I’m a 37-year-old single guy living in Vineyard, Utah. I own my own home, and I love having a place to invite people into. I have 3 roommates and no pets:). I’ve got a big family–I’m 2nd of 9 kids, with 7 of those now married, and 19 nieces and nephews. I was born in Utah but grew up all over the place (Washington, Texas, Illinois, Texas again, Illinois again, and then northern Idaho). As an adult I’ve spent most of my time in Utah, with a great 6-year stint in the Bay Area in California.
I’m into all kinds of things. I’m a triathlete, and I especially love swimming and teaching swimming (I’ve taught over 100 people). I’m the organist and choir pianist in my local ward (congregation). I sing and play a bunch of instruments. I love cooking and baking–especially the pies at Thanksgiving! I work in HR and love both working with people and working with people data in systems and spreadsheets (total Excel nerd). I read (or listen to audiobooks) a lot, especially fantasy fiction. I love movies. I took adult gymnastics classes in California and loved them! I love woodworking and other creative building, and I’m currently building a custom stone and wood fence in my yard. Some of my favorite classes in college were Acoustical Physics, German Pronunciation, Calculus, Anatomy, Men’s Chorus, and Masterpieces of British Literature. I speak German, and I’m learning Spanish. I write in my journal every day and have somewhere around 2600 pages written by now.
As far as church goes, I’ve been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for my whole life. I think you’ll see pretty quickly that this church and the gospel of Jesus Christ, which it teaches, is incredibly important to me, central to who I am and how I live my life. I read the Book of Mormon before I turned 8, and I prayed about my baptism at that age and made that covenant as my own decision. I think I can still count on less than two hands how many times I’ve missed going to church in my life. I spend time every day in the scriptures, and I do my best to attend the temple weekly. I love serving in my ward in whatever calling I happen to be in at the time, and I love trying to get to know everyone in my ward. If any of that sounds like boasting, that’s not the idea–just helping you understand who I am. The gospel is very real and very important to me.
Along with all the rest of that, yep, I’m attracted to men. I have been for as long as I can remember. It’s just part of how I’ve always experienced the world. It’s not everything about me, but it matters a lot and is part of my daily experience. Now that I’ve fully come to terms with it and decided to be fully open about it, building community with and supporting others like me is also a big part of my life. There are a lot of parts of the LGBT community that I don’t really fit or identify with, mainly because of my faith and accompanying beliefs about sex and marriage (between man and woman), but believe it or not, there are a lot of gay people like me, who love the Church and gospel like I do, and we support each other in staying true to our covenants and our deep devotion to God as well as in our shared experience of same-sex attraction. I’m doing my best to make my home a haven where people can come and be totally safe and totally at home in both their same-sex attraction and their faith (not just one or the other). I’m open with my ward about it and try to be an example and a voice of hope for others who are struggling with this but still wanting to hold on to their faith, as well as for those who are trying to support friends or family members as they navigate all this.
If you want to dig a little deeper into some of my story and my thoughts, take a look at the essay I wrote and the video I recorded as part of the Voice(s) of Hope project (video below). They were produced a couple years ago when I was living in CA, but the important stuff is still relevant.
You’re also always welcome to submit personal questions or contact me, and of course I’ll be sharing a lot through blog articles.