8 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NEWS
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Issue 332 | FEBRUARY, 2022
David Archuleta talks about his spiritual journey with being gay and Mormon BY MICHAEL AARON
David
Archuleta made a deeply personal video post on his Instagram account about his struggle meshing his homosexual life with his LDS life. “I’d go insane if I didn’t let out whatever is inside of me,” Archuletta begins. “But I just can’t help it.” Archuletta said it has been challenging to prepare for an upcoming tour, which was supposed to happen in 2020 but was postponed because of the pandemic. “I have to be honest. It has been difficult for me to get ready for this tour,” he said while ensuring he wouldn’t cancel it. “Other factors in my life have affected my motivation and energy to put into touring.” He said he hasn’t written anything recently, which he said happens in phases. He most recently did a Christmas tour, which he called wonderful, but very difficult, both physically and emotionally. “I feel it has to do with the past year and coming out, and what that means for me, and the changes and adjustments it’s made in my life,” he said. “I know it’s affected my view on things and my beliefs. I’ve grown up in a religion that I’ve always felt very strongly towards, being a Latter-day Saint, a gay Mormon. “I was always taught that marriage was everything,” he continued, “If you were married in the temple, you were with them for time ad eternity, even after death, which is a beautiful thought if you love that person and that you can continue growing and progressing on an eternal journey together. That’s what I wanted. I grew up believing that and defending that because I believed this is what God intended. I was going to get married and have kids and have a wife and get married in the temple and live happily ever after.” “Well, I tried to make that work,” he said. “And clearly, that wasn’t going to work because my sexuality did not leave me with the inclination to have those desires.” He said that he tried and tried to express himself sexually with a woman, but it couldn’t happen. “When it came to those aspects of a relationship, I just couldn’t provide them … not to a woman!” he said. “It’s something that’s expected. You want that chemistry.” PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM
