LGBT Mormon suicides and homelessness

LGBT persons are at a higher risk of depression and suicide.

In society at large LGBT individuals especially youth are at a higher risk of depression and suicide[1][2] due to minority stress stemming from societal anti-LGBT biases and stigma, rejection, and internalized homophobia.[3] Some individuals and organizations have linked church teachings against homosexuality and the treatment of LGBT Mormons by other members and leaders as contributing to LGBT Mormon suicides.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Others have been more cautious of linking LDS Church teachings as a cause of reported suicide.[11]

In 2013 It was estimated that among the approximately 1000 homeless Utah youths, 30% to 40% were LGBTQ with about half of those coming from LDS homes[12][13] The Ogden, Utah OUTreach Resource Center has reported that over half of their often homeless youth clients identify as LGBTQ.[14] In January 2016 the LDS church mourned over reported suicides of LGBT Mormons and stated that leaders and members are taught to "reach out in an active, caring way to all, especially to youth who feel estranged or isolated".[15] The Affirmation website reported over 30 LGBT Mormon victims of suicide between 1971 and 2008[16][17] including five gay male BYU students who all completed suicide in 1965.[18][19]

Suicide attempts and ideation

Suicide attempts and ideation have been experienced by many LGBT Mormons. In a 2015 survey of 92 LGBTQ BYU students done by USGA, 52% had at some point considered self-harm.[5] Neon Trees lead singer Tyler Glenn stated that he was trying to reconcile his sexual orientation and belief in the Mormon church when the 5 November 2015 policy change was leaked leading to a feeling that church was a "toxic space" for him generating feelings of suicide.[20] One bisexual BYU student Brenna McGrath stated in 2017 that she was attempting to overdose herself on medication after feeling isolated and that church was a "toxic environment" for her.[5] Alex Cooper, a lesbian Mormon teen who beginning in 2010 was subjected to physically abusive conversion therapy techniques in an attempt to change her sexual orientation, reported attempting suicide.[5][21][22] Mormon composer Michael McLean also stated that his gay son was suicidal during the church's California campaign to ban same-sex marriage.[23] Jordan Montgomery discusses his suicidal ideation as well as attempts by an LDS therapist to change his sexual orientation in the 2013 mini-documentary "Families are Forever".[24][25]

In 2003 Steve Dunn reported previous suicidal thoughts after years of "repression" and the broken promises of a marriage to his wife "fixing his sexuality". After coming out and refusing the reparative therapy his stake president prescribed him, he faced excommunication from the church, and was ostracized by family and friends. In the same article Clay Essig also reported writing a note while at the brink of suicide after years of trying to change his attractions through therapy originally prescribed to him by his BYU bishop.[26]

Publicized suicides

On 25 February 2000 32-year-old Stuart Matis, a gay Mormon active in the church, completed suicide on the steps of a California church stake center building.[27][28] His death came during the height of the LDS church's fight to ban same-sex marriage in California with Prop 22 also known as Knight's Initiative.[29][30] Shortly before his death he wrote a 12-page letter to his cousin in which he states that when he heard the church was asking members to donate time and money in support of Prop 22 he "cried for hours in [his] room" and he felt that the church's positions created an environment "hostile for young gay Mormons". The letter also stated "straight members have absolutely no idea what it is like to grow up gay in this church.... It is a life of constant torment, self-hatred and internalized homophobia."[31] The same month he also wrote a letter to the editor published in the BYU newspaper[5][32] pleading for the acceptance of homosexual individuals in response to a letter published five days before[33] comparing homosexuality to pedophilia, bestiality and Satanism.[34] Right before his death he wrote a note stating, "The church has no idea that ... there are surely boys and girls on their callused hands and knees imploring God to free them of their pain. They hate themselves ... God never intended me to be straight. Hopefully, my death might be a catalyst for some good."[35][36] Two weeks after Stuart's death on March 9, D.J. Thompson a 33-year-old gay Mormon man in Florida completed suicide after writing a note referencing Stuart's death and stating that Proposition 22 was the "last straw in my lifelong battle to see peace in the world".[37][38] Three weeks after Stuart's death, another gay Mormon active in the church in California was a victim of suicide. Clay Whitmer, who had become close friends with Stuart while the two were serving an LDS mission in Italy had attempted six times over a few years before but completed suicide on the seventh time.[29][31][39][40]

Some more recent publicized gay Mormon suicides include 17-year-old Jack Denton Reese who was from a small town in Utah where over 90% of the residents were LDS[41] and who experienced severe physical and verbal bullying at school.[42][43] In 2016 there were three suicides of young gay Mormon men which received media attention. Harry Fisher was a 28-year-old BYU history student and had come out on Facebook about two months before his death on 12 February 2016. He reported hearing anti-gay rhetoric from individuals around him and having to leave church to cry in his car.[44] Lincoln Parkin was a 22-year-old man who grew up in Pleasant View, Utah and received an award in 2012 for reestablishing the gay-straight alliance at Weber High School after having a gay friend commit suicide.[45] He attended Westminster College and had attempted suicide before having experienced significant depression for a decade but completed suicide on 6 April 2016.[46][47] On 23 September 2016 19-year-old Braxton Taylor a student of Weber State University completed suicide[48] and his story went viral when an LDS political candidate[49] criticized his suicide and sexual orientation as a sin of murder and homosexuality,[50][51] a statement which received national criticism.[52][53]

Several anonymous accounts of LGBT Mormon suicide have been reported in the news, including that of a gay BYU student in the 80's who was preparing for an opposite-sex temple marriage under counsel from BYU professor and stake president Richard H. Cracroft. A few months into the marriage the man shot himself, and Cracroft stated that "Admittedly, not many of us know how to counsel homosexuals".[54]

Church statements

Leaders have released various statements on LGBT people from Temple Square.

The church released a statement through spokesman Dale Jones on 28 January 2016 mourning the reported suicides of 32 LGBT Mormons. The release stated that leaders and members are taught to "reach out in an active, caring way to all, especially to youth who feel estranged or isolated".[15][5] On 9 February 2016 when apostle Dallin H. Oaks was asked about church leaders and members' responsibility for the treatment of LGBT individuals that may have precipitated in suicides he stated "that's a question that will be answered on judgment day" and that "nobody is sadder about a case like that than I am".[55] In June 2016 the church published its official Mental Health website[56] followed shortly in September 2016 by its official Preventing Suicide website.[57]

References

  1. ↑ "LGBT Populations: A Dialogue on Advancing Opportunities for Recovery from Addictions and Mental Health Problems" (PDF). samhsa.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  2. ↑ Stack, Peggy Fletcher (15 March 2014). "Program aims to stop suicide, homelessness in LGBT Mormon youth". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Meyer, Ilan H.; Northridge, Mary E. (2007). The Health of Sexual Minorities (1 ed.). US: Springer. pp. 242–247. ISBN 978-0-387-31334-4. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  4. ↑ Stack, Peggy Fletcher (28 January 2016). "Suicide fears, if not actual suicides, rise in wake of Mormon same-sex policy". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Olsen, Jessica (20 January 2017). "Timeline". BYU. The Daily Universe. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  6. ↑ Parkinson, Daniel; Barker, Michael. "The LGBTQ Mormon Crisis: Responding to the Empirical Research on Suicide" (PDF). Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  7. ↑ Greene, David (7 July 2016). "Mama Dragons Try To Prevent Suicides Among Mormon-LGBT Children". NPR. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Oakley, Blake (3 August 2016). "LDS LGBT Suicides On The Rise: Can the LDS Church do more?". Utah Valley University. The Review. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  9. ↑ Edmonds-Allen, Marian. "Suicides or Not, LDS Is Harming LGBT Youth". Advocate. Advocate. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  10. ↑ Dodson, Braley (11 November 2016). "LGBT BYU students fighting suicide while facing unique mental health challenges". Daily Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  11. ↑ Hess, Jacob (29 January 2016). "Yes, Let's PLEASE Have a Serious Conversation About Suicide!  Questions for the Public Conversation". Flirting with Curiosity. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Parker, Ray (25 January 2013). "Groups team up to reach out to homeless LGBT Mormon youths". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  13. ↑ Moore, Chadwick (29 April 2016). "The Ghost Children of Mormon Country". Advocate. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  14. ↑ "LGBTQ Youth". Equality Utah. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  15. 1 2 Walch, Tad; Collins, Lois M. (28 January 2016). "LDS Church leaders mourn reported deaths in Mormon LGBT community". LDS Church. Deseret News. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "Suicide Memorial". affirmation.org. Affirmation. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Forum Discusses Suicide Prevention Among Mormons" (PDF). Sunstone Magazine (125): 79. December 2002. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  18. ↑ Corcoran, Brent; O'Donovan, Rocky (1994). Multiply and Replenish: Mormon Essays on Sex and Family. Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books. p. 156. ISBN 1560850507. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  19. ↑ McQueen, Robert (August 13, 1975). "Outside the Temple Gates-The Gay Mormon". The Advocate: 14. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  20. ↑ Azzopardi, Chris (12 August 2016). "Tyler Glenn Opens Up About Mormon-Provoked Suicide Struggle ('It Freaked Me Out'), Being 'Unapologetically' Gay & Lady Gaga's Validation" (2440). Pride Source Media Group. Between the Lines News. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  21. ↑ Burke, Paul C.; Tolman, Brett L.; Mackay, John W. (2 December 2016). "A gay-straight alliance may have saved this teen's life, and all Utah schools should have them". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  22. ↑ Woodruff, Daniel (15 March 2016). "New book details LDS teen's 'humiliating' gay conversion therapy in Utah". CBS Television Sinclair Broadcast Group. KUTV. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  23. ↑ Armstrong, Jamie (7 Nov 2016). "Michael McLean Opens Up About His 9-Year Faith Crisis and How He Found His Testimony Again". LDS Living. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  24. ↑ "'Families Are Forever': Trailer". ABC News. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  25. ↑ Renna, Cathy. ""Families are Forever" Shows the Journey of Devout Mormon Parents to Accept Young Gay Son". Family Acceptance Project. San Francisco State University. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  26. ↑ Wright, John (23 July 2003). "Gay Mormons". Pioneer News Group. The Herald Journal. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  27. ↑ Samuels, Diana (25 February 2010). "Memorial held for gay Mormon who committed suicide in Los Altos". The Mercury News. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  28. ↑ Moore, Carrie A. "Alone in the fold: Many LDS gays struggle to cling to faith despite their yearnings". LDS Church. Deseret News. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  29. 1 2 "Proposition 22 Dominates Wards' Attention, Divides Members" (PDF). Sunstone Magazine (118): 90. April 2001. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  30. ↑ "Henry Stuart Matis". affirmation.org. Affirmation. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  31. 1 2 Miller, Mark (7 May 2000). "To Be Gay - And Mormon". Newsweek. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  32. ↑ Matis, Stuart (21 February 2000). "Letter to the editor: Don’t stereotype gay people". BYU. The Daily Universe. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  33. ↑ Nickerson, James (16 Feb 2000). "Embrace All Types of People". BYU. Daily Universe. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  34. ↑ "Proposition 22 Dominates Wards' Attention, Divides Members" (PDF). Sunstone Magazine (118): 90, 92. April 2001. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  35. ↑ Matis, Fred; Matis, Marilyn; Mansfield, Ty (2004). In Quiet Desperation. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. pp. 18–19. ISBN 1590383311. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  36. ↑ Besen, Wayne (3 October 2003). Anything but Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth. Routledge. ISBN 1560234466.
  37. ↑ "Brian DJ Hyer Thompson". affirmation.org. Affirmation. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  38. ↑ Thompson, DJ. "DJ Thompson's Final Goodbye". affirmation.org. Affirmation. Archived from the original on April 8, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  39. ↑ Matis, Fred; Matis, Marilyn; Mansfield, Ty (2004). In Quiet Desperation. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. pp. 15–16, 21. ISBN 1590383311. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  40. ↑ "Clay Douglass Whitmer". affirmation.org. Affirmation. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Mountain, Green Utah". bestplaces.net. Sperling's Best Places. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  42. ↑ Henetz, Patty (1 May 2012). "Teen's suicide spurs community to face gay bullying in northern Utah". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  43. ↑ Dobner, Jennifer (7 May 2012). "Gay teen's suicide in Utah highlights youth bullying risks". Reuters. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  44. ↑ Jackson, Lauren (19 July 2016). "Devotion and despair: The lonely struggle of a gay Mormon". CNN. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  45. ↑ Lindsay, Carol (7 June 2012). "Weber High senior honored for accepting all students". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  46. ↑ Shaw, Mitch (10 April 2016). "After Utah LGBT advocate's suicide, community recalls his passion, kindness". Ogden Standard. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  47. ↑ Gohl, Cody (12 April 2016). "22-Year-Old Gay Mormon, Beloved Activist, Commits Suicide". New Now Next. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  48. ↑ "Braxton David Taylor". Ogden Standard Examiner. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  49. ↑ McKitrick, Kathy (30 September 2016). "Utah Senate candidate under fire for anti-gay Facebook comments". Ogden Standard Examiner. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  50. ↑ Rolly, Paul (8 Oct 2016). "Utah County Senate candidate is representing God. What’s new?". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  51. ↑ "Thanks to Jason Christensen, life just got harder for every LGBT youth in Utah". Ogden Standard Examiner. 4 Oct 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  52. ↑ Salinger, Tobias (30 September 2016). "Utah candidate says gay teen who committed suicide guilty of ‘the sins of homosexuality and the sins of murder’". New York Daily News. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  53. ↑ Rodriguez, Matthew. "Utah Senate candidate Jason Christensen calls alleged gay teen suicide a "murder"". mic.com. Mic Media Company. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  54. ↑ Warchol, Glen (30 June 1986). "Prevalence of AIDS Cited Among Mormons". Cumberland Evening Times. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  55. ↑ Curtis, Larry D. (14 February 2016). "LDS apostle speaks about church responsibility in Mormon LGBT suicides for first time". CBS Television Sinclair Broadcast Group. KUTV News. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  56. ↑ West, Camille (21 June 2016). "Church Adds New Mental Health Resources on LDS.org". LDS Church. LDS Church News. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  57. ↑ Walch, Tad (8 September 2016). "LDS Church launches 'Preventing Suicide' website during National Suicide Prevention Week". LDS Church. Deseret News. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
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