November 29, 2022
David Archuleta Reflects on Stepping Away From the Mormon Church
Emell Adolphus READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Since coming out in 2021 as bisexual, former "American Idol" star David Archuleta is opening up about his journey of acceptance and what led to him stepping away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after coming out.
As reported by Axios, Archuleta said in a recent interview with ABC Nightline that high-ranking church leaders attempted to convince him that he might no be indeed bisexual.
"We just need to find you a good girl," Archuleta said he was told by leaders.
In talks with church leaders, Archuleta said he was led to believe that all LGBTQ+ people think about is sex. Archuleta's claims contradict the church's official position that clergy "shouldn't ... encourage heterosexual marriage for those who ... identify as gay," Axios reports.
The church has shifted away from attempted methods to turn gay people straight, however, its message around the topic remains obscure.
"In 2010, an apostle claimed in General Conference that being gay is a choice; the church then purged parts of that passage from the online transcript," Axios reports.
Indeed, the church opposed Utah's ban on anti-LGBTQ conversion therapy in 2019, but later supported the ban after language protecting religious "discussion" was added.
In 2016, the church launched a website called "Mormon and Gay," for stories of LGBTQIA members, however, that page has since been changed to focus more on gay members married to the opposite sex.
Archuleta, himself, shared that he had been engaged to women three times, but it wasn't a "solution" for how he felt inside.
"They were all wonderful girls," Archuleta told Jennifer Hudson during a talk show appearance. "But you just think, 'I'm a failure.' So what should I do? I don't want to be evil in God's sight. ... No matter how much you pray, how much you fast, you start thinking, 'Well, is it better if I'm not here anymore?'"
With Archuleta's statements, he reveals that finding a clear path to be queer and of faith as a Mormon is still unclear.
