Mormon Girl Silenced After Coming out as Gay in Church

Miranda Allison Young

Even at younger than 12, many children know that there is something different about them. With the help of loving, acceptable parents, they are able to understand what this difference. Whatever age they are, once they know that they fit into the LGBTQ category, they should be able to come out with acceptance from their friends and the public. I know that if I were to tell my church that I am a lesbian, there would be problems. I have come out to part of my family and received acceptance. I am lucky in this way. Had I discovered this when I was a teenager, I would have been afraid to tell my parents. I know that my father especially would not be accepting. My mother might have been sympathetic, but she always went along with my father's decisions. All churchs should be accepting. I wish mine were.

Robert

she is a 12 year old girl ,sure i am sure she has feelings of getting turned on but she does not know her butt from a hole in the ground and besides that a church is not the place to come out, now with that out of the way let me ask a question here, now what goes on in the privacy of one's bedroom is no one 's business right? well if you are telling everyone that you are gay then are you not making it everyone else 's business of what goes on in your bedroom?

Mark

I think back when I was 12 - hmm, I was more concerned about fishing, baseball and hanging with my male friends. Girls.... nah, they were just a nuisance at 12. I think this young lady has been influenced by all the media. Everyday we see news or shows about gays, transsexuals and other new sexual orientations. Has she even hit puberty? Nah, sounds like a confused pre-teen.

Cindy

Kiddos to Savana. I'm sorry people are uneducated, you be whoever you want to be. I do know about morman standards I don't agree with them. When I was married to my first husband his sister went on her mission like most her age. She met a guy over when she was at and he was smitten by her. When she came home he came too. Shortly after they became engaged. Not long after she broke of the engagement. And it was not long after she came out as being gay. She was ex communacated from the church some of the family stood by her a lot did not. She told me. A friend was at my house and he tried to tell her it was against God's Law for her to be gay. Her response I will never forget she said if God did not want me to be gay he would not have let me and when I do what mission he has for me and wants me straight again he will make me straight again? I don't think a church should get in your business. Now the bible says for one man and one women to be together not 2 women or 2 men. Last time I checked we are not judge and jury, that's for God to do when the time comes. Our job is to love our neighbor as ourself. I have many friends who our gay. And a few transgendered as well they are my friends. For those who have issues with this young lady it's their issue not hers.

Lee

I wouldn't lay this on the stairs of the Mormon temple. Gay bigotry is popular among all religions. Bigotry with the name of God slapped on it is a dangerous choice. Many pulpits justify bigotry starting with "Jesus said" and ending with what he meant when he said it. That same pulpit wouldn't dare send a text without a zillion "lol"s or "ha ha"s. Without tone, facial expression, timing, etc. nobody knows what a text really means. "Jesus meant" will not stand before my God and King and answer for those the church denied his divine love. Sadly many of the people denied their faith were told it was Gods will. Many end up having no faith at all. I try and remind them that the never ending love of God is given freely through the murder of his son. His only son. Start the day in prayer and ask for his divine wisdom. End your day in prayer and say thank you. Everything in between is faith. So often the cast out were the backbone of the church. The church better wake up. Without a spine the body of Christ will fall.

inga

i seen a documentary once an an older guy.. late 60s who held onto his secret as long as he could, through his marriage and the raising of his children.. but there came a time, he felt to be honest with himself , and those around him. . while not exactly, he wanted to be a woman ?? and so he sought out the surgery for.. the end result is the key. he said when all was said and done.. sure he had the parts.. but he lacked the know how to be a woman. the therapy taught him ?? her ?? how to be comfortable with himself.. his conclusion: he said, he should have went for therapy BEFORE the conversion therapy, as this was the real issue, that he missed as a man. it wasnt a gender problem he learned. he was just not comfortable with himself and the therapy taught him that. he, therefore, warned against, and suggested people seek therapy before such drastic measures. he deeply and sincerely regretted his decision. but the therapy did help him become comfortable as a person. and this was the message he asked of his interview with 60 minutes.. that when ever this came up, to share his experience and hopefully save people the pains if an unnecessary surgery. again, while not completely the same.. maybe the girl. would benefit from some therapy. it will either strengthen her beliefs, or weaken them, though as in the gender x post.. there are those who are born in physical variations, like hermiphidites, so there is no reason why we cant assume mental variations as well. . given her age though, it may be wise to pursue the avenue a little farther.

Jess Martin

Faith comes by hearing the word of God, or maybe sometimes you're just born into a family tradition. Belonging to Mormonism, especially if you're a woman or non-white, I just can't understand. The book of Mormon reads like pulp fiction. The claims it makes about civilization on the American Continents are absurd. I think, I hope in time this 12 yr old will grow in grace and the knowledge of God and find her way to Christ. But whatever faith or lifestyle she chooses I hope she studies history and science and becomes a huge success.

Ama Nazra

Kudos from me to Savannah too. I know a number of adults who knew they were gay or lesbian when they were very young (under 12). They were not forced that way, or made that way by abuse; I also know a woman who is bisexual, and knew that before she was 12. Kids grow up way too fast these days, but in all cases, the parents are 'straight', some horrified with their children's choices, others supporting. It is my firm belief that God made these people who they are, and since God is supposed to have made us all in his/her image, I don't think we have a right to force our fears and phobias on them.

The new gender definitions has me a bit puzzled though, given that my adult daughter recently told me that she had decided her gender was an attack helicopter .. and, knowing her, I am not entirely sure she was kidding. ;-)

We are all individuals, and what others do in the privacy of their own 'bedrooms', as long as it harms no-one, is none of my business. If being who they are is so important and they feel a need to share that with me, I am happy to listen, and happy to support anything that makes them a better person for themselves and for others. God loves us all, its about time we remembered that we are supposed to love everyone else too.

claimyourpowerblog

We believe that the purpose of life is to follow God's law, do as God want's, and PLEASE GOD. Yet pleasing God is not the purpose of life. Only an egomanical deity would create beings whose essential purpose was to please him. And only an INSANE egomaniac would then add such treachery and misery to the mix as life contains to virtually guarantee his created beings would stumble and fall. And only an INCREDIBLY cruel, insane egomaniac would go further, saying it doesn't even matter because you ALREADY fell! Before birth!

Jesus told us, and man refuses to believe: We are basically GOOD... not basically BAD.

We do not NEED an angry, vindictive, punishing God to scare us into doing what is "right" from some perspectives/interests of others. Our BASIC human nature, is loving and kind. We are TAUGHT greed. We are TAUGHT fear. We are TAUGHT ugliness, prejudice, violence. We are LOVE.... and we are TAUGHT to be something else!

I was supposed to do this or that. My father told me. The world expects it of me, God DEMANDS it of me. Whatever. Now I'm clear that God demands nothing, the world's expectations are distorted and misplaced, and my father's orders no longer need to be followed.

If there's no sin, what did Jesus die for? As our savior, he saved us from the illusion of our own seperation from God. Jesus is the Son of God, and WE ALL ARE.

His truth about him, and hence about us, was meant to be a demonstration of WHO WE REALLY ARE. Jesus was a Divine Master who possessed ABSOLUTE understanding about himself, and God. He wished to share his truth with the world. Thus, he said "I and the father are one" "Have I not said, 'Ye are gods'" on miracles: "Why are ye so amazed? These things, and more, will YOU do ALSO."

Jesus did not die for our sins, but rather to demonstrate that we are SINLESS. We were made in the image and likeness of God, Which is what Jesus kept trying to tell us, but FEW believed him. He knew that only a real demonstration of Godliness could prove convincing. Well, he resurrected himself from the dead and demonstrated he is God, but many people missed the point. WE ARE ALL THE SAME THING. We started worshiping HIM and HIS demonstration, instead of his message "These things, and more, will YOU do also." "have I said not, 'Ye are gods',

Life is a game, and you have to basic choices. To react to the world as a victim, responding in fear. Or to accept responsibility in your co-creator birthright and express love.

I and my father are one - John 10:30

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one - John 17: 22

That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them - John 17: 26

"verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these he shall do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, I will do it."

Isn't that an EXTRAORDINARY promise? So great and so complete was Jesus's understanding of who he was, and who you are (REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE - "I and my Father are one" he said, and later, "all ye are brethren") that he knew deeply there was NO limit to wha tyou could do if you believed in yourself, or in him. Could there be a mistake about Jesus' declarations here? Could there be a misinterpretation?

NO. His words are very clear. He wanted you to consider yourself One with the Father, exactly as he is One with God. So great was his love for all humankind, so great his compassion at their suffering (from not believing in their connectedness to God - but in their weakness/limits and separation ) that he called upon himself to rise to the HIGHEST level, to move to the grandest expression of his being, in order to present a living example to all humans everywhere, future included.

And than he prayed that we would not only see that the evidence of his Oneness with the Father, but our own as well.

And he warned us the institutions of man would forget this truth, and replace them with their dogmas to keep control.

...and if we could simply believe that we were a part of Christ, we would be by extension necessarily be a part of God.

He emphasized this point many times, but because of it's empowerment to the individual, and the lack of a need for a secular institution to command you - the churches put him on a pedestal and said HE and HE ONLY was the son of god.

To allow the church to dictate what you believe is to deny the message of Christ.

inga

oh com'on . biblically speaking.. she no longer fits in god 's book club. its her choice. he made the rules ahead of time. she is not the exception. dont get me wrong. i dont think she needs to be punished for her differences. but the rules are not going to be bent for her, or any one else no matter how small or big an issue. and THIS is what her parents should be educating her on !! you HAVE to go by the rules of gods book club if you want the rewards of after. else , yoy have limited yourself to human years.

there are other clubs. gay clubs.. bird watching clubs, stamp clubs.. heck, likely now the boy scouts will have to take her if she pushed that club.. lol but the bible CLEARLY states its rules on, and again, this little girl, no matter how cute, and nice her parents are.. well.. sorry. the answer is no.

all clubs have their rules for their own reasonings.

now, she is not written off.. she can get educated and choose to fight her "urges" as demonstration to god.. (not me or you).. "if" she wants to be in the gods book club.. a big IF. she has choices. lets see what she does with them. its not really up to us.

but you cant bring a cat to a dog show.

inga

maybe some of [us] want to evaluate the book club [we] belong to.. even if it is gods book club. you know. if [we] are in disagreeance with.. maybe [we] need to not change gods book club... but make a new one. just saying. wait. yes. thats how new religions are formed arent they ??!!

i guess this little girl is more.. wall street united than mormon. that would be the concensus in our town.

some people are cat people and some people are dog people. some people try and bring their cats to the dog show. and the rest of us with aquariums, leave our fish at home when we go visiting. although.. next time some one asks you for a glass of water, dont be completely caught off guard if they drop their gold fish into it. it could happen. i am not sure what religion they would be.. XXX maybe ?? you fill it in.. lol.

Steven J Frey

Church is not the appropriate place for a twelve year old CHILD to speak about sexual orientation. That child and her parents ambushed the other parishiners. The church was right to stop her speech, regardless if she was straight or gay.

Fr. Steve O'Brien

I don't have all the answers......no one does. The one thing I know beyond any doubt is that Jesus loves Savannah and so do I. God bless you, Savannah! I have faith in you.

Bill Herring

Though it was not Gods intention for us to turn out like we did . The bible says we are to love one another as God loves us .

Gallet Christ Sampu

Brothers and sisters , my question is why we are in the world living? ''It Is written: My people perish because running out of knowledge! Let be all together and pray for the just cause of acceptance, because the Master who is in Heaven has a Spirit of Tolerance, so in field let all weeds growth all together(Bad ,Good) and in a proper timing when the field will ready the Master will devise the good from the bad , for us let all be all together according to our mission each one. May God bless all of you. So let ear more !!!!!

Tim

A few thoughts: Being gay, not gay or whatever, as long as there is no harm to others, who cares? With that said, in my opinion, there were two screw-ups here. First of all I highly doubt that NO ONE know she was going to do this. This kid is 12, and should have been counseled as to what she was going to do. This was an ADULT action, not something a 12 year should be doing in public; except for attention seeking behavior, there was no point to it. This girl was asking for a headache to be delivered by some closed minded people, and she received it. She should have been counseled better. SHE IS 12!!! Not an adult. Secondly, the Mormon church needs to be more open minded or do not set themselves up for situations like this; if they are not prepared to handle situations like this, then they should not allow these situations to happen. They Mormon church is a private "corporation" for a lack of better terms, and if they do not want this going on, then do not allow it; but don't allow it then whine when things do not go your way. But in the end, this is a CHILD, not an adult; she should be handled tenderly, like a child should be; and not be permitted to do this on such a large scale, it will only cause her problems from morons. And it did.

Gallet Christ Sampu

Tim , I agree your consent of conception of things . But we must acknowledge it is written '' Nothing will be hidden any more and '' sons and daughters will prophesy, adult will see dreams, and youth will see visions

Jason Subbie

I think she was brave. She stood in front of her congregation, told them who she was, and they should have supported her. Would you shun your child for being something that a 3000 year old book tells you is wrong? I wouldn't be able to. It's not what a parent, or decent human being should do. We are supposed to love and accept our fellow man, woman, and "other." Love is love, our children are precious, and we should cherish the limited time we get to spend with them.

Coop a Loop

Regardless of your position on it, she invited a friend to film it and immediately posted it to the internet. This reeks of trying to start a scandal for publicity and money.

Cindy

Ty Rev Jeremy for standing by this young lady!!

Secretary3rd

It might be that at her age she made a statment to say that she did not want to have a dozen children. Not good for a religion that needs a large number of children to spread their message. Something that ever religion has a problem with if enough women decide that they do not want to bred that religion dies out. What happens to a God when there are not enough people who cares about it. They die, fade from memory, become old. Lose a place in history.

jeremy cloward

A few more words, then I will probably sign out of this convo. First of all, I went to Harvard Divinity school, I studied the bible, not just to find truth from it, but I learned so much truth about it. Doing so, really allowed me to toss so much of it out as garbage. Deuteronomy was not written by Moses, had nothing to do with Moses, it appeared first instance ever in 2 Chronicles 24, when the priests delivered a bogus book to a young impressionable King Josiah, in order to re create a nationalist state, following some bizarre religious laws. The God Deuteronomy was a bastard, and thats ok to say that, he never existed. THAT BOOK IS NOT OF GOD, and I can do that with so much of the bible. Learn the truth ABOUT the bible first, before you try to get the truth FROM the bible, otherwise we are all just pharisees, picking and choosing what we like when we read it, but have to ignore so much else in other chapters.

Now, I am protecting this girl, proudly, standing out there with a nasty battle axe ready to party violently. She has been very brave, and unless you know what she has faced, and is still having to face in the years to come living in the Mormon culture, unless you know her personally, and what she has been feeling, fearing, dreading, loving, and crying over through this, then I ask you please find silence and bless us all with it. I want to protect Savannah so much, but I know that I can't always do that. I became a minister here in this church, because of the great acceptance I saw. I never thought I would have to protect her, defend her or anyone like her here. Shame on all of you. I support open dialogue, but apparently not enough people here know anything of which they speak. She will continue to be hurt, slated, called names, marginalized through her life, but she will continue, she knows nothing else now, she will never need to worry about if she will be loved if she comes out. She is going to tread waters that so many others have, and done well, in spite of how others think God should love her.

Reverend Ray Marshall.

At 12 years old no one is mature enough to decide what there sexual orientation is! The church was right to silence this person.

Jim D.

My heart breaks for this little girl. I think what she did took a lot of guts. The guy that cut her off and told her to sit down is a douche bag. I won't blame the Mormon church. There are douche bags like this guy in every religion (some have even posted to this forum). This kind of discrimination won't change until we walk away from the douche bags and find another church to go to. Eventually there will be a huge group of tolerant, accepting people and a small group of douche bags. Soon after, the douche bags will die out.

Rev. Jeff Ross

Savanna-it's fine to be gay. It's not fine to be stupid.

Your parents are beyond dumb for not preparing you for the reality of your choice to SPEAK.

In speaking-you FORCED your people to deal with your life choice regarding sex. Why is it their job to know you like carpet rather than hardwood flooring? They've got their OWN sins to worry about...and you spewing your feelings ENCOURAGES them to spew theirs.

They had to eat yours. And now, you have to eat theirs. Welcome to Earth.

Parents who allowed this? Get sterilized, you're too stupid to have more children.

Kid. You shared YOUR point-of-view, perhaps expecting acceptance? From humans?

What if THEIR point of view is NOT to accept it? If they can't or won't forgive you, does that EXCUSE you from being forgiving or accepting of THEIR life choice to reject you?

Did they come to you and fag-bash and tell you their life choice? Or did you come to them and cram your gay into their hearts and minds?

Your personal sex choices are just that. YOUR personal sex choices. NO ONE needs to know...but YOU needed to share.

The pastor of your church might really enjoy BDSM, but that's not for him to share unless he is: A) Seeking change-looking to be redeemed of his guilt through the grace of confession OR B) Seeking acceptance, allowance, and confirmation that his penchant to watch other men force dicks downs his wife's throat is fine by his peers.

At 12 years old, sex for you is forbidden--PERIOD. Morally. Legally. So it's NOT RELEVANT which gender you want - 6 years from now.

Your church was RIGHT to shut you down, and your parents offered you SHIT for guidance when they allowed you to speak on that subject publicly.

Be gay later, openly. But here's the bottom line. God made you a girl. Not a boy. Your brain is built differently than a boy. Biochemistry is WILDLY different from a boy. God doesn't MAKE mistakes...He creates all wonder & magic. Be gay. Enjoy the company and touch of women, that's fine. But you? Are NOT MALE. Even if you are boy-ish? Your WHOLE BODY is against you in your belief of male-ness. Be GAY. Don't be a DYKE. Dykes are fake, pretenders to a tradition and set of concepts their BIOLOGY will NEVER allow them to learn. Lessons boys learn by 10? Dykes will never, EVER learn. Be honestly gay. Dykes lie to themselves and others by pretending at something they CAN NOT BE. Like wearing my Iron Man Halloween costume EVERY DAY and saying I'm Tony Stark. Nope. If you cant grow hair on your TESTICLES? Don't insult the realities of men by pretending to understand it.

If you were in my church? I would have sat you down IMMEDIATELY. And if you were one of my daughters' friends? You'd never be allowed in her room again without supervision. Why? 1. You're far to open about sex. YOUR exploration into that subject will NOT influence my child in any way. 2. You're far too young & unwise to deal with that mature subject matter with maturity, 3. Your parents? Too stupid to teach you the ways of the people you live on Earth WITH, and you're likely to cause turmoil in YOUR search for human truths. Like you just did. You are 12. This is not your fault kid--your 'rents should be slapped for this. SHIT parenting. Read the teachings of Buddha. It will make you a better Christian. You? Are Saved By GRACE. You are washed CLEAN of sin by the death of Christ. The Father will welcome you alongside the redeemed murderer, rapist, preacher, saint, and yes--even dyke. And yes, even Marge and Joe Mormon who treat you like SHIT now? They'll be there too. Washed clean of their sins against YOU by the same blood which saves you, child. Be 12. Worry about what gender you wanna fuck whenever that suits you, but keep that to yourself and FEW TRUSTED confidants until you're at least 16. And tell your parents anytime they want to learn how to be parents that are worth a shit to email Rev. Jeff.

Anan Rivera

Dearest Savanna, ( and any other boy or girl going through this trial)

My beloved Child of God. You are loved, a precious gem in God's crown. We human beings have struggle for millions of years with our shortcomings and emotions towards our fellow men. Even withing our own families, communities and churches. It's human condition. It does not matter which God you pray to, which holy book you reference, the hand of man has left a solid print in it. For that same reason, social and moral constructs change over time. ( example: in ancient times it was ok to sell your daughter into slavery ! (Leviticus))

Love on the other hand is timeless my beloved child. As a former Latter Day Saint I know how important it was for you to share your testimony on that Sunday morning dear. Few people from the outside could understand this. Let them be uncomfortable. This means you hit a cord in their hearts. As Christians or followers of Christ is easier to judge and preach than to actually be the word of God. To be yourself, to love others as they are, as God love us, is very hard. I know. But not impossible. You have your whole life ahead of you to figure out your place in life and who you will share your rest of your life with. But don t let the opinion of flawed, sadden, confused people to sway you away from the loving embrace of God. Many, if not most, think that the bible only references homosexuality as a sin. That is not true. One of the lesser known stories in the bible gives us a beautiful love story.( 1 Samuel )

As we are made of clay we have flaws. As we were given the divine breath of God We are called his children.

Bill Fox

She is old enough to understand the consequences of her actions. She can choose to the Mormon or choose to be gay. Whether or not she can control her sexual feelings, she can control her conduct.

Mitzi

GOD lives in us, as us. We were created in HIS likeness. Where in that does anyone hear judgement? HE did/does not create mistakes!

Joanne Martin

I think this little girl is very brave and has obviously been raised to be self assured and confident. On the matter of the church and their opposition, I just have to say that sometimes we need to practice and celebrate our faith outside the 4 walls of a house of worship. They can chastise her and evict her from their church but no one can stop you from practicing and holding onto your faith as you know it.

However, I do think 12 is a confusing age and so much is going on. Especially with girl because they find a bound and closeness with their girlfriends that can easily be mistaken as a love that they are not equip to understand yet. These are the years where you start to figure out who you are and not to say some people dont know right away, but it almost every person alive, one time or another, thought and questioned themselves. Its a natural part of sexual development and at 12 years old the love you feel for others should not be confused with the intimate and sexual love you will feel for someone else in the future.

Whether she continues and really has the answer to her sexuality or not, she is still a very brave girl who hopefully at least makes it easier for other pre-teens and teens to have these conversations with their parents or whomever they can confide in because it is a confusing time and we should be giving our kids the power to ask questions and get help through some of the confusion.

James.ULC

And a little child will lead you off a cliff.

Li

Goodness how many people claim to following a loving God and then turn around and do something like this? Even if she was influenced by the media (which doesn't happen), her peers (again, doesn't happen), or "the Gay Agenda" (which doesn't exist), she's a young girl discovering herself.

If she's shot down and censored for something like this, nothing good can come of it in either direction. She'll feel as if she can't be open to her own congregation, her own community. Children who receive reactions such as this tend to end up one of two ways. They bottle up their feelings, develop depression, and become untrusting of others. Or, on the other end, they could hold onto that moment and not allow themselves to explore further, and if there's more to the equation like if they've bisexual or demisexual, they start to resent that and repress it because of their assurance that they're something else, to the point where an identity crisis is as common as a show on television.

Silencing a child like this has no positive outcome and anyone who does so should feel ashamed in themselves for being directly responsible for halting their development as a person.

And on the note I've frequently seen about her being too young, don't fool yourselves. Children understand sexuality better than adults, they've not had years of ingrained bigotry and misconceptions programmed into them, they just understand that it's a thing that exists as well as breathing or that the sun is warm.

For those that were too lazy to read it all, trust the children, support the children, because if you don't nothing good will come, you'll only bring unnecessary stress and anguish that will persist throughout that child's life.

Nix

My heart hurts for this brave little girl

Gallet Christ Sampu

Tolerance and admission are permitted in these matters!!! The Field is not yet ready, let the bad seed (weeds)and good seed growth all together and it is written to be all together until when the right time will face. so We don't have to judge but by having a spirit of understanding according to our own faith , peace of mind will be with us. so don't anymore be trouble for the little girl because she was right to claim the truth!!! May God blesse all of you!!!

Sandy

Poor child-- pouring her heart out to people that she reveres and trusts,only to be basically slapped in the face and embarrassed in church! I don't think her mother should have permitted her to do that at only 12 years old! Hopefully, she hasn't had any sexual experiences being that young-- I actually think it could be a phase at her age-- when I was her age, I had a couple of friends that thought they were probably gay, but it was only an experimental phase, and when they hit puberty they changed their minds completely-- I don't think her parents should have let her expose herself as of yet, I only think they made the situation worse and probably regressed the child even more--

Rev Marti

I think the title "sexual orientation" is the key to the debate. It is much more than sex and certainly more than being "oriented" in a sexual practice. When I was very young I felt boys were my friends and girls stimulated my heart. It is not a choice unless you are bisexual. If I asked you as a heterosexual person when was your "coming out date" to be straight it would startle you. That is what I feel when someone asked me when I decided to be a Lesbian. It wasn't a choice ever, but who I am.

There are many more ways I am like you than un-like you. I have hopes and dreams for a solid job, a consistent salary and good co-workers. I love to take vacations and enjoy time with my friends. I worked hard to earn my first home and have added to it over the years. I love having friends from all walks of life because I think our differences make us more interesting. Although I didn't choose to have children, I enjoy spending time with the children in my family and those of my friends. I enjoy good food, cooking and I love my little VW Beetle. I am a good student and enjoy learning. I was a good child to my parents, and loved and took care of them until they passed. My dogs are part of my family and they make my heart sing. I have enjoyed learning to play the guitar and also enjoy dancing and singing. I adore my wife and would do anything for her. All sound familiar? The only difference is our choice of partner.

As a young girl I found I could "love" boys, but it wasn't the same. When they touched me it felt foreign. I had not been sexually abused or had any circumstance that would have made me "gay." As a matter of fact, I never met anyone who identified as gay until I went to college. I tried very hard to date boys and even was engaged in college to an amazing man, but I just couldn't have sex with him. I would get to a point and be repulsed by the thought of it. Emotionally I connect with women on a whole other level, and it isn't about having sex. On some spiritual level I knew being straight was not the right choice for me and I had to stop fighting it or risk an unhappy life.

I was a youth pastor at my church in my early twenties, and didn't act on my emotional connection to women during that time. I went to graduate school in psychology to better understand the differences between mental illness and mental stability. I soon realized this is who I am, and had nothing to do with any notion my church told me made me inferior or a sinner. I prayed about it and studied it. I soon realized that many churches use this as a tool to convince women they should be married in a conventional manner and raise children. It fit in a nice and neat package for church doctrine, but certainly was distorted from the original text in the Bible.

The more you study the Bible and the more you read the opinions of Biblical scholars, you learn that a lot of church doctrine is created to shape our behavior in a likeness they want. We are motivated and controlled by what they think. It doesn't matter that a great deal of the books of the Bible contradict each other, and some were not even written at a time the translations would be deemed reliable. We accept a pastor's interpretation as fact and are discouraged from debate. One thing I love about the Jewish traditions...they always encourage debate in their quest to be one with God on a personal level. The Rabbi is considered fallible, but we think Christian ministers are the last and perfect word because they hold a Bible above their head.

I saw myself for a very long time as somehow inferior. I didn't want to mix with many people and felt there was something wrong with me, because they said that often in my church. I had two choices: allow the opinions of others to limit me, or to reject the thought that anyone was any better than me. Every once in awhile those old feelings seep back in and I have to remind myself that God made me as I am and that was perfect in every way. I am a child of the King, which makes me special in my own right.

Many of the people who are writing here are rather closed-minded, which I find unbelievable. Did you take the time to read what Universal Life Church is all about? It is inclusive and all-accepting. Isn't it a sin for you to belong if you aren't inclusive and all-accepting? My only hope is that you learn something from some of the comments. This isn't a traditional "Christian" Church. I think it is symptomatic of our relationship with organized religion. We assume it is all truthful and that everyone agrees to various judgments. Too sad.

This little Mormon girl came out because she is certain. Don't put words in her mouth or criticize her parents. Aren't you certain about being heterosexual? There is no difference in how we know. It is merely how you were born.

There is a big difference between someone questioning it and someone knowing it. I could have told my parents at age 7, but I didn't know what to call it. To make it clear to the woman who thinks it is wrong for her to state it, people who question whether they are or not are likely bi-sexual. Those who are truly LGBT know. There are some people who don't fully identify with one gender over the other. Please don't make up stories from your own experience when you aren't able to understand. Don't think because you don't feel it that it isn't real.

The sexual part is not the most important part, but a factor. The most important factor is that you feel, think and behave differently than your same sex friends, because you ARE born different. Don't give us reasons like "faults" in our DNA or that our mommies took some medication that screwed up our hormones. You can't understand what and who we are as people, so stop putting excuses, labels or judgments of us being inferior to you. Quite honestly, I can't imagine why a woman wants to be with a man...so that feeling works in reverse.

I don't want your "tolerance." What is there to tolerate? You don't need to accept me any more than I need to accept you. I don't need forgiveness from you, because the only forgiveness I need is from the Creator. But, it is not for the reasons you would give it. I don't believe in "sin" as you call it. Any "sinful nature" or behaviors are merely separation from God. I am very right with God, thank you very much. If you want to pray for me, pray for joy, happiness and God's pure Light, not my sexuality. You will never need to worry about it because I don't intend to engage you in it any more than you want me in yours.

angel

So, quick question. If the soul is genderless and the only thing that dictates our gender is the body, then why are we so concerned about the body dictating what is inside the soul?