Message from the Directors
December 2008
North Star: Past, Present, Future
By Jeff Bennion
In the April 2003 Conference, President Monson said there were three things that could help guide us to eternal happiness: learn from the past, prepare for the future, and live in the present. As a new year is upon us, and with the change in leadership at North Star, I have been thinking about all three of these things. I would like to share a few of those thoughts with you.
Leadership
I'm amazed at what we've been able to accomplish in the short two years we've been around. My predecessor, John Gadd, has provided vital perspective and energy in helping get things started. I am so grateful that he'll continue to contribute to North Star so that we can continue to benefit from his energy and perspective.
Even more impressive is the amazing amount of creativity and energy in our community. I am very eager to harness this energy and creativity to furthering North Star's vital mission. Further down in my message I name some specific ways you can help. But rest assured, if you are willing to contribute with either time or money, we could almost certainly use it.
Web Presence
I am amazed at the credibility and presence we've been able to earn in such a short time and with so little money. In the two short years we have been around, North Star has distinguished itself by having a professional-looking and very comprehensive collection of information. I may be biased, but I think we now represent the premier destination on the web for faithful Latter-day Saints looking for information about homosexuality.
Of course, there is more to do. There are more voices to hear from out there, and we're looking at more ways to capture and disseminate those faithful voices. We'd love to do podcasts and video interviews and post them on our site, but we need technical and financial resources as well as interview subjects to make it happen. Many are justifiably nervous about being so public with an issue that can be very private. Are there ways to share some of these stories and the great amount of accumulated wisdom we have collected in our online and offline communities? Can we do so while still being sensitive to some peoples' privacy concerns?
Online Support Groups
We have vibrant and growing online discussion groups for Men, Women, Young Adults, Youth, Spouses, and Friends & Family. All told, we have over 400 subscriptions. For the future, I would like to increase the reach of our support groups, by reaching out to those who would like to participate (particularly in our small Youth group) as well as adding other groups to the mix. We are polling our current support group community for their input on what additional groups we should start, but we'd like yours as well. Click here to take our website survey, which includes a list of potential discussion groups.
Women of Worth Conference
Earlier in the year, several women from our Spouses forum organized a conference for wives of men dealing with homosexuality. I believe it is the first conference ever organized from a faithful perspective exclusively geared towards this audience. These women saw a need, and organized a way to meet those needs. I am proud of them for their initiative—they could have complained about the dearth of resources and waited for someone else to do something about it. Instead, they did it for themselves. That, I hope, will continue to be the North Star way. You can read a report on the conference here, and they are looking forward to doing another conference next year.
Are there other underserved areas where North Star could make a difference with conferences, retreats, and so on? I think so!
Matis Gatherings
Fred and Marilyn Matis' monthly gatherings have grown from a small group you could fit around a kitchen table to now barely fitting in a large meeting hall. At last month's gathering, I counted over a hundred people there. This is a testament to the incredible love and acceptance they have for everyone. From the moment you arrive, you instantly feel loved, known, and accepted. The topic of homosexuality itself is seldom addressed directly. Instead, through inspired words and music, those who attend feel the Spirit and the warmth of fellowship and love.
There are surely other areas where faithful and loving Latter-day Saints can make a difference like that. When they appear, we will be happy to put them on our community calendar and announce them to our membership.
But Wait, There's More!
At the time of assuming his new office, the President of a typical organization is expected to spend more time talking about himself than I have done here. But North Star has always been about community; its destiny and character will be more determined by all of you than by me. I have mentioned just some of the many things I am excited about that we are doing, as well as the many more we hope to do in the future. But surely I have only scratched the surface of what we are capable of.
The leaders of North Star are doing our jobs if we are able to channel the energy and creativity in our community, to help build up the Kingdom, and to strengthen members and non-members in their desires to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
One more way to do that is the formation of our North Star Steering Committee, announced here for the first time. You can learn more about it here, but this represents a forum for us to brainstorm and organize initiatives to help our community and extend its reach. If it fulfills the vision we leaders have for it, it—along with our current executive team and forthcoming Board of Directors–will become the lifeblood and pulse of our organization.
There are still more ways to help. We need people with web design and other technical skills. We need editors to organize content and proofread, group moderators, and people to write essays and articles. We need funds and fundraisers. We need people to spread the word about what we can do, as there are still too many touched by homosexuality in the Church who suffer with needless fear and isolation.
On behalf of everyone at North Star, thank you so much for what you have done to make us what we are today. And I look forward with anticipation to the many great things we will continue to do together.