Mormon religion

Question:

Hi,
I recently watched a video about gay and lesbian youth in the Mormon church at Brigham Young University. The video told about how they are accepted and how they found a way to combine their sexual orientation and the Mormon religion. I grew up in the LDS church and I don’t understand how these two can coincide… How does this work?
Thank you!

Beth

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Answer:

Hi Beth,

I’m glad you wrote with your question about the compatibility of religion and sexuality. You are wise in questioning this and seeking an answer. Truth does not fear being questioned, and the wise person seeks truth.

While I personally don’t have much knowledge of the LDS religion, I can say that any religion is a matter of belief, while sexuality is a matter of biology. In the book, “Biological Exuberance” by Bruce Bagemihl PhD, there are over 300 pages devoted to documentation of case after case of same-sex behavior that has been observed in birds and mammals, and that only covers those two species. The author covers another 300 plus pages in an explanation of it all. Simply put, same-sex behavior has been observed in virtually every sexual species that’s ever been observed for any length of time. So it’s very much a natural behavior, just not a predominate one.

On the other hand, religion is a matter of personal belief. What can be proven should be truthful; that which cannot be proven is what religion tries to fill in, and that requires personal faith in the unknown. Religious doctrine cannot contradict that which has been proven to be truthful, such as proven scientific fact. Otherwise, you’d have a false religion. As I stated before, exactly what the Mormons believe in, I cannot vouch for its accuracy. But where Mormon religious doctrine does not contradict scientific fact, I feel that there is room for people to be gay and believe in that religion. I also know that there are gays that are Mormons (they have their own support group), so somehow they have reconciled the church doctrine with their natural sexuality. I just wish I could be of more help on that point, but for that, you’d have to talk to a gay Mormon.

I can tell you that in the Christian religion, gay Christians attribute the “anti-gay” verses of the Bible to be misrepresented or taken out of context, and therefore not applicable to being gay and a Christian. After all, Jesus never said one word against, let alone about, same-sex relationships. So there is room in the basic Christian religion for being gay AND a Christian. And others of other faiths have found the same thing in their religions as well. It all boils down to faith not conflicting with what is truthful and natural.

By the way, there is a really nice movie based on someone being gay and a Mormon. It’s entitled “Latter Days” and is a great gay romantic movie. Thanks for writing, and if we can help you with any other problem, don’t hesitate to write. We’re always here at AskTrevor.

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