At 50 years old, Mark Buckley was outed, excommunicated and then later re-baptized and divorced. Since everyone’s journey is unique and each person’s relationship with God is individual, Mark will share his own personal decisions to stay connected to the church while at the same time negotiating what it means for him to be part of both the LGBTQ and the LDS communities.

Mark grew up on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, went on a mission to Argentina, traveled to Europe and Asia as the lighting director with the BYU Young Ambassadors and graduated from BYU in Family Financial Planning and Counseling. He was recruited for a job and moved to Modesto, CA where he met and married his wife. He is the father of three daughters. He owns a Farmers Insurance agency and loves to travel, ski, and go to a high intensity interval training (HIIT) class at the gym.

(Note: the Hearth has a New Home in Los Altos: 893 Laverne Way, Los Altos, CA. The house is the Italian Farmhouse at the very end of the cul-de-sac. There’s not a lot of parking at the very end so you may need to park up the street and walk a little bit. Los Altos likes a rural feel so there aren’t any sidewalks and not many street lights. Plan accordingly.)