My Dad's a Muslim, My Mom's a Lesbian, and I'm a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

My Dad's a Muslim, My Mom's a Lesbian, and I'm a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints PDF Author: Mike Ramsey
Publisher: CFI
ISBN: 9781462136056
Category : Children of gay parents
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Since Mike was a child, his life was full of questions and confusion. Where was his dad? Why did he have two moms? Where was God in all of it? Throughout the fun, sad, frustrating, and uplifting experiences that weave together the story of Mike's life from his earliest childhood through marriage and having children of his own, he discovers his faith and learns that understanding begins with love.

I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die

I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die PDF Author: Sarah J. Robinson
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 0593193539
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Design Mom

Design Mom PDF Author: Gabrielle Stanley Blair
Publisher: Artisan
ISBN: 1579656552
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
New York Times best seller Ever since Gabrielle Stanley Blair became a parent, she’s believed that a thoughtfully designed home is one of the greatest gifts we can give our families, and that the objects and decor we choose to surround ourselves with tell our family’s story. In this, her first book, Blair offers a room-by-room guide to keeping things sane, organized, creative, and stylish. She provides advice on getting the most out of even the smallest spaces; simple fixes that make it easy for little ones to help out around the house; ingenious storage solutions for the never-ending stream of kid stuff; rainy-day DIY projects; and much, much more.

The Art of Significance

The Art of Significance PDF Author: Dan Clark
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 110160820X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
What would you rather have-conventional success or a high level beyond success? Dan Clark, one of the world's leading inspirational speakers and leadership trainers, vehemently opposes the conventional wisdom about success. He believes it's tragic and superficial to build our careers and personal lives around getting more money, bigger houses, cooler toys, and fancier job titles. What's it all worth in the end? How many outwardly successful people still feel empty inside? Clark has spent decades traveling around the world, interviewing the famous and powerful; consulting with presidents and generals and sheikhs and corporate leaders; creating a multimillion-dollar business; and (before any of the above) overcoming a paralyzing injury

Leaving the Saints

Leaving the Saints PDF Author: Martha Beck
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307335992
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
As “Mormon royalty” within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Martha Beck was raised in a home frequented by the Church’s high elders in an existence framed by the strictest code of conduct. As an adult, she moved to the east coast, outside of her Mormon enclave for the first time in her life. When her son was born with Down syndrome, Martha and her husband left their graduate programs at Harvard to return to Utah, where they knew the supportive Mormon community would embrace them. But when she was hired to teach at Brigham Young University, Martha was troubled by the way the Church’s elders silenced dissidents and masked truths that contradicted its published beliefs. Most troubling of all, she was forced to face her history of sexual abuse by one of the Church’s most prominent authorities. The New York Times bestseller Leaving the Saints chronicles Martha’s decision to sever her relationship with the faith that had cradled her for so long and to confront and forgive the person who betrayed her so deeply. Leaving the Saints offers a rare glimpse inside one of the world’s most secretive religions while telling a profoundly moving story of personal courage, survival, and the transformative power of spirituality.

Dragonsteel

Dragonsteel PDF Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Tor Books
ISBN: 9780765360052
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 576

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Book Description


The Book of Mormon Girl

The Book of Mormon Girl PDF Author: Joanna Brooks
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451699697
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
From her days of feeling like “a root beer among the Cokes”—Coca-Cola being a forbidden fruit for Mormon girls like her—Joanna Brooks always understood that being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints set her apart from others. But, in her eyes, that made her special; the devout LDS home she grew up in was filled with love, spirituality, and an emphasis on service. With Marie Osmond as her celebrity role model and plenty of Sunday School teachers to fill in the rest of the details, Joanna felt warmly embraced by the community that was such an integral part of her family. But as she grew older, Joanna began to wrestle with some tenets of her religion, including the Church’s stance on women’s rights and homosexuality. In 1993, when the Church excommunicated a group of feminists for speaking out about an LDS controversy, Joanna found herself searching for a way to live by the leadings of her heart and the faith she loved. The Book of Mormon Girl is a story about leaving behind the innocence of childhood belief and embracing the complications and heartbreaks that come to every adult life of faith. Joanna’s journey through her faith explores a side of the religion that is rarely put on display: its humanity, its tenderness, its humor, its internal struggles. In Joanna’s hands, the everyday experience of being a Mormon—without polygamy, without fundamentalism—unfolds in fascinating detail. With its revelations about a faith so often misunderstood and characterized by secrecy, The Book of Mormon Girl is a welcome advocate and necessary guide.

Godless

Godless PDF Author: Pete Hautman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439107432
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
"Why mess around with Catholicism when you can have your own customized religion?" Fed up with his parents' boring old religion, agnostic-going-on-atheist Jason Bock invents a new god -- the town's water tower. He recruits an unlikely group of worshippers: his snail-farming best friend, Shin, cute-as-a-button (whatever that means) Magda Price, and the violent and unpredictable Henry Stagg. As their religion grows, it takes on a life of its own. While Jason struggles to keep the faith pure, Shin obsesses over writing their bible, and the explosive Henry schemes to make the new faith even more exciting -- and dangerous. When the Chutengodians hold their first ceremony high atop the dome of the water tower, things quickly go from merely dangerous to terrifying and deadly. Jason soon realizes that inventing a religion is a lot easier than controlling it, but control it he must, before his creation destroys both his friends and himself.

The Advocate

The Advocate PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
The Advocate is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) monthly newsmagazine. Established in 1967, it is the oldest continuing LGBT publication in the United States.

The Coming Revolution Inside of Mormonism

The Coming Revolution Inside of Mormonism PDF Author: Greg Trimble
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692943489
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
Over the last few years, I've had the blessing and the curse of watching my blog go viral. During that time, I've had experiences with hundreds and thousands of people online and offline that lead me to believe that there's a coming revolution that will be taking place inside of Mormonism. This revolution will not be against the prophets and apostles. It won't be against history or doctrine. And it won't undermine the foundational principles upon which this church was initially built upon. No, this revolution will be against culture--and everything that entails. This revolution will be against those who judge, those who hate, and those who refuse to see past their narrow, regurgitated, clichE points of view. This revolution will be a revolution of love. Do you remember what was happening in Israel around the time that Christ came on to the scene? Israel had started to live by their own set of oral laws and traditions, or what we might refer to today as "culture." The "culture" in Israel when Christ showed up was one of the most judgmental and hypocritical cultures the world had ever seen. It was a very isolated and unaccepting culture. But Christ showed up and cast a net over all types of people. The Greeks, the Romans, the Samaritans, and every other nation across the globe. His net covered even the worst of repentant sinners. The only people that were excluded or damned were the unrepentant elite, the "scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites" who "strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel" (Matthew 23:23-24). Christ brought with Him a revolution of love, empathy, and compassion. He built a culture that was geared toward the lowly of heart and revolted against those who spent their lives pointing out the flaws in others. "For ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27). The bulk of Israel was living according to their culture and their superstition instead of their religion. This has been the bane of each and every covenant society, which caused Joseph Smith to say, "What many people call sin is not sin; I do many things to break down superstition, and I will break it down." The doctrine of this church doesn't lose people. It's the culture and superstition that causes unnecessary strife. I can imagine a time not too far off when a gay man, a straight man, a biker with full body tats, a woman who smokes, a man who reeks of liquor, a recently married couple who is having trouble with tithing, an excommunicated and recently re-baptized member, a man with a full beard and jeans, and a returned missionary who is addicted to porn, all sitting in the same congregation together, who make it through all three hours of church without some- one dressing them down with their eyes or their words. It'll be a time when the stalwart multi-generational Mormon honors the saying on each of the signs that represent our Church: "Visitors Welcome." Not the sinless visitor, because Jesus said that the "whole need not a physician" (Matthew 5:31), but the visitor who comes with every last bit of weakness that they have. It'll be a time when the families in that congregation recognize how hard it is for people to set foot inside a church when they feel like they've strayed too far.