After proposition 8 and its funding by the Mormon community, gay Mormonism sounds like kind of an oxymoron. You can be gay, or you can be a Mormon, but you can't be both. That's why I was surprised by this article in the Salt Lake Tribune, which is supposedly a secular newspaper in what is considered by many to be a non-secular state. The article discusses two up-coming conferences aimed specifically at those Mormons who "struggle with same-sex attractions". The headline of the article surprised me as well:  "Gay ex-Mormon Finds Peace, Joy; Others Seek to Change Same Sex Desires".

One of the conference organizers, Evergreen International, is an organization designed to help people "overcome same sex attractions".  Personally, I'm curious if they could help me with my "opposite sex attractions" because sometimes I am attracted to people of the opposite sex that I shouldn't be. For some odd reason that I can't quite fathom, I can't seem to find any organizations geared towards that specific cause. Evergreen International's website also offers the opportunity for "sufferers" to learn how to cope with any suicidal thoughts and behaviors they may have due to the conflict between their religion and their sexuality.  The basic idea of this organization is of course that the sexual attractions are the problem and not the religion and focuses on behavior modification. Hmmm, I wonder if they could offer any support groups for any of the Republicans from C-Street.

Affirmation, which is the other organization,  is designed for Mormon Gays and Lesbians who wish to celebrate their sexuality and view it as a gift from God and not as a shameful secret. In other words, they encourage their LDS members to come out of the closet. Additionally, Affirmation favors dialog with the Mormon Church and recently called for a press conference to call attention to the fact that LDS leaders twice failed to honor a commitment to meet Affirmation to discuss morality. Their website also has additional information regarding their political activity.

Do the two organizations intersect? Not much. Affirmation has a web page specifically warning those considering becoming affiliated with Evergreen that Evergreen will not recognize homosexuality and that it does little to help a person's spirituality. I also have a sneaking suspicion that Evergreen is not a fan of Affirmation.