MISSION

Love is fundamental to living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are all children of our Heavenly Parents and created in Their image:  They made no mistakes when they created each one of us.    Christ commanded:  “As I have loved you, Love One Another.”   Companionship and family, we are taught, are hallmarks of our Heavenly Parents’ plan for our happiness.

 Voices of Love believes stories of God’s children who find love in harmony with their sexual orientation is necessary to fully represent the happiness gay youth from Mormon heritages can find someday.  The November 5th handbook exclusion policy sent shockwaves throughout the Mormon community, especially as it concerns children and youth.  And the current proscriptions of celibacy or a mixed orientation temple marriage (echoed in the project Voices of Hope by North Star and its acquisition, Evergreen International) simply do not work for too many.  Mixed orientation marriages have a 70% -75% divorce rate as reported in the psychological research literature.

All youth deserve the right to still belong to their community, family, and religious group (if they so desire) no matter who they choose to love.  Rejection can lead to depression, sexual promiscuity, and suicidal thoughts/actions.  Acceptance leads to greater mental health outcomes, decreased risk of STD’s, and it saves lives.

Recently the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledged in its church history that leaders’ definition of marriage changed drastically over time.  The Church also released a press statement on the importance of “teaching that all people should be treated with respect.”  As a psychologist, I embrace those statements and am committed to helping youth hear voices from couples who are or were Mormon, who love and commit to someone of their same gender.  Stories of families created from these loving bonds should be celebrated and shared.

Voices of Love  aspires to create a space for those with Mormon roots to tell their happy endings.  These stories need to reach struggling Mormon youth who are in uncharted waters and are currently only hearing positive stories from well-meaning family and friends about how they can and need to marry someone of the opposite sex to have an eternal family, or else be celibate.   A new Initiative, #RainbowMormon, seeks to raise visibility of safe spaces/people to lgbtqia youth who may be feeling isolated or rejected, by wearing a rainbow ribbon pin every Sunday beginning June 5, 2016.

Given Mormonism’s emphasis on marriage and family, I hope for greater inclusion and celebration from the LDS community someday toward all God’s children who meet the love of their lives and start their eternal families together.