Photo of Phil Steuernagel one of my many facebook friends.
I grew up my whole life living with HIV. Over the years HIV has still a stigma. Straight people have HIV gay people have HIV. Children and infants can have HIV. Who you love or who you make about zero difference in my mind but I didn't always think that. I was born with HIV+ and kind of felt like I didn't fit in. Almost like well I'm not gay so I'm the odd duck. I didn't have a lot of gay friends like I do now. I grew up thinking that being gay was a sin. I have since left the church where I got these hateful beliefs that gay people shouldn't be married and can't have children.
I was blinded from the truth and what I thought was the truth. I am glad to see the error of my ways and opening telling people that I was wrong in my past. Growing up LDS or aka the "The Mormons" had its ups and downs. The Mormons are really good people and, in fact, most of my family and my wife's family still in the faith. I love them and will always love them. We just don't share the same beliefs.
From the moment I was born on this earth I was going to LDS church for 3 hours every Sunday. This is where you learn about the church, God, Jesus, The Book of Mormon, The Bible and all that jazz. We are taught that Marriage is between a man and women. That's it thee end. We are taught a man with a man or women with women is a sin. So when you grow up with these teachings even though you might mean well and try to love them you look down on gay people and have to keep telling yourself their sinners and this kind of love is not from god.
Here is the problem if we all come from God and if that's the case why would God make us all so different. What about transgender people what's god saying by them. Who can they love? There are rules against them in the LDS faith. These types of teachings among many others my wife and I left the LDS church over a year ago.
I no longer have to look at gay people who love each other as sinners but lovers, friends, and just regular people. The recent decision that was made by the LDS church not to let children of same-sex couples be blessed, baptized or have really any sort of belonging in a loving church saddens me. The church does, however, bend their rules sometimes. They bent the rules for me when I served a full-time mission for the church and I was the first HIV+ missionary to do so. I got special permission from the church to go. So just because it's in the handbook doesn't mean it's the law. Who knows maybe it will bend for the LGBT community but don't hold your breath.
All in all, I am living a life free. Free from bigotry. I am able to be friends with people from all walks of life. I am able to be a part of the HIV community and not feel afraid or feel sorry for gay people. I want to embrace them and stand beside them like I would anyone else. When our family's story went viral this past May I was able to except thousands of facebook friends gay and straight to stand as one to fight the stigma and hate that so many of us face. I think it is better to show love for those who have homophobia and be hopeful that someday they will understand that they are doing nothing wrong by loving someone they want to love. I am not at all saying that people who grow up in the LDS faith have homophobia. Believe me, when I tell you it is there. I am grateful of all my family and friends and whoever they decided to love is wonderful. In the end, I hope love will always win.
Photo of My wonderful Wife and I