A friend shared
this note on Facebook today that really drove home the emotional impact this political and religious issue has on a gay individual. Isaac Higham describes how the conflict of being gay and Mormon drove him to attempt suicide. Unfortunately, his case is not isolated, and many others succeed in their suicide attempts. His essay brought tears to my eyes and is
well worth reading in its entirety. An excerpt:
When I was a little boy, my beautiful mother would take me in her arms and together we would sing the words of the LDS primary song:
I am a Child of God
And he has sent me here
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.
There was no qualifier of “unless I grow up to be gay.”
.....
When the stripping of legal status and protections from gay relationships is celebrated like a Super Bowl victory, what does the gay person feel? When a state senator tells gay adolescents they shouldn’t come together to talk about their struggles in accepting their sexuality, what message does that send? When a bishop stands at the pulpit and preaches that loving committed gay relationships will destroy their family and asks for time and money to ‘defeat’ them, what unimaginable fear shakes the soul of the gay child in the pews?
When will we learn that this is not a game?... This is a fight for life!
Well said, Isaac. Keep fighting the good fight.
I Am a Child of God... Unless I'm gay
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