#lds and queer

[ldsnqueer]

AMAB (assigned Mormon at birth)

Transitioned to Latter-Day Saint later in life

[rincolonthree]

LEMON DEMON ACE RIGHTS LET'S GOOOOOO XD

[jamesrambles]

seeing everything about the secret lives of mormon wives is so weird to me because

1. I didn’t grow up in Utah so some of the more cultural vs. doctrinal societal norms weren’t really prevalent

2. I have very chill parents who love the religion but also know that the church institution itself is fallible and religion/practice are personal above all else

so it feels almost alien??? Like I grew up in the church, and even though I’m pagan now I still enjoy going to church with family when I’m in town and I feel up to it. I have ties there. I love a lot of the people in the ward I grew up in.

it feels like this show is talking about something I’m barely even familiar with. Idk. It’s also frustrating because I really want someone from outside of the church to take us seriously enough to do an actual deep dive into the cosmology/culture/structure and general history of the church without affirming or outright condemning all of it. There’s so much nuance in people’s relationships with church and it makes me kinda sad that we never get that.

idk I maybe need to start incorporating some Mormon characters with actual nuance into writing projects ‘cause… I’m sad sometimes lol

(also if I have to explain one more time to someone that an institution can be bad/have serious flaws without being a cult I’m going to lose it. SOME BRANCHES OF THE CHURCH FIT THE BITE MODEL. SOME DO NOT. STOP USING CULT AS A BUZZWORD. I grew up with people saying Mormonism was a cult. I also know someone who was raised in an actual cult, and trust me, the cultish-ness of lds religious practice is based on a wide variety of factors and where you live. I personally think it’s pretty rude to just tell someone you barely know that they’re in a cult with no research or sensitivity around it.)

[the-rockinahard-place]

I hope the people in our little tumblrstake we have on here know just how much their words have helped me. Just seeing queer mormons is such a privilege. You’ve brought me a lot of guidance in this past year and you have strengthened my testimony to great heights. It is so simple what you do on here, yet so powerful. It has changed my life, and probably my future too. If church leadership was as progressive, accepting, and informational as tumblrstake then the church wouldn’t be viewed as it is today.

I told my classmate today that I was going to mormon prom, which led her to ask me if I was mormon. When I told her I was, her jaw literally dropped. It was obvious that she couldn’t imagine someone like me ( queer af ) being in the church. She has a small perspective of who I am, and a small perspective of what the church is. Unfortunately, they were far too different things in her head, to be seen mixed together. It hurt realizing that some people see the church that way, as this bad thing. I’ve been so fortunate to have a mostly accepting ward and a special place in queerstake, that I’ve forgotten our reputation and our dark history and our not very accepting “brothers and sisters” that when I say I’m mormon to someone, they react like I just came out to them.

know that our LDS blogs in our tiny corner of tumblr proves to be more than just a small community. It is a life line keeping me holding on to that iron rod and I’m sure so many others aswell. I thank everyone for all that you’ve done here. You represent the real church of jesus christ of latter day saints.

[pahorans-letter]

There's a queer family in front of me at church.

A child

with hair shorn short

a rainbow dress

with leggings

and a big smile

as they play with their siblings.

A parent

with pink dye growing out

an upside-down triangle

tattooed on their wrist.

There's a pair of girls on the left side of the chapel

who love theatre

and boy scouts

and their mom is wearing slacks

and their dad kisses

the tops of their heads.

And the woman two pews ahead

picks up her water bottle

and looks around

before taking a long sip

showing off

the rainbow stickers

in case our eyes are watching.

[loveerran]

Equality Utah

Equality Utah is getting ready to host their annual Q Talks event and I've been invited to attend and speak (it's free if you happen to be in the area)!

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me to write and share my story with your likes and reblogs and questions - I literally would not be doing this without you all <3

[gay-mormon-wizard]

You’re one of my go-to queer lds blogs and I was wondering if you knew some clear indications I can give to other queer members about being queer. I don’t want to be too obvious to non-supporters tho. Any thoughts?

off the top of my head:

most cishet people don't know individual orientations' pride flags, only that the rainbow is the general LGBTQ symbol. cishet allies, if they know anything beyond the rainbow, usually only know a few other flags - the bisexual and transgender flags, usually. other queer people will recognize accessories or clothes with specific flag flag color palettes like nonbinary/lesbian/aro/etc. and most likely will not tip off any homophobes.

you can find a lot of queer fashion and accessories that incorporate pride flag color schemes in subtle ways so that it doesn't look like a flag. look up "subtle [identity] pride design" to find stuff like this. other queer people will see it while cishet people usually will not.

breaking dress conventions is a subtle way to signal queerness. if you're afab, wearing pants/suits to church will tick people's gaydar; if you're amab, wearing something colorful instead of the standard white/gray/black/brown/blue stuff will do it.

links to more info

The Queer Code: Secret Languages of LGBTQ+ Art

Colour Codes: Flagging in the Queer Community

The history of the carabiner

5 Ways to Queer Any Outfit (Without Rainbows)

Queer Symbols

The Old, Secret Style Language Of The LGTBQ+ Community

[icarianlibrary]

I forgot that there is probably 1000 people TOPS like me (Mormon and Queer), and that most queer people hate the church, and most Mormon people hate queer people. What a time to be alive

[tessas-testimonies]

Found this image reposted in a few different locations, and wanted to share some thoughts. While it isn't the same for everyone, I feel like for me, the line in the Family Proclamation talking about eternal identities, (you know the one), for me I take it to mean that being born as a man is essential to my eternal identity. But so is being trans. I don't know if I've shared it before, but when I was first doing all the self discovery, I prayed for weeks on end, multiple times a day, to have my "trans-ness" taken from me, asking to have the burden removed, that I wouldn't have to struggle with the feelings of dysphoria my whole life, and every time I prayed for that, all I felt was more depressed, more anxious, and generally just more alone and abandoned. The very first time that I prayed to have the strength to accept it however? Instant, powerful, and profound peace. I didn't feel anything in a literal physical sense, no hands wiping away my tears, no warm hug around me, but I just had this innate sense of "it's alright, you'll be ok" It relates to this image of course by way that I believe I am loved just the way I am, transgender-ness and all. My Savior and Heavenly Parents all love me, they want me to be happy. I may not understand fully why the church policies and procedures are the way they are, but I know in my heart and soul, that I am trans, I am a feminine spirit. I trust that my Father in Heaven has a plan for me, and I believe wholeheartedly that in transitioning, I am following that plan. Maybe I was born a man so I could have the experience of going to cub scouts, boy scouts, and young men's activities, rather than their female alternatives. Maybe it was so I could go on a longer mission and there was someone whose heart I touched that I wouldn't have if I was born female. Of course, I do yearn for the girlhood I'll never get to have, the girl's camps, and the prom dresses. The princess Halloween costumes, and the embarrassing "first boyfriend" But I love who I am becoming, and for the first time in my life I love myself, and I feel loved.

And for that, I wouldn't change a thing.

[dwelt-in-a-tent]

Queerstake is genuinely the only reason I’m able to watch general conference every year. The genconf group notes doc helps me feel so much less alone. Thank you all for this lovely little community. I love you all.

[silly-goobr]

It is imperative I don’t become poly in the future WAITWAIT DONT LEAVE

it’s not because poly people are weird (they’re awesome and chill) but I was raised mormon so I don’t want multiple wives because then I would be giving into the stereotype

[ldsnqueer]

Quote from my partner during a (very strange) talk about the Word of Wisdom in sacrament meeting today:

“Joe smith said no hot drinks so that’s why I drink all my lattes iced”

[ldsqueerstakeofficial]

Applications to join the Queerward Discord

We've noticed a lot of people asking where to find the link to join the discord. While we cannot safely justify having a floating link, the mod team has agreed that we can open entry to the general public. The discord is no longer limited to a know-someone basis. If you would like to join the discord, you can message @relatablemormonmoments @notsostraightandnarrow @vaguely-heavenly-things @riskydabritt with this form: Name or nickname: Discord username: Age or general age: How I discovered Queerward: Sexuality: Gender Identity: Romantic Orientation: How long have I been out to myself: Am I out to others: If straight, am I willing to be an ally and leave discrimination at the door: Do I hold concerning biases, such as racism, homophobia, or sexism?: (y/n) If yes, am I willing to unlearn them: Do I get into fights on the internet: [regularly, only when important, never] Do I promise to follow Queerward rules: (y/n) Am I kind: (y/n) Am I interested in a server dedicated to LGBT+ Mormons: (y/n) Am I Mormon or associated with the Mormon community, including ex-mormon, post-mormon, Church of Christ?: By sending in this application, you are permitting the mods to scroll through the blog you message us from to check that you are a real person, not a troll, not homophobic, racist, or sexist, and that you tend to respect others online. We will not be accepting requests from blank blogs.

[rainbeam]

I have such an interesting relationship with the Mormon church.

It’s my home. It’s something I will return to when it’s safe. The core principles are something that I treasure and love and feel so strongly about.

But the actual institution is no longer a safe place for me.

Somewhere can be a home, even when it’s unsafe. You can have complicated, angry grieving feelings towards a home that is supposed to be safe.

The Mormon church is still my home. It’s where my heart is.

But sometimes the homes we love are unsafe and we have to leave until that home can be safe again— if it ever is.

I have faith that the Mormon church will eventually be safe again. But until then, it’s safer for me to find a new home.

[pahorans-letter]

Helaman 3:33-35

[loveerran]

The account of the 2000 Stripling Warriors in the Book of Mormon (Alma chapters 56-58) is one of the best known and most cited stories in LDS lore. They are the focus of lessons and talks, are featured in artwork and music, and are mentioned nearly every mother's day because of a passage relating how they learned faith from their mothers.

The parents of these young men were Lamanites who had buried their "weapons of war" and made a covenant to never again take a life, not even in self defense. When they were faced with destruction, the Nephites offered them shelter in the land of Jershon. Many years later, when the Nephites were themselves threatened in an existential war, these parents began to question their covenant to not take up arms. Ultimately, they chose to keep their promise to God, but many of their young sons (who had not taken the oath) chose to fight in defense of the Nephites. They became known as the Stripling Warriors.

The Stripling Warriors are held up as examples of righteousness and obedience. The account relates how, in at least two key battles, none perished. One of the primary takeaways is that if we have faith and are obedient, we will be preserved until our work on the earth is finished.

This belief in the preservation of the righteous is related in Alma 57:25-27 following one of those key battles:

25 And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.

It is interesting to me that the heroes of the story, those who were righteous, obedient and blessed, were all wounded. Some severely. And in that fact I see a metaphor for mortality in general: Even the most righteous, who exercise faith and endure to the end, will be wounded along the way.

Wounds acquired in mortality are not a sign of evil or lack of favor with God. We're all wounded. Some of us may have even fainted with the loss of blood. The Savior invites us to minister to and care for each other, much like the Good Samaritan of the parable