By D. Jeff Burton D. Jeff Burton is the author of For Those Who Wonder and a former member of the Sunstone board of directors. In this column I share the story of a gay/bisexual man I’ve become acquainted with over email. Names and details are changed to protect his privacy (and …
Category: Borderlands
Staying in the Church and Making it Work
By D. Jeff Burton IN APRIL OF 2014, I participated in a Sunstone-sponsored conference called “Navigating the Borderlands.”1 My assigned topic was “Staying in the Church and Making it Work.” I covered ten principles and action items that I (and others) have found useful. In this column and the next, I will provide and expand upon …
Experiences of a Borderlands Bishop
By D. Jeff Burton This column collects some emails I exchanged with “Bishop Thomas,” who is responsible for a large ward outside Utah. (Names and some details have been changed to protect identities.) I’ve communicated with “Borderland” bishops in the past but this is the first time one has agreed to share his story. …
Braving the Borderlands: Are the Borders Shifting?
By D. Jeff Burton IN THE EGG-LIKE image we use to illustrate the three types of Church membership, a Borderland member is one who, for various reasons, does not fit comfortably within the borders of Group 1 but has not yet migrated into Group 3.1 From the beginning I have said that, in addition to …
Braving the Borderlands: A Borderlander Comes Out–Part I
By D. Jeff Burton In this column and the next,1 “Brett” shares his long-term experiences in the Borderlands and how he recently “came out” to his wife and others. I have condensed and edited email messages we exchanged over several months. I have also changed names and details to protect identities. BRETT: I came …
Braving the Borderlands: Bits and Pieces from the Inbox
By D. Jeff Burton D. Jeff Burton is an author and a former member of the Sunstone Board of Directors. The past few Borderlands columns have elicited some particularly worthwhile comments, some of which I want to share with you. Of course I’ve changed the writers’ names to shelter their identities.[63] Email from …