The Week in Mormonism, 5/1/16: What Tyler Glenn and Jeffrey R. Holland Have in Common
Tyler Glenn, lead singer of the Neon Trees and subject of a recent hours long interview on Mormon Stories, released his first single as a solo artist on Friday.
“Trash” isn’t pretty. And it’s not supposed to be. The lyrics are pointed enough (You used to baptize me when I wasn’t ready… Maybe I’ll see you in hell) but it is the video that makes it clear that Glenn is giving a deliberate middle finger to Mormonism. It is very, very offensive to believing members of the Church.
This is a stark contrast to when Glenn came out two years ago, also in Rolling Stone. Then, he was committed to embracing his religion as well as his sexuality. That changed when the 2015 exclusion policy announced that neither gay members nor their children were welcome in Mormon congregations. Glenn told Fox13, “that doctrine is not of God, and that proves to me that God is not at the head of this church.” Glenn’s subsequent investigation of Church history confirmed his decision to leave.
In “Trash,” Glenn is by turns intoxicated, menacing, angry, vulnerable, and in pain. David Bokovoy focuses on the last and reminds us that “the pain that gay Mormons and their families are experiencing is very real… a true Latter-day Saint will seek to comfort those who stand in need of comfort.”
Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland had a very different message to share this week. On Tuesday, he spoke at the Tempe Arizona Singles’ Devotional, declaring (and sounding like) he was furious with members who leave the Church:
I think that there are some days here where we get a little weak-kneed, a little willy-nilly, and say, ‘I am going to bail on this.’
Don’t you dare bail. I’m so furious with people who leave this church. I don’t know whether furious is a good apostolic word. But I am. And I say, what on earth kind of conviction is that? What kind of paddy-cake, taffy-pulled experience is that? As if none of this ever mattered, as if nothing in our contemporary life mattered? As if this is all supposed to be just exactly the way I want it and answered every one of my questions and pursue this and occupy that, decide this, and then maybe I’ll be a Latter-day Saint. Well, there is too much Irish in me for that.
This church means everything to me, everything. I don’t care what happens, what price is to be paid, as painful as that can be, as much as I don’t want to invite the test. I don’t want to sound arrogant, or self-confident, or filled with any kind of pride other than the love of the Lord. This church means everything to me, and I’m not going to leave it and I’m not going to let you leave it.
James Patterson looks at this talk in the context of Malcolm Gladwell’s study of rebellion:
I get the impression from a lot of talks and remarks by the brethren lately, that they think people are leaving the church because the cost just becomes too great. They can’t handle all the questions. They can’t deal with the struggle. Their testimonies aren’t strong enough.
But I’m not convinced that’s really what’s going on at all.
People are leaving the church (a.k.a., rebelling) because its leaders have lost legitimacy in their eyes. People are leaving the church because they don’t feel respected. People are leaving the church because they don’t feel the system is fair. People are leaving the church because they don’t feel the leadership is trustworthy.
What do Tyler Glenn and Jeffrey Holland have in common? Both are angry. Both are in pain. Julie Smith observes,
I agree with the frustration that Tyler Glenn and Elder Holland reflected this week, while I have concerns about how they manifested their frustration. And I’m even more troubled by the vitriolic responses to both of them: people seem to be either completely sympathetic to Mr. Glenn and condemnatory of Elder Holland or vice versa. But it seems to me that the line cuts not between but through. I’m neither a gay saint nor an apostle, but I can try my best to understand both of them, even when I’m uncomfortable with how they’ve expressed themselves.
And Gina Colvin adds,
The irony of these two polarities wherein Glenn pours out his fuming rage in song at a church that doesn’t want him, and an apostle who pours out his fury at those who leave is heart-rending…
If we really pay attention to Tyler, his song is resonant because it represents a profound, collective spiritual wound for many, many Mormons. If we really pay attention to Holland we see that the Upper Rooms are grappling with the conundrum of a tide of evacuees from the good ship Zion — so much so that their beloved narratives of the church’s universal excellence is threatened — it tells us that they are terrified.
Followups to BYU’s honor code and sexual assault
- Police criticize BYU investigations into sex assault victims.
- In defense of BYU’s honor code.
- How Southern Virginia University (operated by Mormons and with an overwhelmingly Mormon student body, but not owned by the Church) maintains its own honor code without intimidating victims.
- “Like so much else in religion, the best things have the potential to turn into the worst things.”
Other Links
- Reviews of Sacred Space: Exploring the Birthplace of Mormonism, The Washington Hypothesis, and The Mormon Jesus: A Biography.
- Assistant church historian to oversee Church PR. And Kyle from BCC has some advice for the new leader.
- Former missionary looks for positive since Belgian blast.
- How many industries would Nephi have had to invent from scratch to build his transoceanic ship?
- Why Are Mormons Choosing to Leave Their Faith? “I think there are two broad and inter-related reasons… but I think there are ways to overcome both challenges and there are good reasons to try.”
- Mormon rapper’s album hits top 3 on iTunes hip-hop charts.
- Putting Women on a Pedestal (Nephite Edition).
- A look at Mormon baby names. “Perhaps because naming is one of few areas in which the Church has not formally instructed its members, Mormons in heavily Mormon areas might use naming as a way to set them apart and express individuality.”
