“I’m Lyndon Lamborn and I’m no longer a Mormon.”

I am a ‘born in the covenant’ fourth generation pioneer heritage Mormon, with polygamists on both sides of the family tree. I held every important priesthood leadership calling as a youth, was on the Logan High School Seminary Council, served an honorable and successful (above average baptisms and a six-month assignment as Branch President) mission to Belgium and France 1977-79. During the years following my mission I served as Elders Quorum President four times, served as a stake missionary and in the Stake Mission Presidency, was a ward membership clerk, and scoutmaster for 6 years.

Read more of Lyndon's exit story at I Am An Ex Mormon.




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Fred's Iowa Ad: Independence Day

Longtime political strategist and gay activist, Fred Karger, considers running for President in 2012
while exploring the state of Iowa and getting acquainted with some of the friendly residents of the Hawkeye State:




Visit www.FredKarger.com.

“Hi, my name is Peter Danzig, and I’m an Ex Mormon.”

Peter Danzig did not set out to be a Mormon activist.

The gentle musician spent his life serving the church he loved. He went on a mission, married in the temple, composed pieces for Mormon pageants, and taught hymns to children. He and his wife, Mary, also a returned missionary, were raising their three daughters in Levan, but driving to Salt Lake City each week to play in the LDS Orchestra at Temple Square – he on viola, she, the violin. Both believed their music was their gift to God.

Danzig said nothing in 1993 when church officials charged six well-known Mormon scholars and intellectuals with apostasy for their writings or speeches about LDS issues. He kept quiet when Brigham Young University fired history professor Steven Epperson, a member of Danzig’s Mormon congregation, for serving the homeless rather than attending church.

But in 2006, Danzig finally felt compelled to protest. BYU adjunct professor Jeffrey Nielsen lost his job for arguing in a The Salt Lake Tribune column that the LDS Church was wrong to oppose gay marriage and to enlist Mormon support for a constitutional amendment against it.

Read more of Peter's exit story at I Am An Ex Mormon.

“Hi, my name is Michelle and I’m an Ex Mormon.”

Having grown up in the Caribbean I remember hearing the wonderful stories about the temple. I was excited when I went to the temple for the first time to “take out my endowments.” This is where it all started.

As I attended the temple over the following years, more things began to stand out for me.

Over the years I developed a coping mechanism for dealing with the questions I had about the temple. One lingering question I had, begged to know where the ceremony originated. I also felt that no one had prepared me for the experience and wondered why. So I came out of the temple that first day with a million questions swirling around in my head. Like a good Mormon should, I smiled, and said ‘yes it was a wonderful experience” to anyone who asked, but on the ride home I was pretty quiet.

Read more of Michelle's exit story at I Am An Ex Mormon.

“Hi, my name is Mary Danzig and I’m an Ex Mormon.”

Initially, Mary Danzig thought it was all a big misunderstanding. But soon, her own devotion to the church came into question. She, too, felt unwelcome in the orchestra. Her parents wrote letters to church authorities, begging for an audience or at least some understanding. They were unsuccessful.

“I felt like my world had come crashing down when Peter told me he might be excommunicated,” said Mary Danzig, at the time a member of the Primary Presidency in her ward.

“What would happen to my family in the eternities, in our community, in our extended family? I found myself coming completely unglued every Sunday. I spent a great deal of time hiding in the bathroom crying with my little girls.”

Read more of Mary's exit story at I Am An Ex Mormon.

Suicide Prevention Outreach and Candlelight Vigil at Mesa Mormon Temple

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Suicide Prevention Outreach and Candlelight Vigil at Mesa Mormon Temple

Contact:
Bobby Parker (cell 480-586-5040)
Clinton Bartlett, LPC (phone 602-751-7414)
Where: Pioneer Park, 526 East Main Street in Mesa (Pioneer Park is one block east of Mesa Drive on Main Street)
When: Friday, Nov 26th, from 5PM-10PM
Who: The Phoenix GLBT Coalition

Phoenix, AZ - November 19, 2010 – The Phoenix GLBT Coalition announces a suicide prevention outreach and candlelight vigil aimed at preventing gay Mormon suicides in Arizona, set for Friday, November 26th, coinciding with the Christmas lighting ceremony at the Mormon Temple located across the street from Pioneer Park. The purpose of the demonstration is to make gay Mormons aware of The Trevor Project Suicide Prevention National Hotline (866-4-u-trevor or 866-488-7386) and the local Gay and Lesbian organization for gay Mormons, Phoenix Affirmation (480-586-5040). The outreach will also continue the national message, “It Gets Better” and that there is help available.

There will be three parts to the outreach event. First, volunteers will gather at 5:00 p.m. on the public sidewalks around the temple to offer outreach cards with the Trevor Hotline and Affirmation information on them to those attending the Christmas Lights ceremony.

Second, at approximately 6:30 all volunteers will gather on the sidewalk in front of Pioneer Park to listen to speakers. Matt Salmon, 22, gay ex-Mormon and son of prominent Republican politician and lobbyist of the same name, will speak. Matt is Chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans in Arizona. Caleb Laieski, 16, founder of Gays and Lesbians United Against Discrimination (GLUAD) who attends Shadow Mountain High School in Surprise, a non-Mormon activist who worked to change the discrimination policies in his school, will speak along with Pastor Brad Wishon, a member of No Longer Silent Clergy for Justice. There may be others in attendance invited to speak, with Clinton Bartlett, a licensed psychotherapist, and co-organizer of the event, as the concluding speaker.

Third, when speeches are over, everyone will light a candle and proceed to line the public sidewalks around the temple. When all are in place, the Christmas Carol, Silent Night, will be sung. The words, “...sleep in heavenly peace” will have great significance as at the end of the song, candles will be snuffed out simultaneously around the temple to symbolically represent the snuffing out of so many lives by suicide.

Outreach cards will continue to be given out, but volunteers will also be free to enjoy the Christmas lights presentation in the gardens and Visitors’ Center as guests of the LDS Church.

About the Phoenix GLBT Coalition for Mormon Action

This is a grassroots effort built around cooperation from the many GLBT organizations in the Phoenix, Arizona area. HRC, Gays and Lesbians United Against Discrimination (GLUAD), Equality Arizona, H.E.R.O., No Longer Silent Clergy for Justice, and the Imperial Court of Arizona are joined by gay and affirming congregations to reach out to the Mormon population in our state with a message of love and hope. All are welcome to join in the outreach; there is work for everyone to do.

Go to: http://facebook.com/PhoenixGLBTCoalition



x-posted at Pam's House Blend and Street Prophets.