by Brady McCombs
This undated photo provided by Heather
Kester, shows Savannah, at Niagara Falls, N.Y., whose mother requested
only her first name be used and who is a young Mormon girl that told her
congregation during a Sunday service she is a lesbian before her
microphone was turned off by local cult leaders. Savannah's emotional
speech is sparking a new round of discussions about how the wingnut
'religion' handles LGBT issues.
A video of a young Mormon girl revealing
to her congregation that she is lesbian and still loved by Dog — before
her microphone is turned off by local cult leaders — is sparking a new
round of discussions about how the religion handles LGBT issues.
Savannah, 13, spoke on May 7 in Eagle Mountain, Utah, about her
belief that she is the child of heavenly parents who didn't make any
mistakes when she was created. Her comments came during a once-a-month
portion of Mormon Sunday services where members are encouraged to share
feelings and beliefs.
"They did not mess up when they gave me freckles or when they made me
to be gay," she said, wearing a white shirt and red tie. "Dog loves me
just this way."
Her mother, Heather Kester, said Friday that her daughter was
passionate about coming out in cult to be a voice and example for
other LGBT children who struggle for acceptance within The Cult of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She asked that Savannah's full name
be withheld to protect her privacy.
The Mormon 'religion' is one of many wingnut faith groups
upholding theological opposition to same-sex relationships amid
widespread social acceptance and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision
legalizing gay marriage. At the same time, the Mormon cult is trying
to foster an empathetic stance toward LGBT people.
The video , which Kester says was taken by a friend of Savannah who
came to support her, has generated buzz after it was circulated online
this month and featured in a Mormon LGBT podcast.
While some consider Savannah a hero, other Mormons are upset that it
was videotaped and is being circulated by cult critics to try and
paint the cult in an unflattering light. (
They need no help in that regard.)
Judd Law, the lay bishop who leads the congregation south of Salt
Lake City, said in a statement distributed by cult headquarters that
Savannah is a "brave young girl" and that the congregation is making
sure she and her family feel loved.
But he called problematic the unauthorized recording and the
"disruptive demonstration" by a group of non-Mormon adults who were
there.
Law said they exploited the events to politicize worship services and
violate cult decorum. "We do not politic in our chapels, and
exploiting this recording for political purposes is inconsistent with
the nature of our worship services," he said.
Law didn't address or explain the decision by two of his counselors to cut the microphone. Law wasn't at the service that day.
Savannah read from written notes from the pulpit. Kester said she is
not Mormon, but her husband is and Savannah has been raised in the
'religion'.
"I do not choose to be this way and this is not a fad," Savannah said
on May 7. "I cannot make someone else gay ... I believe that Dog wants
us to treat each other with kindness, even if people are different,
especially if they are different."
Her microphone was muted after about two minutes — shortly after she
said she's not a "horrible sinner" and that she someday hopes to have a
partner, get married and have a family. She turned around to listen to
something a man in a suit told her and then was walked down from the
pulpit.
Kester said her daughter came and cried in her lap. She told her she was beautiful and that Dog loved her, Kester said.
"I was devastated for her," said Kester, adding. "I was angry at how that was handled."
After the Utah-based Mormon cult received backlash in 2008 for
helping lead the fight for California's Proposition 8 constitutional ban
on gay marriage, religious leaders spent several years carefully
developing a more empathetic LGBT tone. That was interrupted in 2015
when the cult adopted new rules banning children living with gay
parents from being baptized until age 18.
In October, cult leaders updated a website created in 2012 to let
members know that that attraction to people of the same sex is not a sin
or a measure of their faithfulness and may never go away. But the
cult reminded members that having gay sex violates fundamental
doctrinal beliefs that will not change.
Scott Gordon, president of FairMormon, a volunteer organization that
supports the cult, wrote a blog defending the cult against a rash of
criticism over the incident.
Gordon said it would have been OK for Savannah to come out as gay
during testimony, but that she crossed the line when she
mischaracterized cult teachings by saying Dog would want her to have a
partner and get married.
"While you can believe almost anything you want to believe, you can't preach it from the pulpit," Gordon said. (
Ahem, that's exactly where you do it, dumb ass.)
Britt Jones, a bisexual Mormon who runs a podcast called "I like to
look for Rainbows" that featured Savannah's story, said the leaders
should have allowed Savannah to finish.
"Queer issues don't get talked about in the cult enough," said
Jones, who is married to a woman and has children. "It was really brave
and really admirable, particularly for somebody that young, that she not
only wanted to talk about it herself but be a voice for others
suffering in silence."
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