David Melson |
This is the last Messenger that you will receive from me as President, and so it seems appropriate to step back and take a look at the past three years. When I first ran for President (Executive Director then), I said that I wanted to serve for three years; you have graciously supported me with your votes for those three years, and I am grateful.
The past three years have been a time of transition for Affirmation. Those who study such things tell us that non-profit organizations typically go through a thirty to thirty-five year cycle: they form as the brainchild of one or two people, they grow in strength and size, reach their peak years, they start to fade out, and then either they reinvent themselves and repeat that whole cycle or they disappear. Transition, reinvention, change – these are painful things, more so when the world around us is changing just as quickly.
The generation of leaders who formed Affirmation in the late 1970’s is the same generation that has been leading Affirmation ever since. Back then, we were a bit younger, a bit more radical, our energies were a bit more sustainable, and our optimism and vision were unlimited. I stated three years ago that one of my objectives was to turn the leadership of Affirmation over to the rising generation, that I should be the last of my generation to stand at the head of Affirmation. This we have done, and I am confident in the ability of my successor and others of his generation to take us in exciting new directions and in the willingness of the elder generation to sustain and support them.
At the first meeting of my Executive Committee, we came up with a brief encapsulation of Affirmation’s mission statement, the CASE for Affirmation: Communication, Advocacy, Safe Spaces, and Ending the Damage, and we have worked hard to fulfill that mission. You have heard more from your Executive Committee these past three years than you have before. The weekly Affirmation Messenger has kept you up to date on what the members of the Executive Committee are doing and what we are thinking about. Our web presence has expanded and become more sophisticated. Affirmation has stood up and spoken out for the things that are important to us and against the things that affect us negatively. We have made significant efforts to fight suicide and homelessness, issues that affect gay Latter-day Saints disproportionately more that the general population. By speaking out and making people aware of who we are, by fighting against bullying and homophobia, we have created more safe spaces within the community, the church, and within a great many homes. And by forging alliances and working much more closely with our allied LGBT advocacy organizations, we have found greater strength and effectiveness at ending some of the damage.
People know we are here. We have a presence among the public, among our LGBT allies, and in the face of the church, that we have not had previously. Where the church could once ignore LGBT issues or brush them aside, Affirmation has made them near constant topics of conversation among church leaders. Although we have a long way to go, we have made it easier for those who are coming out – and for their friends and families – to find the resources, the support, and the loving shoulders that make the journey a bit easier.
Mormons have always been activists. Since that moment when Joseph Smith was told to join none of the existing churches, the Latter-day tradition has been to step out, to not conform, but to follow what we believe to be right. When the early saints left the United States to cross the prairie to the Salt Lake Valley, they were anything but passive. We continue in that tradition, of standing up for what is right, speaking out on behalf of those who have no voice, judging no one for who they are, and doing what we can to make the world a better place. Affirmation leaders have spoken out in rallies and though television, radio, print media, motion pictures, the Internet, academic presentations, one-on-one conversations, lobbying, church meetings, and other forums, and we have been heard.
Both science and society have come a long way in the last three years. In 2011, we reached a significant turning point when, for the first time, a majority of people in the United States indentified as being either supportive or accepting of LGBT civil rights. We have identified the biologic causes of homosexuality in males, all of which take place prior to birth, and research is almost complete on the causes in females. We have marriage equality in several states in the U.S. and in several other countries, and we are starting to see significant improvements in legal protections for transgender individuals.
The “Grandfather of Affirmation,” Matt Price, told us to never forget the work of the Spirit. Although the LDS Church has done serious damage to many of our members, our friends, and our families, it has also given us our system of values and has been a large part of the forces that have made us what we are. I believe in the basic principles of the Gospel: the nature of the Godhead, the purpose of life, the divinity of Christ, the opportunity to receive guidance through the Holy Spirit, and in the principle of free agency. When I first considered running for Executive Director, George, Micah, and myself met together for two days to consider what it was we wanted to accomplish and how we could best serve Affirmation; the first thing that we did in that meeting was to get down on our knees in prayer and ask for the help and the guidance of the Spirit. That guidance has been with us for the past four years, and I have been grateful for its presence.
There are many good people within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and over the years they have done a great many good things. And, like any large organization within an environment of free agency, there are some people who are not so good. As the President of Affirmation, I have had the opportunity to observe some of these individuals at close range and personally. Unfortunately, the great amount of truth and good, as we were warned in the Temple Endowment ordinance, has been mixed with untruth and with bad. Whatever moral ascendency the LDS Church may claim has been lost by the actions and the words of a few misguided souls who have used positions of leadership in the church to bully and to put down the weak, to spread hatred and fear, and to increase their personal dominion. Examples of this would have to include the actions of church leaders surrounding the California Prop 8 campaign, and the remarks of the President of the Quorum of the Twelve in the October, 2010, General Conference. (The former resulted in the LDS Church becoming the only religious organization to ever be found guilty of violating Federal election laws, the production of “8: the Mormon Proposition,” and an ongoing court challenge to the ballot results; the latter in a petition presented to the first Presidency by Affirmation and HRC with 150,000 signatures in protest of the comments, and the editing of those comments on the church web site and transcripts.) As Latter-day Saints (current or former church members), it is our duty to reject that which is wrong or evil and to seek to build up, in whatever way the Spirit may guide us, those things that of good, and right, and virtuous.
There have been many outstanding moments over the past three years. The most spiritual was standing in Sacrament meeting with Sam Wolfe as we each bore our testimony as gay men. By far the most humbling was at this year’s Annual Conference, as I had the great blessing to stand in the pulpit of the Kirtland Temple with my two assistants and with Paul Mortensen, the “Father of Affirmation,” and be the first person ever to be able to say, “Brothers and Sisters, Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons welcomes you this day to the House of the Lord.”
There are literally scores of people to thank for supporting me and for making the past three years so great; please know how much I appreciate each of you. Special thanks to those who have served as members of the Executive Committee: Hugo Salinas, Bruce Maughan, Buck Jeppson, Robert Moore, David Nielsen, Dale Barton; to my predecessor and mentor, Olin Thomas; and particularly to my amazing and dedicated assistants: Mary England, George Cole, Micah Bisson, and Joshua Behn. Affirmation is my home, you are my family, you are beautiful, each and every one, and I love you.
I love the Affirmation hymns that we often sing at Annual Conference: “Because I have been given much, I too must give,” “Come, come ye gays and lesbians rejoice,” “God be with you ‘til we meet again.” But for now, I leave you with the words of Matt Price to his friends in Affirmation, and of Paul, from First Thessalonians. I look forward to seeing each of you very soon, and I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a blessed new year.
“We firmly believe that Affirmation had a place in the plan of our Father in Heaven and His Kingdom, and that the Holy Spirit is still with us, as individuals and as a group of His Children, guiding us in what we are seeking to accomplish. His Spirit is most reflected when we are working toward our goals, ever mindful of the needs of our sisters and brothers, ourselves, and the working of our Savior in our lives and in our hearts.”
“Wherefore, comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. Rejoice evermore. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
With hope, faith, and love,
David Melson
President
Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons
Olin Thomas
2012 Equality Riders, including three riders who grew up LDS: 
Joshua Behn
