Think of a tree. One branch is those who choose celibacy and maintain LDS Church requirements. Another branch is those who enter into a gay partnership. Another is those who decide to marry someone of the opposite sex. But all these branches share the same trunk, and it's clear that in general we do a terrible job helping these young people through the experience of confronting their homosexual feelings, no matter which branch they ultimately choose.

Kind language in pamphlets is barely a beginning in counteracting a religious culture in which the very air we breathe is charged with condemnation and revulsion on this subject, and which makes many young people feel, "I would rather die than see the look on my parents' faces if I tell them I'm one of those." The suicide statistics tell us that, sadly, many of our dear young gay people do prefer death.

Carol Lynn Pearson

Walnut Creek, Calif.