Who’s a Cool Mormon Queer?
Aaron Cloward is.
Struggling with his gay sexual orientation several years ago, Aaron Cloward sought help from the leaders of his local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He didn’t get any. “The last [Mormon] bishop I talked to said, ‘You are rejecting Christ. You are on the pathway to hell,’†says Cloward. “The way that makes you feel—â€
He considered suicide.
“I walked home and got my boxes of Benadryl,†remembers Cloward, now a 28-year-old surgical technician who lives in Salt Lake City. “Fortunately I had the presence of mind to call my mom. She came over and held me as I cried myself to sleep. It made me take a step back and look at the church with a critical eye.â€
Cloward, who served on a church mission to Southern California, quickly left behind the church and its antigay doctrine, which says that its followers can go forward in the religion only if they do not act on their same-sex attraction. He started a support group in Salt Lake City called Gay LDS Young Adults in the hope of helping other gay and lesbian Mormons find comfort and acceptance as they struggle with the church’s teachings and long-held traditions.
Read more at The Advocate.
We have a lot of guys who came out of a Mormon background signed up in our groups. Almost every religious background is among us. And one thing we provide is a non-denominational overview of the Scriptures that SUPPOSEDLY condemn same-gender affections. Turns out that most religious groups are either led by the bigoted or the illiterate! REAL ANSWERS. PEACE OF MIND. We’re the g0ys (spelled w. a zer0). G00GLE g0ys to find a group for you!