I am amazed at how much time people spend on Facebook. I post rarely, though it is nice to stay in touch with people growing up, even if I don’t comment. A few years ago, I noticed on Facebook an announcement from one of my Facebook “friends.” He posted his resignation letter from the LDS Church. I was pretty surprised, but not completely shocked.
I put “friends” in quotes, because he was never a guy I would hang out with. We were in the same ward, blessed the sacrament together as priests for about 3 years, and we were cordial to each other. He was much more popular than me, could be caustic with comments, so I pretty much maintained a safe distance to avoid being on the receiving end of a caustic comment. But like I said, he came from a good family, our families were cordial, we both served missions, etc, etc. He went away to an art college (in New York I think), while I stayed home and went to a local college.
I remember when he came home from his mission. Before he could give his homecoming address, he was involved in a serious car accident. He was in the back seat of a car that was t-boned at a dangerous intersection. The woman sitting next to him was killed, and he was injured. His homecoming had to be delayed because of his injuries, and he gave it a few weeks later on crutches. He gave a fine talk, seemed to have been a good missionary, and I don’t think I have seen him in person since. I have run into his parents a few times and asked how he was doing. They always responded that he was doing well, living in the east and enjoying his job as an artist.
Following his car accident, I remember a few comments from people that said that since he has just off his mission, if he had been killed, he would have gone straight to the Celestial Kingdom. With all of his Facebook proclamations, I wonder what those same people would think now. Do we really have any idea how the final judgment will turn out?
So like I said, it was surprising to me to see him post his resignation letter from the church. I’ve been thinking about writing about it for some time. While I know that the church isn’t for everyone, I didn’t have any idea why he left. He has left some caustic comments about the church on Facebook (certainly not out of character), but he didn’t indicate why he left. I still don’t know exactly why, but months later he posted another Facebook proclamation. He came out of the closet. Yup, he is gay.
Perhaps that explains his resignation better, but I’m sure it still doesn’t tell the whole story. He did say that he loves straight people, gay people, and even the Boy Scouts. (He was an Eagle Scout, while scouts held no interest for me.) I know others have posted about divorces, suicides, and struggling medical issues on Facebook. It is nice for lurkers like me to see how others are doing, but I am still surprised by announcements of resignation from the church, or announcements of gayness, or endless pontificating about politics. Maybe I am a private person, but I just don’t know that I would post something like that on Facebook. What are your thoughts?
