"Why Me?"

Back when I did my “Behind the Voices” post, I mentioned a man named William Seger, who was interviewed in the podcast and who did a video shoot for Voice(s) of Hope. Around that time, I also bought a copy of his book, “Why Me?: A Gay Man’s Struggle for Love and Family” and between classes I was able to read it this semester. In his book, he recounts his story, beginning with his less-than-ideal family life growing up, followed by his time living the gay lifestyle, and finally ending with him joining the church and getting married. Throughout his whole life he wanted a family and he wanted love.

A major theme from his book is choice. Taken from the book’s website, under the “Author” tab, it says, he says, “My purpose, using my life’s experiences, to help them identify better choices and provide avenues of help to resolve confusing homosexual attractions as they mature but most importantly a better initial way to deal with those feelings not only for themselves but with their families. Good choices can ultimately define their character, offering a much happier and a more fulfilling life.” In the podcast, William said, “What we choose is what we can become … We can take a course, which may not be easy … but it’s possible.”

One quote from his book that I love (this is in the Afterword) is as follows: “Examine the law of gravity … As limiting as gravity sometimes seems to be, if there was no gravity on earth, then there would be chaos.” As the scriptures teach, with all commandments that the Lord gives us, we are blessed for obeying them and that one of the blessings we receive is happiness. It is my belief though that we are blessed for the commandments we do keep and I believe that there is a greater happiness and peace for those who keep all the commandments.

I love that this man did a video for Voice(s) of Hope and I’m excited to see his (and the rest of them) when the project is finally released.

Voice(s) of Hope

As part of being an SSA Missionary, I wanted to start putting together a list of resources about same-sex attraction, both to help those who struggle and to help those who love those who struggle. Of course it’s not good to fixate on the problem too much, but I believe that proper understanding can and will help those who struggle with same-sex attraction feel more comfortable, understood, and welcome in the church.

I figured an appropriate resource to start with would be Ty Mansfield’s book “Voices of Hope”. Over the past couple weeks, I have been reading a lot from “Voices of Hope”. The stories I read about men and women who have dealt with same-sex attraction (in addition to several parents, spouses, and priesthood leaders) were inspiring and I could feel the Spirit testify as I read of their trials, mistakes, and eventually came to understand the healing power of the Atonement, helping them recover from the pains of sin, guilt, shame, and loneliness.

The book has six chapters, each focusing on a different theme. Each chapter begins with a doctrinal essay by some noted LDS authors (including Brad Wilcox and Robert Millet). After that, each chapter has three or four stories by someone whose life has been touched by SSA (either personally or because of someone they know that struggles). Some of the ones I found especially powerful were written by Kirk Reidman, Tyler Moore, and Jeff Bennion. One of the things I loved about Kirk’s story was the intensely personal message of hope and how he found hope in this life, despite his struggles with same-sex attraction. Tyler’s story was one that I found particularly intriguing. His story is entitled “Being My True Self”. He talked about his journey, arriving at the point that he came to understand that being true to himself did not require him to live a gay lifestyle, as many believe, because the gospel was more important to him than his sexuality.

I especially wanted to write about Voices of Hope today for a specific reason. Earlier today, I drove up to Alpine, Utah to film my video for the Voices of Hope Project. As an extension of Ty Mansfield’s book, I was filmed as I told my story about my experiences with SSA. I was very excited to participate in this endeavor as I tried to pull from my heart the lessons that I learned from my experiences and trials. I’m not sure how well it went exactly, but that’s what post-production is for right?

The website isn’t fully up yet, but this video of Ty introducing the website gives a good overview of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. I know that the gospel is the only way to find true happiness. I know that through the Atonement I can find strength and peace.

Until next time, remember that because of the Atonement, it gets better.