In the past ten years five young men, and maybe more, have committed suicide while attending Brigham Young University. Four of these men had been trapped in the ongoing homosexual witch shunts at BYU and subjected to the Church's disciplinary program. The fifth had sought help on his own by contacting church authorities and admitting the problem to them. The men underwent the first step in the Church's “counseling.” the counselor for homosexual problems at the time being Kimball.

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One by one they were expelled from BYU, excommunicated from the Church, and through Church channels their “problem” was revealed to their families. Their student records contained this “sinful” information, causing difficulties in attempts to transfer to other schools or gain employment. Soon after, each one took his life.

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Mormon president Kimball demands homosexuals avoid their obscene past and conform to church

The August 13, 1975 issue of the Advocate presented a traumatizing but true picture of what it’s like to be gay and Mormon. Homosexuality has been a sore spot with the Mormon Church. as Robert I. McQueen portrays in his article.

He explains that to fully understand the terrible stigma attached to being both gay and Mormon, especially in Utah, one must understand the Church's hostile position towards homosexuality and its all-pervasive influence in Utah society. One must also realize that most gay Mormons sincerely believe in Mormonism and wish to be good Mormons. The realization that one can’t be both is the point of conflict.

Most of the official church literature on homosexuality is authored by Spencer W. Kimball, who is now the President of the Church. Kimball downgrades the thought of homosexuality and provides a real fear for gay church members. He also asserts that homosexuality is a plan of Satan to corrupt the people of the earth.

In the past ten years five young men, and maybe more, have committed suicide while attending Brigham Young University. Four of these men had been trapped in the ongoing homosexual witch shunts at BYU and subjected to the Church's disciplinary program. The fifth had sought help on his own by contacting church authorities and admitting the problem to them. The men underwent the first step in the Church's “counseling.” the counselor for homosexual problems at the time being Kimball.

During the interview Kimball blackmailed them morally by robbing them of their self-worth, their dignity, their hopes of happiness in this life, and their dream of eternal salvation. Naturally, they believed him, for he was an apostle of the Lord whom the Church had placed in that position to be in direct communication with their “Heavenly Father.”

These men continued their education at BYU, being told that they had to completely repent and be willing to provide names of other gay people.

One by one they were expelled from BYU, excommunicated from the Church, and through Church channels their “problem” was revealed to their families. Their student records contained this “sinful” information, causing diffi-culties in attempts to transfer to other schools or gain employment. Soon after, each one took his life.

When the Church turned them away it destroyed them, but it's doubtful that the Mormon Church would ever accept even a portion of the blame.

A line used frequently by Mormons states “To thine own self be true." This doesn't seem to be try if you're a homosexual.

Kimball says that homosexuality can be cured and is forgivable. He quickly points out the success of the Church's “healing” program which treats homosexuality as an illness and cures it with disguised shock therapy known to Kimball as Professional Counseling.

This counseling is provided by the Church's Division of Social Services, a body of social workers and psychologists who must uphold and dish out any professional standards according to the Church's policy at all times. The lay program of counseling and supervision is left up to the leaders of the local wards, many of whom can't even say “homosexual” without blushing.

Kimball’s advice to current gay Mormons is to avoid every person, place, thing or situation which could bring back the memories of the obscene past. His testimonials are often pickled with the “cured,” who remain nameless. His notes don't contain the suicide notes or the anguish and failures of those pretending to be cured. Oblivious to Kimball is the number of gays that don’t seek Church counsel or assistance.

An infiltrating practice has been developed at BYU and is a refined art of campus security. For a long time campus security was respon-sible for the surveillance and personal interviews which continually added names to their "lists." Their overeagerness recently led to an FBI investi-gation of alleged illegal surveil-lance and a slight change in the administrative policy.

‘Though the Church doesn’t have a so-called police state, the same attitudes are prevalent throughout the Church. Being a male-dominated church, lesbianism, along with the women’s liberation movement is of a smaller concern.

Church actions in the name of “love” have very costly stakes. Professors, instructors or employees of BYU are immediately fired if found to be gay. Employees in any of the Church-related businesses all over Utah and other Western states meet the same fate.

A person has to merely make a phone call about his sexuality to a Church leader and an excuse is immediately formed about the unsuitability of a person as a prospect for employment. Careers can be destroyed professional licenses revoked and friendships withdrawn on little more than a rumor.

President Kimball weakly states that “God loves homosexual,” but this holds as much substance as “the Church loves darkies.” The Church denies Blacks the ability to hold the priesthood, which supposedly is not a prejudice but in real life turns out to be a great discrimination against Blacks.

On the PSU campus there is one known woman who is having to go through the process of excommunication for being a lesbian. She has been an upstanding member of the Church for 21 years until it was found out she was gay.

When people put most of their lives into an organization, it seems very unhuman for the Church to wipe their names away like they never existed. There are many anonymous gays in the Mormon Church, but for them the path isn’t “straight and narrow.” It's only narrow, and not even that if they don't keep quiet.