“I’m a gay mormon”: BYU students make an It Gets Better video

This has been circulating the interwebs the past couple of days — 22 students from Brigham Young University have released an It Gets Better video for fellow students at BYU and other gay Mormons out there, and it’s pretty powerful.

http://youtu.be/aU-zw1aSy5s

The producer told WaPo of the group’s intentions:  

“In our religion, there is a lot of misunderstanding and ugliness about homosexuality,” said Kendall Wilcox, a former BYU faculty member who produced the video and serves as an adviser to the school’s unofficial gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender support group. “We wanted to send this message that God loves you just as you are.”

Being openly gay was grounds for expulsion at BYU until 2010, when they removed their ban on “advocacy of homosexuality” — though Jamil at MHP points out that “homosexual behavior” is actually still punishable at the school.

Nonetheless, the group has made a bold statement to the university and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about LGBT Mormons, and will no doubt encourage other folks in the Mormon community who are struggling to reach out. But what I love about the video most (and why it resonates) is the way it challenges the idea that because some major organized religions do openly ostracize the LGBT community (like LDS does), that means it’s impossible to both be gay and have faith. And dare I say this video does make me hopeful that a younger generation can help usher their religion into a more inclusive and progressive space. Kudos to them.