The first thing you should do? Give them a giant hug and tell them you love them no matter what and “we will figure this out together”. You can even tel them “I don't really understand what you are going through. But I will learn and I need your help to learn.” But then you have to be open to listening to them.
The second thing you should do is find a qualified queer-affirming therapist to help the both of you learn to navigate this new change in your lives.
AFFIRM them sweaty
Oh no! Please don't go to the bishop.
wonder why not
One suggestion I don't think I've seen yet is to talk to transgender people. They can give your some insight into what your daughter's going through, what challenges she's going to face in the future, and strategies to get through them.
You could try talking to people on Reddit. /r/asktransgender appears to be active.
You could also find a therapist specializing in gender-affirming care and ask if they have any advice for finding communities, or even if they know someone who would be willing to give some insights.
And talk to parents of transgender women! They can empathize with how you're feeling, and can give some insights.
Seek affirmation from other trains!
Love and learn. You'll have to go outside the Mormon bubble to find other trans people and befriend them to really learn what it is to be transgender. You'll have to set aside so many prejudices to understand that it's not a social trend. It's been a natural part of humanity since forever, long before the Adam and Eve myth. But just love and listen and believe your child's feelings. Don't read or believe LDS defenders saying transgender people are just a trend. They are real people and they are who they are. Give support both emotional and financial and never force them to be part of a religion (yours) that has placed transgender people at the very bottom of the barrel, not even acknowledging them as real.
its not just a trend, promise! give financial support!
I don't think it is a "popular trend." I think it is what happens when a social stigma is lifted. It seems more common now because it is no longer being as suppressed by society as it used to be. There was a similar situation with left-handedness.
its the same!
I choose my kiddo over my dogma.
why do they always call them "kiddo"
Love your child! Educate yourself!! This is not a socially driven decision on your child's part!!
educate yourself! *reads bible for guidance* NO NOT LIKE THAT
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Mormons aren't christian so this is off-topic.
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