tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018387523779914474.post2292035850609687423..comments2023-12-31T05:01:58.031-06:00Comments on Young Stranger: On Keeping the SpiritJohn Gustav-Wrathallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03557940681381951271noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018387523779914474.post-30753514443344644642011-10-06T21:47:33.301-05:002011-10-06T21:47:33.301-05:00It's not possible to have the Spirit and engag...It's not possible to have the Spirit and engage in gay sex. Utterly impossible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018387523779914474.post-14119505954608947172011-09-28T10:14:15.339-05:002011-09-28T10:14:15.339-05:00John, I'm so happy for you and Goran to be abl...John, I'm so happy for you and Goran to be able to go to Kirtland. Your remarks here are so insightful, and I wish I could have been there.<br /><br />Thanks to this post, I went over to the Affirmation website, to see if I could learn more about the conference, but instead found out that the Portland group was meeting the next evening. Sue & I were going to be in Portland anyway, so we went and had a very nice time meeting some great people. We hope to maintain the new friendships and be involved in other activities as they come up.<br /><br />Thanks for all you do.GeckoManhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04846438788253129899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018387523779914474.post-77997431809665021202011-09-25T13:55:56.096-05:002011-09-25T13:55:56.096-05:00Matthew - Thank you! Of course, we don't need ...Matthew - Thank you! Of course, we don't need to go searching for pain or trial... It comes to us without having to do anything special. But when it does, it is a blessing to think that this is an opportunity for us to follow Jesus' footsteps.John Gustav-Wrathallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03557940681381951271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018387523779914474.post-56839004390206395192011-09-23T20:43:22.572-05:002011-09-23T20:43:22.572-05:00This was awesome! I love what you said here. Under...This was awesome! I love what you said here. Understanding that our capability for love can be expanded, through the love of Christ, is such a powerful concept. <br /><br />I really think this is important as well:<br /><br />"Because we can never know if we are capable of the kind of love Christ taught if we were always accepted and understood and loved by others."<br /><br />Christ passed through great suffering as He accomplished His Atonement. If we are truly to become like Him, I think we must pass through our own suffering as well. It is the only way we can understand the pain of others.<br /><br />Thank you for sharing this talk with us all, John. It is truly beautiful.Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03382259353348066309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018387523779914474.post-8877751282934135452011-09-22T07:52:25.172-05:002011-09-22T07:52:25.172-05:00b.a.Duck - Thanks! Kirtland was amazing. I wish ...b.a.Duck - Thanks! Kirtland was amazing. I wish you could have been there. I wish everyone could have been there!<br /><br />You know, the thing is... There are so few GLBT Mormons, dividing up into 4 organizations seems crazy. I've been resisting the temptation to start a "fourth organization," partly because of that. But maybe that's all that's left to us... I have a hunger to gather with other GLBT folks who have testimonies of the Gospel (and the Church!), and who yearn to express and live that faith the best they can. I've been trying to work things out with North Star, but I feel only barely tolerated by a handful of folks over there. Again, with Affirmation there are many, many folks in that organization whom I love and who want to have me, but there are a lot of folks there, I think, who are baffled by me and pissed off at me... And I want more experiences like what we had in Kirtland, which is what can happen when people come together in faith, share their testimonies, and humbly ask the Lord for a blessing.<br /><br />I have to think about this.John Gustav-Wrathallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03557940681381951271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018387523779914474.post-11380239002965317892011-09-21T23:36:29.239-05:002011-09-21T23:36:29.239-05:00P.S. So glad that Goran could hear you speak and t...P.S. So glad that Goran could hear you speak and that this was a good experience for him, as well as for you, to be in Kirkland. Yahoo!Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02551782459346523291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018387523779914474.post-1521796089357818812011-09-21T23:34:27.779-05:002011-09-21T23:34:27.779-05:00I really loved this talk, John. I wish I had been ...I really loved this talk, John. I wish I had been there to hear it in person. I learn so much from you. I, too, love the Spirit, and work at doing those things that help me to have access to it and its teachings.<br /><br />I have been reading your blog posts from the past few days. I feel like you in relation to Affirmation. When I began the 'coming out" process, I was desperate to receive any kind of help or guidance along the way. I joined a couple of online support groups for a little bit until they no longer helped. I looked at Evergreen and Affirmation but felt they were such extremes of each other and neither helped me. Affirmation especially felt antagonistic and brazen in its contempt for things related to the Church. Like you, and David Baker among others, I want my community in the Church along with my being gay. I was hopeful when Northstar came along, but it does not meet my needs, either. With three organizations out there, it would be nice if one of them fit the "just right" category for me, but sadly, none does. I know you wrote, several months back, about the need for perhaps a fourth organization. Maybe that is what needs to happen, for those of us who are trying to embrace the Church and the fact that we are gay and want to love someone.<br /><br />Thank you for your thought-provoking posts and for your keen insights.<br /><br />love and respect, always.Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02551782459346523291noreply@blogger.com