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Activists: Mormon beliefs factor in LGBT struggles

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by Dan82, Oct 25, 2010.

  1. Dan82

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    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/25/AR2010102500596.html

     
  2. Leon481

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    It's not much different from the pressure from any other religious institution. I get how the culture can give added stress, but it's not like these difficulties are exclusive to Mormons.
     
  3. Chip

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    No, I think it is different. For devout Mormons, the religion is so heavily woven into family life that it's impossible to separate. Many family activities revolve around the church; many of the family (and therefore, the children's) friends are Mormons, and the Mormon church actively excommunicate members who admit they are gay or lesbian, and further excommunicate friends and family members who continue to interact with the gay person.

    Couple that with the closeness of the Mormon community; they often provide emotional and financial support for families where the wage earner is out of work, free counseling (by Mormon therapists) for people who are struggling with emotional problems, and other services... so it really becomes a very interwoven part of one's life that is pretty unlike any other religion.

    So a gay person coming out often means that either s/he will be shunned by his or her family, or that the entire family will be shunned by the community. Either way, it's a really fucked up situation.
     
  4. stad90

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    Trust me, I'm LDS and it is VERY different from most religions in terms of 'coming out'.

    As Chip said, the Church is very much involved in our lives; in high school (which I just graduated from), every student (Freshman to Senior years) attended a 6:00 AM church class before school every single school day for an hour. Couple that with the 3+ hour long church services on Sunday and the youth/volunteer/Boy Scout activities on many Saturdays, there were many months where i saw my fellow church youth every single day. That same closeness is very much also involved with members older than high school as well.

    Family values are stressed and shoved towards us all the time. We are constantly told that we should graduate high school, serve a mission, go to college and at the same time get married and have kids as soon as possible. But what about those of us who are gay and are the exception? Apparently we aren't allowed to feel loved. Awesome.

    Now, I'm planning on attending an LDS college in the winter before going on a mission, and I sure as heck can't tell anyone about my sexuality, because I'm pretty sure that I'll be kicked out of school for it. So the only people that really know about my sexuality are (a) people from work who live nowhere near me, and (b) you (the people on the internet).

    *phew* okay rant over :bang:. I've had this on my chest for a while haha