Join us for an evening with Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, therapist, educator, and author of That We Might Have Joy: Desire, Divinity & Intimate Love. Dr Finlayson-Fife will share her insights on desire, agency, and intimate partnership, as we explore how these truths can illuminate both gay and straight relationships.

Thanksgiving — a time to think of things we are thankful for — one of the greatest of our blessings is having a gay son. What at first seemed so scary and dark turned into an amazing source of brilliant light. It cracked open our hearts, increased our ability to love, and expanded our understanding of the nature of our Heavenly Parents and Their unrelenting efforts to bless the lives of all of Their children. It also introduced us to the wonderful people who are part of this amazing Hearth community.

We love spending time with you and feeling of your warmth and light. Please join us for our annual celebration of Christmas.

Celebrate the birth of our Savior by joining in friendship and love around The Hearth wide and warm.

We will eat, laugh, and sing the songs of the season!

Everyone is welcome. Invite your friends. The more the merrier!

Bring some food to share — chili, soup, bread, or a dessert.

What if choosing to embrace your whole self is an act of spiritual courage? What if coming out is, for queer people, an essential part of being born again? What if the freedom to flourish is at the heart of our understanding of the plan of salvation, rather than obedience and loyalty? Join us for a panel discussion with three Latter-day Saints as they describe how their queerness is inextricably linked to salvation.

Come and explore together with this panel what it means to flourish in the Gospel and in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is only through coming to know one another that we can truly see and be seen and learn to love and understand better.

Dani MacArthur lives in the East Bay with her partner, Rachel. A lifelong Mormon and member of the Berkeley Ward, she is currently taking a break from church in the wake of recently coming out as transgender. She enjoys writing, playing Dungeons and Dragons, dancing, kickboxing, and exploring the Bay Area’s incredible restaurants with her partner and friends. She teaches earth science at a community college.

Hope Perkins graduated from Cal in December of 2022, studying anthropology and linguistics. Since graduating, she has worked as a research assistant to Dr. Deidre Green at the Graduate Theological Union. Hope loves exploring the California coast with her dog, playing the piano, and particularly enjoys her ward calling as choir director. Hope lives in Berkeley with her spouse and their corgi, Cayden.

Peter Mugemancuro recently graduated college, where he spent four years being both the straightest queer person and the whitest black person most people around him say they’ve ever met. When not buying “daring” floral-patterned work shirts or figuring out how to use the word slay in a sentence, he enjoys reading, blogging, and long walks with friends. You can find his writing online at his personal blog, Strangers and Pilgrims, as well as occasionally in Wayfare.

Deidre Nichole Greene — Moderator is Assistant Professor of Latter-day Saint/Mormon Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley where she offers courses in Christian Theology and philosophy of religion. She is the author of “Jakob: A Brief Theological Introduction”.

In July, we had the amazing opportunity to hear Jared Lambert talk about new insights into the story of Adam and Eve. It was a fascinating discussion that opened our eyes to things that we’d never seen before in the creation story. We are excited that Jared has agreed to come back and do another fireside, shedding new light on the spiritual power women held in the early church, where women held sacred authority in the earliest temple traditions and served at the altar and within holy spaces. You won’t want to miss this evening.

On Saturday, August 23rd, Jared will trace the story of priesthood beyond traditional lines, exploring how women once held sacred authority in the earliest temple traditions and how that mantle was gradually lost. We’ll look at how priesthood functioned in the First Temple period, where women served at the altar and within holy spaces, and follow the threads of that divine order throughout scripture—from Eve to Deborah, from Mary to early Christian women. This is a conversation about restoration, memory, and the spiritual power that still rests in the margins of the text, waiting to be seen again.

Jared Lambert is a historical linguist specializing in ancient Near Eastern languages, with a focus on the Hebrew Bible. He served as the Sacred Materials Linguist for the Church and was previously a military linguist in the Army. Jared holds seven academic degrees, speaks eight languages, and is currently completing a PhD in historical linguistics. He leads a linguistic research firm dedicated to translation, sacred text analysis, and public education. His work explores how original languages and cultural context can uncover more inclusive and spiritually resonant readings of scripture. He is currently working on a book and documentary focused on the symbolic language of Genesis.

A Carefully Crafted Invitation to See the Divine in Ourselves

What if the story of Adam and Eve was never meant to be a tale of shame, blame, or brokenness, but a carefully crafted invitation to see the divine in ourselves and in ALL of the children of our Heavenly Parents?

On July 20, we’ll discover what Genesis 1-3 actually says in the original Hebrew, revealing layers of meaning that have been lost in translation. We’ll look at gender, naming, partnership, and divine intent to explore how the earliest language of scripture offers a radically hopeful vision of becoming—one that restores the honor of Eve, reframes the role of Adam, and reopens the conversation about identity, wholeness, and the image of God.

Jared Lambert is a historical linguist specializing in ancient Near Eastern languages, with a focus on the Hebrew Bible. He served as the Sacred Materials Linguist for the Church and was previously a military linguist in the Army. Jared holds seven academic degrees, speaks eight languages, and is currently completing a PhD in historical linguistics. He leads a linguistic research firm dedicated to translation, sacred text analysis, and public education. His work explores how original languages and cultural context can uncover more inclusive and spiritually resonant readings of scripture. He is currently working on a book and documentary focused on the symbolic language of Genesis.

Unfortunately due to a scheduling conflict, we need to cancel this Hearth event. We apologize for those who were looking forward to it.

Even though Hearth is canceled for this month, there are plenty of other LGBTQ inclusive events going on during Pride month.

One amazing event is the Gather Conference, June 27-28 in Provo, UT, put on by Lift+Love. They have generously offered the Hearth community a special discount code allowing you to get tickets to the full conference for only $25!

Register at www.gather-conference.com and use the code GATHERFRIEND1 to get a ticket for just $25.

If you see us there, please say hi!

Embracing This Expansive Doctrine

One of the most expansive and unique elements of the Restored Gospel is the knowledge of Heavenly Mother. Join us for an inspiring presentation by McArthur Krishna exploring what we know about Mother in Heaven as presented in the Gospel Topics Essay — and why understanding this doctrine matters in our lives. How does coming to embrace this understanding change how we view ourselves in relation to the Divine? You won’t want to miss this special evening.

McArthur Krishna graduated from BYU with both an undergraduate and masters degree. She co-owned an award-winning ideas marketing firm for a decade until she retired, got married, and moved to India. With church a plane ride away, she started spending home church time researching and writing children’s books. Over eight years she’s written 17 books, six with Bethany Brady Spalding and Deseret Book. Along the way she has been called in to discuss women’s issues in the church with the General Women’s Outreach Committee at church headquarters, had art from her Girls Who Choose God books hung in the Conference Center for two years, and had one of her own art pieces selected for the Church’s International Art competition. The art from their book “Our Heavenly Family, our Earthly Families” was the first art portraying Heavenly Mother published at Deseret Book. After its release, the church purchased a 12’x8’ piece for their permanent collection— and it currently hangs at the Church History Museum on Temple Square. McArthur believes hard work with friends, wifi and bottomless guacamole can solve a lot of the world’s issues.

LGBTQ Ministering In and Adjacent to the Church: Nurturing and Sustaining LGBTQ Saints

10 years ago this month we hosted our first fireside focused on how we could nurture and sustain LGBTQ Latter-day Saints. So much has happened in the ensuing decade as we’ve gathered together almost 100 times to share journeys and bask in a spirit of love and inclusion. Join us to look back at the changes over the last ten years and forward to the changes we hope for the future. Please come to celebrate and share memories, fellowship, and love. 

Our special anniversary speaker will be John Gustav-Wrathal, former president and executive Director of Affirmation, LGBTQ Mormons, Families and Friends. Despite having been excommunicated from the church in 1986, John has been active in his ward for the last 20 years. He has a testimony of the Gospel and of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He knows that there is a place for our Heavenly Parents’ LGBTQ children in the Kingdom. John is the author of Take the Young Stranger by the Hand, a history of the relationship between evangelical Christians and gay men. He has been published in Dialogue, Sunstone and other forums on the subject of LGBTQ people and the church. He lives with his husband of over three decades in South Minneapolis, close to their two sons.

Insights from the 1978 Revelation

Please join us for a special Hearth supported event sponsored by the Dialogue Foundation. Three Latter-day Saint Scholars share groundbreaking discoveries and new perspectives on the revelatory process that ended temple and priesthood bans for Black members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and how these insights might inform future revelation.

This exploration should be particularly of interest to those of us looking to see how “All are alike unto God” might be more inclusively applied to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Celebrate the birth of our Savior by joining in friendship and love around The Hearth wide and warm. We will eat, laugh, and sing the songs of the season.

Everyone is welcome. Invite your friends. The more the merrier!

The event is in person only — there will be no Zoom link.

Please sign up here to bring Chili, Cornbread or Sweets

And please RSVP so we know how many to expect.
Thanks!

When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship. This film is an intimate portrait of friendship and transition.

Will & Harper is a film that embodies the beauty and simplicity of sincere, meaningful exchanges between friends in unfamiliar spaces. 

Join us to watch this touching film with Will Ferrrel and his long time friend who has recently transitioned as they embark on a cross-country road trip exploring what this transition means. It’s also a film about human journeys toward greater love and acceptance, which we can ALL relate with.

Hearth is showing this film to help us all understand people in the trans/nonbinary space better.

Following the movie, we plan to hold a discussion and a light social where we can continue to deepen connections and explore questions the film raises.

Please join us and invite anyone else who feels a desire to know more about complex gender journeys. Our best defense against hate and prejudice is to take advantage of every opportunity to learn more about these complexities.

There won't be a Zoom link for this Hearth fireside, but we encourage you to get together with some friends to watch Will and Harper on Netflix and have your own watch party and discussion.

Note: This movie is rated R for some rough language.

Please RSVP.

We are heartbroken by the recent policy changes regarding treatment of Transgender members of the church. Join us for a candid discussion of these changes, ideas for providing better support for those who are suffering as a result of the changes, and providing feedback to church leaders regarding this policy.

“Willing to mourn with those that mourn; and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places…” and with all people.  This promise in the baptismal covenant has been continually on my mind over the last few weeks as I have witnessed the pain of so many beloved children of God since the recent changes in the Handbook regarding Transgender members of the church. 

Transgender people are some of the most marginalized by both the church and larger society. Let’s focus on how we can help them directly, and how we might be able to influence change in these new policies—how we can advocate and importune for them to receive the same privileges all of God’s children enjoy.  

This Hearth will be an opportunity to discuss, to listen, and to learn; and also to create an action plan for some things that each of us can do to provide feedback and advocacy.

The Menlo Park Stake President asked to meet with us a couple nights ago to discuss how this policy is affecting us and those in the Hearth community. We were able to talk about the hurt, anger, and confusion we feel about the new policy. He listened carefully and openly, asking questions and working to understand our feelings and those of our community affected by this. He has been asked by the local Area Authority Seventy to gather feedback about the policy change. In response, we’re asking you—our beloved Hearth community to provide feedback that we can pass along to church leadership (Collectively and/or individually and anonymously if you prefer). 

How has this policy affected you and people you know? How has it affected your relationship with the church? In what ways should the policy be re-written to better serve these precious children of our Heavenly Parents?

This is an opportunity to learn how to expand our ability to love without conditions. We each have the ability to love where we stand and make a difference.

Please join us for an evening of discussion and advocacy on this most important and tender issue. 
If you are unable to attend, but would like to provide feedback on the policy, please email Jeff@wises.net.

Come hear the amazing story of Rhea Clevenger who describes herself in these words:

"I’m a lesbian and a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where I now teach Sunday School. I almost died 8 years ago in addiction. I’m a recovering addict and alcoholic. I got clean and sober August 1, 2015. Then I turned my life over to Christ and took on the sacred covenants of the LDS Church. I was baptized March 31, 2016.

"I’ve been with my partner for over 24 years, and we have a 16-year-old son. I own two small businesses. I’m a boxer fighting in the Masters Division. I have 6 Championship Belts. I’m almost 61 years old.

"I embrace being a strong gay woman in society. I turn to Christ for everything. I am full of the light and the love of Christ. My strength comes from the love of Christ. Heavenly Father fills me with so much love that with it I can accept myself the way I am. I keep my covenants, and I’m a strong member of the church. I love the person I am and the light that shines in me.

"I am a lesbian and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they love me just as I am."

The Hearth is joining with the Faith Matters Foundation to present a special fireside with popular author and thinker Terryl Givens.

Terryl Givens is the Neal L. Maxwell Senior Fellow at Brigham Young University’s Maxwell Institute.  Terryl has written and edited over 20 books; including All Things New, The Christ Who Heals, The Crucible of Doubt, and The God Who Weeps which were all co-authored with his wife Fiona. He was previously a professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond. Terryl enjoys speaking to Saints around the world.  His mission is to help everyone–no matter where they are in their journey of faith–come closer to Jesus Christ.

Please join us for this special evening with one of the great Latter-day Saint scholars of our day.

Steve Young — Hall of Fame quarterback, successful investor, philanthropist, gospel doctrine teacher, author, and great friend of the Hearth. Steve will be speaking on his newly released book The Law of Love in Action. 

“The law of love is loving as God loves, seeking another’s healing, expecting nothing in return.”  

In his first book, The Law of Love Steve talked about the law of love in different settings — in football, in business, in the church, and in relationships, but he explains where his heart was first opened up to it. “My exploration of the law of love really started with our LGBTQ+ siblings… For many years I have listened to people in tears tell Barb how much it meant to them that somebody saw them — really saw them and heard them. Her allyship made me think and caused me to really dive deep. My wife power washed the cultural barnacles off my boat…My experience with my LGBTQ+ siblings was the beginning of seeing others in a deeper way.”

“When we bring long-suffering, gentleness, meekness and love unfeigned to our relationships — that’s when the magic happens.”

In this new book, Steve draws upon the experiences of a wide variety of people as they implement the law of love and see it in action in their own lives and varied situations.  The stories Steve shares are amazing and powerful examples of how "loving as God loves" changes us and those around us.

Come learn more about this more expansive world view where “the magic happens” in this entertaining and thought provoking evening. We hope that you can be there to share it with us.

A major cause of tension in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and LGBTQ space is due to inconsistencies we all have about what we hold as truth, what we believe, and what we experience as reality. Let’s lean into this tension together and see where we can create more harmony and peace. 

Clare Dalton (she/her) is passionate about creating a safe space for everyone at the intersection of LGBTQIA+ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When she came out as gay in 2021, Clare worked for the next two years to navigate her faith and her orientation within her career with Seminary and Institutes to show her colleagues, her students, and local families that when Christ told everyone to, “Come, follow me,” He really meant it. 

She has been a keynote speaker at the 2022 Arizona LDS LGBT (ALL) conference and a featured guest on the Listen, Learn & Love podcast with Richard Ostler, and the Questions from the Closet podcast with Ben Schilaty and Charlie Bird. Clare is on the advisory board with Gather and was a speaker, presenter, and moderator at the first Gather Conference in 2023. 

Since leaving her career with Seminaries & Institutes, she has been instrumental in creating the Gatherings curriculum to foster scripture-based LGBTQIA+ conversations and hosts a monthly Instagram Live on @gatherconf 

In April 2024, she will be on the executive committee to present the first regional Gather Conference outside of Utah in Mesa, AZ. 

Please note the date change to March 24

In Part 1 of this two-part Hearth, Bob shared a powerful description of his experience growing up in a homophobic and transphobic culture and being challenged by his Christian discipleship to undergo a sea-change to become an ardent Ally. In the follow-up fireside coming up on March 10, Bob will share his observations about how Latter-day Saints can participate in “the restoration of all things” by being open and receptive to forging a better, more practical, and more spiritual way forward in opening their hearts, homes and congregations to their LGBTQ brothers and sisters and all others who seek fellowship with us. Bob is a religious scholar and a devoted LGBTQ+ ally who has been learning from and ministering to LGBTQ Latter-day Saints for half a century. 

Until his recent retirement, Bob was Visiting Professor and Director of Mormon Studies at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He is the co-founder and Vice-President of the Bountiful Children’s Foundation, and co-founder and president of FastForward for the Planet, a new non-profit initiative designed to unify the faiths of the world in addressing climate change and earth stewardship.

Bob has published widely on Mormon and Religious Studies. His most recent publications are A New Witness to the World: Reading and Re-reading the Book of Mormon (2020) and Why I Stay2: The Challenge of Discipleship for Contemporary Latter-day Saints (2021).

Bob has served as a bishop, member of the Baltic States mission Presidency, high councilor and Institute Teacher, currently he and his wife, Gloria, are engaged in interfaith work in Marin County. He can be reached at bobrees2@gmail.com.

Bob is a religious scholar and a devoted LGBTQ+ ally. Until his recent retirement, Bob was Visiting Professor and Director of Mormon Studies at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He is the co-founder and current Vice-President of the Bountiful Children’s Foundation, a humanitarian organization that addresses malnutrition among Latter-day Saint and other children in the developing world. Most recently he co-founded and is the president of FastForward for the Planet, a new non-profit initiative designed to unify the faiths of the world in addressing climate change and earth stewardship.

Bob has published widely on Mormon and Religious Studies. Together with a group of scholars, writers and others, he is working on a major publication on the intersection of the Church and the LGBTQ+ community titled “All Are Alike.”  His most recent publications are A New Witness to the World: Reading and Re-reading the Book of Mormon  (2020) and Why I Stay2: The Challenge of Discipleship for Contemporary Latter-day Saints (2021). He just finished co-editing (with Brent Rushforth) a collection of essays in honor of Eugene England. Currently he is working on a book, Realizing the Restoration.

Bob has served as a bishop, member of the Baltic States mission Presidency, high councilor and Institute Teacher, currently he and his wife, Gloria, are engaged in interfaith work in Marin County. He can be reached at bobreees2@gmail.com.

Allison Dayton started the Lift and Love Foundation to support LGBTQ individuals and their families in the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Allison lost her brother, who was gay, to suicide at the same time her 17-year-old son was coming out. Looking for resources to help her family, she couldn’t find anything that embraced her religious beliefs and the reality of her son’s identity. Lift and Love fills that much-needed space supporting thousands of individuals and family members as they navigate their unique journeys of protecting their identity or that of their precious children and integrating their new reality into their devotion to Jesus Christ. Allison is a frequent writer and speaker and was honored to speak at this year’s BYU Women’s Conference. In 2022 she moderated an LGBTQ Conversation Circle at the UN Women’s Conference. Allison and her husband, Kenn, live in the foothills of Salt Lake City, Utah. They have three grown children, a son-in-law and a granddaughter, Georgia, who rules their world.

Tyler is a gay man who was raised in a wonderful loving Mormon home. He served in the San Francisco Mission, worked extensively with the EFY program, and completed his undergraduate and graduate education at both BYU-Idaho and BYU-Provo. 

The challenge of realizing his queer identity while actively participating in the church led to some of the most painful experiences of his life. However, through these circumstances he experienced the spiritual and transformative power of paradox and was led to identify higher truths that brought him home again to the intelligences of love and beauty. He would love to share more about this journey with you.

It’s been more than 10 years since their son Talmage rocked their world when he came out as gay. Join us in person or online to hear the heartwarming story of their journey of love. 

Katherine and Jeff consider having a gay son to be one of the great blessings of their lives. They have worked to share this perspective as they have hosted the Hearth firesides in their home since 2015 in an effort to promote greater understanding, love, and inclusion for the LGBTQ community within and around the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Jeff and Katherine have a wonderfully big family with 7 children and 20 grandchildren and are active members of the Church.

My name is Jerry Chong. I’m a gay active member in the West Stake in Calgary. I currently serve as the Just Serve Communication Specialist, Family History Consultant and Temple Ordinance Worker and Assistant Shift Coordinator at the Calgary Temple. I stepped into LGBTQ advocacy within the church as a result of the November 2015 policy change regarding children of LGBTQ parents and baptism and other rules affecting LGBTQ members.

I have reached out to stake presidents in Calgary as a resource for discussing and learning about lgbtq members of the church. Since 2015 I have met with eight of our nine stake presidencies in Calgary to talk about lgbtq inclusion and sensitivity training. I have led bishops training in three stakes and stake wide auxiliary leadership training in the Fish Creek Stake . It has been a positive experience for all who have been in these conversations.  I have felt the need for a visible role model in our gospel community and hope to be the role model I needed when I first joined the church in 2004.

The Hearth is thrilled to announce our next guest speaker, Tara Lipsyncki!

Mark your calendars and join us as they present: An Open Dialogue Surrounding Transphobia and Hate Speech.

May 21st at 6:30pm pacific time. You won’t want to miss this!

A little bit about Tara:

Tara Lipsyncki (They/Them) is above all else, a proud transgender activist. With hundreds of published interviews and panel discussions on the topics of drag history, anti-trans legislation, First Amendment rights, body autonomy rights of minors and women, and more, Tara has been on the frontline of queer advocacy for over a decade. Since relocating back to Salt Lake City, UT from San Francisco, CA in 2019, Tara has worked tirelessly to bring diversity and inclusion to the forefront in the queer nightlife and entertainment communities. From being part of ARTEL talent in 2020, the first exclusively PoC and Trans owned and operated collective of queer artists in Utah history, to recently being the founding President of the non-profit The United Drag Alliance, an all Trans lead group bringing financial assistance to struggling members of the LGBTQIA+ community through the art of drag, in 2023. Coming from an extensive professional performance background, including skating professionally on Disney on Ice, Tara also has received professional recognitions including a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate for Drag Queens on Ice in 2018, Miss Golden Gate 2019, Miss Gay Pride 2021, and Miss Gay USofA Newcomer West Coast 2021. 

In Person at: 98 Moulton Dr, Atherton, CA 94027

Via Zoom: Info will be provided in a future email and to all who RSVP

Time: May 21, 2023 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

RSVP  https://www.ldshearth.org/rsvp

If you plan to attend in-person but find yourself feeling unwell, then you can switch to attend virtually.

We're looking forward to seeing you all!

Ruth Campbell (she/her) is a queer woman who loves nature and people.  She dislikes PB&J sandwiches and hates transphobia. She loves street tacos so if you have recommendations please pass them on.  Ruth has been an active supporter of Hearth since its earliest days bringing some of its yummiest treats and greatest ideas.  Come hear her talk about her story and the stories we create and hold about others.

Come hear Ruth speak and celebrate The Hearth’s 8th Anniversary!

In Person: 98 Moulton Dr, Atherton, CA 94027

On Zoom: Look for the link in the newsletter or RSVP to get the link the day before the event

RSVP: https://www.ldshearth.org/rsvp

Steve Young — Hall of Fame quarterback, successful investor, philanthropist, gospel doctrine teacher, author, and great friend of the Hearth. We are very pleased to welcome Steve on February 26th. Steve will be speaking on his recent book The Law of Love. 

“The law of love is loving as God loves, seeking another’s healing expecting nothing in return.”  

In this powerful book Steve talks about the law of love in different settings — in football, in business, in the church, and in relationships, but he explains where his heart was first opened up to it. “My exploration of the law of love really started with our LGBTQ+ siblings… For many years I have listened to people in tears tell Barb how much it meant to them that somebody saw them — really saw them and heard them. Her allyship made me think and caused me to really dive deep. My wife power washed the cultural barnacles off my boat…My experience with my LGBTQ+ siblings was the beginning of seeing others in a deeper way.”

“When we bring long-suffering, gentleness, meekness and love unfeigned to our relationships — that’s when the magic happens.”

Come learn more about this more expansive world view where “the magic happens” in this entertaining and thought provoking evening. We hope that you can be there to share it with us.

February 26, 2023 at 6:30 pm (PST)

The Annex

(In the back parking lot behind the LDS Chapel)
1105 Valparaiso Ave, Menlo Park, CA 94025

A Zoom link will follow in the reminder email
RSVP HERE: https://www.ldshearth.org/rsvp

If you plan to attend in-person but find yourself feeling unwell, then we ask that you switch to attend virtually. A link will be provided in our reminder email and newsletter.

We're looking forward to seeing you all!

We are delighted to hear from Paul Nephi Price, a married gay man who is an active member of the church.  We hope you can join us to hear Paul share his journey.

As an active member of the Berkeley 1st Ward, Paul Price uses his time in Sacrament Meetings to remember and acknowledge his profound love and gratitude for our Savior and to remember those in his life who accepted and loved him unreservedly as a gay Latter-day Saint, particularly his late parents.

Paul has been with his husband Bruce for 29 years, and a member of the local  Berkeley ward since 1998.  For several years after moving into the ward, his attendance was mostly in the shadows, enjoying the hymns and taking the Sacrament but not engaging in any way with his fellow ward members, in an attempt to preserve and protect his membership in the church.

In 2009, in order to heal the wounds left by Proposition 8 the previous year, President Dean Criddle of the Oakland Stake was inspired to reach out to those who had left or  become less active.  The Berkeley 1st Ward under Bishop Matt Marostica befriended Paul and with loving encouragement brought him into the Ward family as a fully active member.  For over 10 years Paul has been choosing and conducting the hymns for Sacrament Meeting, one way to contribute to this most important time of every week.

Paul was born and raised in the Bay Area, his baptism in Menlo Park in 1966 remains to this day the happiest moment of his life so far. Coming of age in the 1970's, Paul was aware and appreciative of the political leaders in nearby San Francisco who were working to end discrimination against gay people.  During the same era, he was hearing some beloved church leaders express condemnation against homosexuality.  Early on Paul learned how to respectfully disagree with his leaders on this issue, and continued to admire and to love them.

Paul attended BYU and in 1978 transferred to UC Berkeley, where he met his first partner, Steve, who sadly passed away from AIDS in 1992.  Paul's parents did everything possible to comfort Paul in this time of grief, as they had before with the loss to AIDS of several of his friends in the 1980's.  When Bruce and Paul became a couple in late 1993, the entire Price family was thrilled and supportive in every way.

For over 40 years Paul has worked in retail near Union Square, always enjoying the variety and beauty of San Francisco and its incredible diversity of people.

Paul’s testimony has always been intact throughout his life, but being able to openly attend church and be part of a wonderful ward family has brought him a perfect  brightness of hope, which will be with him for the rest of his life.

RSVP HERE

https://www.ldshearth.org/rsvp

Hearth Christmas Caroling and Chili

December 11th at 6:00 pm (Note the earlier hour)

Sadly, there will be no Zoom link. In person only.

98 Moulton Dr., Atherton, CA

Come join us in friendship and love around the hearth wide and warm — to sing carols and celebrate the birth of our Savior. 

Sign up to bring some chili or a treat to share. Here

We look forward to being together for this special evening.

Although we won’t be having Hearth in person this month, we are excited to send you this notice from our friends at Utah Hearth. They are having the wonderful Ben Schilaty speak on Sunday. It is always great to have an opportunity to hear from Ben.

*Please note that the time listed is Mountain Time. To attend in person or to get a zoom link register at liftandlove.org

Our next live event will be Chili and Caroling at the Hearth in early December. Details to follow soon.

Please join us for a thought-provoking evening with our good friend Meghan Decker. She is a perceptive deep thinker who will discuss her journey of understanding her own sexuality and the insights she has gained talking with over 40 queer LDS women. Her vulnerability in her book Tender Leaves of Hope: Finding Belonging as LGBTQ Latter-day Saint Women really touched my heart, and I look forward to hearing more from her.

-Jeff Wise

About our speaker:

Meghan Decker is a respected writer, speaker and gay Latter-day Saint. She is co-author of Reaching for Hope: An LDS Perspective on Recovering from Depression, which has provided insight for thousands of readers who experience depression. Her new book, Tender Leaves of Hope: Finding Belonging as LGBTQ Latter-day Saint Women, shares her own experience and amplifies the voices of scores of LGBTQ women who are seeking to hear God in their lives. She has been a stake Seminary and Institute teacher and she continues to engage with her church as an active member. She and her husband David have five daughters and fifteen grandchildren, and they enjoy gathering to explore, eat, and trade book recommendations.

Please RSVP. We look forward to seeing you in person at 98 Moulton Dr. Atherton, CA or on Zoom. Link to be sent to those who RSVP.