I have been thinking about football quarterbacks since last Saturday.
I want so desperately to not get tackled by every thing that shakes my confidence, makes me confused about motives, or even down right MAD!
I want to hold my intentions close, hug them as tight as I can and run for the end zone.
I want to trust that God the Father and Mother and my Savior Jesus Christ have got this one.
Everything has to pass the
Does it shine Light?
Question.
And I set the intention for my ministry when I was prompted to.
"We bore them, We baptized them, They belong in This church.
"Be Faithful in Small Things Because it is in Them that Your Strength Lies." --Mother Theresa
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Phoenix Pride 2016
Written by: Jared Johnson
There is something special about being a
straight, active Mormon participating in a Pride parade and giving out hugs at
a Pride festival. It is the best example
I can think of about something that illustrates the concept of the whole is
much greater than the sum of its parts.
I don't like parades, festivals, crowds, difficult parking, arriving
early only to have to wait, etc, etc, etc.
Basically, every element of what it takes to 'do' pride is something I
usually try very hard to avoid. What I
know from doing it for the past 3 years is that the experience is wonderful and
personally life changing. I am so
grateful that the Pride-going masses have allowed me to even be there. For the most part, they are a very inclusive
group and very willing to understand and forgive.
Sometimes being a Mormon at Pride can be
uncomfortable. Looking like a Mormon is
easy - it is who I am and I am never embarrassed or ashamed of that fact. Dressing the part is easy - I have spent many
years wearing a white shirt and tie to both church and work. I am much more comfortable (and myself) in a
long sleeve shirt and slacks than I would ever be in shorts and sandals, for
example. What can be uncomfortable is
when someone knows I am a Mormon and they are angry at the church so they are
angry with me. It can be hard to stand
there and listen patiently while someone gets their feelings out. Sometimes a hug feels like a very silly thing
to be offering. But I am not there to
just give out hugs. I am not there to
show people what a Mormon looks like. I
am there to try in my own small way to build a bridge. To let people know that they are loved and
that no matter what they may think, there are members of the LDS church who
love them and accept them exactly as they are.
I love it when I coax someone in to receiving a free hug and then they
give me a look of pleasant amazement when I give them a sticker that informs them they were just hugged by a Mormon!
Sometimes they walk away with a smile, sometimes a wonderful
conversation gets started. It is in
those moments that I feel like bridges are being built.
This year a young lady wanted to buy us all a
lemonade or something to "bless us".
She wanted to give something back to the people of the hugging
booth. I asked her why. She told us that two years ago she came to a
Pride festival after 'coming out' just a few weeks earlier. She was scared, confused and ready to take
her own life. She came to the festival
and to our booth where she received a hug.
A long, meaningful hug from a mother of a gay child. A mother who held her and let her cry and let
her know that she was loved for who she was.
Many more stories like that are out there as a result of this simple act
of being at a hugging booth in the middle of a Pride festival. It is worth all of the work and potential
discomfort. It is worth feeling like a
fish out of water for a couple of days.
I don't really want to blend in - I don't think I could even if I
tried. I am so white, straight, old and
Mormon that not wearing a tie or other church clothes makes no difference. To my fellow active LDS church brothers and
sisters I say step out of your comfort zone and join me in this outreach. Not by changing who you are or how you dress,
but by following the Savior's admonition to love one another. To my beloved brothers and sisters in the
LGBTQ / SSA community I say thank you for your love, acceptance and
patience. I love you and I am better for
knowing some of you and learning your stories.
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