LGBT News The Valedictorian at Anti-LGBTQ+ Mormon School Comes Out in Speech

That guy rocks like imagine the courage this took

 

Ladies and Gentleman, we got 'em.

 

I wish I had his courage at his age. Great for him!

 

As someone who lives in Utah and who regularly interacts with people in the LDS (i.e. Mormon) church, I can affirm that this must have taken a special kind of guts. Especially at BYU, which is a very religious church with the majority of members being very faithful members of the LDS church.
If anyone's curious about the LDS church and its relationship with LGBT people, I have a bunch of random knowledge that I may as well share. The LDS church teaches that homosexual behavior/action is sinful, and would rather you be celibate than participate in it (and even better is if you marry a member of the opposite sex, since they are strong advocates creating eternal families). However, from what I've seen/read, homosexual attraction is not unpardonable. You have a tendency, a desire, so long as you do not act on it you have not sinned (the LDS church does NOT promote violence towards LGBTQ people). Like my friend, who (unfortunately) thinks that homosexual behavior is bad but is still accepting towards LGBTQ people (as much as one can be while believing that the action is sinful). There's actually a thing in Utah where gay/questioning young adults in the LDS church marry the opposite sex to try to remove themselves from their homosexual attraction, and then end up getting a divorce a few years down the road. And this isn't a myth, this happened to a distant friend of mine and is potentially happening to a closer friend of mine now (both these friends are in their early twenties).
A bit more history on the matter, since I've been thinking about the relationship the LDS church has with the LGBTQ community a lot recently (since I'm dating an LDS boy), actually happened right after gay marriage was legalized by the Supreme Court back in (I think) 2015. The November after the official legalization, the LDS church announced a revelation. Now, a revelation is basically (correct me if I'm wrong), God speaking to the LDS prophet and giving him direct instructions. This revelation prompted the church to come out with a series of stricter policies on LGBTQ people in the LDS community. The main consequences from these policies were that couples in homosexual marriages were considered apostates, children of homosexual couples were banned from being baptized into the LDS church until the age of eighteen and until they had denounced their parents' homosexuality (this was supposedly to prevent children being conflicted between their parents' actions and the church's teachings), and non-married people who acted on homosexual desires could have certain disciplinary actions taken against them (not as serious as being considered apostates, I think it could potentially include excommunication but fact-check this to be sure).
It's only been, like, this month that these stricter polices have been reduced by the LDS church having another revelation. To my understanding, children of LGBTQ parents can now be baptized again, so long as there is an understanding that the kids will be taught that homosexual behavior is sinful. Additionally, I believe that married couples are no longer considered apostates, though homosexual behavior is still discouraged. Interestingly, I read that the LDS church has no official position on being transgender, although a close friend of mine explained that they believe that sex assigned at birth and gender are inseperable (so someone please clarify if you know).

**PLEASE note that I am not LDS, and never have been in any capacity, nor do I share any of the church's beliefs on the subject. I have, however lived in Utah for eleven years, and have many close friends in the church, some of whom I have talked with about the subject. I have tried to accurately represent how the LDS church sits on the issue, but please please please correct me if I got something wrong.**

So in short, never thought I'd be a Mormon expert (and I'm really not, so like, if you hear something else I might be wrong) but this has been my understanding of the LDS church and its position on LGBTQ issues. So this guy standing up and being openly gay at a very LDS school is really extraordinary and, in my opinion, does a little to make the school look bad.

 

I read about this incident. That young man had a great deal of courage to out himself in such a public way. He is a true inspiration for so many closeted, religious young men and women. While the LDS faithful may not agree with homosexuality, I do hope they recognize and respect that brave valedictorian's decision to be true to himself.

The Latter Day Saints once barred men of color from their priesthood until their church leader had a revelation telling him otherwise. Perhaps, with a more compassionate and enlightened generation, another Mormon leader may have another revelation and finally accept gay people as blessed and fully accepted members of their church.

 

This was so refreshing to see. I listened to the speech on the news this morning at school while waiting for my kids to show up.

Even better? I was finishing reading Autoboyography by Christina Lauren when this happened. The plot focuses on a bisexual guy who falls for a closeted gay Mormon guy who goes to BYU.

 

If I would have come out at his age I would have been killed. Little to no exaggeration.

 

My friend, I suspect as our culture becomes more and more accepting of LGBT people, pressure will mount on the Mormon leadership to change their attitude until, presto, their prophet has a revelation from the Almighty Himself, calling for an end to discrimination against LGBT people. It's not far-fetched. It's curious that Utah was barred from statehood by Congress because of Mormon polygamy until the LDS Church prophet had a revelation to end it. Utah was then admitted as a state. Coincidence? I think not! *smile*

 

As a Alumni all I can say is, Hurry Matty!!!