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I am one of those who struggle. The struggle isn’t with the doctrine as much as my fear of being perceived as unkind.  From my earliest memories, I was taught to be kind and I still hold at my core that kindness counts. My little primary heart still sings very loudly to me,  “I want to be kind to everyone. For that is right you see. So I say to myself remember this; Kindness begins with me.”

This is a picture of me, my friend Nicole, and her son Sam at the symphony in December. Nicole is raising Sam with her ex husband Doug and her wife Shannon. Nicole is active in her church, volunteers in the community, She is a great mom who has always strived to put the needs of her son first.
So how do I follow the counsel of President Nelson and be a vocal proponent of traditional marriage and not have NIcole and the other LGBTQA people in my life feel that I am unkind?  This is not a rhetorical question.. Will someone please tell me? Pretty please!
I love the prophet, love the church, love my husband. I am an early adopter if all the counsel of the brethren. We love conference and make lists of ways to apply what we learn.  As a family we are working on memorizing The Proclamation.
There are so many beautiful lines in The Proclamation that touch my heart.  Each of us is a beloved spirit son or daughter of Heavenly Parents and as such each has a diving nature and destiny.  No struggle there. So line by line, I will find my way. Line upon line, precept upon precept.
Our LGBTQ brothers and sister are there.  We can not shy away because we didn’t know how to reconcile our belief with kindness?  Facing these inner conflicts is necessary if we think we can advocate in a malice free zone.  We don’t need to fear struggle. Greater understanding and love can emerge from struggle.

I’m going to start with some things where I don’t struggle.  I trust God. God has a prophet. I made covenants to follow the prophet.  I am commanded to love everyone and share God’s love. Somehow, I will strive to do it all.

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