It Gets Better BYU - Adam
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
- Students from Brigham Young University share a personal message for the It Gets Better Project.
USGA (Understanding Same-Gender Attraction) is an unofficial group of Brigham Young University students, faculty, and friends who wish to strengthen families and the BYU community by providing a place for open, respectful discussions on the topic of same-gender attraction. USGA is not an appropriate forum for angry, vulgar, or profane remarks of any kind, nor for expressions of antagonism against any person or organization. In order to foster an environment of respect and understanding, we ask all participants to be respectful of BYU, the Church, and the beliefs and experiences of others.
Find USGA on Facebook at: groups/byuusga
The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach -- if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone - and it WILL get better.
The website www.itgetsbetter.org is a place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans can see how love and happiness can be a reality in their future. It's a place where straight allies can visit and support their friends and family members. It's a place where people can share their stories, take the It Gets Better Project pledge, watch videos of love and support, and seek help.
If you are considering suicide or need help, call the Trevor Project now: 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386).
Take the pledge: www.itgetsbetter.org/pledge
I am a 45 year old man who cried like a baby listening to you. I wish I had heard this when I was in high school and I would have not tried committing suicide. I am a free man now but cant help but thinking my life would have been easier had I had people like you in my youth.
Thanks Adam! Watched you at the panel at BYU on Wednesday. Your comment about always staying close to the gospel regardless of where life takes you struck the greatest chord with me. Thank you for your testimony and your strength!
I really appreciate all those who helped make these videos! I am a homosexual, and I grew up LDS. I served a full-time mission, and tried so hard to get rid of my homosexuality. I do not believe the church's stance on homosexuality, among other things, and this has caused me to leave the church. Regardless of that fact, I am grateful that there are people out there who are speaking out and offering help and hope to people who struggle with being homosexual in the church. Thanks for your bravery!
Thank you, thank you, thank you . . . for your courage, your faith, and your willingness to risk your privacy to help others. You are a hero and a true instrument of God's Love.
A very brave young man with a wonderful spirit. Bravo.
God bless with your journey through BYU.
Thank you, Adam. Thank you..
I am christian and said the same prayer about being gay and I felt a sense of relief like I have never been before after I said amen.
You raise a concern that has not gone unheard. While different sides of political and religious debates me disagree on certain points, most, if not all can agree that saving the lives of the LGBTQ community who are hurt and confused by religion and politics is important. The "It Gets Better" Project gives hope and encouragement. For some, it keeps them living. USGA is a community on BYU campus for people who need understanding, who need a home. We may not always agree, but we respect life.
Adam, can't begin to tell you how much I admire your compassion, courage and integrity. Thanks for making this video, and all blessings to your always.
You are the best! thank you, Adam
Adam - May your life be one of peace and fulfillment. The Lord bless you, always!
Adam from what it sounds like, you are still a golden boy. You truly are doing good in the world and I hope you keep fighting the good fight.
I am 25 and you make me want to come out at work. So inspiring. I appreciate this a lot. You made my day :)
If you have questions, send them to the Facebook group, USGA - Understanding Same-Gender Attraction. I can answer questions there, and other gay Mormons can as well :)
This is SO inspiring.
Amazing individual, be strong its tough out there
I went to high school with Adam. He is a wonderful man. Seeing this, I am so proud of him for coming out; he is still the same beautiful person.
Adam, what a great example you are, understanding your sexuality while not turning your back on the Church. God bless you and best of luck to all your endeavors.
I am not Mormon but I can relate and say that watching these videos has really cheered me up and has brightened up my life I just wanted to thank you for making it easier for me to accept me for who I am and again thank you! Gay Pride!!!!
If you read my comment carefully, you'll notice that I am not speaking out against the Church either. To rephrase: I don't believe in the church, but for those who do, I am grateful that these videos are out here to provide guidance for those struggling like I struggled.
They have a music and theater department at bring 'em young university?
Adam is a beautiful human being.
Adam, to me you sort of look like David Archuleta. In all your endeavors, throughout your life, I want the very best for you. You are superexcellent.
you all please keep up the work . we are who we are and i dont care what anyone think.
Adam, You are adorable. You're going to make some guy very, very happy! You are blessed!
Mormons are really really really good at PR.
He's adorable. Kinda reminds me of David Archuleta.
All these comments about telling adam leave that awful church, hey ya'll….. thats being hiippocritical….. bashing religions is just as bad as bashing sexuality cause religion is a part of who someone is to……. this is an uplifting message….. and its from BYU…. trying to get all political and stuff is just….. well… dumb……. politics have a time and a place, but save this video for someone who needs an uplifting message…..
i love this man.
Adam, you're someone special. I think Heavenly Father sent you here to change minds and hearts. And I think you know it. Go do it!
Hola!, donde podría encontrar la traducción al castellano de todas estas experiencias. Hay gente homosexual SUD que no entiende el ingles y necesita también ayuda de ese tipo. Gracias.
thank you so much i felt so much better after watching this and Adam is so cute!
Yeah, *that's* why I'm loving Adam.
What an amazing series of videos. Will the younger generation of Mormons take the church to the next level and open their eyes to stop their homophobia? Name appropriate Adam seems to be the stand out star of theses vids.. He should keep the momentum going and take on the roll of the gay Mormon poster child. I'm happily stunned. Thanks for posting.
I'm not Mormon - I'm Catholic, BUT I could still really relate to a lot of this! And I think you're absolutely adorable - you can flirt with me anyday. Best of luck with your plight of acceptance, USGA seems amazing :) xx
I'm wondering how you (Adam) deal with the doctrine of the church, mainly the Proclamation to the Family, and the fact that you are gay? I'm gay and a Mormon too, and I'm struggling with this concept. At times I feel as if there are only two roads: one road that leads to acting out my homosexual feelings, and another road that leads to suppressing any such feelings towards the same sex and staying close to the teachings of the church. But can these be the only two options?Can there be a balance?
I feel so proud of you Adam !
Att: wiston !
You are so sweet. Thanks for making this.
Incredible, Adam!
Such strength! Thank you for being a voice for those of us who are alumni who weren't able to come out and for those dealing with the same issues today.
MDT's Forever!
Adam, I am gay and went to BYU. Please know that there are lots of choices. Once I met people who successfully resolved many of the reasons for their same-sex attractions, and once I read books like Resolving Homosexual Problems: A Guide for LDS Men, I realized that I had a lot of choices and could keep God's commandments.
Early LDS Church leaders reasonably realized in addition to proselytizing an effective way to increase membership was to have many children so did all they could to encourage Mormon women to have many children. Though bearing many new Mormons is not an end in itself it is so ingrained in the psyche of individual members and the LDS Church institutionally that those who for whatever reason remove themselves as potential parents have no place in the club. But being a bit less mean is nice.
Adam is so cute
This is inspired. Thank you for being a voice, for those who need someone to speak up.
Some of life lessons include hitting your head against a wall a number of times before you get it. I think all these young people will be doing that.
At least this BYU video doesn't depress the hell out of me.
He's so adorable, my head just exploded from the cuteness!
People are able to reconcile it. You just don't hear about it.
Adam, if you're reading this.. this is me asking you out :-)
-trav
He's so cute ^_^
I don't think that he's necessarily saying that he didn't know he was gay. In elementary school, he noticed that he didn't fit into stereotypical gender norms. He goes on to discuss trying to distract himself from homosexual feelings in middle school and high school (when sexual feelings typically arise). I think most of these students knew deep down that they were gay, but they were just afraid and didn't know how to cope with it in a culture that they thought would look down on them for it.
Adam is so cute. I will definitely shamelessly flirt with him if I met him one day.
Adam you're awesome!
Awwww he's adorable :3
Okay. To anyone that says that God doesn't make you that way, He does give every individual their own trials and things they're strong in and things they struggle with more. But I can say that it most definitely is something that, if there is a God, He gives to certain people. Sure, there are probably some that it was more of a decision than not, but for most, it most definitely is something that they were born with and I've had these feelings since kindergarten and has been an increasing temptation or whatever you want to call it and I had tried to like girls and it never really worked. I'm sick of people saying things about and judging gays when they have no idea how it is. And imagine if it was a "sin" to be attracted to the opposite sex. And I know that's weird thought but, you know what I mean. It's seriously one of the most confusing things and it has really made me question my testimony and I keep wondering if there is a god and if so, does he love me, even if I choose to go towards accepting that I'm gay and getting married to a man.
I´ll explain :D when I was 11 I realized I was gay, and well, before that no one really gives much thought to sex but you do think about relationships to an extent, but since you didnt give much thought to the sexual aspect of it theres no way for you to realize that you are even gay until you start developing those feelings, which is why most of them realized when they were 11 - 14 (if you watch the other BYU videos), at least thats how I see it in my case.
if you're not gay you dont know how it feels to be gay and LDS at the same time
im lds since i was a kid im gay and being rejected from church members feels really bad .. i went on a mission yo see if i could get better .. when i was a missionary others elders used to make fun of me cause i was different .. that hurts really bad.. i love lds church but some members are not nice sometimes .. im happy for being me .. theres other members doing things worst than being gay ... like cheating.
I graduated from BYU, experience SSA, and never, not once, met a homophobic and deeply anti-gay individual.
Thank you for your comment! I do realize what this looks like... So I want to be as transparent as possible. This project was done on a volunteer basis. We have a wide range of ethnicities in USGA, but not everyone wanted to make a video. I am of Filipino descent myself :) But again, thank you for your concern.
I love this channel. I just saw this recent blog post on campbellmld and thought of the USGA. Keep in mind that God is no respecter of persons and everyone is valuable and loves regardless of race, gender, orientation.
What's fascinating about these vids is that growing up they all realize something is "different" about them, but for some odd reason they couldn't make the (simple) connection to meaning they were gay. What does that mean? Are they completely sheltered? Do they not even know what gay is? Do they know of no other gay people? And I do wonder if they are sugar-coating the church experience, because the institution told them being gay was very bad and sinful, and yet they still want be belong.
Interesting thought. I was solely attracted to the opposite gender until I was abused in my youth by someone of the same gender. I know, without a doubt, that at least in my own situation, people aren't always "born gay." Please remember that while discussing the SSA community, it isn't only comprised of individuals interested in embracing a specific lifestyle or identity.
This video makes me cry. I only wish that the mormon church would stop saying that gay sexual activity is a sin. If that one thing would happen, this whole problem could be solved.
Saying Gay relationships are sin, that is the real poison. I wish all Christianity would abandon that poisonous and destructive belief
I hope the LDS church switches on this, like they switched on blacks and polygamy.
Thank you for speaking out, your story is so beautiful!
Awww I love Adam!! whats your facebook lol
Cute, smiley, dimples and all, Adam makes you really want to believe that BYU, The Mormons, may actually be changing. ALMOST comes across as a PROMO video for gays to apply to BYU. *brakes squealing* Check out the parent video "it gets better". Mark IS a character who typifies the true gay character; the demeanor, mood, and helplessness of being Gay and Mormon. It's oil and water, black and white, and no matter what the lip service offered... you, WE... are NOT wanted.
Adam is so darn cute! Haha This video was so inspiring, I loved it. It takes a lot of courage to put your thoughts and feelings out there, so thank you.
It gets better with acceptance, more specifically acceptance of your self. Many Mormon gay youth have heard hateful and/or ignorant, hopeless messages at Church. Many then push away their sexuality, and treat it as an enemy. I think this push back against such an integral part of the personality is unhealthy. Hopefully, these videos inspire Mormon, at-risk youth and at-risk youths everywhere to accept their sexuality and acknowledge it fully. Then, they can own their growth as a person.
The majority of these BYU students have never acted out on their feelings and had a homosexual experience. While they advocate tolerance for people's same gender attraction, they have never actually felt what it's like after following through on these feelings. As such, they are unaware as to the ramifications of such behavior.
A healthy dialogue about sexuality at a younger age in the church is needed rather than of repressing natural sexual feelings and living in fear of sinning.
You're an adorable person! You just radiate so much love!
Same Gender Loving (SGL) is far more descriptive of the truth than SSA which is only a PART of what it means to be gay.
I appreciate and agree with your sentiments to bring greater understanding and sympathy. However you did not answer my question: which GLBT activist groups are defending Christianity or God or high moral standards? Also, what is your view on the Law of Chastity as taught in the LDS Church?
It seems to me that the hallmark of nearly every "gay pride" festival or parade revolves rampant immorality. Boston, Philly, San Fran... Up Your Alley and Folsom St. Fair. Which gay groups uphold chastity?
Doubt it.
Well you must have graduated fairly recently because when I went there it was terribly anti-gay. In fact they used to have witch hunts where those who were in charge of enforcing the honor code would do everything they could to search out those who were gay and bring them in for questioning. Some people committed suicide as a result of this. It was awful. I have since come out and have embraced who I am as a gay man the way God created me. I am proud of these wonderful BYU students.
No. leave the cult and go and be your true self. Any issues God has with any of us will be gone over when our time come.
You would know how??? Oh yeah you don't!
I only said colored people because you said color/dark skin..... Like I said and you can even google it but they are not much of black people in Utah.... BTW im Black and Mexican
In regards to your criticism: the black population for the State of Utah in 2010 consisted of 1.1%. If you take into account that a small percentage of the population is actually gay, you'll see how difficult it is to actually find someone in utah who is both black and gay. Also, by making such a big deal about how there isn't a black person in a video only promotes racism by flagging a religion as racist.
"How can we end racism?" -interviewer
"Stop talking about it." -Morgan Freeman
How exactly is a gay mormon homosexual lifestyle ??? I heard them talking about friends, brothers, sisters etc ... but what about boyfriends or girlfriends? marriage? personal life? I guess a gay mormon is just a smilling doll who says is gay, but in reallity he does what straight mormons do, except from the fact that he will die single and alone ??
That's sad even I wouldn't tell my secrets
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Man, I really admire you. You're an example.
p.s.: you're cute :)
There is a place for you
With Christ, we're all in this together
Gays can be Mormons too
Hope on and know that it gets better
Wait he's a brony I am to
gah you're so cute
I'm neither gay or mormon, nor do I believe in god, but I"m moved by this video and the one which linked to it.
With rmoney running for indentured servant master, err, I mean, president, it's important to have this discussion while people are paying attention. How long ago was it that blacks were allowed to be bishops in the mormon church -- Rachel knows the answer!
This year... mormons have an opportunity to force a discussion about sexuality and give other phobic religions a run for their
Get out of this church Adam and live your true life to its true potential. Don't be one of those Mormons that is openly gay but gets married and so on. Be gay. God does not make mistakes your exactly as you should be.
Well you must have lived on another planet or be very naive. Homophobia and anti-gay rhetoric abound in Utah County and many other places across the country. Also the term "SSA" means same sex attraction. Do you say heterosexual people experience OSA or Opposite Sex Attraction? The reality is we who are gay are same gender loving individuals. Our orientation is FAR more than just a sexual attraction. You might remember that.
An 'exciting time to be a gay mormon'? Son....WOW. That's pretty mis-guided. I spend my a large portion of my professional life trying to undo what your church does. WOW....
Adam--Thanks for making this video. Unfortunately, you are glossing over several very real facts about the LDS faith that counter your video. Consider the message coming from the church about the worth of the LGBT soul. The second, Adam, appears to be the policies of the LDS church that not only preach an anti-gay message, but the LDS church violates the Constitution to move that message into government. I'd highly recommend getting more informed. And, consider a transfer to the U of U.
In addition, I implore you to leave that awful organization which has destroyed so many lives and so many families and has been the cause of so many Mormon LGBT teens and college students to commit suicide because they are horribly treated. Which, when it happens on BYU campus and it has, BYU sweeps it under the rug and could careless about that student.
xamguti Despite this being true in many cases, it's not just the LDS church. This treatment to LGBT people happens all over the world. Wake up.
Hate works both ways, it is only your fault your community did this to themselves. Otherwise we would not have these problems now would we? And based on your use of pejorative terms, I would say you have some hangups as well. How dare you accuse the gay rights movement of being anti- anything, last time I checked we had LDS's in gay rights parades, but I'm guessing you overlooked that.
Adam, YOU ARE ADORABLE. Please consider leaving that awful church.
Disgusting