About Me/About the Blog

Hi, I'm Kelly! I'm 29 years old, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and currently living and working in Salt Lake City. I am the youngest in a family of five and was spoiled and loved like crazy (the youngest child spot is definitely the best in my opinion). I love being outside, traveling, and all sports, especially basketball (go Warriors!). I played basketball at Lehigh University during my undergrad and then went on to graduate school at BYU. I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2010 when I was 19, served a mission in Nagoya, Japan (日本が大好き!), and occassionally attend my ward in Salt Lake. Oh, and yes, I'm gay!

I wanted to create this blog to share my own story and the stories of my LGBTQ Mormon friends. When I started to realize I might be gay (it only took me 23 years to realize my "really close friendships" and "girl crushes" might be something more...), I scoured the internet for everything I could find on the topic of Mormonism and homosexuality; I had no idea what to do! There wasn't much (as helpful as the gospel topics essay is...). I was lucky to meet several other gay, Mormon friends and get the help and support I needed. I realized not everyone is as lucky.

So, I want to share my friends and their stories! I hope this blog will help people see there aren't just two options when it comes to being gay and Mormon: leaving the church or staying single and celibate the rest of your life. There are many more options than that, and I'm excited to share them here with you. This blog will have stories of people fully in the church, fully out of the church, and everywhere in between. Please feel free to reach out if you'd like to have a personal conversation about anything posted here!