Submitted by Damon, Aug 10, 2007 15:22

Mr. Lee I take it based on your comments that you are a member of the Church, as am I. I am also gay. My entire life I have tried not to be gay. I have followed the counsel of my Church leaders, I served a mission, I submitted myself to repairative therapy to no avail. I want to assure you that homosexuality is something more than tendencies. In your response to "The Stank" you seem to trivialize the issue a great deal.

It may be a matter of choice for someone to look at pornography or not. It might be a matter of choice to choose to work or be lazy. However, I do not choose my attraction to men. Although I have come to a point in my life where I accept my sexuality, I spent the greater portion of my life doing anything and everything I was told or could think of to try to change a part of who I am. You may not believe me, that is your choice. However, I am being honest.

Perhaps the choice comes choosing to act on those feelings or not. However no one chooses to be attracted to men. And the only problem in choosing not to act on those feelings is that it leaves someone incredibly lonely. No family member, no friend, no hobby, no service to others and no religion can fill the void that is left by not having a companion to share life with. Choosing not to act on those feelings is hard choice to make.

In your initial statement you said that Brandon needs to be responsible for his own life. In part, you are correct. He has the right to make the choices he wants. But I think it's important to recognize that there is an enormous amount of pressure for people to "conform" to what is expected. In the Church you cannot remain single without family members and Church members asking why, or trying to set you up. Their intentions are good, but what is a gay person suppose to say in response?

I understand your position and I understand the doctrine. How well do you really understand my position? You mistakenly assume that I have some sort of choice in my sexuality. Do you have a choice? I assume you are attracted to women. Could you choose, ever, to be attracted to men? Probably not. How could you expect me to change in myself what you cannot change you yourself.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.