Hi, I'm Sam. I'm gay. I'm LDS (Mormon). And that's really complicated.
I'm also a violinist, exuberant with my hands, totally into Sondheim musicals, trying to get a healthier lifestyle of diet and exercise going, and I'm a software engineer at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ. These aren't the sum total of everything I am, of course. But they're a small smattering.
As an introductory entry, I am simply going to outline the next several posts. My mom thinks I should write a book. Yeah, maybe. So I figure this is a good place to start putting things on (virtual) paper.
I'm going to start by giving backstory: coming out, what that all meant, maybe even give some history leading up to that point. Then, and more importantly, I want to delve into the spiritual insights and thoughts I've had as I've pondered, questioned, studied some, and found some answers to all this that have brought me immeasurable more peace than I had initially upon coming out. By no means do I have all the answers. But I hope one will be able to recognize that I have found enough answers, and addressed enough doubt, that there is more to this world than a black and white separation of Mormons and gays, despite the .org website of the same name (literally, mormonsandgays.org).
Anyway, if you will bear with me, and not endeavor to close the webpage because something I say doesn't immediately jive with your present reality, I hope that I can also help you learn, and think, and ponder, and question things to an extent that you will open your heart and mind to consider the possibilities of inclusion and respect that we gay members so desperately need.
