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THE IMAGE DRAGONS SGER’S WAR AGAST THE MORMON CHURCH TO END GAY SUICITHE TIME HAS COMETHE SUNDANCE DOCUMENTARY ‘BELIEVER’ CHRONICL MORMON LEAD SGER DAN REYNOLDS’ BATTLE TO PRSURE HIS CHURCH TO RETHK S HATEFUL LGBTQ POLICI AS SUICI RAT SKYROCKET.KEV FALLONSENR EDOR, OBSSEDUPDATED JAN. 22, 2018 3:26PM EST / PUBLISHED JAN. 22, 2018 5:00AM EST COURTY OF SUNDANCEPARK CITY, UTAH — DAN REYNOLDS IS A ROCK STAR, THE LEAD SGER OF IMAGE DRAGONS. HE ALSO GREW UP MORMON, AND STILL NSIRS HIMSELF A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH. IT’S JT THAT HE WANTS TO CHANGE . BELIEVER, THE NEW DOCUMENTARY THAT PREMIERED AT THE SUNDANCE FILM FTIVAL, TRACKS REYNOLDS’ CSA TO E THE PLATUM POSN HE’S AFFORD AS ONTMAN OF ONE OF THE MOST SUCCSFUL MIC ACTS THE WORLD TO NONT THE CHURCH OF THE LATTER-DAY SATS’ POSNS ON THE LGBTQ MUNY AND SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, AS WELL S TREATMENT OF S OWN MEMBERS WHO INTIFY AS QUEER. LDS POLICI ON THE LGBTQ MUNY ARE NOTOR—AND EXTREMELY PUNISHG. MEMBERS WHO EXPERIENCE “SAME-SEX ATTRACTN” ARE ENURAGED—MAND, REALLY—TO SUPPRS THEIR FEELGS, MARRY MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSE SEX ANYWAY, OR, IF THEY CHOOSE TO NTUE TO INTIFY AS GAY OR BISEXUAL, ABSTA OM SEX. INFAMOLY, THE MORMON CHURCH WAS STMENTAL THE 2008 PASSG OF PROPOSN 8 CALIFORNIA, WHICH OUTLAWED SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, PRSURG CHURCH MEMBERS TO GIVE AS MUCH TIME AND MONEY AS POSSIBLE TO MPAIGN SUPPORT OF THEIR FAH’S RE BELIEFS. THE RULT OF ALL THIS IS A SKYROCKETG YOUTH AND TEEN SUICI RATE UTAH, THE HUB OF THE MORMON CHURCH, WHERE SUICI S ARE MULTIPLYG NUMBERS OUTPACG THE RT OF THE NATN. IT’S TOO DIFFICULT TO PROVE STATISTILLY, BUT NOT HARD TO IMPLY: CLOSETED OR TORTURED GAY MORMON TEENS ARE LIKELY A MAJOR FACTOR THIS ALARMG RISE. “THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT NOW,” REYNOLDS SAYS THE FILM. “I DON’T FEEL A NEED TO NOUNCE MORMONISM. I DO FEEL A NEED AS A MORMON TO TAKE A STAND AGAST THGS THAT ARE HURTG PEOPLE.”BELIEVER CHRONICL ROUGHLY A YEAR THAT OFT-EMOTNAL STAND, CULMATG ECSTATILLY THE LOVELOUD MIC FTIVAL REYNOLDS STAGED THIS PAST SUMMER UTAH. THE GOAL OF THE FTIVAL WAS TO UNE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH WH LGBTQ MEMBERS OF THE MUNY, LDS OR OTHERWISE, A NVERSATN ABOUT—AND CELEBRATN OF—LOVE OF ALL KDS, AND ACCEPTANCE REGARDLS OF RELIGN OR SEXUALY. “HIS AWAKENG, THAT IF HE STAYED SILENT ABOUT THE CHURCH’S POLICI HE IS ‘STANDG THEN FOR BIGOTRY,’ WAS ACCELERATED WHEN HIS IEND, NEON TRE LEAD SGER TYLER GLENN, ME OUT OF THE CLOSET.” ALONG THE WAY, WE MEET MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH WHO HAVE BEEN EXMUNITED BEE OF THEIR SUPPORT OF THE LGBTQ MUNY, FAI OF CHILDREN WHO MTED SUICI, AND CHURCH MEMBERS WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THE TORTURED EXPERIENCE OF CHOOSG TO E OUT AND GRAPPLE WH WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THEIR FAH AND THEIR RELATNSHIP WH THEIR FAI. BELIEVER MAY NOT BREAK THE MOLD WHEN TO DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKG. IF ANYTHG, THERE ARE MORE THAN A FEW NOT OF SELF-NGRATULATN WH THE NTUED FOC ON REYNOLDS, A STRAIGHT, MARRIED ROCK STAR. AS MUCH AS THE FILM IS ABOUT AN IMPORTANT MISSN, ’S ABOUT HIM ON THIS MISSN, THOUGH THAT ALSO LENDS THE WHOLE JOURNEY A VAL, PERSONAL URGENCY. STILL, BELIEVER, PECIALLY WHEN TURNS THE MERA TO THE LGBTQ MEMBERS AND THEIR FAI, PACKS QUE THE POWERFUL PUNCH. HOW ULD NOT, GIVEN THE SUBJECT MATTER AND THE STAK? STAK, AFTER ALL, DON’T E MUCH BIGGER: RELIGN VS. HUMANY, LOVE, PEOPLE’S LIV. IT FEELS LIKE SOMETHG BIG. I DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT IMAGE DRAGONS, OTHER THAN ’S APPARENTLY OL TO SFF AT THEIR MIC. BUT, I MEAN, I N A LTLE FASTER WHEN A SONG OF THEIRS ON DURG A WORKOUT, SG ALONG TO THE CHOS THAT I SOMEHOW KNOW EVERY WORLD TO EVEN THOUGH I’VE NEVER ACTUALLY SOUGHT OUT AN IMAGE DRAGONS SONG, AND CRIED WHEN “IT’S TIME” FIRST PLAYED THE PERKS OF BEG A WALLFLOWER TRAILER. SEEMS TO ME THEIR MIC MAY ACTUALLY JT BE KD OF EASILY APPEALG, AND MAYBE EVEN A B SPIRG? SIARLY, I DIDN’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT DAN REYNOLDS. I WASN’T AWARE THAT HE WAS MORMON, AND CERTALY WASN’T AWARE THAT HE WAS A MORMON SEEKG TO REFORM THE CHURCH’S STANCE ON LGBTQ RIGHTS AND ACCEPTANCE. IT’S UNRSTANDABLY A SURPRISE TO THK ABOUT A MORMON ROCK STAR. “I N’T THK OF MORE OPPOSE WORLDS THAN THAT OF A MORMON MISSNARY, AND THAT OF A ROCK STAR,” REYNOLDS SAYS. REYNOLDS CREDS HIS TIME AS A TEENAGE MORMON MISSNARY AS ONE OF THE MOST FORMATIVE EXPERIENC OF HIS LIFE, KNOCKG ON 100 DOORS BEFORE ONE PERSON V HIM , YET UNFLAPPABLE DUE TO THE TENSY OF HIS VOTN TO THE GOSPEL HE WAS SPREADG. WHEN WE MEET THE SGER, WE’RE ALSO TRODUCED TO HIS WIFE, SGER-SONGWRER AJA VOLKMAN, AND THEIR THREE DGHTERS. THEIR MEET-CUTE, HOWEVER, WAS, TO BORR ON HYPERBOLIC TERMOLOGY, FORBIDN. SHE WASN’T A CHURCH MEMBER, BUT TOOK NVERSN CLASS BEFORE THEY GOT MARRIED. HER TWO BT IENDS, A LBIAN UPLE, REFED TO ATTEND THEIR WEDDG. REYNOLDS IS NDID ABOUT THE MORAL EVOLUTN HE EXPERIENCED AFTER THIS. FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE, HE FELT UNEASY ABOUT THE CHURCH’S POSN ON SAME-SEX RELATNSHIPS BUT SUPPRSED THOSE MISGIVGS BEE THEY DIDN’T AFFECT HIM DIRECTLY—SOMETHG HE POSS THAT MANY CHRISTIANS DO. HIS AWAKENG, THAT IF HE STAYED SILENT ABOUT THE CHURCH’S POLICI HE IS “STANDG THEN FOR BIGOTRY,” WAS ACCELERATED WHEN HIS IEND, NEON TRE LEAD SGER TYLER GLENN, ME OUT OF THE CLOSET. GLENN IS ALSO MORMON. HE AND REYNOLDS KNEW EACH OTHER OM THEIR MISSNARY DAYS. GLENN GENEROLY AND OPENLY TALKS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE GRAPPLG WH HIS SEXUALY AND SUICIDAL THOUGHTS AS A CLOSETED MEMBER OF THE CHURCH. HE DO A MOVG AND CLARIFYG JOB EXPLAG WHY A GAY PERSON’S ANSWER TO THE LDS POLICI ISN’T AS SIMPLE AS JT LEAVG. EXTRITG YOURSELF OM A BELIEF SYSTEM THAT HAS FED YOU AND YOUR RELATNSHIPS FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE IS OFTEN NOT AN OPTN. IN FACT, ONE WONRS IF GLENN MIGHT HAVE BEEN AN TERTG DOCUMENTARY SUBJECT HIS OWN RIGHT. HIS RECURRENCE BELIEVER DO MORE THAN JT WRG S FAIR SHARE OF TEARS OUT OF THE DIENCE. HE’S A VALUABLE AND TIMATE HUMAN ENTRY TO A BATE THAT, WHEN AMED TERMS AS DRAMATIC AND TENSE AS “THE MORMON WAR AGAST THE GAY MUNY,” IS NECSARY. JEROD HARRIS/GETTY JT AS NECSARY IS THE PRENCE OF A LTLE GIRL NAMED SAVANNAH, HER HAIR TAMED BY A RABOW HEADBAND AND BEAMG THROUGH HER BRAC. STG NEXT TO HER MOTHER AT A MUNY CENTER FOR LGBTQ MORMON YOUTH, SHE EXPLAS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN SHE ME OUT THROUGH TTIMONY AT CHURCH.“HE DIDN’T MS UP WHEN HE GAVE ME ECKL, AND HE DIDN’T WHEN HE MA ME GAY,” SHE TOLD HER FELLOW CHURCH MEMBERS BEFORE, LATER HER SPEECH WHEN SHE ED THE WORD “LBIAN,” HER MICROPHONE WAS CUT OFF. SAVANNAH’S STORY SHATTERS YOUR HEART, BUT HER RILIENCE PIEC RIGHT BACK TOGETHER AGA, JECTG MORE PASSN TO HER AND REYNOLDS’ FIGHT. THE PARENTS OF A TEEN BOY NAMED STOCKTON, WHO TOOK HIS OWN LIFE AFTER G OUT OF THE CLOSET, ARE ALSO TERVIEWED. WE SEE THROUGH THEM THE PARADOX THAT REYNOLDS IS MOTIVATED BY: A FAY WHO LOV AND ACCEPTS THEIR SON, BUT A CHURCH THAT NMNS HIM—AND HAS TOO MUCH BLOOD ON S HANDS BEE OF . THE ARE A FEW OF THE FAC WE MEET THAT END UP POPULATG THE CROWD OF 20,000 WHO ATTEND THE LOVELOUD FTIVAL THAT REYNOLDS GETS OFF THE GROUND AFTER TIRELSLY SLG EVERY WALL, EACH ONE MORE IMPOSSIBLE THAN THE ONE BEFORE , ORR TO PULL OFF. THE STATE OF UTAH VERY CLEARLY DIDN’T WANT THIS FTIVAL. (WATCHG THIS FILM PARK CY, AN UBER RI AWAY OM THE SALT LAKE TEMPLE, IS A PARTICULARLY ELECTRIC EXPERIENCE.) THE NCERT IS A ROG FALE. IT’S PARTICULARLY TOUGH TO TELEGRAPH ON FILM THE ENERGY AND THARSIS OM A LLECTIVE LIVE EXPERIENCE LIKE THAT, BUT BELIEVER DO AN IMPECBLE JOB OF . SIARLY, THERE’S A CCIAL SUGGTN THAT THE SUCCSFUL STAGG OF THE FTIVAL ISN’T A FISH LE, BUT JT THE BEGNG OF A MOVEMENT TO E. “A TERMED MORMON IS A SRY THG,” REYNOLDS QUIPS NEAR THE END OF THE FILM, RIFFG ON A MISSNARY’S KNOCK-ON-YOUR-DOOR GUMPTN TO ENPASS HIS AMBN TO NOT ONLY STAGE A ROCK NCERT, BUT MORNIZE AN ENTIRE SECT’S DOCTRE. FOR ALL THE TALK OF THE MORMONS WAGG A WAR ON THE LGBTQ MUNY, AND REYNOLDS RETALIATG WH HIS OWN WAR AGAST THE CHURCH, WHAT BELIEVER MAK CLEAR IS THAT THE ENDGAME HERE ISN’T TO BATTLE, BUT RATHER BROKER A PEACE TREATY. METAPHORILLY SPEAKG, ’S THE SAME GOAL: TO STOP THE LOSS OF LIFE. KEV FALLON
Some rearchers have poted to the relign's anti-gay rhetoric as the reason that youth suici rat have nearly tripled Utah sce 2007, acrdg to the Utah State Health Department, as the church ma s views more explic backg California's Proposn 8 ban on same-sex marriage.
The ftival drew artists cludg Neon Tre' Tyler Glenn, who's ex-Mormon and openly gay, and will return for a bigger event Salt Lake Cy next month.