Hold Fast

I still have my original missionary badge! When I attended the ALL (Arizona LDS LGBT) conference this past April, I was privileged to be on a panel of six or so individuals to answer some questions fielded from a moderator before lunch. It was about an hour long, though I must say I could've talked for hours . It was so much fun and exciting to talk directly  to people, more or less, and answer their questions. The Ally Nights we've had in the past in my Tucson group are similar: that is, we would allow others to ask us questions, and we would share our thoughts and stories as LGBT members. Anyway, one question asked was something like, "Should I continue to encourage my child [presumably LGBT] to go on a mission for the church?" This has been a tough thing for me to answer in the past, because my feelings about the mission are complex. On the one hand, I have a foundation of belief in the core tenets of the gospel that were formed from the spiritual experien...