Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, AKA TORTURE

This is the location of Evergreen, the Mormon church's "reparative therapy" headquarters.

"Reparative/conversion/reorientation therapy" is not only torture built on junk science, bigotry, homophobia and violence, it also beats into the victim the incorrect notion that there is something fundamentally flawed with who they are. Fuck the assholes who came up with this bullshit idea!

For YEARS BYU conducted "experiments" on young gay men to try to "cure" them of a non-existent illness. These men had electrodes placed on their genitals, and they were shown various pornographic images. If they became aroused "inappropriately" (measured by this device patented by Robert Card) they received electric shocks to their genitals. Some were given drugs that caused them to vomit if they became "inappropriately" aroused.

All these kids were trying to do was to become "good" Mormons so they could reach exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom. They wanted to be "normal." They wanted to fit into the rigid Mormon mold by which all members are confined. Why couldn't they be free? No Mormon in good standing is free, but these young people were not only alienated by fellow members, but they were also tortured in the name of God. Amen.

Affirmation discusses Evergreen and has several links to more in-depth articles and first-person accounts by people who have been involved in Evergreen as "patients" and as leaders.

Here are some videos (courtesy of antideity at YouTube) of interviews with gay men who underwent the torture "therapy" at BYU. Know that Evergreen is still in business, and the electroshock torture continued waaay past the 70s when the LDS church claims it halted the practice.

When in Doubt, Kick Them Out!

Some GLBTQ Mormons wish to stay in the church, and Affirmation is a group of activist GLBTQ Mormons (some still active in the church, some who have left due to excommunication or of their own volition) who believe:

in the worth of every soul regardless of their sexual or gender orientation. We rejoice in life. We reject the tyranny that would have us believe that who we are—gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender—is evil or wrong. We affirm that we are all children of loving Heavenly Parents; that our sexual orientation and identity are not an accident, but rather a special gift from God. Our lives and our relationships can be compatible with the Gospel and are a special part of God’s creation.

Despite their efforts, most GLBTQ Mormons are excommunicated if they come out to church authorities and continue their "gay ways." Gamofites, a group of gay Mormon fathers, faced excommunication, and their accounts of church harassment and excommunication were the subject of a Nightline Special, "Gay Mormons Face Excommunication."

These men recount their attempts to abstain from all but church-sanctioned hetero sex, they married and had children, some underwent "reparative therapy torture," to try and fix something that doesn't need fixing, but what they really want and need is to be accepted as the people they are. They're hoping and praying the church will change, but the likelihood of that happening is slim to none in a church that doesn't even recognize the existence of bisexual or transgender members. Gotta be a temple-worthy, tithe-paying breeder to get into the Celestial Kingdom. Sorry!