Utahn EJ Michels tells his story of growg up gay the Mormon church on NBC's "The Voice."
Contents:
- UTAH AND MORMONS WALK A COMPLITED LE ON GAY, RELIG RIGHTS
- YOUNG LGBTQ MORMONS REFLECT ON THE DIRE CONSEQUENC OF CHURCH'S ANTI-GAY STANCE
- MORMON, MARRIED AND GAY: NEW TLC SHOW HIGHLIGHTS REAL UTAH RELATNSHIPS
- GAY, EX-MORMON UTAHN IS GLAD TO TELL HIS STORY ON ‘THE VOICE’
- 'I'M GAY': MORMON REPUBLIN LAWMAKER UTAH OUT
- RISG NUMBERS OF YOUNG ADULT MORMONS THE US ARE GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL
UTAH AND MORMONS WALK A COMPLITED LE ON GAY, RELIG RIGHTS
A muny of support for Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and Queer Mormons and those who love them. * utah mormon gay *
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.
” But the proclamatn served a sendary legal role as the church planned s offensive agast gay rights.
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. Sex, or “procreative powers, ” are only for married men and their wiv (no gay sex unr any circumstanc).
YOUNG LGBTQ MORMONS REFLECT ON THE DIRE CONSEQUENC OF CHURCH'S ANTI-GAY STANCE
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.
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. At BYU, some of the celt technologi have been ed to attempt to end the gay surge. 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.
MORMON, MARRIED AND GAY: NEW TLC SHOW HIGHLIGHTS REAL UTAH RELATNSHIPS
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. 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. Mormon, married and gay: New TLC show highlights real Utah relatnships | KUTVMDExNjU1MWE4YWUy.
That viewers might unrstand that you n grow up as a closeted gay man Utah — as a member of The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats — and e out happy on the other si.
”(The church still strongly oppos same-sex marriage, and mandat that gay members absta om datg, marriage and sex. ”Both at church and at school, “gay was such a slanr word.
GAY, EX-MORMON UTAHN IS GLAD TO TELL HIS STORY ON ‘THE VOICE’
Like, ‘Oh, you’re so gay!
'I'M GAY': MORMON REPUBLIN LAWMAKER UTAH OUT
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. She's a "mama dragon, " a term the Mormon muny to scribe mothers who fiercely advote for gay rights. "I thk every gay Mormon child wish for a mom like that, " Garett says wistfully.
"There's no pri center or gay club or place that un , " Kyle says as he walks out to the night. It had always been challengg to be gay and Mormon. 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.
RISG NUMBERS OF YOUNG ADULT MORMONS THE US ARE GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL
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.
) Statistilly, that means that the Church has hundreds of thoands of gay followers. 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.