Is "Conversion Therapy" still a thing?

***Trigger warnings - discussion of suicide / suicide attempts and conversion therapy***

Is “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ individuals still happening? According to the recent Trevor Project LGBTQ Mental Health Survey, 17% of current LGBTQ youth have been threatened with or have been forced to undergo these types of therapies. 

Did you know that LGBTQ kids who are threatened with and/or undergo these conversion therapies are more than TWICE  as likely to attempt suicide?

What is the church* policy on “conversion therapy”?

Methods of “fixing” LGBTQ+ are not effective and are harmful. A change in attraction should not be expected or demanded.

"Family Services has a longstanding and express policy against using therapies that seek to repair, 'convert," or 'change' sexual orientation (such as from homosexual to heterosexual). Research demonstrates that electric shock, aversion therapy, and other analogous therapies are ineffective and harmful to youth who experience same-sex attraction" (Church Website Official Statement)

For more information about therapy that could be helpful to LGBTQ+ individuals and their families, we recommend seeking counsel from licensed professionals. You can find a list of resources on our website here.

*the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Do we glory in variety in all things, EXCEPT sexuality & gender?

There is a misconception that people choose to be LGBTQ. This is some seriously OLD school nonsense.

Being LGBTQ is not something that a person can turn on or turn off. It’s not born out of curiosity, pornography, depravity, or rebellion.

With the wide variety of characteristics from individual to individual, why are we so surprised there is a variety or a spectrum in sexuality and in gender?

Within a nuclear family, height, body type, eye color, disposition, intellect, hair texture & color, ability to keep or grow hair, mental health, finger length, foot size, ability to dunk, risk aversion, taste, birth defects, thoughtfulness, and fertility are some of the thousands of characteristics that make each of us unique and amazing. None of these things can be chosen.

Why do we expect sexuality and gender to be something we can change?

We glory in variety in all things, except sexuality and gender?

I’m pretty sure LGBTQ human beings did not take our Heavenly Parents by surprise. We should not be surprised by the concern and protective love they have for THEIR LGBTQ children. Particularly as they are so misunderstood and mistreated.

Heavenly Father desires that EACH of His creations grows and thrives in its particular sphere.

Science is getting closer to understanding how sexual and gender variety comes to be. The latest research on homosexuality, for example, points to genetics and gestational factors. As we come to understand how natural it is to have a percentage of humans fall into one or more of the LGBTQ categories, we need to strive to understand more fully the Father’s plan for His unique LGBTQ children.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, WE understand the miracle of continuing revelation and further light and knowledge.

Let us pray for that very light to shine on our LGBTQ members. WE can bring them out of the shadows into the healing light of the Savior’s love and our embracive community.

With love, we can do so much more than we think we can. ❤️

-Allison