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History of Mormonphobia Offers Lessons about Homophobia “I will gladly stand up and defend Mormon civil liberties. Will you stand in defense of mine?” by Troy Williams From an opinion editorial in the Salt Lake Tribune July 2007 Despite Mitt Romney's passionate efforts to denounce polygamy and demonstrate his devotion to Jesus Christ, his Mormon faith remains subject to vicious campaign attacks. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has also come under harsh public scrutiny as it has once again been forced to prove that it is, indeed, Christian and not some strange cow-mutilating satanic cult. With all of the political ugliness, I thought maybe Romney and his fellow Saints might benefit from my unsolicited “queer eye” perspective on the situation. And though I don't have skills in interior design, fashion or culinary arts, I do understand bigotry. Many protesters who shout, “God hates fags” most certainly believe that “God hates Mormons” as well. I write this from the perspective of a gay Mormon. I was born and raised in the faith, served a mission and eventually left the church to live an authentic life congruent with my sexuality. But, nonetheless, Mormonism is my heritage. The early Latter-day Saints took pride in being a “peculiar” people who were ostracized and driven across frontier America. This was due in part to their commitment to a counter-culture lifestyle. Polygamy was a relic of barbarism and newspapers reviled such families as a threat to traditional American values. Sound familiar? Ironically, my Mormon heritage taught me how to stand strong when people say horrible things about gays — and to stand taller when those same people vote against my civil liberties. What, then, can a queer teach a Saint? First, you will never win over people who hate you on their terms. My gender-bending friend, Mattilda, recently laid it out for me: “The Christian right doesn't care if you are a nice, smiling, gay person like Rosie O'Donnell or if you're a transgender hooker. To them, we are all the same.” And likewise you Saints. Raging Mormonphobes will never accept you, either. You can be Donny Osmond or Warren Jeffs and they will still believe that you belong to the same satanic cult. The best public relations firm in the world won't make the Evangelicals love you. Sacrificing your core identity to pass in mainstream America will always fail. Celebrate the fact that you are a biblically identified “peculiar people” and go big! Normal is overrated anyhow. With that, be humble. You can't complain when people don't believe you are Christian if you teach that all other Christian faiths are apostate. That never goes over well at interfaith functions. And remember, “as ye sow, so shall ye reap.” If you continually attack the LGBT community, then karma will eventually come back around to bite. Nobody likes a bully. And Mormons, of all people, know what it's like to be a persecuted minority. Imagine, instead, if the Latter-day Saints were to rally to the defense of the poor, marginalized and oppressed — wow. You could so change the world. I like to think that Joseph Smith would have been cool with the queers. He, too, lived on the fringe of respectable society. And, like Mitt, he loved this country enough to run for president. I love our country, too. In grade school I stood daily before the flag, hand over heart, as a queer Mormon American to pledge “with liberty and justice for all.” That phrase still inspires me today. Liberty and justice is the promise to Mormons, gays and every peculiar queer misfit who loves this nation. We don't have to be the same to protect one another's freedom. We can all be beautiful, patriotic oddballs. I will gladly stand up and defend Mormon civil liberties. Will you stand in defense of mine? Troy Williams is the producer of RadioActive on KRCL 90.9 FM. Check out his blog at www.queergnosis.com. |
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