For the past 25-plus years, it has been the policy at Brigham Young University that it is OK to be gay, but not to act on it.
That echoes the position taken by the school’s owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
There are clearly BYU students who are open about their LGBTQ identity, while living the church’s standard of celibacy. But what about faculty and bosses?
Ben Schilaty is a licensed therapist and BYU Honor Code administrator who has written his story in a newly released book titled “A Walk in My Shoes: Questions I’m Often Asked as a Gay Latter-day Saint,” put out by the church’s publishing house, Deseret Book.
In this week’s show, Schilaty — who co-hosts with former Cougar mascot Charlie Bird the “Questions From the Closet” podcast — talks about coming to terms with his sexual orientation, his falling in love with another man, his commitment to living as a devout Latter-day Saint, the evolution of church LGBTQ policies, BYU’s short-lived Honor Code change, and his work at the faith’s flagship school.
Listen here: