Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints isn’t always easy—especially if you or a loved one identify as LGBTQ or experience same-sex attraction. The Church's official website, mormonandgay.lds.org, is a great place to start. In addition, here are four valuable resources for Latter-day Saints who are personally experiencing same-sex attraction, or for those who need help knowing how to support someone close to them who is. These books, written by gospel scholars and individuals who experience it personally, are meant to provide hope, help you move forward with faith, and help you understand God’s unconditional love for you as you figure out your individual path in the gospel with His help.
by Tom Christofferson
In That We May Be One, Tom Christofferson shares perspectives gained from his life's journey as a gay man who left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then returned to it. After asking to be excommunicated from the faith he was raised in, Tom spent two decades in a loving relationship with a committed partner. But gradually, the love of family, friends, and strangers along with the Spirit of the Lord worked on him until he found himself one night sitting in his car in front of the bishop's house.
This book is about the lessons Tom, his family, and his fellow Saints learned while trying to love as God loves. It is about the scope and strength of this circle of love and about how learning the truth of our relationship with God draws us to Him. For anyone who has wondered how to keep moving forward in the face of difficult decisions and feelings of ambiguity; for anyone who needs to better understand the redeeming power of our Savior, Jesus Christ; for anyone who seeks to love more fully; this book offers reassurance and testimony of God's love for all of His children.
Read part of Tom's story here in One Gay Man's Powerful Journey Away from the Church and Back Again (+ Important Insights for Families and Ward Members).
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Compiled by Ty Mansfield
An invaluable resource on the topic of same-gender attraction, this unique volume includes six chapters featuring notable authors and gospel scholars including Brad Wilcox, M. Catherine Thomas, Camille Fronk Olson, Wendy Ulrich, Robert L. Millet, and Michael Goodman.
In addition, each chapter includes personal essays or first-person stories of faith and commitment from Latter-day Saints who have dealt with same-gender attraction.
Ty Mansfield says, "If you personally experience same-gender attraction, I hope the Spirit will impress upon you the depth of God's love for you, that you will know you belong in His church and kingdom, and that you will know there are many who walk this journey of faith with you."
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by Various Authors
The authors and editors of Understanding Same-Sex Attraction include scholars, therapists, religious leaders, and people who have dealt with same-sex attraction in their personal lives; all witness that hope, healing, and help are available. True science and true religion—never at odds with each other—come together again on this important subject.
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by Ty Mansfield, Fred and Marilyn Matis
Most likely, someone you know is living a life of quiet desperation, struggling with feelings of same-gender attraction. In an effort to help Latter-day Saints understand and reach out to those who suffer from this difficulty, Fred and Marilyn Matis discuss how they've dealt with the knowledge of their son Stuart's challenge with same-gender attraction, and how parents and others can reach out with love. In addition, Ty Mansfield discusses his own challenge and how he continues to go forward with faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. "The Lord promised that he will change our hearts, but he didn't say when," writes Mansfield. "He never promised it would happen in mortality. He only said it would happen."