NOM

https://deseretbook.com/p/cd-that-we-ma ... -paperback

That didn't take long. I wonder if they have had the outline sitting there waiting for if he came back, kind of like how they have everything ready for release when the queen dies.

Has anyone read it?

The suspense is killing me....

In That We May Be One, Tom Christofferson shares perspectives gained from his life's journey as a gay man who left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then returned to it. After having asked to be excommunicated from the faith he was raised in, Tom spent two decades in a loving relationship with a committed partner. But gradually, the love of family, friends, and strangers and the Spirit of the Lord worked on him until he found himself one night sitting in his car in front of the bishop's house...

Tom: Knock, knock, knock...

Bishop: Who's there?

Tom: uh bishop you don't know me but I'm gay and related to an apostle and the spirit drove me here.

Bishop: come in please...

Tom: as you probably guessed bishop, I'm here to repent. I like men. I mean I liked men. I'm ready to stop loving men and come home to church.

Bish: without going into graphic detail Tom, what are your sins?

Tom: I liked salami sandwiches in a fresh Hogie bun.

Bish: sorry tom, I don't follow.

Tom: I liked Italian sausage in a fresh hogue bun.

Bish: that sounds delicious Tom.

Tom: no bishop you don't get it. I liked young hot Italian men naked on a beach.

Bish: oh... You mean like the Cabana boy? The waiter? The Maitre d'? The valet parking guy? The police officer? The fire men? The barber? The guy next door?

Bish: ahhhh yes, now I see. You like to put your Sodom in his Gomorra. The pig in his blanket. The head in his helmet. The feet in his socks. The sausage in the casing.... You like to play with the fire hose? You're a friend of Franky!!!

Tim: yeah yeah Bishop, I think you understand. I've been with twenty nine dudes over the last 20 years...

Bish: let me call the gay hotline Tom. Can we meet on Sunday?

If he is happy with his choice, good for him. But to the extent his book is used to reassure members that all gays can reconcile their sexual orientation with a Church that oppresses him, well, in my estimation he has a lot to answer for. He makes things worse, not better.

Yes I am also glad if he is happy.

It disturbs me how stories like these are picked up and held up as beacons of hope for the PR value and I would imagine it puts a lot of pressure on him to make it work and stay for the long term.

It is hard enough for mostly anonymous people like us to deal with being different - I know from this board that we all feel a great deal of pressure of expectations from friends and family. Imagine living under the weight of expectations from the entire membership of the church.

I have met Tom in person, but I cannot claim to know him well. He certainly is fairly good friends with the Mama Dragons. I can only assume that the major LDS podcasts will review and examine the book given the level of interest in Tom's life and his fraternal connection to the apostles.

Among my questions is whether or not the correlation department was involved in this book and how faithful it is towards the orthodox position of the LDS church. Will Tom express some hope that policies and doctrine for LGBT relationship are changed? LDS Parents and leaders will certainly want to see how this will be approached since it will unintentionally set direction for LGBT people for some time.

I've failed to do the research so I'll ask here.

In coming back to church is Tom admitting he is gay, but willing to live within the boundaries of the church as a gay member or has he changed his mind and no longer considers himself gay?

I hope he is happy as well, but as quickly as this book was published and as he is related to a church executive, it seems fishy to me. On a previous thread about Tom coming back Spicy McHaggis said that though he isn't a conspiracy theorist, the whole situation seems forced. I feel the same way.

Hopefully something good will come of this, but there could be a lot of hurt and harm from his story.

My question is, why write a book at all? What's the purpose? If he's happy being more Mormon than gay, why doesn't he just spend the rest of his life going quietly going to church and not make a fuss?

My other thought is that he spent his younger years being able to express his love physically and emotionally as he pleased. As an older man, maybe his libido is lower and he doesn't need the physical element as much so he's good with going without. Is it fair to hold his current position as the gold standard for other young gay men who's hormones are raging and they need the physicality?

Or should the story be to all gay men to spend their initial adult years in a gay relationship and then when they're old, come on back to the fold?

I think this does more harm to individuals than good. But it does provide a stroking for the Mormon anti-gay complex. JMHO

In the 1981 film, Escape to Victory, WWII war prisoners conjure up a way to escape from the German prison camp using a soccer game. To fulfil the plan, the goal keeper needs to have his arm broken, on purpose, so the back up keeper, Sylvester Stallone, can pass on information about the escape.
Why do I feel that Tom Christofferson is like the goal keeper that they had to purposefully break his arm? I get the feeling he is taking one for the team so he can lead the LGBT community to greater heights. A brother of an apostle could be influential for the cause.

The publisher's description should start with "The trajic tale..."

I would like to think that the message of the book is that everyone's life journey is valid, but the mere existence of this book is a validation of the church's dangerous message that gay people can be fixed and will be happier if they fall back in line. I fear that parents, teachers and local leaders of gay children will be using this as a another hammer to beat their gay kids with.

I hope the message that people really get is that they should follow Tom's example and live life authentically, even if it means leaving the church, that they should be respected and if they decide to come back to the church in their golden years they will receive a hero's welcome and a big advance if they want to write a book about their experience.