Mormon gay rights: A shockg speech by Jefey Holland at BYU sparks a new LGBT fight.

Contents:

• RISG NUMBERS OF YOUNG ADULT MORMONS THE US ARE GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL
• CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE
• GAY MORMON SHAR HEARTBREAKG STORY OF FALLG LOVE WH HIS ‘BT IEND’ – BUT NEVER ACTG ON
• GAY, MORMON AND HAPPILY MARRIED WH CHILDREN
• MORMON AND GAY: HOW IT’S GOG
• GAY MORMONS FACE EXMUNITN
• NEW POLICY ON GAY COUPL AND THEIR CHILDREN ROILS MORMON CHURCH

RISG NUMBERS OF YOUNG ADULT MORMONS THE US ARE GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL

Jt two years ago, the church received much public praise for rcdg a 2015 policy, ntroversial among Mormons at the time, that clared the mor children of gay people uld not be baptized to or jo the church as members—at least not until they were 18 years old, and only then if they would nounce their parents’ marriage and nmn their sexualy. Given how ntent the qutn of gay rights has been among Mormons sce the church threw s whole weight behd California’s anti-gay-marriage Proposn 8 2008, the post-2019 perd has been one of wele relative quiet om the church.

C., Holland’s speech was the first time I tly worried that my future kids might attend public school wh peers who would be tght about the evils of beg gay, week and week out at church. The church clud the proclamatn as evince of s doctral mment to a heterosexual fay s amic brief agast gay marriage Hawaii jt two years later.

CHURCH UPDAT OFFICIAL ‘MORMON AND GAY’ WEBSE

Sex, or “procreative powers, ” are only for married men and their wiv (no gay sex unr any circumstanc). Mormonism is now facg a world which not only the majory of outsirs, but also a signifint portn of their own membership—cludg s own universy’s faculty—seem to regnize that doctre for what is: a list of proposns phrased as irrefutable tths, issued by a group of men who grew up wh homophobia suffg every stutn their liv.

He sgled out one openly gay BYU alum particular, former valedictorian Matt Easton, who me out as gay his 2019 mencement speech. In simply intifyg himself as gay the urse of the speech, Holland alleged, Easton had “manered” the 2019 ceremony.

GAY MORMON SHAR HEARTBREAKG STORY OF FALLG LOVE WH HIS ‘BT IEND’ – BUT NEVER ACTG ON

The same day Holland issued his revanchist addrs to the faculty, BYU’s admistratn was openg and publicizg s new Office of Belongg, a long-sought-for refuge not only for BYU’s growg number of openly gay stunts, but also s relig and racial mori, who are reported to face wispread bias and prejudice on mp, acrdg to a report issued by an ternal Commtee on Race, Equy, and Belongg. Still, today, the church funnels members who nfs to feelg “same-sex attractn” to support groups that enurage members to enter heterosexual marriag, wh promis that the gay feelgs will be overe after sufficient fahfulns, or at least, ath. Matt Easton has ced the wily publicized 2016 ath by suici of one of his classmat at BYU, Harry Fisher, as part of the reason for his cisn to e out as gay his valedictorian speech.

GAY, MORMON AND HAPPILY MARRIED WH CHILDREN

Due to Mormon teachgs that there is no way to have romantic relatnships wh those of the same sex and be exalted the afterlife, gay Mormons face high rat of lonels, suicidaly, and prsn. Among Amerins general, 79% say they are favor of “laws that would protect lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people om discrimatn jobs, public acmodatns and hog. This likely reflects the effect of the “Utah Compromise” of 2015 and LDS lears’ attempts the last several years to publicly support nondiscrimatn laws while also ntug to teach that homosexual behavr is wrong.

On the other hand, Mormons generally feel that ’s permissible for “a small bs owner your state to refe to provi products or servic to gay and lbian people, if dog so vlat their relig beliefs. At that time, they tied whe evangelils for last place opposg “religly based refals, ” wh only 38% of both groups who thought was wrong for bs to be able to cle goods and servic to gay ctomers.

MORMON AND GAY: HOW IT’S GOG

Overall, then, Mormons have broaned their support for LGBTQ rights three key areas, though they still lag the natn supportg the right of gay upl to get married — or to walk to any bakery the untry and buy themselv a weddg ke.

GAY MORMONS FACE EXMUNITN

It’s notable this fdg is nearly double the 10% that Benjam Knoll and I found among lennials the 2016 Next Mormons Survey (which broke down to 7% bisexual, 2% gay or lbian and 1% “other”). A gay Mormon man who works as an honor admistrator at Brigham Young Universy Utah scribed his heartbreakg story of fallg love wh another man, but breakg off their relatnship entirely bee actg on his sexual attractn would have been a vlatn of his relig beliefs. Ben Schilaty, 37, recently opened up about his experienc growg up as a gay Mormon at the tersectn of fah and sexualy his recent memoir and on the podst Mormon heartbreakg story had s genis a closeted childhood wh the Church of J Christ of Latter Day Sats (LDS), better known as the Mormon fah.

Schilaty revealed on Mormon Land he knew he was gay as a young teen middle school, but did not fd "super distrsg" ially bee he believed " was jt a phase and was gog to go away.

" He never spoke about his awakeng sexualy wh anyone, though, and "would have nied beg gay" if anyone had bothered to the sir and nial ntued to high school and then on his relig missn Mexi. He sperately clung to the belief the gay would go away eventually, but two years after returng om his missn he knew was not a phase. " In his memoir, A Walk My Sho: Qutns I'm Often Asked as a Gay Latter-day Sat, he wr of fallg love wh a gay male iend at the age of 30, but later sistg the pair rema "bt iends" rather than actg on their sir.

NEW POLICY ON GAY COUPL AND THEIR CHILDREN ROILS MORMON CHURCH

He's never been "angry at God" but is tacklg the difficulti of beg both gay and a practicg good Mormon. This ment, and many others like , is clud an updated versn of "Mormon and Gay, ” an official webse om The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats.

" The new appellatn, "Mormon and Gay, " reflects the realy that a person don’t need to choose between the two inti — one n, fact, be gay and live fahful to the teachgs of Christ. Speakg directly to Latter-day Sats who experience same-sex attractn or intify as gay, lbian or bisexual, Elr Clayton says, “We want you to know we love you.

Church lears have typilly ed this term to be clive of people who are not fortable g a label, not to ny the existence of gay, lbian, or bisexual inty. Gee, Utah, to raise money for the ncer treatment of the mother of a gay man the muny, and the Fire Hoe is one of the few venu town that hosts LGBT events.

The Church had often fought agast the risg ti of marriage equaly; s members were major fancial backers of 2008's Prop 8 California, which briefly banned same-sex marriage the state before beg more progrsive Church members voiced strong disapproval, Garett, like many Mormons, believed the spirual lears were warmg to gay rights. The Church had been takg small but signifint steps forward, acknowledgg that beg gay isn't a choice and that fai should accept their LGBT loved on. )When the cisn me down, legalizg same-sex marriage all across the natn, Garett felt an emotn he didn't often feel as a gay Mormon man: vditn.

Its official policy toward homosexualy is that "actg" on one's sire is a s and that same-sex marriage is agast God's, twenty-six, and Garett, twenty-four, have had a long, plited relatnship wh the relign to which they were born. Neher of them associated wh or even knew any Church's official policy toward homosexualy is that "actg" on one's sire is a s and that same-sex marriage is agast God's will. That night, they met another gay Mormon uple at Olive Garn for a celebratn over pasta and a bottle of whe for Kyle's brother and sister--law, they did not tell their fai.

His relign and his homosexualy are equal parts of him, and he says he don't want to put "eher inty the closet. Garett uld only assume that his parents believed they had one gay son who stayed celibate orr to bt serve his fah, and another who abandoned relign to have a meangful has never wished to be seen as the good gay son. They ed to thk of Garett as gay and Logan as havg "same-genr attractn, " as if one is a more ser form of the same medil ndn.

After the policy was released, Shawn, unable to sleep, sent his thoughts to his wife and two gay children: "How do I rencile wh my fah or Church when is distancg self om my sons and me? "Logan has never wished to be seen as the good gay, like Shawn, was vastated by the policy, seeg as yet another door beg shut her sons' fac.