Our Authors

Northern Lights is home to a community of bloggers who are believing members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and who have first-hand experience with issues surrounding homosexuality and transgender/gender identity issues. This is to be a place where we and our readers openly explore and discuss topics and issues of interest to the LDS community—and particularly as they relate to homosexuality and Mormon faith and culture—in an edifying and uplifting manner and within the framework of commitment to the beliefs and ideals of the Church.

In addition to the permanent bloggers listed below, we’ll occasionally have guest bloggers, and we always welcome guest posts—so, if you have something to say about issues surrounding homosexuality or transgender feelings as a believing Latter-day Saint, share them with is!

	Jan Swoboda Jan (pen name) is a convert living in a mid-European country where being a Mormon is just slightly less usual and just slightly more desirable than being gay. He joined the church in his late 20-ties, after a decade long journey away from atheism and towards faith. He married an exceptional woman, have three kids born in the covenant, and hope for more. Since English is not his mother tongue, he does not care to bother himself with understanding intricacies of the difference in meaning & political correctness of the words “gay,” “homosexual” and “SSA,” so he uses them interchangeably to describe his condition. He likes to laugh and cry often, preferably at the same time, because for him it has a demonstrable therapeutic value. You can read his personal blog at Faithful Gay Mormon. Read Jan’s posts.
	Danny Caldwell Danny grew up in the Church and served a Dutch speaking mission to the Netherlands Amsterdam mission after which he attended Utah Valley University receiving his bachelor’s of science degree in Social Work and then received his Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from The University of Phoenix. Danny’s professional career has been primarily working with high risk youth in various treatment centers. He now works as a mental health therapist at a boys ranch for juvenile offenders. On the side Danny also works with individuals struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction. Danny enjoys playing the bagpipes, rock climbing, snowboarding, backpacking and spending time with his wife and two little boys. Danny resides in Utah with his family. Read Danny’s posts.
	(Gay) Mormon Guy Mormon Guy grew up outside of Utah, attended BYU, and served an LDS mission. His childhood dream was to study genetics. Instead, he grew up to be… well… he hasn’t really grown up yet. His worldwide writing debut came in the third grade, when he was published in a magazine so obscure he can’t remember its name. He still writes in real life, but you’ve probably never read anything he wrote. Really. Here and on his blog, Mormon Guy writes about dating, dealing with abuse, living as a young single adult, depression, same-sex attraction, and whatever else is on his mind. You can read his personal blog at (Gay) Mormon Guy and email him at afriendtotalk2@gmail.com. Read Mormon Guy’s posts.
	Gay Mormon Pioneer (GMP) GMP is a single, active lifelong member of the Church. He enjoys reading and writing, working on his cars, and finding new music to dance and sing along to, in addition to jogging, camping and snowboarding. His blog, Gay Mormon Pioneer, is a window into the life of the Millennial gay Mormon, struggling to live in accordance with the Gospel and occasionally succeeding. He will attempt to chronicle his seemingly disparate struggle with homosexuality and desire to enter the temple, serve a mission, get married and raise a family, with bits of his boring daily life thrown in the mix. Read GMP’s posts.
	Greg Barnett Originally from the great state of Utah, Greg is currently living out his dreams in Los Angeles as an actual working actor. He is single, old enough to be set in his ways, and is unofficially officially “on the market.” He has a deep and abiding testimony of Christ, and lives life with a healthy dose of optimism. Greg has been dealing with homosexual attractions for more than half of his life, and in his personal experience finds it to be more of a battle of self-control than of reconciliation. Regardless of what the future might hold, he plans to face it with a smile, a song, and a pan of brownies. Feel free to join him for Sunday-night Disney movies and dessert, or to contact him for a daily dose of “Get a grip, your life isn’t so bad!” He writes about his adventures as an actor on the outskirts of big-time Hollywood (among other things) on his site: Greg D Barnett. Read Greg’s posts.
	Jeff Bennion Jeff experiences same-sex attraction. You can call him “gay” or a “homo” or a “moho”, and it won’t offend him, but honestly, none of those labels feel like they fit. Most of the time, he thinks of himself as slightly bent. He also dislikes being described as “struggling” with same-sex attraction. While it can be a struggle at times, most of the time, there are five or ten other things in his life that are a much bigger struggle for him. He doesn’t believe God intended us to be in a state of constant warfare with our inner natures. The scriptures say, “bridle your passions,” not to eradicate them. He has an academic background in biology, chemistry, and psychology. His interest continues in those subjects, but being insatiably curious and a voracious reader, he also has interest in history, literature, and of course religion. He is married to a beautiful woman named Tanya and they have one son. Read Jeff’s posts.
	Jimmy Merrell Jimmy Merrell is a giving, loving, loyal, thoughtful man. He is the King of his tiny little condo in Scottsdale, AZ, where he with his loyal subject, Jobey (an Itallian Greyhound), reigns. He is a Lover of music, food, friends, work, church, and his family. He is s Warrior, fiercely loyal and protective of my those that he loves. He is a Thinker of wonderful and terrible thoughts. His experiences are varied and include serving a mission to the Deaf, surviving childhood trauma, battling the “sacred disease”, and embracing his same-sex attraction. He is a man aquainted with love, hate, shame, and courage; he has strived to develop his faith in Heavenly Father, and his love of the Savior, and his obedience to the promptings of the Holy Spirit; he Hopes and seeks for many tiny miracles daily to sustain him and bless those around him each day. Read Jimmy’s posts.
	Joe Meyere Joe is 26 years old and a journalism major at the University of Utah. He’s been working to understand his same-sex attraction for nearly seven years, and feels he has a pretty good idea on what his is all about. He is a huge geek, he loves comic books, movies, video games and TV, so don’t be surprised if he uses references to Superman or the X-Men in his posts. In his free time, he enjoys doing everything above as well as playing board games with friends and eating anything deep fried or covered in chocolate. Read Joe’s posts.
	Josh Weed Josh Weed is a writer and a marriage and family therapist who lives in Seattle, Washington. He has been married to his beautiful wife, Lolly, for 10 years and together they have three daughters. He also blogs at The Weed. Read Josh’s posts.
	Kevin Lindley Kevin Lindley has a long history of disliking writing autobiographical introductions. He feels that his life and identity are so multifaceted and complex that trying to describe them will always miss something. He usually wants to mention his spectacular wife of five years and his energetic son. Kevin loves to share the love he has for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the life-changing power of the Atonement. Sometimes Kevin tells others about his seemingly never-ending journey through higher education toward becoming a professional counselor. If he has time, Kevin will share some of his hobbies like reading novels, training horses, pretending to be a handy man, and playing various games with a five-year old. Anyone who spends much time around Kevin knows he thinks way too much, and he’s not afraid to share his thought process with unwitting victims. Gospel topics, psychological theory, human nature, philosophy, and pretty much any aspect of the human experience are subject to examination. Read Kevin’s posts.
	Laurie Campbell With regard to the topic of homosexuality, Laurie Campbell is probably better known as Erin Eldridge. That’s the pen name she used in the early 1990s for the first book ever published by Deseret Book on the issue, entitled Born That Way? When she isn’t busy raising three children with her husband or creating websites for various clients, and has just released her new book, Reborn That Way. One of the featured individuals on the official Church website MormonsandGays.org, she started a blog in the same vein, MormonsAndGays.blogspot.com. Read Laurie’s posts.
	Lolly Weed You could say that Lolly Weed is your typical stay-at-home Mormon mom, but in some ways she doesn’t fit the mold. While she did graduate from BYU (with a degree in Geography), she does not enjoy crafting, sewing, or scrapbooking. She hasn’t really gotten into Pinterest, but she does have three beautiful daughters that she loves to spend time with. She married her childhood best friend, Josh, and they are very happily married although Josh is gay and she is straight. Who needs to fit a mold anyway? Lolly loves her life! Read Lolly’s posts.
	Mark North As a child, Mark was your typical SSA boy: he played with dolls, was the only boy invited to girls’ birthday parties, and was pleasant and polite. As a teenager, Mark realized that all of his talents and interests marked him as a typical SSA teen. In an effort to avert attention from himself, he attempted to remove all traces of SSA -ness from his personality. As a result, he lost those positive qualities of the SSA stereotype (gentle, friendly, creative, and a good eye for fashion) and ended up adopting a bunch of undesirable traits instead (such as grumpy, rude, and dull). As an adult, Mark has learned to come to terms with his SSA, and is a much happier person. His wife might even state that he’s not nearly as rude as he used to be, though his students would claim that he is almost just as grumpy. However, he is still dull. Read Mark North’s posts.
	Megan Dahlgren Megan lives in the Salt Lake area and has been married to her husband since 2006; they have a beautiful, smart, and stubborn little girl. Megan has worked with Evergreen International, North Star and People Can Change planning, attending, and staffing growth and healing work since then. She is an avid reader and enjoys playing games, cross-stitching, running, the outdoors, watching movies, spending time with family and friends, and most of all, going out to eat with her husband, as they get to spend time together and she doesn’t have to cook! Megan graduated from BYU with a degree in Elementary Education and enjoys teaching part-time and mothering and wife-ing full-time. Read Megan’s posts.
	Rex Goode Rex has experienced same-sex attraction all of his life, but has been married successfully and faithfully since 1977. He is the father of five and grandfather of eight. After a 24-year career as a software developer, he went back to school to become a social worker. Currently, he operates in both professions. He is a mentor to developmentally disabled adults, providing community inclusion opportunities, community living skills, assistance with activities of daily living, and behavior consulting. He also develops software. He’s been involved in the internet since about 1990 and have been known as someone who deals with same-sex attraction since about 1997. Read Rex’s posts.
	Stephen Larsen Stephen Larsen was born in Maryland. He is the middle of 5 children. Early in life his family moved to Arizona, but Stephen’s family moved back to Maryland in his mid-childhood. As he entered into his teenager years Stephen returned again to Arizona in yet another move with his family. Stephen finds his nomadic upbringing has created a unique life experience that, though challenging, ultimately has brought him close to his Savior and created unique strengths. Stephen served a full-time 2-year mission in the Washington Kennewick Mission in 2006. After his mission, Stephen faced both his childhood sexual abuse and same-sex attraction with with LDS Family Services. Stephen felt this was a great place to start but found the most healing in his experience with Journey Into Manhood in 2011 and some insightful articles he read on the Art of Manliness. Stephen is currently an Animation student residing in South Salt Lake. He is actively preparing himself for an eternal marriage to a daughter of God. Read Stephen’s posts.
	Steven Frei Steven was born and raised in Idaho Falls, where he currently resides. He served a mission in Milan Italy, and taught at the MTC for 2 1/2 years while attending BYU where he met his wife on a blind date. Luckily she has been blind ever since. They enjoy 3 three sons and a beautiful daughter, and recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. He graduated from Boise State University with a degree in accounting, and is a recovering CPA. After coming to his senses, he embarked on his career in commercial real estate. Steven has served in numerous callings over the years, including scout master, gospel doctrine teacher, bishop, and dad. His involvement with North Star has included serving as a moderator and a member of the steering committee. He is grateful to enjoy the blessings of the gospel, in which he finds balance and peace. Read Steve’s posts.
	Ty Mansfield Ty Mansfield is a practicing marriage and family therapist and currently lives with his wife and kids (a 2-year-old boy and newborn daughter) in Texas doing doctoral work in family therapy. He enjoys playing racquetball, participating in triathlons, eating Thai food, and thinks that the greatest technological advancement of the 21st century was the invention of the iPhone (he might even be a little obsessed with it). Ty is a co-author with Fred and Marilyn Matis of In Quiet Desperation and later compiled an anthology of devotional articles by gospel scholars and personal essays by individuals who experience same-sex attraction, title Voices of Hope. More recently, he and his wife, Danielle, were featured on the Church website MormonsandGays.org and wrote a cover story for the May/June 2012 issue of LDS Living magazine. Ty’s current baby is the Voices of Hope project. Read Ty’s posts.