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Kurt Nielsen is a cousin of mine from California that I have never met until he reached out to me after I appeared on an episode of Richard Ostler’s podcast, “Listen, Learn, Love”, building bridges for LGBTQ Latter-day Saints.   Kurt calls in from Yorba Linda California to bravely share his story as a gay Latter-day Saint. Kurt has been following deep impressions his whole life to live with the courage needed to come out to his wife and 3 kids and now feels called to be a voice for those silent sufferers who are to afraid to live with the authenticity they have always felt inside.       Kurt shares his journey as a gay man growing up in Northern Utah, serving a mission, getting married and having a family. Unlike our younger LGBTQ members who have some support networks, Kurt really had very little (until the last few years) causing him to develop a deep relationship with Heavenly Father and the subsequent personal revelation he received.   At first you can only imagine the pain and questions his wife and kids had, in fact his Wife needed counseling; however, in love they have stood by his side in love and embraced him for who he truly is, and Kurt and his wife remain married.   When he was young he knew that he was different, but like mainstream society believed back in the 80’s he believed he had to change himself. He went to counseling and took his feelings to God, but he didn’t change. Kurt was married in the LDS temple and after trying for years to change himself, to no avail, he began to feel God encouraging him to accept who he was created as, so at 44 years old Kurt told his family. Before coming out at 44, he had never spoken of his true nature to his wife, children, or even people close to him.       We had a great conversation about “the body of Christ”, and I loved what he had to say about Gods diverse family. God does not create us all to be identical, but He gives each one of us unique gifts, talents, and abilities that are very personal to us. After struggling through these feeling for years Kurt was able to overcome his fears and live as the man that God intended him to be, because of his love for God and trust in Him. Kurt shares experiences where others, who believe in God, truly showed up for him in Christlike love and how that had an impact on his life causing him to feel heard, seen, and worthy of love. As this happened and he embraced his true authenticity he has felt more peace in his life and had many experiences to be a voice for others that are facing abuse, bullying, and ostracism from family, friends, and the societies they live in.          The percentage of people who identify as LGBTQ. at BYU, the church owned school is 4%, which is hundreds of kids. Kurt talks about the necessity to make it safe for these kids and to love and accept them for the beautiful children of God they are.       Kurt did a podcast episode on Richard Ostlers podcast prior to talking with me, if you are interested in listening I would highly recommend it.     Here is the link:   https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/episode-147-kurt-nielsen-age-59-rm-active-lds-gay-married/id1347971725?i=1000443255688