Mormon and gay: Church says you n be both | CNN

Contents:

• MARRIED. GAY. AND MORMON. (PART 1)
• JOSH WEED, FAMO MARRIED GAY MORMON ANNOUNC DIVORCE, APOLOGIZ TO LGBTQ MUNY
• MORMON CHURCH AND GAY RIGHTS
• GAY, MORMON AND HAPPILY MARRIED WH CHILDREN
• I'M A GAY MORMON WHO'S BEEN HAPPILY MARRIED FOR 10 YEARS
• MORMON AND GAY: HOW IT’S GOG
• 019-021: MORMON, MARRIED, GAY AND FACG DISCIPLE–AN INTERVIEW WH BUCKLEY JEPPSON
• ONE OF N.L.'S FIRST MARRIED GAY UPL LOOK BACK WH PRI
• HEATHER GAY’S EX-HBAND LEGALLY TRAMARKED THE TERM ‘MORMON ROYALTY’ AFTER THE ‘RHOSLC’ STAR REVEALED HER FAY LEAGE
• MEET THE GAY MORMON MEN (AND THEIR WIV) BEECHG SCOTUS TO SAVE ‘TRADNAL’ MARRIAGE
• GAY MORMON WHO BEME FAMO FOR MIXED-ORIENTATN MARRIAGE IS DIVORCG HIS WIFE
• MARRIED. GAY. AND MORMON. (PART 2)
• WHEN STRAIGHT WOMEN MARRY GAY MORMON MEN, STGGLE OFTEN ENDS DIVORCE
• RISG NUMBERS OF YOUNG ADULT MORMONS THE US ARE GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL
• MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH

MARRIED. GAY. AND MORMON. (PART 1)

He said, “There was somethg about me that always felt bad for beg gay or that I was gog to live a Plan B life bee I wasn’t strong enough to be straight. People who experience same-sex attractn or intify as gay, lbian, or bisexual n make and keep venants wh God and fully and worthily participate the Church.

Intifyg as gay, lbian, or bisexual or experiencg same-sex attractn is not a s and do not prohib one om participatg the Church, holdg llgs, or attendg the temple. ET/PTThis is where a seemgly normal fay turns to a social experiment that challeng what means to be a fahful member of the Mormon church, what means to be gay and live a heterosexual 's announcement has also touched off a bate among other gay Mormons, who see The Church Of Latter Day Sats slowly evolvg on the issue of homosexualy. Some worry that this unorthodox uple is sendg a dangero msage to other fai alg wh gay loved on that livg a "straight" liftyle is OutJosh and Lrel have known each other sce they were 4 years old.

JOSH WEED, FAMO MARRIED GAY MORMON ANNOUNC DIVORCE, APOLOGIZ TO LGBTQ MUNY

Josh's blog post quickly went viral -- currently has over 3, 700 ments and has been re-posted by other blogs -- and set off a firtorm of bate wh both the Mormon church and the gay muny.

Bee Josh has a private practice as a licensed marriage and fay therapist associate, many crics of his liftyle are ncern that he is tryg to "change" gay men and nvce them that a "straight" liftyle is matas he do not believe tryg to change someone's sexual orientatn, and said he believ tryg to do so n be very damagg.

" Josh John Dehl, a fellow Mormon who studi and wr about members of his relign who are facg nflicts and qutns about their fah, warns that the Weeds' story is harmg others stgglg wh homosexualy. "Dehl, who produc a popular podst that shar stori about Mormons stgglg wh issu of fah, said he has received emails om mothers who have asked their gay sons why they n't live like Josh. "Usg relign or spirualy as a way to manage your sexual orientatn, by beg extra righteo, or extra fahful, as a way to sort of supprs those feelgs, or ntrol yourself, is the most damagg way to pe wh your same-sex attractn, " he Gorrge said he is livg proof that beg gay and attemptg to marry and live a heterosexual liftyle leads to heartbreak.

MORMON CHURCH AND GAY RIGHTS

The Utah man said he was married for 25 years to a woman, raised four children, and was even a member of Evergreen Internatnal, a group that worked to "nvert" Mormons who are gay. Gorrge said he fally stopped livg a lie 14 years ago when his stggle wh homosexualy beme too much to bear, and he attempted suici durg a fay vatn. ""Evolvg" Mormon ChurchThe Weeds story at a time when many believe the Mormon church is slowly evolvg to be more acceptg of the homosexual recently, church lears did not accept the notn that someone uld be gay and still be a fahful member of the church.

" Many Mormon lears also enuraged "reparative therapy, " a procs by which patients received an electric shock when shown homosexual after the bisg battle 2008 over California's Proposn 8, and plats om wh the church that Mormons were viewed as too tolerant, church learship has begun to soften s stance.

The church now says simply beg gay is no longer nsired a s, though actg on those feelgs still is, as is any sexual relatnship outsi of a tradnal heterosexual Mormon activists say church lears have begun speakg wh them about gay issu. ""I have no doubt my md the next 30, 50 or 100 years that legally married gay men and women are gog to be accepted to the church at a mimum to be able to serve llgs and to be able to participate and worship along si straight members of the church, " he A Lie? When I say I am gay or homosexual or same-sex attracted (and I e the terms terchangeably, which is a personal cisn) I refer specifilly to sexual orientatn.

GAY, MORMON AND HAPPILY MARRIED WH CHILDREN

It has epened my iendships and enhanced my teractns, and has also helped me to feel more accepted by others as allows others the opportuny to choose to accept me for who I really did you know you were gay? First of all, I unrstand that when people refer to a "gay liftyle" they are talkg about a liftyle that clus gay romantic and sexual relatnships. Th, I believe that to live my life this way is beg te to myself, and to go down any other path would be egregly thentic and all gay people who are LDS or Christian choose to marry people of the oppose genr?

I'M A GAY MORMON WHO'S BEEN HAPPILY MARRIED FOR 10 YEARS

I want to make very clear that while I have found a path that brgs me profound joy and that is the right path for me, I don't endorse this as the only path for somebody who is gay and relig.

MORMON AND GAY: HOW IT’S GOG

I will never, ever judge somebody else's path as beg "rrect" and I know many people who have chosen different paths than you know and love somebody who is gay and LDS (or Christian), your job is to love and nothg more. That I might be lled Satanic, or told that I am the epome of the reason I do this is bee I love you, whoever you are, and I want to share my suatn so that you n know further tth: I am gay.

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. " 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.

019-021: MORMON, MARRIED, GAY AND FACG DISCIPLE–AN INTERVIEW WH BUCKLEY JEPPSON

For those terted (and as referenced the podst), an anizatn entled “The Safe Space Coaln” has been formed to “ensure safety and rpect for gay and lbian Latter-day Sats, ” and is attemptg to garner support for Buckley and Mike.

But let’s see if I get this right: ’s homosexuals’ turn to get equal rights God’s te Church: Let’s make as unfortable as possible for the Church to stand by their published proclamatns agast homosexualy, so that the brethren will progrsively warm up to the ia of toleratg homosexual fai and petn God, who will then say “I was jt wag for you to ask” and reverse His doctre. I’m sorry that you appear to be a tt se for the subject of whether the church will regnize legal gay marriage, but I thk you are fully qualified. I thk you are qualified to reprent the se that one n be homosexual, be legally married, be spirual and thoughtful, and have a sire…even a nvictn to ream a te and fahful member of the church.

ONE OF N.L.'S FIRST MARRIED GAY UPL LOOK BACK WH PRI

Certaly beg gay wouldn’t require the Holy Ghost to leave, but I thk is problematic to suggt that volvement sexual activy (among those of the same sex) don’t impact the fluence of the Holy Ghost. The Bible nmns homosexual acts the law of Mos which is not generally followed by Christians anymore (we neighter burn animals to reem our ss, nor do we throw thgs away on which a women sat durg her perd, nor do we hate to wear drs ma up of different fibers, nor do we…).

J do not nmn homosexualy, on the ntrary, he talks about people not beg suable for marriage om birth on (Mt 19, 12, nuch: nae = “marriage bed”, ouch = “not” => not suable for marriage).

Ok, if you buy the story that homosexualy is due to the nfn of God wh his creatur, so all homosexuals have ted the s of worshippg creatur, whereas all heterosexuals did not, then I n’t argue wh you. It’s actually not so much the bible which nms homosexualy but the nservative terpretatn of the scripture which was wrten a pletely different time, wh a different worldview, other social ncepts. God is not a dogmatic beg and the grace of His Son (our elst Brother) is ma manift through the wonrful and spirual gay men and women the Church.

HEATHER GAY’S EX-HBAND LEGALLY TRAMARKED THE TERM ‘MORMON ROYALTY’ AFTER THE ‘RHOSLC’ STAR REVEALED HER FAY LEAGE

It is a trial I would not wish them or myself to endure~that is why we all need to love and support Brother Jeppson and all our homosexual brothers and sisters, even while not agreeg wh their terpretatn of what’s right/wrong. Although I obvly belief the “letter of the law” ncerng homosexualy as a s of moraly, and that the Prophet did “ask God” and I believe received the Proclamatn of the Fay as a rult/ for , I do not believe ostracizg other folks for their choic life. Power and David Philpott had to make their own ke topper by glug groomsmen figur togetherFrom “partner” to “hband”: meet one of the first married gay upl N.

Philpott and Power may have been the first gay uple the provce to be legally married, but the trail they blazed was soon followed by many, wh the St. Wh a st that featur fan-favore characters such as Meredh Marks, Lisa Barlow, and Heather Gay, The Real Hoewiv of Salt Lake Cy has quickly bee one of the most popular realy shows on televisn.

MEET THE GAY MORMON MEN (AND THEIR WIV) BEECHG SCOTUS TO SAVE ‘TRADNAL’ MARRIAGE

” Acrdg to Monsters & Crics, the label started gag promence amongst Gay’s ner circle thanks to her fay’s associatn wh the famed film producer Howard Hugh. At issue the pendg Supreme Court lg is whether the 14th Amendment, ratified 1868 to guarantee equal protectns, bans stat om treatg gay and straight upl differently.

Ctng the jtic agast lg favor of gay marriage, the brief Danny and his wife pned their nam to stat: “Rather than expand liberty, such a judgment would not only ignore the eply fulfillg marriag between same-sex-attracted men and women and their spo, but would also nstutnally mean such marriag and fai. So I uld ask the obv qutns: Why would an openly gay man marry a woman, and why would he so vociferoly oppose the rights of other gay men to marry?

Weed beme the subject of ternatnal fascatn when he published a blog post 2012: “Not only am I homosexual, but I’m also a vout and believg Mormon…I’m very happily married to a woman, and have been for ten years now. Wrten as an FAQ, the post revealed Weed’s g-out story: how his father, a lear the church, took the news of his 13-year-old son beg homosexual remarkably well, and how Josh’s wife Lolly, a childhood iend, did too. Anticipatg his dience’s ep skepticism—the skepticism I and nearly everyone who hears of openly gay men married to women shar—he nclud: “All of the thgs are te, whether your md is allowg you to believe them or not.

GAY MORMON WHO BEME FAMO FOR MIXED-ORIENTATN MARRIAGE IS DIVORCG HIS WIFE

In 2014, after stts as a filmmaker and the producer and host of the public rad show Now Queer This, Williams was named executive director of Equaly Utah, the leadg gay rights anizatn the state.

MARRIED. GAY. AND MORMON. (PART 2)

” If your strategy is to get your fay and iends to accept who you are whout really supportg who you are, he adds, paraphrasg gay activist and thor Dan Savage, “I would not say that gets better.

Kchen attracted natnal attentn when he, his partner and two other upl sued Utah for the right to marry, leadg a feral judge to overturn the state’s 10-year antigay marriage law December 2013. When Amendment 3 appeared on the ballot 2004—the measure that ma state law to fe marriage as beg between one man and one woman, the same law for which Derek Kchen later sued the state—Danny voted agast , favor of gay rights.

When he backslis to gay porn, Danny repents, prays, and reads the scriptur—the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and other revelatns by Joseph Smh, who claimed God stcted that marriage should be between a man and several women. When I prsed them on why they so vehemently opposed gay marriage, Danny leaned on talkg pots: Constutnally legalized gay marriage would force bs to ter to gay upl, regardls of relig belief; private relig schools like BYU would lose tax-ee stat; Danny’s own marriage would feel meangls, tramplg on his nstutnal rights.

WHEN STRAIGHT WOMEN MARRY GAY MORMON MEN, STGGLE OFTEN ENDS DIVORCE

”A pri flag fli ont of the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats Frey via Getty ImagIn 2012, Josh Weed wrote a viral blog post which he me out as a gay Mormon who was “very happily” married to a straight woman. The church also rolved that the children of the upl would not be allowed to be baptized until they were 18, at which pot they would need to move out of their parents’ home and disavow their parents’ relatnship to be nsired for membership the church ma s posn on queer sexualy even clearer 2016, when updated a web page meant to serve as a rource for gay and lbian Mormons and their alli. The webse emphasized that the church believ ’s OK to be Mormon and gay ― as long as members don’t act out on what the church lls “same-sex attractn.

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

” The page shar the stori of Mormons who intify as gay but have pledged to pursue a life of celibacy or who have mted themselv to mixed-orientatn relatnships. I once heard the difference between the groups stated this way and ’s always stuck wh me: sgle Mormons go to bed every night pleadg wh the Lord that they will fall love wh someone tomorrow; gay Mormons go to bed every night pleadg wh the Lord that they will never fall love wh someone.

MORMON AND GAY: CHURCH SAYS YOU N BE BOTH

In November 2015, the LDS church’s msage of clivens and love towards LDS LGBTQ members fell flat when lears released a policy change that many members—gay and straight alike—found alarmgly discrimatory. For children of gay upl there would be no baby blsg, no baptism at eight years old, no ordatn to the prithood at age twelve for boys, and no temple attendance for eher boys or girls age twelve and up. They mourned for a spirual inty rooted somethg beyond repeated disavowals and aversn, and yearned to be regnized as full members whether or not they chose to live an actively gay liftyle.