July 21, 2020

Hi, We’re the Christensen and Matthews families

Posted 6 years ago Tagged family Gay Son Mother

We want to start out by saying this post is purely to educate. As mothers of gay sons, we have learned so much on this journey and would like to share thoughts and feelings from people who are near and … Read the rest here

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24 hours ago

“We need to listen to and understand what our LGBT brothers and sisters are feeling and experiencing. Certainly, we must do better than we have done in the past.”

When Elder M. Russell Ballard said this at BYU in 2017, it was hopeful. It was kind, and it felt like the olive branch LGBTQ members needed from their church leaders. Asking people to listen was something we could welcome, even without agreement on everything else. Acknowledging that the church and its members haven’t done a good job at listening to queer experiences was honest, and transparent.

But years later, according to David Archuleta’s account in his memoir, “Devout”, Ballard admitted that he had never spoken so deeply with a gay person before. David was someone he knew personally, someone who trusted him and saw him as a grandfather figure. Discussing the memoir, David recalled Ballard saying, “I’ve never spoken this in depth with a gay person before.”

What happened to the advice he gave in 2017? How do you publicly acknowledge that LGBTQ people need to be heard, tell church members to do better, and still arrive at a conversation years later having done so little of that work yourself?

Ballard had the authority to tell gay people how to live. His words carried weight in our marriages, our church participation and membership records, our families and our decisions about whether we belonged in the church. Yet, by his own admission to David Archuletta, his experience listening in depth to someone actually living that life was profoundly limited—if at all.

I believed the advice Elder Ballard gave was good. I still do. But I’m tired of being asked to celebrate compassionate statements without asking whether the person making them followed through—do they actually practice what they preach?

When Ballard said “we must do better,” why were LGBTQ members left waiting for him to take his own advice? ... See MoreSee Less

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Latter Gay Stories

2 days ago

Here’s your fall reminder: some red flags come with matching hats. Only you can prevent dumpster fires.

Vote like you’ve seen the smoke. ... See MoreSee Less

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Latter Gay Stories

2 days ago

Here’s to wishing—but with our luck, we’ll get 1954’s opinions at 2026’s prices.

Cheers. ... See MoreSee Less

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Hi, We’re the Christensen and Matthews families

Latter Gay Stories

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