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Student: Talon Potter

Instructor: Jennifer Courtney
Course: English 2010
Date: Sept 17, 2014
Those That Are Gay in My Service Community
I dont know what we could have done for God to have given us a fag as a child (Morris
para 9). These are the harmful words being shared to a scared child coming from her less than
understanding parents. Words of comfort should be expressed to a child who struggles so deeply
to find acceptance. In society as we move from one generation into the next, more and more
understanding gets left behind. Fag, queer, and homo, are words that many accept as
casual insults. Now these words are more offensive and affect more people in public places and
cannot be used in the non-literal sense as in times past. People have pain, people struggle with
acceptance and a person never knows what someone is struggling to understand inside.
200 years ago homosexuality was thought of as a disease. To have intimate relations with
another man or woman was considered a hereditary neuropathic degeneration (Funk and
Wagnalls para 4). If one was anything other than heterosexual, they were outcast and ridiculed.
That led up until around 30 years ago when it began to be more acceptable to come out of the
closet and start socializing what was really going on with their emotions. There are two studies I
want to draw attention to. The first is coming from Tad Cronn, a writer a website called The
Patriot Update, dedicated to updating the US on current social trends. He shows us that 1.9
percent of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) are those 65 and older, 2.6 percent
among 50 to 64 year olds, and 3.2 percent among 30 to 49 year olds. Under 30, however, the rate

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of homosexuality suddenly doubles, to 6.4 percent. This shows us that we are definitely moving
into an era where acceptance to these kinds of people are going to be needed. Especially in
congregations if we want to be one nation under God. The second is a study that was conducted
in 1957 which began evaluating the brain pathology between heterosexuals and homosexuals.
The study used thousands of both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Many believed (some still do)
that homosexuality was a form of psychiatric disconnects. It wasnt until 1973 through this study
that scientists concluded that homosexuality is not a psychiatric disorder (Funk and Wagnalls
para 5).
Showing the outcast history of homosexuality is how we get to the discussion of
homosexuals and public groups. Even though today we can see gays being accepted in some
groups of people, like in the entertainment industry and music scene; there is one that stands out
as the leading resister of acceptance. This would be religious organizations. Religions dont stem
from what they feel is best. They are lead from the scriptures sent from God and what the leaders
of the church believe to be the will of god. Come one come all, its all the same to God
(ODonnell para 1) some Christian leader have shouted. But in this day its still best that gays
keep their space.
The group Im doing my public service with is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints. One of the biggest public policies pressing on the church is homosexuals feeling accepted
from within. As gay marriage gets more and more accepted, this subject become more difficult
for The LDS Church. Jesus Christ taught all his disciples to love one another; as I have loved
you (John 13:43). These are the teaching of The LDS Church but of course religion teaches the
things they believe God has said. There are many references in The Bible that lead one to believe
that God does not condone homosexual actions, so how does a church accept those individuals

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with their inappropriate behaviors? Can an organization be accepting and unaccepting at the
same time? This is the position that The LDS Church has been placed into.
We live in a society where change is unavoidable and adapting to change is just about
required. God is sovereign and his ways are not always understood by society. The LDS Church
is in a way the middle man. Its purpose is to enforce Gods laws and to draw everyone unto him.
The unfortunate thing about the church having to take a stance is that homosexuality is in a
category of its own. Its popular belief that those that do drugs should overcome and
congregations should help them move beyond the drugs. Again, its popular to believe that those
that steal should repent and come unto Christ. However, what can a church now say about a sin
that is more socially accepted than is socially condemned?
Taking a look into the way society is changing and also divided is to look at statistics
about where gays and lesbians are being accepted into churches, the results are somewhat
counterintuitive. After many surveys, its found that younger generations of age 34 and below
are less likely to allow gays into the church, wealthy congregations are more likely to allow
homosexuals into their church and Congregations in the Midwest and West are more likely to
allow homosexuals than congregations from the south (Whitehead pg. 16-18).
Now bringing it back to the community I serve and how they are affected by homosexuals
in the congregations. What can be the resolution here? When two parties are so passionate about
their beliefs and both want to go forward in a more acceptable way, when will it end? Theres
not one answer to these tough questions. Its best to understand human nature and know what
people really want is to be accepted. The LDS Church wants to be accepted that it does not allow
homosexual activities into the church, however it does accept all of Gods children so all are

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accepted that are willing to submit to Gods will. The homosexual population wants to stop being
labeled like a disease that needs to be cured and just wants to be accepted for who they are.
Everyone has a spot within them that is uncomfortable and they have a burning desire just
to be understood by others. Much like sexual preference, these spots make up such a small part
of who the individual actually is. We are a makeup of caring, loving, serving, intelligent balls of
light that have small corks to get through. We can learn from each other, if we trust each other.
Some have overcome homosexuality and bare testimony from the other side about how
wonderful it is to move past those kinds of feelings. Most have not come to that same positions
but still want to feel they can proudly stand where they are. For those who struggle, a message of
love comes from one Latter-day Saint member who continues to struggle with homosexual feels.
He pleads I want them (homosexuals) to understand that like me they do have a home here.
(Mayne para 10)

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Works Cited
1) Cronn, Tad. Gallop Polls Suggests Growth of Homosexuality. The Patriot Update. October
20, 2012. Article. Web.
http://patriotupdate.com/articles/gallup-poll-suggests-growth-of-homosexuality/

2) Homosexuality. World Almanac Education Group, Funk and Wagnalls New World
Encyclopedia. 2014. Article.
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.dbprox.slcc.edu/eds/detail/detail?sid=5a3a3e32-6b41-43fa-874ee54133710ae8%40sessionmgr111&vid=2&hid=105&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#
db=funk&AN=HO084200

3) Mayne, Mitch. Openly Gay Mormon Appointed to LDS Church Leadership. USC
Annenberg. August 24, 2011. Article
http://religiondispatches.org/openly-gay-mormon-appointed-to-lds-church-leadership-position/
4) Morris, Alex. The Forsaken. Rolling Stone. Issue 1217 2014. Article.
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.dbprox.slcc.edu/eds/detail/detail?sid=0f2c743b-f71c-4f78-83971552e9f4c580%40sessionmgr114&vid=0&hid=105&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#d
b=f5h&AN=97649625
5) ODonnell, Michael. Come One Come All, Its All the Same to God. Freedom Worship
Center. February 5, 2014. Blog post.
http://myfreedomworshipcenter.org/

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6) St. John. The Bible. King James Version.

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/john/13?lang=eng
7) Whitehead, Andrew L. Religious Organizations and Homosexuality: The Acceptance of
Gays and Lesbians in American Congregations. Religious Research Association. 2012. Article.
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.dbprox.slcc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=787993be9505-45b4-ae2e-e552b4b3ac2c%40sessionmgr113&hid=105