Mormon Missionaries

By Logan Rimel '10

Recently, while checking the queer and political blogs I regularly read, I clicked on a banner ad for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly referred to as the Mormons) offering a free Book of Mormon. As a religion major conspicuously lacking said holy text, I decided that this opportunity was too good to pass up. I filled out the information and promptly forgot about it.

About a week later, I received a call from two young missionaries working here in Poughkeepsie. They wanted to schedule an appointment with me so that they could drop by, give me the book, and discuss their faith. I’ve now met with them on two separate occasions, discussing everything from the validity of the Bible to the testimony of Joseph Smith to (my personal favorite) queer identities, particularly within the Church.

For anyone not familiar with LDS doctrine (and I must confess, I am not nearly as well-versed as I should be. That was part of the reason behind requesting a Book of Mormon in the first place), the family is considered the central unit. It is through our relationships with our families that we learn how to love God and, eventually, to become like Him. From this position – the family not only as God’s prescribed plan, but as how one attains salvation – the LDS Church can be very difficult for queer members.

In my most recent meeting with the missionaries (two very kind, amiable, and intelligent women about my age), I brought up the fact that I was queer and did my best to explain my identity – how I view relationships, the people I date, the way orientation and gender identity combine to give me my perceptions of the world. At the end of my brief exposition, one of the women said, “So…like, homosexuality?” It was then that I realized we were speaking different languages.

Sometimes I forget, you know? I forget that the terms “gender binary,” “genderqueer,” “nonmonogamous,” and a thousand others are ones I use freely here, but sound like Greek to many others. I am privileged to be at Vassar, a privilege few others experience. As we discussed in the last Fruit Salad put on in the LGBTQ Center, the language that we have access to in institutions such as Vassar is not language that others necessarily are familiar with. The nuances of my identity are a result of my privilege.

The missionaries didn’t know exactly how to answer my questions, so they promised to do some research and meet with me again next week. I greatly appreciate the honesty in that answer and I’m looking forward to learning more about their perspective as they learn more about mine.