Homosexual and lesbian activities are sinful and an abomination to the Lord. The Lord specifically forbids certain behaviors, including all sexual relations before marriage, petting, sex perversion (such as homosexuality, rape, and incest), masturbation, or preoccupation with sex in thought, speech, or action. Few of us would turn 23 unmarried.īut at the age of 12, one autumn afternoon in 1997, along with my cohort of 12- and 13-year-old neighbor boys, I received my first copy of “ For the Strength of Youth.” We sat in a circle of metal folding chairs in our Sunday school classroom and each of us read aloud a section from the pamphlet. When adults asked my playmates and me where we wanted to serve, most of us said, "China!" Even then we knew that after we returned from our mission, we would look for a wife.
From the time we're in kindergarten, Mormon boys know that when we turn 19, we'll serve a mission for the church somewhere in the big world.
armed forces in the 1857 Utah War to protect this freedom. Other ancestors were martyred during the Mormons' 1,300-mile westward trek to "Zion" in search of religious freedom. Like Mitt Romney, I have ancestors who fled to Mexico to practice polygamy after Utah outlawed it. My great-great-grandparents were among Utah's earliest Mormon pioneers. And every year, the same question threatened to consume me with shame.Įach time I lied, I plunged into a very Mormon kind of hell. Rumors would flood my neighborhood in Utah Valley. I’d be excluded from joining my family and friends in Temple rituals. Everyone in my life would know if I failed.
Max Rhyser plays a young schoolteacher who comes from a conservative Jewish family and community, but Chaser sees him attend a New York City sex party to escape his restrictive community.I grew up Mormon, and every year I endured a hair-raising interview to get my “temple recommend.” (Think of it like Mormon “security clearance.”) It was a firewalk in the guise of an annual interrogation. Homophobia manifests from many different insecurities, but in Triple Standard, one athlete’s prejudice is a symptom of his own struggle to come to terms with his sexuality. Ben lusts after his bad boy classmate Johnny, but when he’s offered a ride home one night, what seems like a dreaming coming true descends into heartbreak. It’s the age-old high school crush storyline.
Starring Broadchurch’s Chris Mason, Wonderkid focusses on a gay professional footballer who’s struggling with his sexuality in the high-pressured and masculine world of the Premiership League. But as is much the case in Tinseltown, he’s living a lie, and upon his return he attempts to rekindle a closeted relationship from his past. I AM SYD STONE (2014)ĭirected by Denis Theriault, this 10-minute visual follows a Hollywood hunk as he returns home. Gay Times have rounded up just five of the best gay short films out there that you can watch online.
From tackling the homophobic world of football, to a teacher exploring the sex party scene in New York City, they are touching upon real life emotions that your local Odeon is probably little way off from showing anytime soon. While mainstream Hollywood continues to catch up when it comes to LGBTQ representation in blockbuster movies, there are plenty of directors out there highlighting issues within the gay community through slick visuals.įor now, some of the most compelling and hard-hitting LGBTQ cinema exists in short films.