{"id":39,"date":"2013-02-21T16:18:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-21T16:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon\/"},"modified":"2013-02-21T16:18:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-21T16:18:00","slug":"lessons-from-a-gay-mormon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html","title":{"rendered":"Lessons From A Gay Mormon"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><div dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left\">\n<div dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A Gay Mormon Coming Out (live)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dnhsDuj285c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\">I first saw this video in an\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/blogs\/browbeat\/2013\/02\/20\/gay_mormon_comes_out_on_video_to_friends_and_family_watch_jimmy_lee_hales.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">article<\/a>\u00a0from Slate magazine. In it, Jimmy, a gay Mormon, comes out to his friends and family and videotapes their reactions. Thankfully, most of them seem positive, if a little awkward. His mother\u2019s reaction is priceless.<\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\"><br><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\">But the line in the video that is causing controversy is when Jimmy says, \u201cWhat does being a gay Mormon mean? Well, it means that I\u2019m going to live a celibate life\u2026 sucks!\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\"><br><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\">Of course, many people are commenting on the video on YouTube, urging him to give up the celibate lifestyle<\/span>:<\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"background-color: white;color: #333333;font-family: arial, sans-serif;font-size: 13px;line-height: 17px\">It would be a real sin to live a lonely, loveless life.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"background-color: white;color: #333333;font-family: arial, sans-serif;font-size: 13px;line-height: 17px\"><br><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"background-color: white;color: #333333;font-family: arial, sans-serif;font-size: 13px;line-height: 17px\">\u201cH<\/span><span style=\"background-color: white;color: #333333;font-family: arial, sans-serif;font-size: 13px;line-height: 17px\">e is way too happy about being celibate and single and that is just sad.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"text-align: left\"><br><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"background-color: white;color: #333333;font-family: arial, sans-serif;font-size: 13px;line-height: 17px\"><br><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: white;border: 0px;color: #333333;font-family: arial, sans-serif;font-size: 13px;line-height: 17px;margin-bottom: 6px;overflow: hidden;padding: 0px\">\u201cThis is simultaneously very cool &amp; very sad. I applaud you for having the courage to admit to yourself &amp; to others about your sexuality. But I\u2019m profoundly sad for you that you seem unable to also unshackle yourself from the idiocy that is organized religion\u201d<\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\"><br><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\">What struck me about these comments is that many people simply do not accept that living a life of celibacy as a gay person is an acceptable choice.\u00a0<\/span>There are many examples of brave gay people who choose to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.joshweed.com\/2012\/06\/club-unicorn-in-which-i-come-out-of.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">marry the opposite sex<\/a>, or\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.stevegershom.com\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">choose to live a celibate life<\/a>\u00a0because of their religious beliefs, but this is deemed unacceptable by many. You can either be gay and acting upon it, or something is wrong with you.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\">Which is kind of funny to me, because \u201cYou are free to be gay, just not a celibate gay\u201d sure sounds a lot like the much maligned, \u201cYou are free to be gay, just not to act upon it.\u201d Both of these attitudes impose rather than invite.<\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\">When it comes to moral choices, God invites rather than imposes. This is the essence of the gift of free will. Living according to the tenets of our faith is an invitation from God. As a convert, I can say that I never felt God imposing his love upon me; he gently invited me into relationship with Him until I accepted.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\">This, I would propose, is how we can approach those inside and outside the Church who struggle with same sex attraction. We can learn a lesson from Jimmy and his accepting family and friends. People who struggle with same sex attraction will almost certainly <i>not <\/i>choose celibacy if they do not find love and acceptance among family, friends and among people of faith. It may \u201csuck\u201d for Jimmy to choose a celibate life, but with the love and acceptance of those around him, what is difficult is made less difficult. And even more beautiful than that, what is difficult for Jimmy will surely become a source of grace for him, his family, his friends and his faith community.\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\">The modern world looks upon celibate life as strange, unusual, repressive, and backwards. But as someone who has also chosen to live a celibate life as a \u201cnun\u201d or Catholic religious sister, I can say that from the pain of giving up sexual intimacy flows great grace for myself and for others. Energy and time that would otherwise be focused on a family and husband, is now devoted in service to many people. In essence, I have given up some expressions of love, but despite what the world thinks, I have definitely not give up Love.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\"><br><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\">So, don\u2019t lose heart Jimmy, despite what the world says, you are making a beautiful choice.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-align: left\"><br><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/485\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-5O4NQjKQn7E\/USaShpaQjNI\/AAAAAAAAAzc\/NSP2xvBniLc\/s1600\/Lessons.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/485\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-5O4NQjKQn7E\/USaShpaQjNI\/AAAAAAAAAzc\/NSP2xvBniLc\/s320\/Lessons.jpg\" width=\"222\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I first saw this video in an\u00a0article\u00a0from Slate magazine. In it, Jimmy, a gay Mormon, comes out to his friends and family and videotapes their reactions. Thankfully, most of them seem positive, if a little awkward. His mother\u2019s reaction is priceless. But the line in the video that is causing controversy is when Jimmy says, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2071,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lessons From A Gay Mormon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I first saw this video in an&nbsp;article&nbsp;from Slate magazine. In it, Jimmy, a gay Mormon, comes out to his friends and family and videotapes their\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lessons From A Gay Mormon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I first saw this video in an&nbsp;article&nbsp;from Slate magazine. In it, Jimmy, a gay Mormon, comes out to his friends and family and videotapes their\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pursued by Truth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-02-21T16:18:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/files\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-5O4NQjKQn7E\/USaShpaQjNI\/AAAAAAAAAzc\/NSP2xvBniLc\/s320\/Lessons.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html\",\"name\":\"Lessons From A Gay Mormon\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-21T16:18:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-02-21T16:18:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/287c774ddd7d41a9da725a74398cce45\"},\"description\":\"I first saw this video in an&nbsp;article&nbsp;from Slate magazine. In it, Jimmy, a gay Mormon, comes out to his friends and family and videotapes their\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lessons From A Gay Mormon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/\",\"name\":\"Pursued by Truth\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/287c774ddd7d41a9da725a74398cce45\",\"name\":\"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b1ac090c78da9a3dd58e9a926616dfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b1ac090c78da9a3dd58e9a926616dfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble\"},\"description\":\"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP is a former atheist who, thanks to the grace of God, has returned to the faith she was raised in and now tries to help others bring their loved ones back to the faith. A few years after returning to the Church, she heard God calling her, so she left her job in Silicon Valley to join the Daughters of St. Paul. She is the author of The Prodigal You Love: Inviting Loved Ones Back to the Church. She now lives in Miami where she prays, evangelizes, bakes bread, and blogs.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/author\/tnoble\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lessons From A Gay Mormon","description":"I first saw this video in an&nbsp;article&nbsp;from Slate magazine. In it, Jimmy, a gay Mormon, comes out to his friends and family and videotapes their","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lessons From A Gay Mormon","og_description":"I first saw this video in an&nbsp;article&nbsp;from Slate magazine. In it, Jimmy, a gay Mormon, comes out to his friends and family and videotapes their","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html","og_site_name":"Pursued by Truth","article_published_time":"2013-02-21T16:18:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/files\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-5O4NQjKQn7E\/USaShpaQjNI\/AAAAAAAAAzc\/NSP2xvBniLc\/s320\/Lessons.jpg"}],"author":"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html","name":"Lessons From A Gay Mormon","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-02-21T16:18:00+00:00","dateModified":"2013-02-21T16:18:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/287c774ddd7d41a9da725a74398cce45"},"description":"I first saw this video in an&nbsp;article&nbsp;from Slate magazine. In it, Jimmy, a gay Mormon, comes out to his friends and family and videotapes their","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/2013\/02\/lessons-from-a-gay-mormon.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lessons From A Gay Mormon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/","name":"Pursued by Truth","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/287c774ddd7d41a9da725a74398cce45","name":"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b1ac090c78da9a3dd58e9a926616dfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b1ac090c78da9a3dd58e9a926616dfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble"},"description":"Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP is a former atheist who, thanks to the grace of God, has returned to the faith she was raised in and now tries to help others bring their loved ones back to the faith. A few years after returning to the Church, she heard God calling her, so she left her job in Silicon Valley to join the Daughters of St. Paul. She is the author of The Prodigal You Love: Inviting Loved Ones Back to the Church. She now lives in Miami where she prays, evangelizes, bakes bread, and blogs.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/author\/tnoble"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2071"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pursuedbytruth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}