• Home
  • Video Episodes
    • Podcast Episodes
    • Subscribe Now
  • Stories & The Blog
    • The Blog
    • Podcast Episodes
    • “In My Own Words” Stories
    • Coming Out Stories
    • LGBT Mormons in History
  • Resources
    • Church Leaders
    • Home and Family Resources
    • On the Record | LDS Chronology of Homosexuality
    • Articles | Resources
    • Glossary of Terms
    • About the Podcast
    • About the Host
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Donate & Sponsor
    • Subscribe Now
    • About the Podcast
    • About the Host
Menu
  • Home
  • Video Episodes
    • Podcast Episodes
    • Subscribe Now
  • Stories & The Blog
    • The Blog
    • Podcast Episodes
    • “In My Own Words” Stories
    • Coming Out Stories
    • LGBT Mormons in History
  • Resources
    • Church Leaders
    • Home and Family Resources
    • On the Record | LDS Chronology of Homosexuality
    • Articles | Resources
    • Glossary of Terms
    • About the Podcast
    • About the Host
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Donate & Sponsor
    • Subscribe Now
    • About the Podcast
    • About the Host
Search
Close
Donate

Leonard Matlovich | Activist, Mormon, Gay Man

Posted 7 years ago Tagged

Technical Sergeant Leonard Philip Matlovich was a Vietnam War veteran, race relations instructor, and recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. He was a fierce advocate of LGBT rights and fought to end discrimination of sexuality. Matlovich was … Read the rest here

Edith Chapman | Salt Lake resident, proprietor, lesbian

Posted 7 years ago Tagged

In 1923, after the death of both her parents, prominent Salt Lake lesbian, Edith Mary Chapman opened her home just across the street from Liberty Park (615 South 900 East) as a boarding house for other lesbians, most of whom … Read the rest here

Joseph Fielding Smith | General Authority, Patriarch to the Church, Gay Man

Posted 7 years ago Tagged

If today were 1946 (and you were a high profile Latter-day Saint), coming out and confessing your infidelity to the prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would secure you a vacation (and eventual residency) to the … Read the rest here

Eva McCleery | Shoemaker, Father, Trans-woman

Posted 7 years ago Tagged

William McCleery, later known as Eva McCleery, is the earliest known transgender person in the state of Utah. Born in Liverpool, England on October 11, 1850, William and his parents converted as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of … Read the rest here

Louie Felt | General Primary President, co-founder of “The Children’s Friend”

Posted 7 years ago Tagged

Sarah Louise “Louie” Bouton Felt was the first general president of the children’s Primary organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a calling she faithfully served and dedicated her time with from 1880 to 1925. She was … Read the rest here

Brigham Morris Young | Son of a prophet, ‘Qween’ of the highest order

Posted 7 years ago Tagged

Brigham Morris Young, commonly known as Morris, was the son of Brigham Young, polygamous Mormon Church president, and his 35th wife, Margaret Pierce. In 1875, Morris Young served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in … Read the rest here

Latter Gay Stories
Latter Gay Stories

Latter Gay Stories

41

Real Stories. Real Talk. Real People
IN or OUT of Mormonism.

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
Author Avatar
Latter Gay Stories
1 day ago

Jacinda Ardern was 25 years old, raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the small farming town of Morrinsville, New Zealand, when she found herself living in an Auckland flat with three gay men. She continued attending the Mormon church, but the contrast between the faith she had grown up in and the people she cared about became increasingly difficult to reconcile.

Years later, Ardern said she realized she was “either doing a disservice to the church or my friends,” because she could not reconcile a religion that did not fully accept LGBTQ people with the kindness and humanity she saw in those closest to her. In 2005, she left the LDS Church and has identified as agnostic ever since. Although she has spoken positively about the values of service she learned growing up Mormon, she has said the Church’s teachings on LGBTQ people ultimately became impossible for her to accept.

Ardern became New Zealand’s prime minister and many of the policies that defined her government reflected the convictions she says were shaped during that period of her life.

In 2018, Ardern became the first sitting New Zealand prime minister to participate in Auckland’s Pride Parade, cutting the ceremonial ribbon to open the event.

Her government later passed the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act, banning conversion practices. The law created criminal penalties of up to five years in prison when conversion practices cause serious harm. Parliament approved the measure by a vote of 112-8, with every vote against coming from members of the ACT Party.

Her government also enacted changes to New Zealand’s Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act, allowing transgender and non-binary New Zealanders born in the country to update the sex marker on their birth certificate through a statutory declaration rather than a Family Court process. The legislation passed Parliament unanimously without a single vote in opposition.

Despite leaving the LDS Church more than two decades ago, Ardern has not described her departure as the result of a dispute with Church leaders, and while serving as prime minister she met cordially with former Church President Russell M. Nelson during his 2019 visit to New Zealand.

Arden has consistently described her decisions as a matter of conscience, saying she could no longer reconcile the Church’s position on LGBTQ people with her own beliefs.
... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
Author Avatar
Latter Gay Stories
2 days ago

If you have to call a core part of someone "the sin" before telling them you love them, don't be so shocked when they don't experience that as love. ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
Author Avatar
Latter Gay Stories
3 days ago

One of the greatest scams of our youth was convincing an entire generation of teenage kids that this was the biggest threat to their future.

So many of us grew up terrified of the wrong things.
... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
Load more
Featured In:
Share Your Story

Resources

Download ON THE RECORD
Family and Church Leader Resources 
Watch Our Episodes
DONATE NOW
TikTok Facebook Instagram Youtube Apple Rss