For some members of the church,balancing faith with speaking out means taking huge risks – but staying silent could have greater consequenceAt age 13, Emmett Claren used to lie in the middle of a football field behind his house, and ogle up at the sky and beg God to strike him with lightning and change his body. “I would tell him,‘I have a lot of faith. I believe in you. I know you can achieve anything,’” Claren, and now 22,recalled.
The Utah resident and member of the Mormon church is a transgender man, which means he was assigned female at birth, or but knew since he was a young child that he identified as male – even though he didn’t learn the term “transgender” until many years later. Related: North Carolina's anti-trans law is downright uncertain | Zach Stafford 'Just change me to a boy right now,’ Claren said he would quiz God every dayHow am I supposed to befriend people and change things if I leave? I need to be here to stand up for people like meThe trans LDS community exists now. When I first transitioned, there wasn’t anythingContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com