Sunday in Outer Blogness: Mormon and Gay edition!

This past week the CoJCoL-dS launched a new website showcasing some personal stories of how it’s possible to be Mormon and gay — by living a life of celibacy or mixed-orientation-marriage. Well, sort of:

I understand why the November policy wasn’t mentioned, but I couldn’t help but think about it. When Elder Clayton said that he loves gay members and that we have a place in the church I was waiting for the asterisk and footnote that said, “Unless you’re in a committed same-sex relationship or were raised by same-sex parents.” And when Elder Christofferson said that a gay person can serve just like any other member, I was waiting for him to say, “Unless you want to be a full-time seminary teacher or be a temple worker because we don’t let single men do those things.” I get what he’s saying, but I feel like they failed to address the difficulty of our situation as gay Mormons. It is particularly painful for me to be told that I can serve just like anyone else when I have longed to be a seminary teacher and a temple worker and I’m prohibited from doing those things because I’m single.

In fact the new website has inspired quite a lot of heartfelt reactions:

We LGBT members of the Church are reassured that through obedience to the commandments and self-mastery we are going to be able to weather the incessant storms of this life. I can tell you that from my personal experience, and the experiences of many others who have since left the Church before me, that that is not enough.

Perhaps the most touching came from John Gustav-Wrathall:

I had been there by his side for several hours holding his hand, and even though he couldn’t open his eyes, when he first realized it was me there, he started to sob. He just sobbed! And then hours later when he could finally speak, he pulled me up close to him, and he whispered, “You’ve always been here for me!” I replied, “Yes. I love you.”

If you’ve been on Mormon social media lately, you may have noticed a trending hashtag about the “Mormon Mafia”. In a nutshell, it was inspired by the Mormons launching their own alternative candidate for POTUS.

Yes, the US election show isn’t over yet. There have been some positive developments, but it’s not over till it’s over. One of our blogland Mormon prophets is (seriously?) prophesying a Trump win, so it’s not time to get complacent, especially given the threat of illegal poll-watching vigilantes intimidating voters.

Halloween is coming up tomorrow, and “Trunk-or-Treat” is becoming ever more odd:

This is assuming ward members are expected to invite their non-member friends to the Trunk or Treat. Such a thing would never occur to me, but I guess some people would do that. I just think it seems more natural to say, “Hey, they’re giving out candy at Friendly Neighborhood Park. As long as you’re out trick or treating anyway, why not stop by?” rather than, “Hey, my church is giving out candy on Saturday night. Why don’t you dress up your kids in their costumes two days early and drive out there? There might be some donuts left if you get there on time. Yes, we are holding it at rush hour. Before it gets dark, you know!”

After getting rejected by the Big 12, it looks like BYU is finally getting serious about correcting its policies towards those who report sexual assault.

In other news, the Bundy bandits were found not guilty. Plus there are some updates on the Native Americans suing the church for sexual assault during the CoJCoL-dS’s Indian Placement Program.

In random fun, Johnny Townsend’s book The Washing of Brains just won an Honorable Mention in the Rainbow Awards. Daniel Lewis wrote an allegory about how faith crises are handled. And Runtu explained that (contrary to popular belief), he’s happy.

Happy Halloween and happy reading!