Do your friends, relatives, and church leaders know about Lift+Love?

There are so many Latter-day Saint LGBTQ individuals & families, ward & stake leaders, and friends & allies who are LOOKING for resources & support, but just don’t know WHERE to find it!

Help us get the word out about Lift+Love! Send your friends & ward members to our website www.liftandlove.org and our social media accounts @liftandloveorg. We’ve got support groups, podcasts, definitions, book & talk recommendations, q+a, family stories, links to resources, and MUCH more!!!).

#lgbtq #lgbt #latterdaysaints #latterdaysaint #lds #ldschurch #ldsparents #ldsparenting #ldsysa #lgbtqysa #lgbtqlds #ldslgbtq #liftandloveorg

IS EVERY INTERACTION AT CHURCH A TEMPLE RECOMMEND INTERVIEW?

“Every interaction at church isn’t a temple recommend interview, our job isn’t to determine worthiness!”

My dear friend, a ward YW president, brought this up during ward council where the group was discussing how to create a place of belonging and safety for all to worship the Lord.

The bishop’s counselor suggested they put the phrase on t-shirts.

I think it’s safe to say, unless you happen to be the bishop, none of our interactions should be temple recommend interviews. Not in our heads, and definitely not out loud.

In nearly every single healing interaction we see in the Savior’s ministry, we see the truth of this.

The Pharisees, forever holding temple recommend interviews, slowed down the Savior’s work, as they peppered him with comments that started with “BUT… “

Is it just me, or do you sense an internal sigh in the Savior’s tone as you read how he patiently responds with questions that often turn the focus back on the one asking the question?

I think it is very telling that the first and most important commandment, is where OUR focus should be. Loving God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind. It is a complete personal plan for divine guidance as we learn to become like Him.

The second, is our responsibility to others. To love them as though they were us. He didn’t say love your neighbors like you want to be loved, HE said love them as yourself.

Not a hint of responsibility for making sure OTHERS are following the temple worthiness guidelines.

However, we have been deputized to do proxy work for the Lord. To love and create unity with our neighbors. SO much so that they ARE actually part of us.

When we do the Spirit of the Lord will flow like a current through all of us and we will each know that sweet feeling of love from and belonging to the family of Our Heavenly Parents.

We can do this now, no temple recommend interview needed. - Allison

60% of LGBTQ youth lack access to mental health care

*LGBTQ youth are at higher risk for depression & anxiety (largely because of the added stresses of bullying and lack of family/community acceptance), yet they are one of the groups with the least access to mental health care. They might not know where to get help, may not be able to afford it, may be worried about confidentiality, or may be afraid of being discriminated against. You can help by sharing these resources (GRAPHIC BELOW)!
Source: the Trevor project 2021 youth mental health survey

#Lgbtq #lgbt #latterdaysaints #latterdaysaint #lds #ldschurch #ldsparents #ldsparenting #ldsysa #lgbtqysa #lgbtqlds #ldslgbtq #liftandloveorg

The OG Lift+Lover

The OG Lift+Lover.

My dear mom passed away, surrounded by her family. We were so lucky she was able to tell each of us how much she loves us, even @_Lukedayton on his mission. It was so hard, but it was also time. She lived an amazing life.

The way Sally Grant (Sarah Jane Moyle Creer Grant) momm’d is the impetus for all things Lift+Love. People always ask me if I am like her?

Not at all.

My mom is private and would not share her ideas and opinions with the world like I have done. She is thoughtful and private, intellectual, resilient, eloquent and elegant.

She is like so many of you, not comfortable sharing her life with everyone. She was quiet about struggles they had raising a gay son in the 70’s and 80’s. She was quiet about his struggles and about the conflict that remaining in the church, caused between she and her first born son. She talked to very few people about having a gay son, and spoke openly and defiantly only in her old age.

But, she loved my brother absolutely. She did the best she could in a time of terrible information, stereotypes and doctrinal misunderstandings.

She had total faith, to the very end, that our family was sealed and would be together FOREVER. All of us, not most of us, not a few of us, ALL OF US!!!

No one could ever give her any good reason or doctrinally sound perspective, that would make her worry about the eternal future of her gay son. He was her child and the child of Heavenly Parents. She trusted the sealing power of her temple marriage and the peace she had from the Savior. Her work was to keep our family together and to love her son, even when everything was very hard.

She was the OG Latter-Day Saint LGBTQ Mama, amazing in her own quiet and incredibly stubborn way. And today, she is holding my dad and my brother. I feel a little left out.

BTW-I told her to get back to me, somehow, about the all the mysteries around our LGBTQ kids. She said she would. I’ll let you all know what she reports.

45% of LGBTQ teens have considered suicide in the past year - What can we DO?

45% of LGBTQ teens have considered suicide in the past year. We have to do something - we need every one of those wonderful kids and their unique talents & perspectives in our families, our neighborhoods, our schools, our churches, and our workplaces. But what can we DO?

FIRST STEP: Head over to the Lift+Love website and find the "QPR Suicide Prevention" section (pink circle on the home page). Sign up for a FREE online class to learn practical skills for preventing suicide. The class takes only 1 1/2 hours, but it has the potential to save lives- literally. The classes are held multiple times every month, so you can find one that works with your schedule.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS! Everyone 18+ is welcome.

Source: The Trevor Project LGBTQ Youth Mental Health Survey 2022

#Lgbtq #lgbt #latterdaysaints #latterdaysaint #lds #ldschurch #ldsparents #ldsparenting #ldsysa #lgbtqysa #lgbtqlds #ldslgbtq #liftandloveorg #qpr #qprsuicideprevention #qprsuicidepreventiontraining #suicideprevention #lgbtqsuicideprevention #lgbtqsuicideawareness.

5 WAYS TO HELP EVERYONE FEEL WELCOME & INCLUDED AT CHURCH

5 ways to help everyone feel welcome & included at church:

When you notice someone is new, go out of your way to warmly greet them, interact with them, and introduce them to other members.

If you notice someone is sitting alone, ask if you can sit with them (or invite them to sit with you).

Consider inviting a family or individual (who you don’t know well) to your home for dinner or FHE.

Wear a rainbow pin (or a rainbow bracelet, etc) to identify yourself as an ally to those who are LGBTQ (whether they are out or not)

If someone looks different than the norm in your ward (perhaps clothing that you don’t normally see in church, or a hairstyle or piercings/tattoos that are not customary in your area), refrain from pointing it out to them. It doesn’t matter. Criticism is not welcoming, even if you mean well.

HOW TO GET RID OF PRIDE FLAGS & MARCHES

A lot of people express discomfort with flags and parades. It might help to understand these were symbols and events created 40- 50+ years ago to support those who were not being supported by family, neighbors, and churchgoers. So many LGBTQ people had been thrown out of their homes and communities simply for who they were.

Can you believe it has been that long and we still need these symbols to help others feel supported and loved?

If everyone would follow the example of this woman, and love their Igbta family members for who they are, and take the time to learn how to be supportive, there would be no need for flags or parades, or
division. It's that simple!

And it is absolutely what the Savior expects of us.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another. John 13:
34-35

-Allison

HOW DO YOU HELP YOUR KIDS FRIENDS FEEL WELCOME IN YOUR HOME?

We asked Lift+Love followers, “How do you help your kids’ friends feel welcome in your home?”

Thank you to everyone who responded! We love learning from you! Here are some of your most popular answers (in the graphic above) and also a few of our personal favorite unique responses (below):

“I have a bulletin board with all their pictures! Then they feel like part of our family!”

“I have a chocolate chip drawer. All friends known where it is and they can have any time they want”

“hug all of them when they get there and when they leave”

#Lgbtq #lgbt #latterdaysaints #latterdaysaint #lds #ldschurch #ldsparents #ldsparenting #ldsysa #lgbtqysa #lgbtqlds #ldslgbtq #liftandloveorg

“I think my child may be gay, but they haven’t come out to me… What can I do to be a safe person for them?”

“I think my child may be gay, but they haven’t come out to me… What can I do to be a safe person for them?” Lift+Love contributors answer this question (and many more!) in the Q+A section of the Lift+Love website HERE

#lgbtq #lgbt #latterdaysaints #latterdaysaint #lds #ldschurch #ldsparents #ldsparenting #ldsysa #lgbtqysa #lgbtqlds #ldslgbtq #liftandloveorg #pride #pridemonth

What can you do if you & your spouse aren’t on the same page about your LGBTQ child?

What can you do if you & your spouse aren’t on the same page about your LGBTQ child?

Lift+Love contributors answer this question (and many more!) in the Q+A section of the Lift+Love website HERE.

#Lgbtq #lgbt #latterdaysaints #latterdaysaint #lds #ldschurch #ldsparents #ldsparenting #ldsysa #lgbtqysa #lgbtqlds #ldslgbtq #liftandloveorg

Dial 988 - Nationwide mental health crisis / suicide prevention hotline

There is a new nation-wide (United States) phone number for suicide-prevention and mental health crisis. “All telecommunications carriers must provide access to 988 by July 16. The number will direct calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a switchboard that provides free crisis counseling and emotional support. It also connects people to one of more than 180 crisis centers nationwide. It will serve as a universal entry point so that anyone can reach a trained crisis counselor who can provide care no matter where you live”

Similar to “911”, “988” will be easy to remember and can be used be anyone - call OR text! Help spread the word about this new resource!

https://www.ksl.com/article/50439367/how-to-get-help-new-988-suicide-prevention-mental-health-crisis-hotline-to-go-live
#988 #mentalhealth #dial988 #dial988forhelp #suicideprevention

What is ONE THING that would improve the church experience for LGBTQ members & families?

CLICK TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Recently, I asked Lift+Love Instagram Followers to tell us - what is ONE THING that would improve the church experience for Latter-day Saint LGBTQ members and their families? To see many of the responses, click the video above!