By Nancy Ayry – Dennis teaches me how to love, forgive. He teaches me that sometimes you’ll do things you NEVER thought you’d do! Shows me what true ministering is.

Nancy Ayre September Shoutout for Dennis Schleicher

September Shoutout by Nancy Ayry – Every day in the month of September I would like to give a shoutout to one person that I see is making a positive difference in the world. 🌎 ❤️
Dennis Schleicher – he is everyone’s best friend. You can’t help but love him the minute you connect with him. He’s full of enthusiasm and love, kindness and sincerity. Dennis is a writer, lifestyle reporter, crisis counselor, network marketer, and motivational speaker.
When Dennis was a teenager in the 1980’s, he was brutally attacked by several boys in the men’s room at school because they figured he was gay. They took turns punching his face, jaw, and stomach and calling him a “f****** f***** that should not be allowed to live.” The school administration oddly took the side of the attackers. Shortly after the attack, the media began to contact Dennis and he appeared on seven talk shows, including Larry King Live, and Sally Jessy Raphael. in 1990, Dennis testified in court to help pass a hate crimes bill that included minorities and LGBT individuals.
“Dennis’ life has not been easy. The growing realization that he was gay coupled with his parents’ use of religion to justify abuse and neglect led Dennis to have a very complicated relationship with love, God, and organized religion. After suffering from the violent attack, forced institutionalization, and heartbreak after heartbreak, Dennis was desperate for love and acceptance – he just didn’t know where to find it.”
“After years of searching, Dennis unexpectedly discovered a new family in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In his book, “Is He Nuts? Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ” he shares the story of how he, a gay man, found his home in the church.”
Dennis now serves as a ward mission leader, assisting sisters and elders throughout New England to better understand how to work and deal with the LGBTQ community, creating a better understanding amongst all people.
In his book Dennis explains, “I am many things. I am a people person, a talker, a networker. I am a gay man, a survivor of a hate crime, an advocate for the LGBT community. I am a friend, a hugger, a Christian who has always believe in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I am a son, a brother, a cousin. All of this and more collectively defines who and what I am.” ( ”Is He Nuts?” Cedar Fort Publishing, Schleicher)
Dennis teaches me how to love and how to forgive. He teaches me that there are new starts. He teaches me that sometimes you’ll do things you NEVER thought you’d do! And he shows me what true ministering is. In his own words, “Turn up the Love!”

Loving and Understanding – Not Judging Our Fellow LGBTQ Brothers & Sisters Hymn “Lord, I Would Follow Thee”

Love Understanding - Not Judging Our Fellow LGBTQ Brothers & Sisters Hymn “Lord, I Would Follow Thee”
Be Kind

Loving and Understanding – Not Judging Our Fellow LGBTQ Brothers & Sisters Hymn “Lord, I Would Follow Thee”

This morning after praying I fell prompted to open our hymn book. This is what I opened to; #220 

Lord, I Would Follow Thee

“Savior, may I learn to love thee,
Walk the path that thou hast shown,
Pause to help and lift another,
Finding strength beyond my own.
Savior, may I learn to love thee–

Who am I to judge another
When I walk imperfectly?
In the quiet heart is hidden
Sorrow that the eye can’t see.
Who am I to judge another?

I would be my brother’s keeper;
I would learn the healer’s art.
To the wounded and the weary
I would show a gentle heart.
I would be my brother’s keeper—

Savior, may I love my brother
As I know thou lovest me,
Find in thee my strength, my beacon,
For thy servant I would be.
Savior, may I love my brother—”

For more about not judging others, I found some great insight on Mormon Insights by BYU

Love and Hugs, Dennis

News Alert! FB live for all our missionaries still serving for book launch celebration of Is He Nuts?

News Alert! Just added a Facebook live for all our missionaries still serving for book launch celebration of Is He Nuts? Why Would a Gay Man Become a Latter-day Saint?

Our missionaries Love YOU

 

More information forthcoming, location and etc. Come and celebrate the book launch of Dennis Schleicher transformative memoir. (Space is limited, reserve your FREE ticket today.)
This is the story of my search for God’s love in my life, and how I found it with and through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Despite a reputation that says otherwise, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do in fact love and accept all people just as Christ would, regardless of their sexual orientation.
As a lot of the missionaries I work with on the East Coast will still be serving their mission we have added a Facebook live event just for you!
Don’t ever forget that you are all LOVED by our Heavenly Father and so many others.
Hugs, Dennis

Meet The Earls a Love Story

Audrey and Andrew Earl

Meet The Earls a Love Story
By Audery Earl
It All Started in January 2014
I was a missionary and was called to serve in the California Anaheim Mission. I had been on my mission for 6 months and I had just got transferred to a new area. In this new area, we didn’t have a car and our mode of transportation was a bike. As you can probably imagine, grocery shopping and biking back to your apartment with all those bags do not work. Thankfully my companion knew a girl our age, Linda and she took the sister missionaries almost every Monday to get groceries (thank goodness).

We went to the local Walmart and my companion is looking for some food down an aisle. I am following her as I talk with Linda and I get to know her. Linda is also asking me some questions and she finds out where I’m from and then she starts to tell me about this boy. He served his mission in Anaheim as well but a few years ago AND he’s also from the same town that I am from. She tells me right then and there that I am going to marry that boy.  My instant reaction: No way. I don’t even know him. And who is this girl?

She asks me to email him. My thought process is thinking, “Why would I write a guy I’ve never met?” and other things along that line.  She gives me his email and I didn’t do a single thing with it. That night she called him, told him that he is going to marry this sister missionary that she just met and that he needs to email me. He also refused. He didn’t want to freak me out.

This goes on for about a month. Linda is showing me pictures of him on Facebook. “Do you think he’s cute?” “He is going to graduate this year.” “He speaks  Vietnamese.” “He has a good job.” I was getting the 411 on this boy.

After much pestering from Linda and my companion, I decided to email him. Every week Linda would ask if I emailed him yet and it was always a no. I could finally tell her, yes and then I would not hear much more about it. My email to him was really awkward, “Hi! It’s Sister Clifton- Linda’s friend. I told her I would email you so I am!” (how else are you going to explain to this random email to a guy that you’ve never met?) He responds a few minutes later, “Yes, hi! Linda is so funny! How are you?”

And that was the start. We emailed and got to know each other. Our emails became longer and we emailed for about 5 months but then I stopped. This emailing thing was taking too much time. I didn’t even know him. I would much rather email my family, go grocery shopping, go hiking, or some other activity. Our free time was so rare that emailing him was not at the top of my priority list.

Fast forward to a year later since Linda first told me about Andrew and my mission is almost over. I was saying goodbye to Linda and she told me that I should email Andrew again and invite him to my homecoming.  I laughed and told her no.

I came home and I decided that if I were going to ever meet Andrew, my homecoming talk was probably the least awkward way to do it. The day before I emailed him a quick invite and then  I completely forgot about it. During my homecoming, I saw so many people. Ones that I hadn’t seen for a couple of years and somewhere missionaries from my mission. Sacrament meeting was over and I was talking with some of my friends in the back. I see this guy come towards me and I instantly knew it was Andrew. Linda had shown me his picture so much, his face was ingrained in my memory.

“Hi, I’m Andrew.”
“I know.” (I was so awkward!)
We made small talk for about a minute and the next thing I know I’m inviting him over to my house for the open house, something that I vowed to myself not to do. That failed.

He hung around my missionary friends and they all had no clue who he was. One of my previous companions was saying that he liked me. How awkward was that? We took pictures of all the Anaheim missionaries who were there. People told him to join in and I thought, “Get out.” He was in the picture.  He asked for my number and I had my mom give it to him because I had no clue what my new number was. We then got a picture of just the two of us to send to Linda. Linda freaked out and the amount of heart, marriage, and love emoji’s (some involving children) that were sent back was insane.

Later that week I get a call from him but I was busy so I missed it. I needed to call him back. My heart was so nervous when I called him. How would I even talk to him? He answered and he asked me out for a date a few days later. The date comes and he was late! ha. We went to a BYU basketball game and since he hadn’t eaten dinner we went to Cinnamon afterward. He drove me home and we talked in his car outside my house for hours. We finally decided to call it a night.

Our second date was Vietnamese food and Nickle City. On the way to Nickle City, I thought he was taking me home and realized that I did not want the date to end because I wanted more time with him. Thankfully that was not the case and we played games and bought mustaches with our winning tickets.

Dates continued and thus began the start of mine and Andrew’s “romantic” relationship. We got along so well and had so many things in common. The next few months came with road trips, dating, embarrassing moments (I’m full of them), long distance, and falling more in love with each other. We realized that what we wanted the most was to be together, as Andrew and Audrey Earl, for time and all eternity.

On January 16, 2016, Andrew made me one of the happiest girls on earth when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

Who would have ever thought that I would marry that temporary pen-pal of mine? (besides Linda)
This love is ours and we cherish it deeply.

Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same.

Earls Ever After

Audery Introduced Dennis too one of the most inspirational books I’ve ever read. by Al Carraway

 

I’m A Gay Mormon LGBTQ Convert – WHAT? That’s what they say!

Who feels nothing but love from the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I’m A Gay Mormon Convert – WHAT? That’s what they say!

Yep, who knew? On Aug 19th, 2017 I chose to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an openly gay convert. Am I nuts? 

Why What, How could you do that to the LGBT community? 

This is the story of my search for God’s love in my life, and how I found it with and through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Despite a reputation that says otherwise, members of The #ChurchOfJesusChrist of #Latter-daySaints or #LDS, they do in fact love and accept all people just as Christ would, regardless of their sexual orientation. 

I am an openly gay man who feels nothing but love from members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was told my entire life that God rejected me and I was going to Hell merely for my sexual orientation. I needed to change my entire persona and become straight. This left such a bad taste in my mouth about organized religion in general, that I refused to attend any church, for many, many years.

It was Latter-day Saints who taught me that Heavenly Father loves ALL of His children, regardless of their sexual orientation. We are all children of God, and we should leave judgment to the Savior. It is not our place. We are asked only to love. #TurnUpTheLove 

My goals in writing this blog are to convey that we need more love in this world, more acceptance of all, and we need more happiness. I challenge you to choose love, no matter what race, nationality, whether you’re heterosexual, or someone like myself, who is 100% gay and a member of the LGBT+ Community and also a full temple recommend holder in good standing with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’m serving as a Ward Mission Leader helping sisters and elder missionaries all over the world sharing the gospel of Christ as he does love each and every one of us despite our imperfections, as no one’s perfect. 

I’m not nuts or crazy for joining the church. After all, isn’t everyone a little nuts? Choose love, choose kindness, and most importantly, we all need to #TurnUpTheLove. 

Just Pray,

Love, Dennis Schleicher

Gay Man Become Mormon? by Dennis Schleicher