Op-ed: Gays and Mormons, Do Unto Others

I think it’s no secret that I’m an openly gay, active Latter-day Saint. In August of last year, I was called to serve as executive secretary in the bishopric of the Bay Ward in San Francisco — as an openly gay man. Yes, I have been in a monogamous, committed relationship with someone of the same gender. Yes, I was deemed worthy to hold this post and sustained in the identical fashion any heterosexual man would be. No, I have not committed to a life of celibacy, nor have I denounced my sexual orientation. I won’t apologize to the Mormon community for being gay — but I won’t apologize to the gay community for being Mormon either.

A week ago someone sent me a link to Fred Karger’s site The Top 10 Craziest Mormon Beliefs. At first I thought it was a joke (and frankly, still kind of do). Anyone, anywhere (Mormon or not) can submit “factual Mormon doctrine” to the site, so really there’s little legitimate fact to be found. It kind of reminds me of the urban myth that was circulating a few years back — about the man who woke up in a bathtub full of ice, only to discover his kidneys had been removed for sale on the black market.

Like the kidney story, most of the content on The Top 10 Craziest Mormon Beliefs is fringe belief stretched to the point of complete urban legend. The content isn’t really worth a point-counterpoint debate since, quite frankly, there’s such little substance.

But there is something here that is worth addressing, and that is the principle behind why such a site exists in the first place — especially given the remarkably similar histories of persecution shared by the gay and Mormon communities.