executive Director last fall,” stated Assistant executive Director George Cole. “I see it as one more means to revitalize Affirmation and to add to the membership experience.”
Think that you would like to help host a Cornerstone in your area? Contact Executive Director David Melson at Dave_Melson affirmation.org.
Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel
Affirmation Needs You
Interested in being more involved in Affirmation on a national or international level? The Executive Committee has set out an ambitious agenda for 2009 and we need your help. We are looking for people to serve as committee chairpersons and members, and we have particular need for people with skills in writing, media relations, grant writing, fund raising, video editing, language translation, and event planning.
If you are interested and want to do something more to give back to Affirmation, or if you want more information, please contact me at Dave_Melsonaffirmation.org. Let us know what you would like to do and how involved you would like to be. Even if you can afford only a couple of hours per month, it will make a difference in Affirmation and in the lives of others.
Affirmation to Sponsor 2009 Writing Awards
Categories Will Be Non-fiction Writing and Editorial Writing
 Last Year's Contest
The Affirmation Writing Awards competition will begin later this month, with a format that we hope will attract the largest pool of entrants ever. For several years, the writing awards were given for personal narratives or other non-fiction writing, many pieces of which are still popular content on the Affirmation web site. In 2008, the competition focused on published editorial content, much of it focused on convincing others to take action to end discrimination against gay people.
For 2009, the Affirmation Writing Awards will recognize work in two categories, both narrative/ non-fiction writing and editorial writing. Competition details, rules, and entry materials will be announced later this month on the Affirmation web site, and deadlines for entry submission will be in early August. Award recipients will be announced at the Affirmation Annual Conference in Salt Lake City in September.
You have an opportunity to use your words to help someone who is struggling with who they are or how to reach someone they love. Or you can invite them to change the world--or at least the mind or the heart of someone in the world--and be recognized for your effort. The pen is mighty.
Bruce Maughan
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New Corresponding Secretary Appointed
Hugo Salinas
Executive Director David Melson has just appointed Bruce Maughan as Affirmation’s new corresponding secretary. Although the workload of the corresponding secretary has diminished substantially in this era of email communications, the job continues to be crucial, as the corresponding secretary counts votes during elections and carries out other roles defined by the bylaws.
Bruce, who is also Affirmation’s treasurer, replaces Paul Mortensen, who served as corresponding secretary since the 1980s. Bruce can be contacted by email or by regular mail:
Affirmation
PO Box 1435
Palm Springs, CA 92263-1435
Who Is Affirmation? The 2008 Affirmation Survey
Dave Melson
Who are the members of Affirmation? Anecdotally, we know that Affirmation members are a diverse lot, including both current members and former members of the LDS Church, that they include young and old, that many have served full time missions for the church, but then we also hear that things are changing. So what is the real story?
The only quantitative analysis, and the one that has been relied upon since it was taken, was from a survey taken at the 1991 Affirmation Conference in Palm Springs:
| Affirmation Membership Makeup (1991) |
| Current Church Members | 46% |
| Disfellowshipped | 4% |
| Excommunicated | 14% |
| Voluntary Withdrawal | 30% |
| Non-member or N/A | 6% |
In the same survey, 22% of participants said they attend church “regularly,” 22% said “occasionally,” 20% said “rarely,” and 34% said “never.” For more information, see Affinity, Dec. 1991, pp. 2-3, 5.
Things Have Changed
The Executive Committee of Affirmation thought some newer data might be of value, and so a new survey was conducted of 104 Affirmation members attending the 2008 Affirmation Conference in Los Angeles. Compared to 1991, more Affirmation members are current members of the LDS church, but there are also 30% more who have been excommunicated, while the number who have resigned their membership has dropped by almost two-thirds. 14.4% of those surveyed attend LDS services on a regular basis, 85.6% attend rarely or not at all.
These are some highlights of the new survey:
| Affirmation Membership Makeup (2008) |
| Current Church Members | 56.7% |
| | Holds Temple Recommend |
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3.8% |
| | Attends Regularly |
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10.6% |
| | Does Not Attends Regularly |
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42.3% |
| Removed Name | 11.5% |
| Excommunicated | 19.2% |
| Never Been a Member | 12.5% |
By Age
Of those who are current LDS Church members and who attend LDS Church services on a regular basis (at least once each month), 63.7% are between the ages of 23 and 39. For those current Church members who do not attend regularly, almost 60% (59.1%) are between the ages of 40 and 59. Of those who have been excommunicated, the overwhelming majority, 80%, are over the age of 50. For those aged 23 through 49, 70.6% state that they are members of the Church; for those 50 and older, 58.8% are not members of the LDS Church.
I Hope They Call Me on a Mission…
Of those surveyed who have been members of the LDS Church, 69.2% have served a full-term full-time mission for the Church, 28.6% have not served a mission. For those from age 30 through age 59, the number completing full-term full-time missions stays steady at 75% for all ages; but for those under 30 or over 59, missionary service drops to well under 50%; this would correspond with the time periods in which the church’s missionary numbers were highest.
Born or Converted?
76.9% of those surveyed said that they had been baptized at age 8; of these, 24% have been excommunicated, another 15% have resigned, for a total of 39% of those baptized at age 8 who have left the Mormon Church. Of those who were converts to the Church between the ages of 8 and 18, over 90% have left the Church. But of those who were convert adult baptisms (age 18 and over), a full 60% remain members of the church, 20% have resigned, and 20% have been excommunicated.
More complete analysis of the data will be needed before drawing too many conclusions, but it appears that there is a trend toward staying in the church rather than resigning, and a greater tolerance among local leaders. The polling sample here is not large enough, nor the methodology strict enough, to be statistically accurate.
Mormon Church Admits to $190,000 of Prop. 8 Expenses
Up until Friday, the Mormon church had denied any direct financial support for the campaign beyond $2,078
See the document filed by the Church (PDF)
From a story in The San Francisco Chronicle
January 31, 2009
Mormon church officials, facing an ongoing investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission, Friday reported nearly $190,000 in previously unlisted assistance to the successful campaign for Prop. 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California.
The report, filed with the secretary of state's office, listed a variety of California travel expenses for high-ranking members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and included $20,575 for use of facilities and equipment at the church's Salt Lake City headquarters and a $96,849 charge for “compensated staff time” for church employees who worked on matters pertaining to Prop. 8.
“This is exactly what we were talking about when we filed the suit,” said Fred Karger of Californians Against Hate, which opposed the same-sex marriage ban. “They spent money on the campaign and were supposed to report it.”
Church officials were not available for comment Friday night.
Karger filed his complaint with the FPPC on Nov. 13, alleging that the Mormon church had produced commercials, set up Web sites, conducted simulcasts and sent church leaders to California to support Prop. 8 without filing any of the required reports.
Up until Friday, the Mormon church had denied any direct financial support for the campaign beyond a reported $2,078 spent for bringing church Elder L. Whitney Clayton to California.
Church officials complained that Karger's complaint was full of errors and that the church had “fully complied” with California law.
The report filed Friday contained few details about how the money was spent. It did list $26,000 for audio-visual production and travel expenses for a number of Mormon leaders other than Clayton.
It also reported a number of expenses in the Bay Area, including $122 for a meal at Nonna Rose Restaurant in San Francisco, and $133 spent at the 3-Zero Cafe in Half Moon Bay.
While the deadline for the report, which covers the period from July 1 to Dec. 31, is Monday, many campaign contributions by major donors and independent committees must be reported within days after they're made.
Roman Porter, the FPPC's executive director, declined to discuss the case directly, saying only that it remained under investigation. In general, however, “cases like these hinge over what had to be reported and when it had to be reported,” he said. A late report covering disputed filings “wouldn't remove the obligation to file on time” but would be considered by investigators.
The proposed ban on same-sex marriage was called the second most-watched campaign in the nation last November, behind the presidential race. While Mormons gave millions of dollars to the “Yes on Prop. 8” campaign, church leaders insisted that the contributions came from individual church members, not the church itself, so the church was not required to file reports with California.
See also:
California's FPPC to Investigate the Mormon Church
New Report Says LDS Church Spent More on Prop 8 than Reported
Utahns March for Gays Rights, ‘Common Ground’
Capitol Marchers Seek Legislative Approval
From a story in The Salt Lake Tribune
About 300 people braved driving rain to take part in Saturday's march on the Utah Capitol, a peaceful event marking possibly the most expansive legislative push for gay rights in state history.
The event was timed to coincide with Monday's start of the 2009 legislative session in which lawmakers will take up a bundle of bills collectively known as the Common Ground Initiative.
These five bills would make it illegal to fire an employee or evict a tenant for being gay or transgender, provide wider rights for inheritance and health insurance and give same-sex partners the ability to sue in cases of wrongful death, among other things.
Backed by a coalition of 30 gay activist and human rights groups, the bills have been carefully crafted to avoid the loaded topic of gay marriage and to fit with statements issued by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the aftermath of Proposition 8 banning gay same-sex unions. Though steadfastly opposed to same-sex unions, the LDS Church has clarified it does not object to granting certain rights to same-sex couples.
Recent polls show a majority of Utahns favor increased legal protections for same-sex couples.
Ranking Republicans have said they'll seriously consider the bills.
Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons
P.O. Box 1435
Palm Springs, CA 92263-1435
National Phone Line: (661) 367-2421
To see a directory of current Affirmation chapters, visit www.affirmation.org/chapters
Executive Director: Dave Melson
Senior Assistant Director: Micah Bisson
Assistant Director: George Cole
Associate Director & Affinity Editor: Hugo Salinas www.affirmation.org/contact/affinity
Send Us Your Submission!
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.
Submissions are welcome and should be limited to 250 words. To contact us, visit www.affirmation.org/contact/affinity. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, national committee or publisher, but rather
the individual writers. The Editor reserves the right to edit any material
deemed offensive, libelous, grammatically incorrect or lengthy.
About 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 send a request to Hugo Salinas by visiting www.affirmation.org/contact/affinity. If you are a dues-paying member and do not have Internet
access, you may request a printed version that will be sent to you by
mail.
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