But I feel closer to the Mother's Temple than any of the others.

I'm fairly torn between the Lovers' and the Sister's Temples. As much as I live in a big 'mo hippeh area (c'mon, kids, let's sing to the Pirates tune... "Noho, Noho, as queer as it can be!"), and self-identify as a dyke who doesn't mind dating the right man, I have a keen and sometimes overpowering desire to have control over my situation. I'm incredibly anal when it comes to keeping my household organized as best I can (I'm one of those crazy people who keeps every credit/debit receipt, though they are in a big bag rather than sorted in a folder). I'm only as nurturing as the situation requires, and it generally takes a lot out of me; I'd rather people take only what assistance they need than have their hands held through an entire experience. Not that I'm heartless; my sweet little guinea pig Muffin was adopted from an abusive situation and he gets a lot of attention and snuggles as he readjusts to being safe. It's just not my usual MO. Much like Venna, I prefer women and would only bear children if coerced into doing so with no alternatives available. Also similarly, I tend to go for the nerdy guys when the het attraction does show up.

When I put aside more of my Catholic upbringing (shout-out to the other recovering Catholics here!) and control-freak tendencies, I think I'd be comfortable in the Lovers' Temple. I tried majoring in psychology a few years ago but couldn't get past all the psychobabble bullshit; I'm attracted to the emotional healing aspect of the LT that addresses the issues at a much deeper level. Sure, there's danger in using kinky play to mend emotional hurts, but I would assume that the Temple would provide ample training that we in RL don't always have available. I think the LT does admirable work and provides necessary services to the community--like the hot baths, too.

edited to add: the lyrics I've used in the subject are from Rachael Sage's "Leah." It also includes the line "she says that she loves her just like a lover," so it seemed more than appropriate. (song on last.fm)

This is a very interesting thread actually, because since I have started reading, I have pictured myself as a devotee of the Lovers’ Temple. It was not always like that however, I am the oldest of three kids and I was raised strictly Roman Catholic (k-12th grade - 13 years of private, catholic school education), which means that I was taught basically this: no sex before marriage, no sex or physical intimacy with anyone other than your spouse, and it’s sinful to be associating sexually with people of your same gender. I was raised with this mindset and had no idea that the world could be any different until I was 16 and had the most amazing summer job EVER. I was invited by some friends of the family (who I didn’t really know) to come work at their lodge in the Canadian Rocky Mountains the summer I turned 16. I was thrilled by the prospect - it was thousands of miles from home, in the mountains, and away from anyone I really knew, including my parents. Let me just say that in several ways it blew my mind! Nothing against the folks I was working with – I love them to death – but they did not at all follow the “catholic lifestyle” I had been taught to observe. It was a real eye-opener for me to how the rest of the world actually operates, outside the little bubble I had been taught, and actually it was extremely refreshing. I spent the next couple of years thinking about and analyzing the ideas and experiences I had gotten from Canada. It took me a while to integrate those notions into my own because it was extremely difficult to alter the concepts that had been pounded into my head for so long. I have come a long way from the taboo ideas I initially learned about sex (having a boyfriend for 3 years helped with that), and now I am extremely comfortable talking about sex with others, and even swapping naughty ideas and tricks. Also, while I still believe that sex should be saved for a committed partner (married), I am not opposed to the idea that other people want to and will have sex with a partner in a close relationship. I also believe that passion for one’s partner can be expressed sexually without having vaginal intercourse. I have told my friends (who were also raised strictly catholic) that I believe a bit of experimentation is not a bad thing (even with same sex), and that if intercourse were a more casually regarded action, I would have, to put it crudely, “tried several of them out by now.” With that open mindset and the very caring, compassionate attitude I try to bring to everything, I believe I would make an excellent devotee of the Lovers’ Temple, perhaps even a Beloved.