Lamb of Flesh: A Testimony of LGBTQ+ Latter Day Saints
Lamb of Flesh explores LDS doctrine and its effects on LGBTQ+ members. Opening with a brief but comprehensive history of homosexuality and the LDS Faith, and including interviews with LGBTQ+ members, the book looks into what it means to discover, cope with, and recover from LDS doctrine as a queer person.
My name is James Rose, and this book is my capstone for the University of Utah’s graphic design program. I’m super proud of it, and am so grateful that I was able to share my own story as well as others.
I think you're still mostly in a cult mindset. Divinely designed... ooph. The way you phrased all that made it very clear that you think that missions are overall a good thing. They're REALLY not and y'all are assholes to regular people.
Oh boy! My first anon hate! I'm really on Tumblr now.
Read what I said again and tell me if I'm viewing my mission uncritically.
My mission was ultimately something that was helpful for me, even after all the sucky things that happened. I grew and changed as a person, and a big part is what I learned on the mission was to question and go against authority, that what I had always believed might not be as black and white as I thought, that, actually, this was ultimately a good thing despite all the icky stuff in between.
If that's a "cult mindset" then that's ok. I call it hopeful. Have a good day!
I hope the people in our little tumblrstake we have on here know just how much their words have helped me. Just seeing queer mormons is such a privilege. You’ve brought me a lot of guidance in this past year and you have strengthened my testimony to great heights. It is so simple what you do on here, yet so powerful. It has changed my life, and probably my future too. If church leadership was as progressive, accepting, and informational as tumblrstake then the church wouldn’t be viewed as it is today.
I told my classmate today that I was going to mormon prom, which led her to ask me if I was mormon. When I told her I was, her jaw literally dropped. It was obvious that she couldn’t imagine someone like me ( queer af ) being in the church. She has a small perspective of who I am, and a small perspective of what the church is. Unfortunately, they were far too different things in her head, to be seen mixed together. It hurt realizing that some people see the church that way, as this bad thing. I’ve been so fortunate to have a mostly accepting ward and a special place in queerstake, that I’ve forgotten our reputation and our dark history and our not very accepting “brothers and sisters” that when I say I’m mormon to someone, they react like I just came out to them.
know that our LDS blogs in our tiny corner of tumblr proves to be more than just a small community. It is a life line keeping me holding on to that iron rod and I’m sure so many others aswell. I thank everyone for all that you’ve done here. You represent the real church of jesus christ of latter day saints.
The quick kiss of someone closeted in the parking lot when no one else is around and they feel safe
It's still so meaningful to me
I saw someone I know from seminary with his boyfriend and I'm just so happy for him. I don't even know him that well but I know he's struggled with this.
Sharing my reading journal on StoryGraph now that I’ve finished a book :)
The Book of Queer Mormon Joy
Edited by Kerry Spencer Pray
Began: May 10, 2025
Finished: May 10, 2025
233 pages
Quotations noted:
Page 9 “The sense that the very divinity inside you is a sin”
Page 12 “It wasn’t anything like obedience. But it was something like joy.”
Page 28 “Chose to stay there the way an eight-year-old child ‘chooses’ to be baptized”
Page 32 “But if Love feels like this, then God is going to have to grow up”
Page 68 “If wickedness never was happiness, then happiness never could be wickedness.”
Page 118 “If ‘the natural man is an enemy to God’ then the natural woman is his nemesis”
Page 179 “Love flows better when we can be our true selves.”
Page 205 “I’m not broken. I’m exactly who I need to be.”
Page 214 “I wanted to give the time that was usually spent in beige, burlap lined chapels to this sanctuary of pine trees.”
Page 228 “I don’t want a different church, I want my church.”
I’d give this book a 10/10. I might be biased because I know many of the contributors online and would consider one a friend, but this book healed something in me. There’s a lot of power in leaving the church while still labeling oneself as Mormon, and I have so much respect for those who have. I myself and much more out than in, but the confidence and happiness expressed by the contributors gave me hope.
I have a fiancée, hopefully we’ll be married soon.
My fiancée’s newest religious side blog: @lostistheram
I was born and raised in Salt Lake City and grew up in the LDS church, but was never baptised because my mother wanted me to have the choice and before I could make my choice we moved out of Utah. So for now I’m stuck being a non-baptised Mormon.
I have a complicated relationship with my religion(s) and generally consider myself to be multi-religious, but Mormonism will be the main focus of this blog. If you’d like to hear about the other religions I like or practice, please feel free to ask!
I’m pretty comfortable sharing my background, so feel free to ask.
Summary: This collection of comics (3 issues and an Annual) has the worlds first ever Gay Mormon Superhero! In fact, it has a lot of different Queer and Mormon (or Mormon-adjacent) characters, all fighting against injustice.
The main character, Sam Shepherd, gets visited by an Angel soon after marrying his husband Jase. The Angel (Abish from the Book of Mormon) calls him to be The Hand of God and punish sinners. He fights homophobes, misguided missionaries, and Cain himself, alongside his companion, Fe, who also received powers from Abish.
Read at your own risk: This book is has a complex approach to mormonism, as well as deceptions of queer sex (Not explicit but pretty nsfw). I think it's a lot of fun, and is an honest portrayal of queer mormon experiences, with fun fantastical versions of Mormon beliefs (Like a Holy Ghost Force Field).
Overall, I enjoyed it! I've been dying for a Mormon Superhero, and queer mormon superheroes are even better. I would love to see more stories with Sam, Fe, Jase, Shonda, and Riley in the future.
Spoilers and Review Breakdown Under the Cut
1. Well written - 3.5 Stars.
Overall, I think the writing is done well. Some of it is cheesy, and there are a couple of deus ex machina's but it feels like it fits in the genre and with what the comic is trying to do.
2. Fun level - 4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed it! I read the whole thing in one sitting and it was engaging and exciting and it made me laugh.
3. Complex faith - 3.5 Stars
This one is complicated to answer. This definitely feels like media aimed at ex-mormons. Most of the characters are Ex (or "Jack") Mormons, and don't have high regard for the church as an organization. They do believe in Angels and Heavenly Mother (cause that's where their power comes from) but the church officials (like mission presidents) are shown as villains. It's a very irreverent story. And there's a part in the last issue where Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father are pitted against each other that I didn't really like.
The only exception is Riley, an asexual missionary who states his firm testimony a couple of times. He is one of the heroes, but still firmly believes in the gospel.
I like it because it has characters from all over the spectrum of mormonism (from actively serving a mission to "my parents were mormon but we don't really talk about it" and everything in between), which I think is cool, but it's also definitely got an exmo bias.
4. Homophobia scale - 5 stars
it's so gay!!!!! They have a character for each letter of LGBTA, it's delightful.
It is also NSFW. Nothing explicit (?) but characters are often naked, and the two married couples are shown being intimate quite a few times. I don't normally love stories like that, but for a comic that is about the sacredness of queer intimacy, I understand why it's included.
5. Mormon weird - 5 stars
SOOO much mormon weird. Abish is an angel. The heroes have Liahona Guides. The big villains are Cain and Ammon. It's so much fun.
6. Diversity of characters - 4 stars!
The main character and his husband are both white guys, but Fe is latina, her wife is black (and trans!), and Riley is a POC.
7. Other problematic stuff - 3 stars
I love this comic but I don't think it's for everyone. On top of being irreverent and nsfw, it also incorporates some indigenous american culture into the mythos in ways I'm not sure about. This is going to happen with anything that talks about Nephites and Lamanites, but mostly I don't know why Ammon has a pet Quetzalcoatl. 🤷
But, like I said, I did enjoy it. I think there's a lot of potential in these characters and I would love to see more stories with them
