We hope that our expression of faith in Jesus Christ in this video was of value to you. Below, we answer some questions that some may have about this video and its purpose. 

Why did we stay anonymous? 

This is something that’s very personal to us. It’s not because we’re ashamed or repressed, but simply because it’s private. It’s knowledge about our lives that is reserved for close friends and family. These experiences, especially nowadays, can alter the way others see us. We would rather be defined by our decisions and character rather than our experiences in regard to our sexuality.

We also believe anonymity serves as a good reminder that anyone in your life may be experiencing same-sex attraction—people you may not ever guess. People who experience it and live a completely faithful, happy, simple, private life alongside you at church. Men and women, married and single, people of all demographics. 

We think it’s always wise to remember that people are experiencing things we aren’t aware of. This doesn’t only apply to same-sex attraction but a myriad of experiences we often may speak too flippantly about, not realizing how close it may be to people we know and love. 

Who is this video for?

We think a video like this would have helped the younger version of ourselves to not feel so alone and afraid. It’s made for people like us—anyone who experiences feelings of same-sex attraction and wants to still lead a Christ-centered covenant life. Doing so can be a confusing thing to navigate and we hope that this video can inspire you to take action toward reaching a level of understanding within yourself and a faith in the Savior and His commandments you perhaps didn’t know were capable of.

For about as long as we can remember, we’ve had these feelings. We were all also born and raised in the Church. We feel very strongly that the Gospel is true. At times we have felt like we were made of two different parts and didn’t know how we could bring these two very real parts of ourselves together. Through the years, however, we’ve learned to reconcile this separation. Even though we are not exemplary in any way, we are in a much better place with this reconciliation. However, those long years as a youth and young adult were very confusing. We hope that this video can help inspire others who might feel similarly.

What is the main thing we want people to take away from this video?

This experience doesn’t need to define anyone. Homosexuality and gender identity are popular issues in our lives today, and there are a lot of voices that say a lot of different things about it. Our message is simply that even though this is a very real experience we live with, we are still totally in control of how we engage with it and the choices we make regarding it. We are just as capable of living a Christ-centered covenant-keeping life as anyone else. Some pity us and say we can’t be expected to live to the same standard as those who don’t experience this because this is too difficult a trial—but we have faith that God wouldn’t give us a trial we can’t bear (1Nephi 3:7). There are some that say we don’t fit into the gospel plan, and that it needs to be updated. We don’t feel this way. We fit into the plan that has been taught from the beginning by God’s prophets in every chapter of the world. We belong in His plan, we all do. We are aiming for a Celestial life here and in the next. 

Some say we won’t ever be able to experience the same amount of growth in mortality if we don’t find a spouse in this life—but we know that through faith and by making and keeping covenants with our Savior, we will be blessed both in ways that are real and tangible and in ways that we can’t comprehend. The growth we experience in mortality comes from our relationship with the Savior, not from whether or not we marry. And though much of that growth comes from living with a spouse and enjoying the blessing of having children—some of us don’t get that here. That could be due to disability, sickness, early death, or a variety of things that can happen to someone. There’s so much more to life than getting married, and if we have faith in Jesus Christ, He will ensure we have exactly the growth and experiences we are meant to have in this life (Matt 6:33).

We feel very deeply that God loves us and is very aware of our situations. As we have drawn closer to Him through obedience to His law and keeping the covenants we have made with Him, we have felt His influence and His peace in our lives. We want to urge people to stay close to Him. If you pray to Him and study His word both in scripture and through His servants today, we truly believe you will begin to feel His enabling love help you obtain every blessing He’s promised His children.

That’s our proclamation.

The post Private Lives, Public Faith: LGBT+ Latter-day Saints appeared first on Public Square Magazine.

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