David Archuleta, a former contestant on "American Idol," has spoken out about his sexual orientation, and he is urging people to exhibit compassion toward those who identify as LGBT.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, the American Idol Season 7 runner-up revealed that he is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, encouraging Christians and Mormons to embrace such sexual orientations as being consistent with their religious beliefs, Breitbart reports.
According to the 30-year-old singer-songwriter, he prefers to keep his feelings to himself, but he felt it was "important to share because I know so many other people from religious upbringings feel the same way,"
Archuleta said that he first told his family he was gay in 2014, and that he later identified as bisexual after discovering that he is attracted to both genders.
"I've been open to myself and to my close family for some years now that I am not sure about my own sexuality," he confessed.
"Then I also have learned I don't have too much sexual desires and urges as most people which works I guess because I have a commitment to save myself until marriage," he said with a laughing emoji.
He described his condition as bordering asexuality, which webmd defines as an "umbrella term that includes a wide spectrum of asexual sub-identities" such as "cisgender, non-binary, transgender, or any other gender."
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly known as the Mormons), Archuleta emphasized that although this issue creates concerns for others, it's critical for people of faith to lend a compassionate ear towards those wrestling between "being LGBTQIA+ and a person of faith."
"Idk what to make of it and I don't have all the answers. I just invite you to please consider making room to be more understanding and compassionate to those who are LGBTQIA+, and those who are a part of that community and trying to find that balance with their faith which also is a huge part of their identity like myself," he pleaded.
Archuleta admitted that his road to acceptance had not been an easy one.
"I've tried for almost 20 years to try and change myself until I realized God made me how I am for a purpose. And instead of hating what I have considered wrong, I need to see why God loved me for who I am and it's not just sexuality," he said.
He said that he didn't feel "comfortable sharing" his experience, but that he felt it was important to raise awareness among those who are in a similar situation.
The artist encouraged his fans to be more open in their expressions of their views.
"Even if you're left with so many more questions with faith and sexuality like me, I believe being open to both questions and to faith is how we receive answers. So let's keep asking and seeking, and having compassion and patience," he said with a "thank you for listening" and a praying hand emoji to end his post.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The singer’s plea for Christians to be more compassionate towards those struggling with same-sex attraction should not be shunned. A certain pastor named Ed Shaw, who admitted to struggling with same-sex attraction and homosexuality earlier in his life, says the LGBT community has a “posture of fear” of the church – people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender usually think that evangelical Christians “hate” them.
Christians should not condescending towards Christians struggling with same-sex attraction. Being open to listen to a Christian struggling with same-sex attraction is not enough, however. One has to offer real compassion and love: the love of God in Jesus Christ, which through repentance and by faith in Him saves and redeems mankind from sin and reconciles mankind to God.
This is best illustrated in the story of a formerly gay man named Ken Williams. Like most gays, Williams longed for acceptance and relationship, but eventually realized that he can only find it in Jesus Christ, not in a same-sex partner as the Word of God itself does not promote.
Real love and compassion
Williams was once a gay boy who got exposed to pornography, which led him to feel an attraction towards the same sex. He eventually developed relationships with other boys in the hopes of getting “attention and connection.”
It wasn’t until he wrote his feelings in a letter and shared it with his pastor that he finally found the love that he wanted and needed.
The youth pastor, according to Williams, “lovingly committed” to help him with his feelings of same-sex attraction. The pastor enlisted the help of Williams’ mom and dad who, in turn, also lovingly committed to helping their son get free from his feelings of being attracted to the same sex, which he himself said he didn't want.
Williams received Christian counseling for five years, eventually realizing the truth that “God's best plan for us is not to pursue homosexuality.” He also found out that unlike what others say, it’s actually possible to change one’s sexual desires. He said he found the “real inner healing and intimate relationship” that he longed for in Jesus Christ.
The former gay man who realized that he could not find completeness in LGBT “pride” but only in Christ and in community with Bible-believing Christ-followers eventually co-founded Equipped to Love, a ministry that “shows the truth of Biblically-defined sexuality to the LGBTQ community,” as well as the “CHANGED Movement,” a group that provides support and community to those who left their LGBTQ identities to become who they really are in Christ.
He also tells his story in a book, "The Journey Out: How I Followed Jesus Away From Gay."
Williams’ journey away from gay and into Christ began with real compassion and love – from his youth pastor and his parents who, instead of driving him away, “lovingly committed” to help him know Christ and who he really is according to God’s Word.
