Mike Miner

Candidacy for National Executive Director

To all Affirmation Members.

I am announcing my candidacy to be the Executive Director of Affirmation for the coming year.

In the next few paragraphs I would like to articulate my vision for Affirmation and my past credentials.

I have been involved with Affirmation in some capacity for most of the years since 1985. I have served on the Board of the Los Angeles Chapter for about 3 years and have served with the Affirmation Las Vegas leadership for 18 months. I was recently elected to the Los Angeles Chapter Board of Directors for another term. I have served in the past with the Board of Directors and was a past Chair of the Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Community Center and am a past member of the Board of the Las Vegas Gay and Lesbian Center and was their Treasurer. I have been actively involved in the community since 1981.

I have seen a lot of change in Affirmation over the years and I agreed with some of it and objected to other parts. I have decided to run for this position because I believe that it is time that Affirmation went back to the basics. Our national organization is founded on the local chapter concept and I believe that we have gotten away from that concept. I believe that the local chapters should be doing good works in their communities. We need to be actively involved in community affairs that enhance who we are and what we believe, While it is true that we arc a social organization we also have certain religious traditions that we believe in. We need to again find the balance between them and help the people that we serve.

Affirmation serves as a conduit for the person who is coming out but because of our LDS roots finds that a painful process. We need to support then and help them believe that we are all children of our Father in Heaven and he loves us as much as he loves anyone else. We are a people that believe in principle. We must share that with others and with ourselves. We must be involved in our communities if for no other reason than to make someone else's coming out less painful than ours. I believe this can only be done at the local levels of Affirmation and by the local members of each chapter and group. The National is here to advise local chapters and not to make policy for the locals. We have become involved in some programs that should be in our thoughts but should not be controlled by the national leadership. They should be encouraged in their endeavors because that helps the whole organization The basic is that the National Affirmation leadership should be in contact with and encourage each chapter or group in helping them to help themselves and their members and encourage and support their community projects. We are on this earth to serve and we should be doing just that. I promise to serve and encourage and help to strengthen each chapter and group individually and as a whole. If we think and pray about this we will be able to do the right thing and the organization will be stronger and more united than ever before in our history. Let us take all that was in the minds of the Affirmation founders and put it to work wherever we are and in whatever we do.

ln the Forward to Affirmation's General Charter we find from the Doctrine and Covenants the following from Section 58: 26-28. "For behold it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; therefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will and bring to pass much righteousness; for the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in no wise lose their reward." Let us all resolve to follow this admonition.

In closing let me say that should I be elected to this position I will need and rely on every-one to help make this the most exciting and wonderful year since Affirmation's founding. If you would like to help me please call or e-mail me to show your support.

I would hope and pray that this year there would be more than one candidate on the ballot for it is with many ideas that the whole becomes stronger. I hope you will all consider this.

Yours in Brother and Sisterhood,

Michael D. Miner
Saturday, July 31, 1999

James Kent

Candidacy for National Executive Director

To the membership of Affirmation Gay and Lesbian Mormons:

My name is James Kent and I am announcing my candidacy for Executive Director for Affirmation Gay & Lesbian Mormons for the year 2000.

It has been a long wonderful journey for me since coming out through San Francisco Affirmation in 1988. I can still remember my first meeting and realizing that I wasn't the only gay Mormon in the world. I have had many opportunities to serve Affirmation over the years in both local and national levels. These responsibilities included: San Francisco Chapter Director, Executive Board Member, and Historian through my personal newsletter which is currently called Ohana News.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have visited all of the Affirmation chapters currently in existence, as well as meeting many of you through regional and national conferences over the years. I look at all of you as part of my Affirmation family of friends.

I consider myself a moderate regarding the LDS Church. It is not our job to Church bash, nor is it our job to assimilate Affirmation into the LDS Church. It is important that we hold the Church members or leaders accountable when it takes a homophobic action or policy. But it is just as important to praise members or leaders of the Church who are supportive of GLBTQ issues. Should I be elected, I want to continue the efforts in the following areas:

1. Plan 3 regional conferences: For the East Coast - to coincide with the March on Washington; For the Intermountain Region - to coincide with the Wasatch Family Fellowship Conference; and the West Coast - to be announced. I would also like to work on a long range goal for a European Regional Conference in the year 2002.

2. Youth Services: Under the direction of Allison Bingham, I am very pleased that we have our own listserver for LDS Youth, 25 and under. We need to continue our efforts to identify local youth services in areas where they are already set up.

3. Publications: There are several AFFIRMATION publications which are on the verge of being printed up and distributed in the year 2000.

4. The National Bylaws are woefully out of date and need to reflect changes made to it by prior votes at National Conferences. A national committee needs to be organized to update our bylaws no later than our next convening national conference in Washington, DC (Oct. 2000).

5. Communication: It is important that the Members of the National Executive Board be in touch with local chapters, and its national auxiliaries at least on a monthly basis.

6. AFFINITY/AFFIRMATION.ORG: AFFINITY needs to continue to be published in a timely manner, and updating our website at AFFIRMATION.ORG on a regular basis. I also want to explore the possibilities of electronically sending out AFFINITY for those who have e-mail access.

7. Public Relations: We also need a good public relations director to help us respond quickly to matters regarding the GLBTQ community and the LDS Church.

8. Sunstone/Dialogue: Publications like Sunstone and Dialogue can provide us with opportunities to help members of the LDS Church better understand GLBTQ issues.

9. Delegation: Because I live in Hawaii, I will need at least three Assistants in their geographical areas (West Coast, Intermountain Region and East Coast), as well as assignments to assist members of Affirmation in Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. I may also be asking for your assistance to help make our programs work.

10. Service: Service within the Gay/Lesbian or Local Community should become an important aspect of Affirmation. It helps to make us more visible within both communities with the reminder that when you are in the service of your fellow being, you are in the service of your God.

11. Women's Issues: I was very pleased at the large number of women who participated in our South Lake Tahoe conference this year. I want to encourage more participation by women in our organization, and to provide a safe space for women only to discuss their personal issues, as well as providing men with a better understanding of what women have to face in the LDS Church.

12. Interfaith: I applaud the effort of Duane Jennings, Frank Susa and others within Affirmation who have proactively gone out and connected with our spiritual communities.

13. Family Fellowship: I feel that it is important that we maintain better ties with this organization which helps LDS families out of their own "closets" with a parent, child or friend comes out to them.

14. Reconciliation: This Wasatch based group is an LDS spiritually based organization which may be of help to those who need this type of spiritual connection.

15. The Endowment Fund: I want to see this fund continue to grow to provide scholarship money to help those less fortunate to be able to attend our National Conferences, to provide public service messages to make our organization more visible, and to eventually be able to hire a full time staff to take care of the administrative needs of Affirmation.

16. Gamofites (Gay Mormon Fathers): I am please to have been a member of this organization for over four years. I want Affirmation to continue to umbrella this organization, many of whom are also members of Affirmation.

If you have any questions regarding the above or other issues, I can be reached by e-mai or by phone 808-943-7971.

I encourage all of you to vote in this year's election. You need to be a current member of the Affirmation's National Organization in order to vote. Annual membership to the National Organization is only $20 (single) or $25 (couple). Write: AFFINITY Subscription, P.O. Box 46022, Los Angeles, CA 90046 (Phone: 323-255-7251).

Sincerely,

James Kent
Honolulu, HI