Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons
Encyclopedia
Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons is an international organization for gay
, lesbian
, transgender
, bisexual
, and intersex
people who identify as members or ex-members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Affirmation holds that "homosexuality and homosexual relationships can be consistent with and supported by the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
Under the name Affirmation: Gay Mormons United, the first Affirmation group was organized in Salt Lake City, Utah
on June 11, 1977 by Stephan Zakharias and a group of other Mormon and ex-Mormons Gays and Lesbians. The original group struggled to survive until 1978, when Paul Mortensen formed the Los Angeles chapter and in 1980 the name was changed to Affirmation:Gay & Lesbian Mormons. Through the influence of the Los Angeles chapter, Affirmation groups appeared in many cities around the country.
Over the decades, Affirmation's consistent goal has been to provide a safe haven for LGBT people to discuss their sexuality and to make friends. Affirmation has never intended to be a new religion. However in 1985 some members of Affirmation did decide to form a Latter Day Saint
church for gays and lesbians. Today that church is known as the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ
.
they were persuaded to undergo in the 1960s and 1970’s at Brigham Young University
, an LDS Church school. Gay students at Brigham Young University in 1977 widely distributed an anonymously published pamphlet called Prologue: An Examination of the Mormon Attitude Towards Homosexuality which described the aversion therapy, persecution of gays, and irregular behavior by the administration and faculty of Brigham Young University such as entrapment by the BYU security forces, recruiting student spies, and recruiting young Mormon women to attempt to sexually convert gays to heterosexuality by encouraging gay men to get married to these women in order to "cure" their homosexuality. The pamphlet pointed out the fact that a significant percentage of the students at BYU were in fact gay and that psychologists had noted that it seemed that there was a larger percentage of Mormon gays than in any other religion. This pamphlet led directly to the formation of Affirmation in June 1977. It later emerged that the pamphlet was written by a student name Cloy Jenkins and other gay BYU students.
In October 1999, some Affirmation members in Salt Lake City protested the LDS Church’s lobbying and funding of initiatives in California and other states to keep the traditional definition of marriage.
, an organization for gay Mormon fathers, began in 1991. Family Fellowship
, an organization for parents of gay and lesbian Mormons, was formed in 1993. LDS Reconciliation, a group of Gay and Lesbian Mormons that was originally started in conjunction with Family Fellowship
, serves a similar purpose but is focused on gay and lesbian Mormons in the Utah
and Idaho
areas, rather than worldwide as is Affirmation. The first group for gay Mormon youth, Gay LDS Young Adults, was launched in Salt Lake City in 2001.
With the advent of the Internet, many gay and lesbian Mormons began to participate in Affirmation from overseas, especially in Latin America. In 2001 the first non-English chapter was formed in Mexico City, and later chapters appeared in Santiago (Chile), Valparaíso (Chile), and Puebla (Mexico).
In addition, GALA (Gay and Lesbian Acceptance)
, the support group for GLBT members of the Independence, Missouri
-based Community of Christ
(formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), was a break off from the Affirmation Chapter in Kansas City, Missouri
in the mid-1980s.
, artist Trevor Southey, and writer Patrick Califia
.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
, bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
, and intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
people who identify as members or ex-members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Affirmation holds that "homosexuality and homosexual relationships can be consistent with and supported by the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
Under the name Affirmation: Gay Mormons United, the first Affirmation group was organized in Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
on June 11, 1977 by Stephan Zakharias and a group of other Mormon and ex-Mormons Gays and Lesbians. The original group struggled to survive until 1978, when Paul Mortensen formed the Los Angeles chapter and in 1980 the name was changed to Affirmation:Gay & Lesbian Mormons. Through the influence of the Los Angeles chapter, Affirmation groups appeared in many cities around the country.
Over the decades, Affirmation's consistent goal has been to provide a safe haven for LGBT people to discuss their sexuality and to make friends. Affirmation has never intended to be a new religion. However in 1985 some members of Affirmation did decide to form a Latter Day Saint
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
church for gays and lesbians. Today that church is known as the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ
Restoration Church of Jesus Christ
The former Restoration Church of Jesus Christ , based in the United States in Salt Lake City, Utah, was a church in the Latter Day Saint movement that catered primarily to the spiritual needs of Latter Day Saints who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered .The RCJC was sometimes informally...
.
Affirmation and the LDS Church
Because of the many actions carried out by Mormon leaders against gay and lesbian people, Affirmation has sometimes denounced the LDS Church. Affirmation members have come forward to describe the aversion therapyAversion therapy
Aversion therapy is a form of psychological treatment in which the patient is exposed to a stimulus while simultaneously being subjected to some form of discomfort...
they were persuaded to undergo in the 1960s and 1970’s at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
, an LDS Church school. Gay students at Brigham Young University in 1977 widely distributed an anonymously published pamphlet called Prologue: An Examination of the Mormon Attitude Towards Homosexuality which described the aversion therapy, persecution of gays, and irregular behavior by the administration and faculty of Brigham Young University such as entrapment by the BYU security forces, recruiting student spies, and recruiting young Mormon women to attempt to sexually convert gays to heterosexuality by encouraging gay men to get married to these women in order to "cure" their homosexuality. The pamphlet pointed out the fact that a significant percentage of the students at BYU were in fact gay and that psychologists had noted that it seemed that there was a larger percentage of Mormon gays than in any other religion. This pamphlet led directly to the formation of Affirmation in June 1977. It later emerged that the pamphlet was written by a student name Cloy Jenkins and other gay BYU students.
In October 1999, some Affirmation members in Salt Lake City protested the LDS Church’s lobbying and funding of initiatives in California and other states to keep the traditional definition of marriage.
Related organizations
The last decade has seen the formation of other gay Mormon organizations, some of which are close allies. GamofitesGamofites
Gamofites is an organization of Latter-day Saint gay fathers, but is not a religious organization. Because Mormonism contains many "ites" —Nephites, Lamanites, Jaredites, etc.— the group shortened Gay Mormon Fathers to Ga-mo-fites...
, an organization for gay Mormon fathers, began in 1991. Family Fellowship
Family Fellowship
Family Fellowship is a predominantly Latter-day Saint support group for those who have lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender family members. It was founded in 1993. As of 2003, it had a mailing list of over 1,700. The group hosts conferences, open to the public, on various subjects concerning...
, an organization for parents of gay and lesbian Mormons, was formed in 1993. LDS Reconciliation, a group of Gay and Lesbian Mormons that was originally started in conjunction with Family Fellowship
Family Fellowship
Family Fellowship is a predominantly Latter-day Saint support group for those who have lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender family members. It was founded in 1993. As of 2003, it had a mailing list of over 1,700. The group hosts conferences, open to the public, on various subjects concerning...
, serves a similar purpose but is focused on gay and lesbian Mormons in the Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
areas, rather than worldwide as is Affirmation. The first group for gay Mormon youth, Gay LDS Young Adults, was launched in Salt Lake City in 2001.
With the advent of the Internet, many gay and lesbian Mormons began to participate in Affirmation from overseas, especially in Latin America. In 2001 the first non-English chapter was formed in Mexico City, and later chapters appeared in Santiago (Chile), Valparaíso (Chile), and Puebla (Mexico).
In addition, GALA (Gay and Lesbian Acceptance)
GALA (Gay and Lesbian Acceptance)
GALA is a non-profit Missouri corporation that is an association of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons and their family and friends that are connected with the Community of Christ....
, the support group for GLBT members of the Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
-based Community of Christ
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...
(formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), was a break off from the Affirmation Chapter in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
in the mid-1980s.
Membership and presence
Affirmation functions through local chapters established mostly in the Inter-mountain West, Chile, and Australia. At the head of the organization is an executive committee composed of three members. Annual conferences, held in a different city each year, attract hundreds of members and friends from around the United States and abroad. Affirmation publishes a monthly newsletter, Affinity.Prominent LGBT Mormons
Prominent lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Mormons who have been associated with Affirmation include gay activist Leonard MatlovichLeonard Matlovich
Technical Sergeant Leonard P. Matlovich was a Vietnam War veteran, race relations instructor, and recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star....
, artist Trevor Southey, and writer Patrick Califia
Patrick Califia
Patrick Califia , born 1954 near Corpus Christi, Texas is a writer of nonfiction essays about sexuality and of erotic fiction and poetry. Califia is a bisexual trans man.-Biography:...
.
See also
- Criticism of Mormonism
- Cultural Mormon
- Gay LiberationGay LiberationGay liberation is the name used to describe the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement of the late 1960s and early to mid 1970s in North America, Western Europe, and Australia and New Zealand...
- Homosexuality and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsHomosexuality and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsHomosexual acts are prohibited by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Law of Chastity, as well as other sexual acts outside the bonds of marriage. Violating the Law of Chastity may result in excommunication...
- Law of adoptionLaw of adoptionThe law of adoption was a ritual practiced in Latter Day Saint temples between 1846 and 1894 in which men who held the priesthood were sealed in a father–son relationship to other men who were not part of nor even distantly related to their immediate nuclear family.-Practice:Some younger men who...
- LGBT-welcoming church programsLGBT-welcoming church programsLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender affirming religious groups are religious groups that welcome LGBT members and do not consider homosexuality to be a sin. They include entire religious denominations, as well as individual churches and synagogues...
- Religion and sexualityReligion and sexualityMost world religions have sought to address the moral issues that arise from people's sexuality in society and in human interactions. Each major religion has developed moral codes covering issues of sexuality, morality, ethics etc...
- Same-sex reproduction
- Restoration Church of Jesus ChristRestoration Church of Jesus ChristThe former Restoration Church of Jesus Christ , based in the United States in Salt Lake City, Utah, was a church in the Latter Day Saint movement that catered primarily to the spiritual needs of Latter Day Saints who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered .The RCJC was sometimes informally...
- United Order Family of ChristUnited Order Family of ChristThe United Order Family of Christ was a schismatic sect of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , which was founded in 1969 in Denver, Colorado by David-Edward Desmond and existed until at least 1973-74....
External links
- Affirmation.org (English site)
- "Same Sex Temple Sealings: Did the Early LDS Church Embrace Homosexual Relationships?", Salt Lake Metro, September 2004
- History of “Homosexuality and Mormonism 1840-1980” (1994) by Connell O’Donovan:
- "Private Pain, Public Purges: A History of Homosexuality at Brigham Young University (1940-1992)"—Address given by Connell O'Donovan on April 28, 1997 at UC Santa Cruz: