Inspirational – Tom Christofferson

http://ldslights.org/a-north-and-south-heart/” class=”bbcode_url”>http://ldslights.org/a-north-and-south-heart/

So much of this explains my religious and political feelings.

And so here we are: I am a member of a church that you see as horrible, wretched and hateful to gay people. And yet, I love my Latter-day Saint brothers and sisters for their eagerness to help one another and the wider world, I love them for their devotion to duty, I love them for their reverence for things sacred. As I love my gay brothers and sisters for their zest for life, I love their humor and sensitivity to others, I love their rainbow diversity and their optimism for a better tomorrow. I carry two passports; my heart holds North and South, and this war does not feel civil to me! I know as a church we can do better, we can be more expansive in our welcoming embrace and our loving acceptance

You said that it couldn’t be clearer that the Mormons don’t want gay people. But they need to want us, they need the courage we bring, they need our talent and loyalty. And we need the soul-stretching, the enlightening, we need our sights raised. I am far from perfect, but I can help in that effort simply by being a person with a North and South heart. I cannot stop loving either of my tribes. And I cannot stop praying they will learn to love each other. The path forward is not always clear, so by necessity as well as by choice, I walk in faith.

If LGBT isn’t your issue try substituting your struggle for the word gay – they don’t want unorthodox people, they don’t want intellectual people and so on. I saw myself in his words.