Peculiar and Queer: Spiritual and Emotional Salvation for the LGBTQ Mormon

Abstract

Clients who are lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgendered, or queer (LBGTQ) and members or former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes referred to as the Mormon or LDS Church) face a distinctive spiritual conundrum. Often people see LDS members as having “peculiar” beliefs. These “peculiar” beliefs and the social system of the Latter-day Saints distinguish them from other forms of Christianity, and create a paradigm of conflict for those who do not fit in the mold of the Mormon doctrine. In this article the authors examine issues of spirituality and religiosity, examine the literature with regard to effective counseling for LGBTQ Mormons, and review LDS Church doctrines, extracted from seminal works of the LDS Church. These are examined to better explore the difficulties of LGBTQ people and explore the meanings of peculiar and queer and their relevance to the issues of LGBTQ Mormons. Finally the authors address how oppression relates to spirituality and orientation as well as examine the similarities of spiritual formation and sexual identity formation. Understanding these complex spiritual issues will offer a possible solution for counselors who work with this “peculiar and queer” population. As multicultural competence includes addressing issues of spirituality, clinicians will benefit from an increased understanding of the spiritual and religious dilemmas for members of the LDS Church who question a dichotomous view of sexuality.

KEYWORDS:

• faith
• LGBTQ
• Mormonism
• religion
• sexual identity
• spiritual development