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For those who believe that Joseph indeed saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and seek to partake of the restored gospel, we are subject to the whims of those who have been called to lead the Church and must find a balance in living a full and fulfilling life without risking our relationship with and activity in the Church that we believe is important.
There are many things about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that I really like, things that resonate with me. I like that our God isn’t silent, that God answers prayers, and wants to reveal new things to us. It’s just that where church intersects with how I was made by our Creator, there is tension.
A prophet is sometimes as clueless as we are. We don’t know why God asks us to do something that makes no sense, but we have faith that we’ll understand somewhere down the line, because that’s how faith usually works.
The anchor in each of our lives, whoever it is, who’s there when the times get tough, who helps our boat stay afloat and stop rocking so much in the storm until things calm down again, and who assures us that it will.
As I began my drive, I viewed the hillsides, fields, and woodlands here in upstate New York. Such scenery has become my chapel of holy reflection, and I was lost in the beauty of my surroundings. Despite the fact that the snows have only just receded and the color scheme is still tawny, slate, and charcoal, I still see God’s creation in all of it. I find God in nature, and God finds me there, too.
There is no mention in Church policy of any prohibition of any form of physical intimacy for unmarried couples of any sexual orientation outside of abstaining from sexual relations. It’s not unreasonable that living a chaste and virtuous life at BYU would mean anything different than what has been expected of students their whole lives as active and worthy members of the Church.
How do I handle this anger I’m feeling and still be authentic? How do I bridle these passions, and channel this anger so I can feel Christlike love again? The Lord and I talked it over quite a bit in the past week, and I’ve found an answer. It’s not everyone’s answer, but it’s mine.
A small group of students and faculty looking to create an LGBTQ support group at Brigham Young University-Hawaii joined forces with Affirmation to reorganize the chapter for the island. Their first event attracted over 45 LGBTQ Latter-day Saints and their allies and their Facebook group has surged to over 100 members and counting.
You can claim change when any privileges available to heterosexual people are available to homosexual people and any privileges available to cisgender people are available to transgender and gender non-binary people. Until then, we all have work to do for our marginalized population of LGBTQ students.