- A few things we learn from the psychology literature:
- One’s sexual orientation is generally not a choice, and acceptance of one’s sexuality is associated with health and well-being.  (One reference: Navigating Sexual and Religious Identity Conflict: A Mormon Perspective)
- Religious participation is also generally associated with well-being, unless the church one attends is perceived to be an unsafe place. (One Reference:Â Psychosocial Correlates of Religious Approaches to Same-Sex Attraction: A Mormon Perspective)
- Family Rejection is associated with an increased prevalence of illegal drug use and risky sexual behavior, along with suicide attempts (One Reference: Family Acceptance Project)
- The healthiest pathway for most LGBT Mormons appears to be: 1) acceptance of one’s sexual orientation, 2) leaving the LDS church, and 3) entering into committed, same-sex marriage (One Reference: Psychosocial Correlates of Religious Approaches to Same-Sex Attraction: A Mormon Perspective)
- The least healthy pathway for most LGBT Mormons appears to be: 1) rejecting/denying one’s sexual orientation, 2) remaining active in the LDS church, and 3) choosing either a celibate lifestyle or a mixed-orientation marriage (One Reference: Psychosocial Correlates of Religious Approaches to Same-Sex Attraction: A Mormon Perspective)
- How the 2015 LDS LGBT policy changes impact these factors:
- Declaring same-sex marriage an act of apostasy (on par with murder, incest, adultery) and rejecting children of SSM’d Mormons seems to:
- ….lead to: 1) increased family pressure and sometimes increased family rejection by many believing loved ones, and 2) more LDS LGBT youth self-rejection/self-shame – with the added pressure of feeling like God (through his prophets) is rejecting not only who they are, but who they hope to become (happily married Mormon gay men/lesbian women with a family).  The combination of these two factors could contribute to the spike in LGBT Mormon suicides (dozens).
- …shut down the healthiest relationship pathway for LGBT Mormons (same-sex marriage) and instead continues to elevate the least healthy pathways (celibacy and same-sex marriage).
- …lead many LGBT Mormons and allies to leave the church, depriving them of an otherwise positive association (e.g., loss of community, spirituality), but has a silver lining in that it is also removing them from a non-affirming, sometimes toxic religious and social environment.
- Declaring same-sex marriage an act of apostasy (on par with murder, incest, adultery) and rejecting children of SSM’d Mormons seems to:
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