Please know that Elder Holland doesn’t speak for all Utahns, nor even all LDS members. You are loved, just as you are. You are worthy, just as you are. You are a child of God, just as you are.
Elder Holland mentioned muskets; know that you have an army of people looking out for you. Elder Holland referenced shooting; know that there are shields of love, advocacy, and acceptance surrounding you. Know that there is life beyond BYU; life beyond the narrow-mindedness of Elder Holland’s talk and the angry, Old-Testament God that Holland personifies.
Too many people have died, either literally or figuratively, in the name of religion. Don’t be among them. Hold on. Hold on to your worth. Hold on to your spirit. Hold on to the knowledge that you are exactly the person you are meant to be, creating exactly the life you are meant to create for yourself. If you can’t create that life at BYU, create it elsewhere. If you can’t be happy in your religion, be happy elsewhere. If you can’t find acceptance from those currently around you, find it elsewhere.
Be like Jim Carrey in The Truman Show, and break out of the soul-crushing, scripted life that Elder Holland has laid out for you, and go live your life, free and happy. You deserve that. We’ll be rooting for you.
Julie and Pete Previte, Ogden
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