What would Bob LaBla do?

I would say that the more I know the less I know, but that has been said -- which simply puts punctuation on a problem that everyone will have at one point or another.

I am a gay Mormon man married to a normal Mormon woman. Of course I divulged everything to her before we were married. She was in the know as were my ecclesiastical leaders. There is no need to tell me about being truthful or listening to the "real me".  I know who the real me is.  The real me is the one who listens to the promptings of the spirit.

The advice I give people (imagine, people coming to me for advice – but they do) is to listen to the spirit. I stand by that advice. There is a catch, however and people don’t understand that.

Here is a hypothetical to steer in the right direction – purely hypothetical.  Bob goes to the Lord in prayer to ask if he should move to another city. Bob gets an overwhelming feeling that, yes, he should.  The next month his bid for the only house in the new city falls through.  Does that mean that his prayer was not really answered?

Heck no – if I may be so bold.  

• He can still move. There are thousands of cities around. 
• Or, perhaps Heavenly father wanted him to clean his life up – literally -- which could only be done by Bobs getting ready to move. 
• Perhaps Bob, in the process of trying to move, met someone that changed his life, or someone met him, which changed their life. 
• Perhaps a family had prayed for a house to move into, and Bobs place was a perfect fit for them. So the Lord provided something better for Bob but wants Bob to be proactive.

There are hundreds of scenarios.  Bottom line is that Bob received confirmation that his moving was a good thing. Bob went and did.

Another hypothetical; Marne receives confirmation that her path, her ideas, her preparations for girls camp are spot on.  She creates a perfect girls camp scenario with help from all the leaders who also feel they are being led by the spirit.  Halfway through camp it starts to rain and does not let up. Was Marne wrong?  Was the Lord wrong?  Were all the leaders somehow mistaken or mislead?

Again, no.   

• Perhaps the group ran upon a key concept of principal that they wouldn’t have found with out perusing that big idea.  
• Perhaps it was the preparation that was needed, not necessarily the follow through, 
• Perhaps there was a concept or a principal that was learned while everyone was focused on working together toward a common goal.  
• Perhaps there was something for the girls to learn by seeing the adults make lemonade.

There are so many scenarios that make perfect since once one takes the ego out of the equation.  What does Heavenly father want for me?  Is it better than what I think I need?

What does this have to do with me marrying my wife?  Give me two hours to write the next part down.


Here it is:  http://gaymormonman.blogspot.com/2015/06/what-is-right-answer-to-moho-prayer.html

Stereotypical gay theatre post

I have practiced my "I just won a Tony" face over and over, but I couldn't have done it better than Kelly O'Hara last night. 

For that matter, I could not have done a better I just lost a Tony to Kelly O'Hara face than did Kristen Chenoweth.  KC was delightful and sincere and pleased as all get out that Kelly had won, and it could have been either one of them that walked away with the award.

Yes, I am that guy. I am a gay Mormon man and I am really into theater. In my past life I was an actor and I loved every minute of it.  

In fact, the executive secretary for my bishop called me for an appointment yesterday evening. I asked him if he realized that it was Tony night. There was silence. I explained to him that Tony night was like the Superbowl for gay people.  He rescheduled the appointment for next week.

So, this is a rather stereotypical post from a sort of stereotypical man all about the big Tony night.

Fun Home won several important Tony's, including best new musical and best actor and score and book. The most moving performance of the night was given by it's young star in a song called Ring of Keys. What was it about? you ask. A young girl realizing that she is a different sort a gal as she articulates her attraction to a strong woman with lace up boots and a big key ring. Genuinely toughing. 

There were thank you speeches that gave support to teachers, gay rights, being different, and recycling.  Kelly actually danced off the stage in a fun and charming moment -- and it was her moment. This was the sixth time she has been nominated and her first win. Did I mention charming?  And gracious.

I was troubles -- slightly -- that the show clips were more quick snippets, like movie clips instead of full numbers from the shows.  Fun home was an exception, and it took us someplace that the others didn't.

On The 20th Century, for example, gave us scraps of three different scenes with brief new transitions.  I would have rather seen  "Babbette" with Kristen in all her Magdalene-ian glory as she chooses which script to run with.

And The king and I would have done better to show us the scene leading up to shall we dance. Instead, we got the best of, and little emotion or subtlety.

Hated Gigi, but then I have always hated Gigi. Not with a hate like I hate Cats, but a show about a girl being groomed to be a escort is not a good show for me, and the score is very mediocre. Vanessa Hudgins looked like she had just sucked on helium before the lights went up.  At least American in Paris gave us enough real dance to make us want to hitch hike to NYC.  

An unexpected real moment? Tony Yazbeck singing!  In a show all about dance and love for the big apple, the producers let a sailor sing for half the number.  What a lovely tribute to On the Towns leading man - integral to the musicals appeal. 

The snippet from Finding Neverland was interesting, but didn't really sing for me, even with Matthew Morison doing the honor. The LED background scrim was more interesting than the melody, and the rigging seemed to upstage the Glee alum - not a good sign.  Kelsey Grammer started it off right but the scene never took sail -- even with some cool looking sails.

The one minute Tommy Tune Tribute? Even a wonderfully bizarre hug could not make up for snippets of My One and Only, Grand Hotel and the Will Rodgers follies that were pathetically not enough. 

The Musical number from Something rotten worked as an opener.  It was literally called the Musical.  It was good to see Brian D'Arcy not in a fat green rubber suit. 

Shows I would love to see: 

King and I,

On The 20th

Curious indecent

It's Only a Play

Fun Home

Hand to God

American in Paris

On the Town

You Can't Take It With You (closed)

The Visit (closing soon)

Something Rotten

It Shoulda' Been You

Skylight 

Hamilton

INCLUDED VIDEO IS OF ALMOST REAL FROM BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY TWO YEARS AGO.  YOU TELL ME SHE DOESN'T DESERVE A TONY ANY GIVEN YEAR.

  

Transgender and the LDS Church

I look out for articles that effect Mormons, Mormon gays and Mormons who know gays. Acceptance and kindness are the general issues here.

 I must have missed this when it happened in January. Here is a link to a story titled "A Mormon Leader Signals New Openness on Transgender Issues. This Could Be Huge" by Taylor G. Petrey on Slate. Below the video is a small part of what Petrey says.

(The video is of a dude who answers questions on being transgendered.  I found this interesting and found the responses very warming. Bravo for Bruce Jenner coming out with her story,  People are talking, and that is a very good thing.)

"In a rare interactive interview held at the end of January, high-ranking leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fielded questions on LGBT issues. Church members flooded the moderator with queries about how to navigate the tension between supporting family members and friends and following one’s conscience on LGBT issues when it is at variance with current church teachings."

"One question dealt with transgender identity, and the response by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, one of the highest-ranking church leaders, was the most significant—and under reported—statement from that session. A mother said, “I have a transgender son who came out to us about a year ago. … I hate having to fear what retaliation [from church leaders] I might have for supporting him … I think we as members need that assurance that we can indeed have our own opinions, support our children, and still follow our beliefs.”

"Oaks responded:  This question concerns transgender, and I think we need to acknowledge that while we have been acquainted with lesbians and homosexuals for some time, being acquainted with the unique problems of a transgender situation is something we have not had so much experience with, and we have some unfinished business in teaching on that."

"Oaks’ tone was conciliatory and optimistic. A leader of a church that is famously conservative on gender and sexuality issues expressed some reservations about current teachings on transgender issues, anticipating that more experience might lead to changes. Here and elsewhere, rather than retrenching, the church is showing subtle signs of evolving some of its paradigms on gender and sexual identity." -- Taylor G. Petrey