“Gay LDS Crossroads”
Cover design by Owen Smith; website design by Weston Smith
Gay Latter-day Saint Crossroads: My Journey, Your Journey, and a Scripture-based Path Forward by Evan Smith, edited by Marci McPhee, is available as a free PDF download or navigable e-book online at www.gayldscrossroads.org. or on Amazon. Readers are invited to freely share this book and that website with others!
What’s it about? Read the teaser below! Also check out the 10-page excerpt, 1-page “Path Forward,” and the podcast interview with the author Evan and his wife Cheryl on Richard Ostler’s “Listen, Learn and Love.”
What are people saying about this new book? Read reviews here by Carol Lynn Pearson, Judy Dushku, Richard Ostler, Bryce Cook, Clair Barrus, Timothy D., David B. Ostler, Christina Dee, Sarah Quincy, Truman Whitney, and Valerie Green. Also read Marci’s short editor’s foreword, including why she personally connects with this work.
Summary: Evan Smith believed the anti-gay messages he heard in church during his childhood, which contributed to some negative experiences on his mission in San Francisco. Later, as a bishop and then a counselor in a stake presidency, his heart softened as church members came to him seeking guidance about feeling attracted to others of the same gender. Evan’s investigating and study became personal when his own son came out as gay.
In this navigable e-book, Evan tackles the issues with a lawyer’s mind and a penetrating analysis of scriptures and church doctrine. He addresses such questions as these: “What insights apply from the end of polygamy and the race-based priesthood/temple ban?” “Why do I stay in the church?” and, most importantly, “What words are hurtful/helpful to LGBTQs and their families?”
All proceeds received by the author are donated to LGBTQ charities.
Read Evan’s very kind review of Marci’s work as editor.