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WILL UTAH BAN GAY "CONVERSION" THERAPY?
Josh Burningham, a married 33-year-old Utahn with four kids, was wrestling with feelings of same-sex attraction.
On the advice of his bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he contacted a therapist, and for the next two years became involved in programs he was told would help him cope with being gay, if not outright “cure” him of his desires. There were one-on-one and group counseling sessions aimed at LDS church members by organizations with names like Evergreen International and North Star, where therapists would try to pinpoint incidents in Burningham’s childhood he was told caused him to be gay. There were weekend-long intensive retreats held by Journey Into Manhood, a group co-founded by David Matheson — more about him later — where the men played sports and engaged in activities they were told would make them more masculine. None of it worked. Read more by clicking here or download the full PDF below. |