Gay Mormon Guy Spends a Year Coming Out to His Family and Friends and Capturing Their Reactions on Camera
After a year spent coming out to his family and friends, BYU student Jimmy Hales put together a compilation of reaction footage he has filmed during that time.
Though the response he receives from his loved ones is pleasantly surprising, and coming out while Mormon takes significant courage, the harsh reality of being a gay Mormon is that Hales won't be able to be truly open about his sexuality so long as he remains a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"Studying at BYU as a closet gay Mormon has been quite an experience. I finally decided to come out and stop living a lie," he writes in the video's description. "I'm still, and will forever be, a faithful Mormon, so it looks like I'm not going to marry and therefore live a single life through this mortal existence. Sucks."
On his blog, where he talks at length about living as a gay Mormon, Hales elaborates a bit about the Church's requirement that homosexual members remain celibate for life, calling it "a taste of hell."
Still, Hales maintains that he plans to do just that, saying, "I personally believe this is the truth."
