My friend M (married to my dear friend B) is in the stake presidency in one of those stakes, in Seattle. They asked me to come up, participate in the study, and spend the night with them after the meeting.
So today, I drove up to Seattle and to the church and met M there. It was so fun to see him for the first time in almost 30 years, and trippy to see him older and acting in his stake position. Weren't we 16 and 14, like, two weeks ago?
While waiting to be brought in, I did the obvious and took selfies, then snooped around the building. It's an older church with interesting architecture, quite a departure from the standard stake centers I've become used to.
About the actual study, I can't share much because I signed an NDA, but I can say that the meeting was absolutely gut-wrenching and I spent most of the time in tears, sometimes sobbing. Other parents in the group were right there with me, some becoming quite animated as they discussed the effects the LDS church had had on their LGBTQ kids. Just completely painful.
Still, I came away from it feeling heard, and hopeful that something we said would touch the church leaders and help them see what devastating experiences they and the members create for these precious kids. I felt positive about the doctrinal changes that would hopefully come soon.
Afterward, I followed M to their house, hugged the crap out of B, spent some time talking with them about the study, the church, and life in general, and went to bed exhausted.