"Friends at Church" by J. Kirk Richards I walked off the stand after teaching a fifth Sunday lesson in my ward on ministering to LGBTQ Latter-day Saints. I’d given many similar lessons in other wards, interweaving personal stories with resources from the Church. But this was the first time I’d ever spoken in my own ward, with the people I worshipped with every Sunday. As I descended the final step, a member of the bishopric rushed over to me and wrapped me in a big bear hug.

I stepped off the bus at the UVU bus stop just like I had done hundreds of times. But the scene was different. Police cars lined up in front of the university entrance. American flags everywhere. Memorial flowers, signs, and tributes strewn across the lawn. This was my first time back at Utah Valley University since Charlie Kirk had been shot there five days prior. I walked into my building and was greeted by fellow social work faculty and staff cutting out hundreds of green

Mom and I My mom died one year ago today. When I spoke at her funeral, I ended my talk with this hope, “I’m looking forward to the next few years to see what it’s like to have a mom on the other side of the veil and to experience how she is active and present in my life.” Two weeks later I desperately needed my mom. I entered my bishop’s office expecting to get my temple recommend renewed and was stunned when he told me he was unsure he could do that. I knew my answers to t

I sat on a chair in my parents’ living room while my dad placed his hands on my head to give me a priesthood blessing at 23 years old. He didn’t know that two weeks before I had come out for the first time to my two best friends. He didn’t know that questions about my faith and my orientation were constantly swirling in my head. Then as he gave me the blessing he said, “You will be saved in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom.” I thought, Oh shoot! I know this might s

Passover just ended–a holiday thousands of years old celebrating the deliverance of the Israelites after 400 years of captivity in Egypt....

“Look around. Who needs you and your influence? If we really want to make a difference, it will happen as we mother those we have borne...

In every relationship with someone I deeply love–parents, siblings, roommates, friends–I have hurt them or they have hurt me. When humans...

In the weeks since Charlie and Ryan publicly announced their engagement, I’ve received a lot of messages about their decision to get...

Normally my path never would have crossed with Charlie’s. We ran in different circles, had a ten year age gap, and had no overlapping...

Note: In May 2021 I was asked to speak to a Jewish audience about what it has been like for me to be a gay Latter-day Saint. The...

Last Friday I learned that my friend Alison had passed away earlier that morning. She was diagnosed with cancer just the week before and...

Alzheimer’s destroys a person slowly. The brain gradually builds up plaque and stops working little by little. It’s hard to notice the...

This is definitely an odd and awkward post to follow my previous post detailing all my same-sex romances (which totaled one and a...

On December 8, 2021 Tom Christofferson posted on Facebook that he was going to begin dating men while maintaining the same dating...

I share this story with Fred’s permission. This past summer a bishop contacted me and asked if I’d be willing to visit a member of his...

My dad doesn’t fly. He has really bad tinnitus--ringing in his ears--and he worries that flying could make something already unbearable...

For years I surrounded my secret in protective armor, afraid of letting anyone else see what I was hiding. Would they hate me as much as...

I totally have a crush on Sharon Eubank. My admiration for her deepened during her most recent General Conference talk when she said,...

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of experience being a jerk. I rarely behave like a jerk on purpose, it happens most frequently...

Disclaimer: Like all my posts, I speak only for myself here. I do not speak for my employer nor do I speak for other queer people...