In the book section of a Deseret Industries I found this outstanding gem of 1970's homophobia: Growing Up Straight, What Every Thoughtful Parent Should Know about Homosexuality. A guide for parents to be able to "help prevent homosexuality from developing in youngsters" and "spot incipient homosexuality and... take steps to alter it's course." I bought it in a heartbeat. To have it as proof that yes, people actually DID once think this way.
I kinda forgot I had it till I found out about elder Bruce C. Hafen's talk on overcoming homosexuality (discussing how God "has the power to remove your unwanted same-gender attraction" but he might chose not to, but still...)
I guess people still do think that way.
(BTW, if you haven't yet, check out ECS's superb breakdown of Hafen's citation problems.)
My main thought, upon hearing Hafen's words; How many individuals went home after hearing his 'loving' rhetoric, and seriously thought about opening a vein?
I wish I could say more about this, but time is short and my words aren't coming the way I wish they would.
Maybe later they will.
4 comments:
"My main thought, upon hearing Hafen's words; How many individuals went home after hearing his 'loving' rhetoric, and seriously thought about opening a vein?"
I certainly had that thought after hearing/reading similar things when I was younger. I can just imagine the despair he's inspired with this one.
Members of the church will look at books like these and talks like Hafen's as proof of how much they "love" their gay brothers and sisters.
My mom's first reaction when I came out was that she wanted me to go to reparative therapy (in fact I convinced her for a long time that the therapy I was going to was reparative therapy, just to get her off my back). My dad just went on a rant about gays destroying the family, and continues to go on those rants.
The truth is, though, if I woke up tomorrow and god had "healed" me, it would be a tragedy. I would be heartbroken if I no longer loved Christina. I would be heartbroken if this part of my identity was gone. It would destroy me.
It really hurts my heart. I just wish, somehow that the good things of the church could somehow be accentuated and the bad, misinformed things could be cast aside as the archaic beliefs that they are. I miss having a religious community to worship with, but at the same time, I just can't feel comfortable there because of the doctrine that they teach.
Wow. That is a classic!
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