Late last year I became acquainted with a young gay man on Youtube who is documenting his exit from the Mormon Church. He was raised in a devout Mormon family in Utah and is sharing his experience growing up Mormon. I am quite interested in his story. I am familiar with Mormonism from the courses in religious studies I took as an undergrad at university, but the only interaction I have had with Mormons over the years is when missionaries knock on my door. I found them to be nice enough people. They were not offended when I politely declined their offer to discuss their Church with me. The official position of the Mormon Church toward gay people is not especially charitable. Homosexual sex acts are condemned as sinful. However, at the end of 2012, the Mormon leadership, in a surprising announcement, launched a new website http://www.mormonsandgays.org/ in which it calls upon Church members to be more caring and compassionate toward persons who have same sex attraction. It goes so far to accede that a homosexual orientation is not a choice! The following excerpt from the website sums up the tone of the initiative:

The experience of same-sex attraction is a complex reality for many people. The attraction itself is not a sin, but acting on it is. Even though individuals do not choose to have such attractions, they do choose how to respond to them. With love and understanding, the Church reaches out to all God’s children, including our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.

At face value this change in thinking is encouraging. Could it be that the Mormon Church is seeking to come to terms with modernity? My young friend is not convinced and I see his point. The Mormon leadership may be trying to revisit Church doctrine as it was interpreted by previous generations of Mormon thinkers, but the culture of honour and shame remains deeply entrenched among the rank and file of Mormonism. It must be very difficult growing up gay in a devout Mormon family. My young friend has published several videos on Youtube documenting his exit from the Mormon Church. Here is the introductory video in his series. I recommend viewing the rest of the series. His is a story worth hearing.

Posted by Geoffrey