Was I the Only Gay Convert to the LDS Church?

Did you think I was the only gay convert? Do you think I am the only LGBTQ active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

NOT. Hundreds of gay converts and thousands of LGBTQ full temple recommend holders do exist.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

You can be gay like me and be an active member of our Church.

“It’s called agency.”

Meet Derek Knox from Boston. He joined our Church as an openly gay member one week after the November 2015 announcement. He had faith and a strong testimony into our gospel.

Jesus Christ love’s all. He loves you, your neighbor, your friends, your coworkers, and your family.

And, I LOVE you…

Dennis Schleicher Best selling author of Is He Nuts?: Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ 

Follow Dennis on Instagram @DenSchleicher

Color Coding your Scripture Study

People ask me all the time why my Book of Mormon is so colorful 🎨 I created a unique system of scripture verse highlighting. Each color represents a category of learning:

💙 Book Sections (1 Nephi, 2nd Nephi, Jacob, etc…)

💛 Lessons with the missionaries

💖 Huge aha moments, my favorite verses, personal lessons with church leaders, etc.

💚 Messages from ministering, home teachings and FHE’s

🧡 My ongoing studies

How do you highlight or mark your scriptures? I am still learning and would love your suggestions for how I can make my system even better! Please post in the comments with your ideas!

Follow me on Instagram for more insight at @DenSchleicher Love, Dennis Schleicher

Important Message for our Youth in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

🚨 Important message for our youth. The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is losing too many of our 20 to 30-year-olds are leaving. After serving a full-time mission. This breaks my heart, therefore feel free to share and tag friends.  Love and virtual hugs, Dennis ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Latter Day Saints Missionaries Wished I Dressed Gayer

Why did Dennis wear a rainbow 🌈 bow tie to sacrament today? I’ve learned never to ignore the promptings from the Holy Ghost. I had another outfit all prepared, I kept getting this nagging feeling. Where that 🏳️‍🌈 rainbow. Come to find out, many people needed to see it. Several came up to me saying: “They were praying for answers, and my bow tie was the answer they were seeking.” Thanked me for acting on my prompting. 🤷🏻‍♂️Who knew a gay rainbow tie would have such an impact.
🗣Some history about this bowtie. A leader in our church bought this for me, as our missionaries wished I dressed gayer 🤣 when teaching lessons. LOL, love this. 📣 That leader did not ignore the promptings from our Heavenly Father. Why should we?
👉When have you felt promptings from the Holy Ghost❓
👉Have you ever ignored those promptings❓

Missionaries Love Al Carraway

Our missionaries love Al Carraway. ”This exact second, God is mindful of YOU.” ~  Al Carraway

Okay, am I the only one who has her line of inspirational pillows LOL 😆

✅Today’s coordination meeting, Sister Okeson & Sister Napier shared thoughts on an activity for our ward could invite friends to, a special sacrament meeting around Valentine’s Day focused on the Love of God and Christ.

❓What are some church outreach activities you’ve done❓🤷🏻‍♂️❓

Hugs, Dennis
Don’t forget Just Pray, Ask God, and Turn Up the Love
www.DennisSchleicher.net 
Ward Mission Leader, Glastonbury Connecticut. 
Need to talk NOW 24/7 Call our missionaries 1-888-537-6600

 

2500 Followers on Instagram

Huge thank YOU!  2500 followers, WOW 😳 If you would’ve told me a year ago this was going to happen, I would’ve said; Your Nut? 🥜 Now for the truth;  I have denied media requests, interviews, television shows, newspapers, etc. Because I don’t wanna be sensationalized, misquoted, or have our church miss represented.  Yes, has this hurt the success or sale of my book? Of course! That’s not why I wrote it. That’s not why I put my raw emotion, past, and transformation into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

I did not join this church to be known as the gay convert, an author, devotional, and fireside 🔈 speaker, etc.  

I joined because I developed a true and strong 💪🏼 testimony into the Church Of Jesus Christ. 

Follow Dennis on Instagram @denschleicher 

FamilySearch Now Provides Ability to Document Same-Sex Family Relationships

Family Search, owned by the LDS Church, adds same-sex couples to its database

The site, which is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced last week that FamilySearch.org Family Tree now provides the ability for users to document same-sex family relationships.

This is huge as the church wants no family to go unnoticed.

Mormon and Gay Convert – Is He Nuts?

On Cedar Fort Publishing & Media’s Website

Why would a gay man become Mormon? 

On October 11th, 1989, Dennis was watching the Oprah Winfrey Show with his mother. The show that day was about members of the LGBT community

and coming out. Dennis writes about this moment in his book, Is He Nuts? Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Sister Missionaries Who Prayed for a Walk-in Sister Esplin and Tumlinson 

My mom wrinkled her nose. “They are all going to hell. This is so disgusting.”

I looked over at her and stopped myself from rolling my eyes. “Really? You think that’s disgusting?”

“Yes, I do. They’re going to hell. It’s in the Bible.” She stopped and stared hard at me. “You’re gay, aren’t you.”

It was a statement, not a question. I hesitated, but I had nothing else to say.

“Yes.” “I knew it!” she burst out. “I always knew it! Your father is going to be livid when he gets home!” I wasn’t there when he got home.

My mother wasn’t the only person to figure it out.

Two weeks later, Dennis was attacked by 5 boys at his school.

Through those experiences and so many others, Dennis was determined. “In so many ways, I decided to be a survivor, not a victim, and to use the journey of my life as a source of inspiration to help others in similar situations.”

In 2014, Dennis, who had grown up a member of the Congregational church, was church hopping. It also happened to be the year that he met members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) for the first time. In his own words, Dennis says:

I had never met a member of the Church except for the poor missionaries who had my door repeatedly slammed in their faces. So I was shocked that my sexual identity didn’t seem to bother these Mormons I worked with.

From that point on, Dennis learned more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He visited the Sacred Grove with friends, attended sacrament meeting, met with the missionaries, and studied the Book of Mormon.

I had been studying the Book of Mormon for only thirty days. I didn’t understand everything, nor did I need to. It’s not a book you read one time—you read and ponder it every day, and through constant scripture study you will gain further knowledge and insight.

On August 19, 2017, Dennis was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints. On that day, he was officially Mormon and gay.

Roadblocks, challenges, trials, tribulations—whatever you want to call them, we’re all going to have them. It’s a fact of life. It’s what we do when we’re faced with them that matters. We can give up and be defeated. Or we can use them to grow and become stronger. I believe and know in my heart that God is there for every one of us.

Dennis now serves as a ward mission leader, assisting sisters and elders throughout New England to better understand how to work with the LGBTQ community, creating a better understating amongst all people.

To contact Dennis or schedule him for a speaking engagement, visit his website (dennisschleicher.net/contact). Purchase his book, Is He Nuts?: Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ, at Deseret Books.

Reviews for Is He Nuts?

“As an active Latter-day Saint mother of an openly gay son, I was moved by Dennis’s story and the pure love of Christ. A must-read for all who are seeking to walk in the shoes of another.” ~ Becky Mackintsoh

“I devoured this book the day after it arrived. I am now passing it on to my teenage children to read.”

“His experiences and testimony are truly a light in this world and I believe his story will help many both in the LDS church and out of it.”

“This book is revolutionary, groundbreaking, transformative and much needed for anyone looking for a great story.”

Loving My Friends as They Are

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Sister Lloyd, me & Sister Johnson

I remember the nervousness that overcame me not long after I felt the impression to seek out and listen to the Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They talk a lot about “being in the world, but not of the world,” but all of my friends were “of the world,” none of my family were members of The Church (except my granddaughters) and most of my friends had “alternative lifestyles.” When I decided I wanted and needed to be Baptized, I prayed constantly about the situation with my friends. How could I tell my friends I was now a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, would they want to be my friends anymore? Did that matter?

During my repentance process in the weeks before my Baptism, I was relatively quiet on Facebook, a social media outlet where I had spent an inordinate amount of time during the previous 5 years accumulating an audience for my writing. At times I had been known to make a spectacle out of myself, becoming rather dramatic about loves and losses and pain and pleasures. I had been known for “letting it all hang out.” How could I reconcile my previous behavior with the life I wanted, no, needed to create and begin to live? I prayed more.

The answers came gradually, but they came. I was impressed to read “The Articles of Faith.” They all rang so true in my heart that not only did my “bosom begin to burn” but I also wept with joy several times. Then I came to the 11th:

“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.”

The second part of that statement, “and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may [emphasis added]” caused me to completely lose my cool. I broke down and cried loudly; I bawled. Why? Because it was an answer to my prayers. There was NOTHING in the church Doctrine that said I had to exclude those who worshiped differently from myself from my life, ABSOLUTELY the opposite!!!

Articles of Faith Library Copy

Relief filled my soul. But what about all of the people who followed my social media? Now that I no longer practiced alternative beliefs, should I even be “out there” in the public? What about all of my photos and the things I posted?

As I began to hint about my baptism on social media some people I thought were my friends were quick to delete me from their connections, I cried but continued to pray about it. I didn’t want to lose friends, but those people who had “unfriended” me weren’t acting like friends. My prayers to my Heavenly Father continued, so did my tears.

I deleted hundreds of photos of myself that embarrassed me from my social media accounts and  I prayed to know if I should continue with an online presence. After all, it would have been easier just to delete the accounts.

The impression I felt from the Holy Ghost was persistent: I needed to be LOUDER about my conversion than I was my sins.

I was at a loss how to accomplish that. The year before my Baptism was quite humiliating as I looked back upon my own inequity to others in addition to myself. I continued to pray and study my scriptures.

Then came the answer: Start a blog about your conversion to The Church. Share your feelings about God and your faith and be honest with those who follow you. 

My unease continued even after I started the FIRST iteration of Slightely Mormon on Blogger. Then, in June 2013, came a directive in video conference form to ALL the Missionaries and the Missionary Members of The Church. This was the answer I had been awaiting. It was a confirmation of the personal revelation I had received from the Holy Spirit.

In a few weeks, it will have been 4 years since I sought out Missionaries to receive the lessons leading to my Baptism. In the subsequent years I have “cleaned up my act” on Facebook and other social media outlets, but I am louder than ever! I want the world (including my friends) to know HOW being a Mormon has changed my life!

In the last six years, I have worked hard not to alienate my friends and family. It’s difficult to convey to them how much I love ALL of them and I respect what they chose to believe in, all of that is part of them and I love them. img_20170204_093448_445.jpg

I had an opportunity to travel with a very dear friend of mine recently. Cub, as he likes to be called, is a professional photographer and acted as my assistant on a recent trip. In our travels across the country, we incurred our number of odd looks at us, but he helped me to see my world through different eyes. I saw judgment from my fellow church members when they watched him light a cigarette, I felt their stares and disapproval in both of our directions. That made me incredibly sad.

We visited the Ft. Lauderdale Temple towards the end of our time together. I asked Cub to take some photos of me when I was done with my session; he enthusiastically complied. When we were finished with our pictures another temple patron asked him to take her photo. Cub graciously agreed to do so.

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The first share on Instagram

While he was doing that act of service, I took a few snapshots myself for social media. I shared it first on Instagram as “Cubby doing service at the Temple,” then, after talking it over with Cub, I shared it again on my Facebook page and to a group called Facebook group focusing on members of The Church with an additional introduction:

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The second photo, captioned for Facebook

For a while, I almost felt like I was exploiting my friend and his service. Although he had given his consent for both photos to be shared on the internet inclusive of my comment about his lifestyle, he had not asked for the photo to be taken.

While Cub probably wished I had allowed him to continue his nap in the car, I felt it was important. There was a lesson here for not only me. I am not ashamed of my friends. I love each and every one of them. Not in spite of their beliefs or their actions, but as WHOLE people with different ideas about life and different understandings of the universe.

We read in John 13:34 that Jesus Christ himself told us:

 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

I believe that His love is unconditional. That is something I try to work towards each and
every day.  I am so grateful to ALL of my diverse friends, like Cub, who help me to remember what my Heavenly Father commanded me to do.

(This article was previously published on Sister Maggie)

 

Believing My Heart and Not My Head

Believing My Heart and Not My Head

I met Dennis when he spoke at a meeting of writers. He shared how different writing genres receiving different compensation with Christian writers receiving low compensation. “For example”, Dennis said, “if you were looking for a book about the Mormon faith that author would be compensated less than a murder mystery novelist.”As a Latter-day Saint myself, I found his reference a bit odd and was prepared to defend any negative comments but they never came. Dennis was so upbeat and interesting that I spoke with him several times before and after his talk and even purchased two of his personal research books about leveraging social media for promotion. He exuded positive energy that felt familiar and comfortable. It seemed pretty clear to me that he was gay and I’m happily married to a wonderful man so my interest was strictly business.

After his talk, I asked Dennis what his first book was about and what he was currently writing.   He was pretty vague about everything and moved onto another topic.  That seemed odd at the time since all the writers I know love to speak about their books.  Before parting, I linked to him on Facebook and he shared a few social media tips with me.  Dennis extended a vague offer of help and I yearned for success shortcuts in an ocean of information.

At home, I researched Dennis and found the topic of his first book from over a decade ago to be terribly unsavory.  This shook me to my core as the information in front of me directly contradicted my initial, positive impression. How could I be so wrong? My positive feelings about him were swallowed up in darkness and I planned to stay far away.

Less than a week later I saw a Facebook post with Dennis and missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  And then there were a few more including one where a good friend of his was going on a mission.  I thought his family might be LDS.  Then I recognized one of the missionaries and made an online comment about how Elder So-and-So served in Westerly, RI.  And I commented on other posts until it felt as though I was seeing the real Dennis.   Then I received a private message from Dennis saying, “I finally figured out you’re LDS!”  “You too!, I typed.   It was a day or two later that Dennis and I shared a long phone call and our testimonies of mature-age conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  “Every convert has a past,” Dennis shared.  I remember all too well how grateful I was to my Savior after baptism decades ago and how my heart changed forever. At the core of Christianity is the belief that people can change for the better. Dennis and I are both living proof of God’s love in this abiding principle. He and I became friends with a shared desire to help others find and accept the redeeming love of Jesus Christ.   I began to support him in online forums and, because I’m both a writer and LDS, am now part of the “Is He Nuts” Dennis Schleicher community. 

What would both of us have missed had I listened to my head and the hard, cold facts instead of the Holy Ghost whispering “he is a good man and a kindred spirit.”?  I’m so grateful to have recognized and acted upon the whisperings of the Spirit as dark proof blocked my path.  The darkness was the old Dennis but I met and trust the new Dennis who has been transformed by the love of our Savior. By trusting in the goodness I feel, I have a new friend.  That hinge decision could have slammed a door shut but, instead, opened a door to new opportunities.  I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers each of us with open arms and an open heart.  He loves and forgives and implores each of us to do the same. Each of us has a past but it doesn’t have to control our future.

Elizabeth J Saede