How we met: Love will conquer many things

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2009, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The couple » Geoffrey Clark and John Clapp, Salt Lake City

How they met » Love comes at times least expected by those willing to see it. My name is Geoffrey Phillip Clark, and I met the man of my dreams, John Douglas Clapp, at a gay men's retreat at the Jewish Community Center. We were introduced by a friend we both knew, whose name we will forever remember. It would be a lie if I said it wasn't love at first sight.

The retreat lasted for several days, giving us time to get to know one another. We indulged in a variety of activities, such as learning more about gay history, swimming, karaoke, self defense and a massage class. I told him I was raised in the LDS Church but converted to Islam, and he found that truly intriguing. All the while, I couldn't believe that he was more than the average gay man. As time progressed, we began dating, and not much longer afterward, John asked me the one question that would change our lives forever: "Would you marry me?" Without a doubt in my mind I said, "I will."

John had never in his life thought it possible to marry the man he loved, but I always thought I would. We began to plan our wedding nuptials for March 2009, but regrettably, Proposition 8 was being pursued more than expected. After a discussion, we made the choice to get married as soon as possible before the ban on gay marriage might pull through on Nov. 4. Together, his hand in mine, we flew to California with plans to marry on Sept. 26, 2008. My sister Brittany and her husband, Abdul, along with John's close friends, Wayne and Bryce, were the witnesses at our wedding ceremony. Under a trellis of scarlet bougainvillea, we locked hands and declared our love would forever be real.