Mormons in Narnia

A MormonsInNarnia update...

Tomorrow is D-day for the blog…or so Tumblr has said.  I have been in many conversations with other Tumblr bloggers and we are all having a difficult time re-homing our blogs on a new platform.  For me, Tumblr provided a place to manage the content that was shown to you, the follower.  Some follwers of the blog saw this as censorship and wanted to freely post whatever they submitted, I fought against that.  When Craigslist died, I saw a flood of hookup requests come to the MIN blog.  I kept them off the site, to maintain a sense of community and purpose.  As you can imagine, some of the content submitted to the Narnia blog was neither appropriate to its mission nor supported by my personal beliefs. I have looked into many new replacement platforms, Twitter, Reddit and others. Unfortunately, they are all open platforms that allow users to cross post, monetize and add photos, pics and other content that doesn’t flow well with what I wanted to see in Narnia. There is an opportunity to continue MormonsInNarnia on those platforms, but it would require almost constant moderation, a task I just can’t commit to.  

As I mentioned before, I have been developing another outreach program for closeted and openly out men like you.  This new platform is the next step to Narnia--minus the user submitted photos. We will be featuring podcasts, interviews, panel discussions, coming out stories and other sources of help and positive support.  With a dedicated website, YouTube channel, iTunes Podcast, Facebook page and other venues, you will be able to discreetly and freely access the information.  This project has been under construction for a number of months, but it isn’t ready yet.  Unfortunately, we were surprised by the December 17th Tumblr decision and have been working even harder to launch it as quickly as possible.  

So, what is the fate of MormonsInNarnia?  At this point, without a viable platform, we have backed up and saved an archived copy of the blog.  In the future we can look at options that will allow us to publish the archived blog and its previous posts, without building new user submission.  This seems like the most logical step in light of the very few options we have.  I think some additional time will allow developers the chance to create some options that aren’t currently available to the us as Tumblr bloggers.  

Coming up next month (January 2019) we will be launching our new platform.  If you’d like to get updates and stay informed, send me an email and I will keep you up to date.  [email protected] .  I don’t care if you use a real or fake email address to contact me.  Honestly, I don’t care.  I care more about you finding connection, resources and sense of community you so desperately need. I am not going to share or “out” you.  As always, I just want to arm you with good information and help you to see that you’re noticed, you’re not alone, and there are many people out there just like you.

It’s been a wild, fun and informative three years!  Thanks for making MormonsInNarnia the success it was.  Your stories, your progress and your desire to be authentic have literally changed lives.  I can’t count the number of times I have heard people use Narnia in a sentence in relation to their sexuality. It makes me smile—every time!  You have been part of a network of game changers.  :) 

You are good, and I want to continue to be a positive influence in your journey.  

Here’s to chapter two.

To the thousands of Narnians who are wondering what happens next...I don’t know. We have been exploring a variety of options for the future of Mormons In Narnia. If you’d like to keep in touch and receive some updates in the future, send me an email. I’m not sure what happens to our Tumblr accounts after Dec 17th, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to message you after that date.

[email protected]

Thank you again for your stories, your submissions, and best of all, your progress. I hope that the last three years made a difference in your life.

Each Sunday, we feature real coming out stories from followers of the MormonsInNarnia blog.  Please submit your story!  You can also use #ComingOut to search for previous stories posted on the blog. 

User Submission: youknownothinggordo

“This is my pseudo coming out story, sorry it’s a long story and does it count if I have only said it to one of my cousins?…

This is how events developed, last September on a trip to Brazil, I told it to the youngest of my cousins, who is gay and that I kind of tried to hate all my life (I don’t know why, maybe was because he was obviously gay from a very young age and everybody tried to hide it and I was beginning to understand my own sexuality and I knew that I was gonna be hated as much as he was beginning to be hated in my family… and the fact that I was in my early twenties and at that time one can be really bad understanding reasons, I don’t know if I made my point or not, but maybe you can understand the fact that it is still confusing to me why I tried to hate him)

I spent my vacations in a really chill manner, trying to bring some order to my mind and I had a nice time over there, we shared a few days together and we really bonded as cousins for the first time… last day there while we were having breakfast I felt an urge to apologize for being a such a douche bag for many, many years, and one thing led to another and I told him that we have more in common than just our mothers being sisters, but I’m also gay… there is a 11 year gap between us (I’m 32 and he is 21) and in my family is kinda taboo the fact that he is gay but he has been out for many years now so I think is easier for him than to me to say it to my family at this point of my life… I think it’s going to take me a little bit longer but I’m going to come to terms with my life sooner than later… after I was able to say it, we kinda cried a little bit and we hugged for a long time while we kept talking. It was nice, I had one of the warmest feeling of my life, it was like one of those times you “feel the spirit” in church but I haven’t believed in that for a long time, let’s say it was a rush of endorphins and adrenaline and dopamine that made me feel comfortable with the acceptance of the real me… I hope to be able to have a normal life, to find a nice guy to share my life with, but right now it still feels light years away… My family is just dealing with the fact that I’m going to resign from the church so I think I’m gonna wait a little bit before I drop another bomb.

Sorry if my English grammar isn’t the best, is because this is my second language and it’s still hard to sound as cool as I sound in Spanish (yes, I feel like Gloria Pritchett from Modern Family, if you haven’t seen the show, shame on you)

Thanks for your blog and keep the good work!!! “

Coming Out Stories is a section of the blog we feature each Sunday on MormonsInNarnia.  Thank you for sharing your stories and opening up to us about your journey.  Not all coming out stories are the same, but they are yours and we can learn from them!  Please share yours with us!

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT 

As always, you can submit them anonymously, I will always honor your privacy.  

User Submission: t-errible-photos 

“Is this a good angle?”

We better check out the 180* angle too, just to make sure ;) 

User Submission: norcalboi 

“I’ve always told myself that I could fight the urge and curiosity to do self exploring with my sexuality. Forcing myself to be a stranger to my own bodies wants and needs. Now, I’ve embraced who i am with my cheeks wide open! (Lol butt joke) Always felt my ass was sub-par and not that great looking, but thanks to your page, and all the other narnians, ill submit one to you all <3 “

Want to share in the Mormon fun? Submit your pics and story to the blog!  Tell us about yourself and share your journey!  CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT

As always, you can submit them anonymously, I will always honor your privacy.

User Submission: daddy4grandpa 

“Any 55+ men in garments want to chat? This page has me excited and I would love to chat with some LDS grandpas.”

I am totally out of Narnia & have been for a long time but I am interested in making some new friends. Former active member & RM.

Let me know.

Gents, I know we have some awesome followers in the Lone Star!  

User Submission: striaghtgay 

“College gym has been paying off!”

Gents,

Each Sunday, we feature real coming out stories from followers of the MormonsInNarnia blog.  Please submit your story!  You can also use #ComingOut to search for previous stories posted on the blog. 

User Submission: anonymous

“I have read these stories for a long time now. They give me hope that someone like me can come out to my family without so much worry. I came out to one person only, a dear friend.  He passed of cancer two years after our conversation. After his death I thought that maybe it was God who took him because I tainted him with my secret. It has weighed very heavy on my mind. I found this blog randomly through google and have been amazed at the normalcy of the many men here. We seem to desire the same thing and so man of you have generally happy experiences. I have always been taught in the Church that there is no happiness in the gay lifestyle. I so desperately want to be happy. Alas, I am in my sixties now and so much of my life has slipped away. Perhaps it is time to turn a new leaf and open my world to new opportunities.

I know this isn’t much of a coming out story, but it was very therapeutic to draw these words from my mind and place them into reality. Thank you for the venue and opportunity to make some personal progress. At least one “old codger” appreciates what you’re doing here.

Coming Out Stories is a section of the blog we feature each Sunday on MormonsInNarnia.  Thank you for sharing your stories and opening up to us about your journey.  Not all coming out stories are the same, but they are yours and we can learn from them!  Please share yours with us!

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT 

As always, you can submit them anonymously, I will always honor your privacy.  

 www.MormonsInNarnia.tumblr.com

Each Sunday, we feature real coming out stories from followers of the MormonsInNarnia blog.  Please submit your story!  You can also use #ComingOut to search for previous stories posted on the blog. 

User Submission: anonymous

“hey blogger!

I know this isn’t the most traditional “coming out story” but I hope you will share it with the blog.  I came across this YouTube video and I loved it!  I was the product of LDS conversion therapy and it nearly decimated me.  There is hope out there for all of us! 

https://youtu.be/xfarQ0B5Gek

Enjoy this video and thank you. Thank you.  Thank you for all you are doing for the queer LDS population out there. There are so many closeted LDS guys who could literally change the landscape of Mormonism if we all had the balls to come out and share our stories. Thank you for igniting a fire in so many of us to be authentic and open about who we are.  We need more voices to support us.  

Coming Out Stories is a section of the blog we feature each Sunday on MormonsInNarnia.  Thank you for sharing your stories and opening up to us about your journey.  Not all coming out stories are the same, but they are yours and we can learn from them!  Please share yours with us!

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT 

As always, you can submit them anonymously, I will always honor your privacy.  

www.MormonsInNarnia.tumblr.com