National Coming Out Day is October 11th. Now, no, I’m not gay so I’m not writing this to come out of the closet. But there has been so much going on this past week, with Boyd K Packers speech, and other things in the community here, and others have made their stance on Gays known…whether their homosexual or heterosexual. I’ve been thinking about it, so I figured, in honor of National Coming Out Day I would do something along the same lines.
But I’m not writing this for me.
I don’t need to write this for me. I know where I stand on the issue, I know I support the LGBTQ community, and know I will stand with them in the fight for equal rights.
I’m writing this for you.
Not the people who are significantly aware of where I stand and accept it…but you, the people who I have known at some point in my life who I either hardly speak to or do not speak to at all. We may have known each other in High School, or middle school, or anywhere else. We may have worked together. We may have been close, or just passed each other in the halls with a smile.
I still care for you, and doing this I simply want you to realize where I stand and why. I’m not naïve enough to think that this in itself will revise your whole beliefs, but it is my wish it will at least make you think about it.
A good majority of you, if not all, are members of the LDS Church. Let me be clear, I am not judging your choice of religion or church, and I’m not asking you to change it. I’m just asking you to think.
Since the speech at the General Conference (and yes, I have heard it. And yes, he was talking about homosexuality. And what about the other twelve apostles who weren’t happy about his talk?) there’s been a lot of comments. From those planning the protests against hateful words, to those who claim “Don’t ask me to go against what my church says.” That’s where I see the problem. You can have your belief in your church, and what they teach, you can know right from wrong. What just made this worse is the fact that it came so soon after a string of national news from homosexual teens, anywhere from thirteen to eighteen, that have killed themselves. Everyone should be able to agree, that suicide isn’t right. No one should be driven to it.
Did you know gay teens are four times more likely to commit suicide? Did you know UTAH has one of the highest suicide rates in the country? Do you ever wonder WHY this is?
Now not being gay myself I can’t tell you my own story but I’ve heard plenty mentioned time and time again. Rhetoric like in Packers speech could easily make someone feel like ending it all. If our gay teens are taught that Homosexuality is a “Choice” (it isn’t) they’ll struggle to change it. To get that approval from their church or family, every teen wants nothing more than approval straight or gay. But there are so many, when they realize that they can’t “change” as the church taught them…see that suicide is the only way out.
Anyone care to tell me how this is right?
One of the biggest arguments I here in condemning homosexuality is quoting Leviticus. Anyone who’s even read Leviticus should realize how absurd this argument is. Leviticus, that says you can’t wear mixed fabrics. Leviticus, that says you can sell your daughter into slavery, that says you can’t eat shellfish, just to name a few examples. Really, if you asked me, Leviticus at a whole at this point should just be thrown out the window and forgotten. The Leviticus argument as NO GROUND.
Another common argument is that allowing gay marriage will bring about death and Armageddon, etcetera….just about any bad thing you can think of. It was legal in California for awhile, is still legal in a a few states, and laws that make it illegal are being struck down all across the country….haven’t seen Armageddon yet and I really don’t think its coming.
Funny that I’ve passed a page writing this and haven’t said the most important thing that I’ve meant to say. I’m not gay, I’m straight. But I’m not homophobic, just the opposite. I’m an ally, and I will fight with them until they gain the equal rights marriage offers. I want you to know that if you were in this position, if your rights were under attack… I’d be fighting for you to have those too.
Its about what’s RIGHT VS WRONG…not about “What the church says”. Just think about that.
Love
-Ingela
(Note: Many don’t know the amount of influence the Mormon church had on Prop 8 in California….the MORMONS got it passed, and they had no place to. Please educate yourself on this, you can start by watching 8: The Mormon Proposition.)
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Friday, October 8, 2010
Think A Little
National Coming Out Day is October 11th. Now, no, I’m not gay so I’m not writing this to come out of the closet. But there has been so much going on this past week, with Boyd K Packers speech, and other things in the community here, and others have made their stance on Gays known…whether their homosexual or heterosexual. I’ve been thinking about it, so I figured, in honor of National Coming Out Day I would do something along the same lines.
But I’m not writing this for me.
I don’t need to write this for me. I know where I stand on the issue, I know I support the LGBTQ community, and know I will stand with them in the fight for equal rights.
I’m writing this for you.
Not the people who are significantly aware of where I stand and accept it…but you, the people who I have known at some point in my life who I either hardly speak to or do not speak to at all. We may have known each other in High School, or middle school, or anywhere else. We may have worked together. We may have been close, or just passed each other in the halls with a smile.
I still care for you, and doing this I simply want you to realize where I stand and why. I’m not naïve enough to think that this in itself will revise your whole beliefs, but it is my wish it will at least make you think about it.
A good majority of you, if not all, are members of the LDS Church. Let me be clear, I am not judging your choice of religion or church, and I’m not asking you to change it. I’m just asking you to think.
Since the speech at the General Conference (and yes, I have heard it. And yes, he was talking about homosexuality. And what about the other twelve apostles who weren’t happy about his talk?) there’s been a lot of comments. From those planning the protests against hateful words, to those who claim “Don’t ask me to go against what my church says.” That’s where I see the problem. You can have your belief in your church, and what they teach, you can know right from wrong. What just made this worse is the fact that it came so soon after a string of national news from homosexual teens, anywhere from thirteen to eighteen, that have killed themselves. Everyone should be able to agree, that suicide isn’t right. No one should be driven to it.
Did you know gay teens are four times more likely to commit suicide? Did you know UTAH has one of the highest suicide rates in the country? Do you ever wonder WHY this is?
Now not being gay myself I can’t tell you my own story but I’ve heard plenty mentioned time and time again. Rhetoric like in Packers speech could easily make someone feel like ending it all. If our gay teens are taught that Homosexuality is a “Choice” (it isn’t) they’ll struggle to change it. To get that approval from their church or family, every teen wants nothing more than approval straight or gay. But there are so many, when they realize that they can’t “change” as the church taught them…see that suicide is the only way out.
Anyone care to tell me how this is right?
One of the biggest arguments I here in condemning homosexuality is quoting Leviticus. Anyone who’s even read Leviticus should realize how absurd this argument is. Leviticus, that says you can’t wear mixed fabrics. Leviticus, that says you can sell your daughter into slavery, that says you can’t eat shellfish, just to name a few examples. Really, if you asked me, Leviticus at a whole at this point should just be thrown out the window and forgotten. The Leviticus argument as NO GROUND.
Another common argument is that allowing gay marriage will bring about death and Armageddon, etcetera….just about any bad thing you can think of. It was legal in California for awhile, is still legal in a a few states, and laws that make it illegal are being struck down all across the country….haven’t seen Armageddon yet and I really don’t think its coming.
Funny that I’ve passed a page writing this and haven’t said the most important thing that I’ve meant to say. I’m not gay, I’m straight. But I’m not homophobic, just the opposite. I’m an ally, and I will fight with them until they gain the equal rights marriage offers. I want you to know that if you were in this position, if your rights were under attack… I’d be fighting for you to have those too.
Its about what’s RIGHT VS WRONG…not about “What the church says”. Just think about that.
Love
-Ingela
(Note: Many don’t know the amount of influence the Mormon church had on Prop 8 in California….the MORMONS got it passed, and they had no place to. Please educate yourself on this, you can start by watching 8: The Mormon Proposition.)
But I’m not writing this for me.
I don’t need to write this for me. I know where I stand on the issue, I know I support the LGBTQ community, and know I will stand with them in the fight for equal rights.
I’m writing this for you.
Not the people who are significantly aware of where I stand and accept it…but you, the people who I have known at some point in my life who I either hardly speak to or do not speak to at all. We may have known each other in High School, or middle school, or anywhere else. We may have worked together. We may have been close, or just passed each other in the halls with a smile.
I still care for you, and doing this I simply want you to realize where I stand and why. I’m not naïve enough to think that this in itself will revise your whole beliefs, but it is my wish it will at least make you think about it.
A good majority of you, if not all, are members of the LDS Church. Let me be clear, I am not judging your choice of religion or church, and I’m not asking you to change it. I’m just asking you to think.
Since the speech at the General Conference (and yes, I have heard it. And yes, he was talking about homosexuality. And what about the other twelve apostles who weren’t happy about his talk?) there’s been a lot of comments. From those planning the protests against hateful words, to those who claim “Don’t ask me to go against what my church says.” That’s where I see the problem. You can have your belief in your church, and what they teach, you can know right from wrong. What just made this worse is the fact that it came so soon after a string of national news from homosexual teens, anywhere from thirteen to eighteen, that have killed themselves. Everyone should be able to agree, that suicide isn’t right. No one should be driven to it.
Did you know gay teens are four times more likely to commit suicide? Did you know UTAH has one of the highest suicide rates in the country? Do you ever wonder WHY this is?
Now not being gay myself I can’t tell you my own story but I’ve heard plenty mentioned time and time again. Rhetoric like in Packers speech could easily make someone feel like ending it all. If our gay teens are taught that Homosexuality is a “Choice” (it isn’t) they’ll struggle to change it. To get that approval from their church or family, every teen wants nothing more than approval straight or gay. But there are so many, when they realize that they can’t “change” as the church taught them…see that suicide is the only way out.
Anyone care to tell me how this is right?
One of the biggest arguments I here in condemning homosexuality is quoting Leviticus. Anyone who’s even read Leviticus should realize how absurd this argument is. Leviticus, that says you can’t wear mixed fabrics. Leviticus, that says you can sell your daughter into slavery, that says you can’t eat shellfish, just to name a few examples. Really, if you asked me, Leviticus at a whole at this point should just be thrown out the window and forgotten. The Leviticus argument as NO GROUND.
Another common argument is that allowing gay marriage will bring about death and Armageddon, etcetera….just about any bad thing you can think of. It was legal in California for awhile, is still legal in a a few states, and laws that make it illegal are being struck down all across the country….haven’t seen Armageddon yet and I really don’t think its coming.
Funny that I’ve passed a page writing this and haven’t said the most important thing that I’ve meant to say. I’m not gay, I’m straight. But I’m not homophobic, just the opposite. I’m an ally, and I will fight with them until they gain the equal rights marriage offers. I want you to know that if you were in this position, if your rights were under attack… I’d be fighting for you to have those too.
Its about what’s RIGHT VS WRONG…not about “What the church says”. Just think about that.
Love
-Ingela
(Note: Many don’t know the amount of influence the Mormon church had on Prop 8 in California….the MORMONS got it passed, and they had no place to. Please educate yourself on this, you can start by watching 8: The Mormon Proposition.)
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