PART 2: WRITTEN VERSION OF ARTICLE
It's a
[Title] Space for Agency: Love without Compromise
[Kicker] Jesus’s call to love one another and his call to stand for truth
sometimes seem to clash, but that’s only because we sometimes confuse accepting a
person for condoning their choices.
Love without Compromise
[Highlights of the source article] (approximately 250 words; include a link to the article in the
first couple of paragraphs)
When I reconnected with an old friend online, my friend stated that she was saving up for sex
reassignment surgery. She had tried many other methods to deal with the negative feelings she
felt toward her body, but after her second suicide attempt, she made the decision to socially and
physically transition. That decision has improved her life a great deal. She is legally a man now,
with a new legal name, and. that decision has improved her life a great deal.
A mutual friend of ours, however, didn’t know how to move forward. “I don’t want to just go
along with it, or act like I think transitioning genders is normal,” our mutual friend told me. “But
how do I show love toward my friend while still standing for what I believe in?”
No one clearly states how to love our LGBTQ+ neighbors because each case is different. But
BYU Professor Eric Huntsman does clarify one thing when he states: “We should never fear that
we are compromising when we make the choice to love.”
In his illuminating devotional “Hard Sayings and Safe Spaces,” Huntsman, in his illuminating
devotional “Hard Sayings and Safe Spaces,” explains that we must create safe spaces for
agency; spaces where we listen to our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters and seek to understand.
Healing only comes when a person is heard and understood. And anyone can hear, understand,
and love while continuing to live by gospel standards and stating true doctrine when it is
brought into discussion. Huntsman wisely quotes Thoman H. Christofferson: “Accepting others
does not mean that we condone, agree with, or conform to their beliefs or choices, but simply
that we allow the realities of their lives to be different from our own.” Healing only comes
when a person is heard and understood. And anyone can hear, understand, and love while
continuing to live and discuss gospel standards.
Huntsman used his speech to call for more safe spaces:
● Safe spaces for struggle with faith
● Safe spaces for love
● Safe spaces for testimony
● Safe spaces for mourning
● Safe spaces for joy
Commented [1]: I really like the topic you chose!
very important concept for people to understand, and I
think you've handled it wonderfully.
Commented [2]: Is this part of your title? I think it will be
okay to leave it at just one or the other. Personally, I
like the second half of the title, but either one is a great
summation of your article.
Commented [3]: I saw that this was your kicker in your
other document, so I moved it in.
Formatted: Font: (Default) Garamond, Font color: Custom
Color(RGB(59,2,116))
Commented [4]: Starts with the hard saying “eat my
flesh, drink my blood,” which caused many disciples to
leave.
Her students’ hard sayings are, more often these days,
about the thorns in the flesh; gender, sexual identity,
discrimination, mental illness, disappointment in life.
These struggles are the trial of our faith, and we often
receive no witness until after. But we don’t have to
struggle alone.
MINISTERING TO THE ONE
We promise to love and serve each other when we’re
baptized. “To bear one another’s burdens, mourn with
those that mourn, and comfort those who stand in need
of comfort.”
Jesus’s words with the Samaritan woman flouted the
conservative behavior of the time.
He gave according to the individual’s need. He bore
testimony to Martha, sister of Lazarus; he wept with her
sister Mary; he loved the rich young man, surely even ...
Commented [5]: Maybe move "that has improved her
life a great deal" to here? I thought it was more positive
to end on the idea that your friend's decision was good
for them, but either way is great. (also, check the
pronouns if we want to move this).
Commented [6]: It's a little awkward having two
unnamed people in these paragraphs, especially since
we have to keep referring to them. Maybe include
pseudonyms instead? One for each person or just one
for the first friend? I think adding names will really help...
Commented [7]: I feel that moving these two sentences
to the end of the paragraph is a stronger conclusion to
the article since you're ending with your words and a
call to action instead of a quote. Is this okay?
...
Commented [8]: Could you please double check this
name?
Commented [9]: I deleted this because I thought it was
stronger to end the article with the statements in the
last paragraph. Since we're just guiding people to read
the article, I think it's okay to leave the other safe
spaces out. However, if you want to keep them, I think...
Read more: Read Eric. D. Huntsman’sthe full speech, “Hard Sayings and Safe Spaces,” to learn
about these safe spaces, and how Jesus created safe spaces in his time by ministering to the
one., at… Commented [10]: "the one"? I'm not sure what this
means. Maybe say "his people"?
[Link to the source article] (include the name of the original author and a link to the source article
again, introduced by a sentence that uses action verbs, such as “read,” “read and watch,” “discover,”
etc.) https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/eric-d-huntsman/hard-sayings-and-safe-spaces-making-room-
for-both-struggle-and-faith/

Source: BYU Speeches https://speeches.byu.edu/