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Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction
As I read this book, two words kept coming to my “prayers” and “words.” From the late 1840s until 1978, countless prayers went up to petition a change in the exclusionary and harmful policy that denied priesthood ordination to Blacks. In 1973, those prayers were joined by the words of Lester Bush, whose landmark article in A Journal of Mormon Thought helped pry open the door to the 1978 revelation. Countless prayers have gone up to petition changes inthe church’s LGBTQ+ policies and doctrines, and now Queer Mormon Theology adds words to those prayers—perhaps the right words to pry open yet another door.—Gregory A. PrinceAuthor of Gay Rights and the Mormon Intended Actions, Unintended ConsequencesFor most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its theology is only ever viewed through the authorized lens of Church Correlation. In Queer Mormon Theology, author Blaire Ostler offers a fresh look at the basic tenets of the religion as seen through the eyes of a queer church member. The discoveries she reveals may surprise, captivate, and simultaneously invite the reader to explore new perspectives on living and worshiping as an inclusive community of Saints.—Laurie Lee Hall, ArchitectBlaire Ostler‘s considerate work offers new perspectives around old questions of gender and relationships that have long plagued the larger Mormon community. As Latter-day Saints explore the meaning of discipleship in a modern world, Ostler extends a roadmap of true Christian living and Grace that is big and wide enough to embrace more of God’s children in faith, love and inclusion. Readers will come to engage the Gospel in a way that liberates rather than oppresses. She eloquently demonstrates how to nurture faith and subsume a more holistic relationship with the Divine, where the only sacrifice required is leaving pride at the door and opening one’s heart to more love, light and wisdom.—Lindsay Hansen ParkExecutive director of the Sunstone Education Foundation bgand host of the Year of Polygamy podcast
120 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 28, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
January 1, 2022
While I have read books about the experiences of gay LDS members, this is the first book I have read that is devoted to reconciling the gay experience with the LDS faith. Blaire identifies as both queer and a believing member of the LDS church. She contends that as a church of continuing revelation, it is set up for change and progress, giving hope for more inclusion. While I didn’t agree with all her speculations, I do appreciate books that challenge and reimagine accepted views in ways that are more compassionate and inclusive. This opened up my mind to possibilities and could be especially beneficial to faithful gay members of the LDS church.
-“Our Heavenly Father is more liberal in his views, and boundless in his mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive.” –Joseph Smith
-“If we want truth, we must pursue it.” Truth takes work, whether from “science, religion, reason, logic, or the Spirit,” we must search, ponder, and actively seek after it.
-We are responsible to seek further light and knowledge. Advancing intelligence requires that we act as free agents, as demonstrated by Adam and Eve.
-“It is only through radically loving each other that we will ever come to know God…Disciples of Christ will be known by their ability to love one another.”
-“God cannot reveal to us what we cannot accept.”
-“No matter the outward appearance of our righteousness, if we look the other way when others are suffering, we cannot be justified.” –Dieter F. Uchtdorf
-“Queer kids need to know that in this current climate, it is okay not to be at church…They need to know they have a friendship whether they choose to stay or go…According to Elder Quentin L. Cook, Latter-day Saints should be at the forefront of love and compassion.”
-“Our Heavenly Father is more liberal in his views, and boundless in his mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive.” –Joseph Smith
-“If we want truth, we must pursue it.” Truth takes work, whether from “science, religion, reason, logic, or the Spirit,” we must search, ponder, and actively seek after it.
-We are responsible to seek further light and knowledge. Advancing intelligence requires that we act as free agents, as demonstrated by Adam and Eve.
-“It is only through radically loving each other that we will ever come to know God…Disciples of Christ will be known by their ability to love one another.”
-“God cannot reveal to us what we cannot accept.”
-“No matter the outward appearance of our righteousness, if we look the other way when others are suffering, we cannot be justified.” –Dieter F. Uchtdorf
-“Queer kids need to know that in this current climate, it is okay not to be at church…They need to know they have a friendship whether they choose to stay or go…According to Elder Quentin L. Cook, Latter-day Saints should be at the forefront of love and compassion.”
December 10, 2021
I don’t think I’ve ever been challenged so much by a book in my life. And not in a bad way! Blaire brought so many new perspectives to the gospel that I had never seen or considered. It stretched me out of my comfort zone to really consider what I believe instead of just looking at things the way I was taught. She was able to give me more depth in my beliefs while also providing more possibilities. While I feel like I have a fairly decent grasp on what good relationships entail with those in the queer community, this showed me many more areas I could still improve in and ways the gospel can be seen as more inclusive even though I’m not sure where I stand yet. Overall, I have a lot to ponder but I think this is a very valuable contribution to our living, growing, evolving church from a perspective we need to see more of. And so beautifully written!
April 24, 2024
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this book to anybody except as an example of how not to do Latter-day Saint theology.
As my bona fides for being able to say such a provocative thing, I am, like Sister Ostler, a multi-generational Latter-day Saint. I also happen to have a PhD in systematic theology, and my area of specialty is theological anthropology dealing with issues of gender and sexuality.
This book is little more than theological wish-casting. It proceeds from the premise that God would never place someone in a situation in mortality where they could not have an emotionally and physiologically fulfilling sexual relationship that was also doctrinally acceptable to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Fall affects us all, but not in the area of human sexuality. People’s lived experience here on earth perfectly mirrors their premortal life, and will rise with them with no alteration whatsoever in the resurrection. The Problem of Evil ("why does God allow bad things to happen?") does not extend in any way, shape, or form to the realm of human sexuality.
I have talked with and read many intelligent Mormon thinkers on these issues. Not a single one has given me any compelling reason to accept any of these assumptions. Neither did this book.
As far as Ostler's theology, I have serious issues with the methodology used here.
First, she seems perfectly willing to quote the various leaders of the church when they agree with her, but when they disagree with her they are merely perpetuating oppressive cisgender heteronormative narratives not of God. I find this overly convenient. Are they prophets proclaiming realities about God and the universe . . . or not?
Second, she is so loose with theology, running with ill-conceived speculation and misunderstanding and misuse of technical theological terminology, that her views of God are formally heretical—and from multiple sides. The venn diagram of what could be labeled "heresy" by both traditional Christians and Latter-day Saints is quite narrow, so it is impressive that her discussion of God’s immanence manages to find itself in that very limited space. Sometimes she disclaims that she is not actually perpetuating X or Y heresy, but then moves on with nary a backward glance and continues to affirm it and use it in her argument. This book could have used a better editor.
Third, I find it amusing that she basically thinks that every form of marriage that the Church has actually condoned throughout its history is either unnecessarily limiting and comes from a deeply misogynistic heteronormative culture (heterosexual monogamy) or is abusive (polygamy). So the Church has always been 100% wrong on this fairly central issue. Contrastingly, her idea that heaven will be a huge polyamorous orgy—she gives lip service to the idea that there are limits to sexuality but never spells them out—for those who want it we must take on faith because God is love and all love is fine. (That one can have different kinds of love she acknowledges, but again gives no criteria by which we can differentiate love of, say, steak, and love of a spouse. If there were a coherent principle aside from “I want to have sex with every adult I love and the Church should let me,” I would love to hear it. She offers none.)
And finally (limiting myself to these 4 critiques here), her interpretation of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” is simply post-modern nonsense. If you can read a document that says “X is true” in a way that you can assert it actually says “X is not true,” then you are wresting the meaning of that document. The Proclamation's singular sentence “Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation” is not permission to ignore the rest of the document’s teachings, which she does in spades.
If she were more honest about the theological implications of her views of what relationships the sealing ceremony should engender I would at least applaud her in that. But she affirms that we have a Mother in Heaven while insisting that all forms of relationships will exist in heaven, even ones that would not include a female. This is actually another question I have yet to have answered from these otherwise intelligent Mormon thinkers: if alternate family forms will be in heaven, such as same-sex sealings, then why do they not speculate that our Father in Heaven has a Husband? These thinkers, and Sister Ostler is among them, ignore the logic that leads to our doctrine of a Mother in Heaven. ("Truth is reason—Truth eternal, Tells me I've a Mother There," but only if you assume heteronormativity, which Eliza R. Snow did.) They affirm we have a Mother in Heaven in one breath, and in the next proclaim that gay sealings (or polyamorous sealings of any variety, for Ostler) should be performed by the church. Those are at odds, and no amount of twisting and turning will make that logic fit. They are gleefully sawing off the theological branch they sit on.
I applaud any efforts to help our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters feel more at home in our Church. We have work to do on that front. Her discussion of Jesus’ understanding the experiences of queer people I heartily endorse (though her claim that the atonement makes Jesus himself queer I cannot endorse, another leap of logic of the kind she riddles her book with). But asserting that the Church is wrong on issues of gender and sexuality, and that the doctrine will change someday to accommodate same-sex sexual activity, or sex transitioning, or any other of a litany of “developments” that folks like Ostler are just so sure are right around the corner is actually hindering our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters from finding their place in the Church and accepting the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It hampers many of our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters from even speaking out when they wish to follow the church's teachings, at least according to this article released by a friend that was released the day I finished Ostler's book.
Best to tell them the difficult truth (and then aid them in living with that difficult truth) than the convenient lie, and that, in the end, is all this book is. Convenient lies.
I cannot recommend it.
As my bona fides for being able to say such a provocative thing, I am, like Sister Ostler, a multi-generational Latter-day Saint. I also happen to have a PhD in systematic theology, and my area of specialty is theological anthropology dealing with issues of gender and sexuality.
This book is little more than theological wish-casting. It proceeds from the premise that God would never place someone in a situation in mortality where they could not have an emotionally and physiologically fulfilling sexual relationship that was also doctrinally acceptable to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Fall affects us all, but not in the area of human sexuality. People’s lived experience here on earth perfectly mirrors their premortal life, and will rise with them with no alteration whatsoever in the resurrection. The Problem of Evil ("why does God allow bad things to happen?") does not extend in any way, shape, or form to the realm of human sexuality.
I have talked with and read many intelligent Mormon thinkers on these issues. Not a single one has given me any compelling reason to accept any of these assumptions. Neither did this book.
As far as Ostler's theology, I have serious issues with the methodology used here.
First, she seems perfectly willing to quote the various leaders of the church when they agree with her, but when they disagree with her they are merely perpetuating oppressive cisgender heteronormative narratives not of God. I find this overly convenient. Are they prophets proclaiming realities about God and the universe . . . or not?
Second, she is so loose with theology, running with ill-conceived speculation and misunderstanding and misuse of technical theological terminology, that her views of God are formally heretical—and from multiple sides. The venn diagram of what could be labeled "heresy" by both traditional Christians and Latter-day Saints is quite narrow, so it is impressive that her discussion of God’s immanence manages to find itself in that very limited space. Sometimes she disclaims that she is not actually perpetuating X or Y heresy, but then moves on with nary a backward glance and continues to affirm it and use it in her argument. This book could have used a better editor.
Third, I find it amusing that she basically thinks that every form of marriage that the Church has actually condoned throughout its history is either unnecessarily limiting and comes from a deeply misogynistic heteronormative culture (heterosexual monogamy) or is abusive (polygamy). So the Church has always been 100% wrong on this fairly central issue. Contrastingly, her idea that heaven will be a huge polyamorous orgy—she gives lip service to the idea that there are limits to sexuality but never spells them out—for those who want it we must take on faith because God is love and all love is fine. (That one can have different kinds of love she acknowledges, but again gives no criteria by which we can differentiate love of, say, steak, and love of a spouse. If there were a coherent principle aside from “I want to have sex with every adult I love and the Church should let me,” I would love to hear it. She offers none.)
And finally (limiting myself to these 4 critiques here), her interpretation of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” is simply post-modern nonsense. If you can read a document that says “X is true” in a way that you can assert it actually says “X is not true,” then you are wresting the meaning of that document. The Proclamation's singular sentence “Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation” is not permission to ignore the rest of the document’s teachings, which she does in spades.
If she were more honest about the theological implications of her views of what relationships the sealing ceremony should engender I would at least applaud her in that. But she affirms that we have a Mother in Heaven while insisting that all forms of relationships will exist in heaven, even ones that would not include a female. This is actually another question I have yet to have answered from these otherwise intelligent Mormon thinkers: if alternate family forms will be in heaven, such as same-sex sealings, then why do they not speculate that our Father in Heaven has a Husband? These thinkers, and Sister Ostler is among them, ignore the logic that leads to our doctrine of a Mother in Heaven. ("Truth is reason—Truth eternal, Tells me I've a Mother There," but only if you assume heteronormativity, which Eliza R. Snow did.) They affirm we have a Mother in Heaven in one breath, and in the next proclaim that gay sealings (or polyamorous sealings of any variety, for Ostler) should be performed by the church. Those are at odds, and no amount of twisting and turning will make that logic fit. They are gleefully sawing off the theological branch they sit on.
I applaud any efforts to help our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters feel more at home in our Church. We have work to do on that front. Her discussion of Jesus’ understanding the experiences of queer people I heartily endorse (though her claim that the atonement makes Jesus himself queer I cannot endorse, another leap of logic of the kind she riddles her book with). But asserting that the Church is wrong on issues of gender and sexuality, and that the doctrine will change someday to accommodate same-sex sexual activity, or sex transitioning, or any other of a litany of “developments” that folks like Ostler are just so sure are right around the corner is actually hindering our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters from finding their place in the Church and accepting the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It hampers many of our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters from even speaking out when they wish to follow the church's teachings, at least according to this article released by a friend that was released the day I finished Ostler's book.
Best to tell them the difficult truth (and then aid them in living with that difficult truth) than the convenient lie, and that, in the end, is all this book is. Convenient lies.
I cannot recommend it.
July 12, 2021
"Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction" is a beautiful book that shows just how beautiful an expansive version of Mormonism can be. Using the word "queer" to simultaneously describe her own identification, as an umbrella term for the LGBTQIA+ community, and as describing the peculiarity of God's people, Blaire shows how queer Mormonism is and can be.
The first couple of chapters lay some groundwork in describing Mormon theology - little here is new to any LDS reader other than shining a queer perspective on the fundamentals of LDS teachings. In Chapter 3, this queer perspective beautifully moves on to the topic of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, describing the Atonement as a "queer experience" through which Jesus became "both male and female, cisgender and transgender, agender and pangender, black and white, strong and weak, heterosexual and homosexual." No other symbol or standard is more beautifully representative of a more queer-inclusive form of Mormonism than this description.
Chapters 4 and 5 cover Mormon theology and teachings on the family, sexuality, and creation. Describing the LDS Church's portrayal of queer people as villains as "a war that does not need to be fought," Ostler presents a more inclusive reading of the Family Proclamation and the queer experiences of gender dysphoria and gender euphoria as representing promptings from the Holy Ghost. She covers how reproductive technologies are allowing people to become co-creators of children in ways not possible in the past. She then reviews scriptural accounts of queer creation: three men (Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael/Adam) creating Eve, Eve being created from a man's body, and Mary giving birth to Jesus without intercourse. With these scriptural accounts as examples and templates, why should we limit creation in the eternities to heterosexual marriages?
Chapter 6, "Concerning Polygamy," is the most controversial chapter in the book. Ostler here argues for a more inclusive, Queer Polygamy model as opposed to the Standard Model (how early LDS polygamy was actually practiced) - including an understanding of LDS "sealing" as encompassing not just marriage, but all relationships of all kinds. One leaves this chapter feeling that, paradoxically, the peculiar historical institution of LDS polygamy actually presents a potential opening towards a more queer-inclusive theology not shared by other conservative Christians.
Ostler's last chapter covers current Church policies, including the Exclusion Policy and the current belief in "celestial conversion therapy" (with queer people being "fixed" in the after-life). She also presents 15 ways for readers to make Church today more inclusive of LGBTQIA+ people, regardless of current Church policies - helpful recommendations for any lay member or leader seeking to make Church more inclusive.
A deeply personal book, Ostler frequently describes her own life experiences as a queer member of the Church, making her reflections on queer Mormon theology all the more powerful. Her writing is beautiful, thoughtful, and inspiring. Hers is a perspective much needed in the Church today. As a heterosexual male, the book definitely helped me to see LDS teachings from a different perspective, enriching my own understanding of Mormon theology in the process. Highly recommended for all readers seeking to understand and embrace LGBTQIA+ people in the Church today.
The first couple of chapters lay some groundwork in describing Mormon theology - little here is new to any LDS reader other than shining a queer perspective on the fundamentals of LDS teachings. In Chapter 3, this queer perspective beautifully moves on to the topic of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, describing the Atonement as a "queer experience" through which Jesus became "both male and female, cisgender and transgender, agender and pangender, black and white, strong and weak, heterosexual and homosexual." No other symbol or standard is more beautifully representative of a more queer-inclusive form of Mormonism than this description.
Chapters 4 and 5 cover Mormon theology and teachings on the family, sexuality, and creation. Describing the LDS Church's portrayal of queer people as villains as "a war that does not need to be fought," Ostler presents a more inclusive reading of the Family Proclamation and the queer experiences of gender dysphoria and gender euphoria as representing promptings from the Holy Ghost. She covers how reproductive technologies are allowing people to become co-creators of children in ways not possible in the past. She then reviews scriptural accounts of queer creation: three men (Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael/Adam) creating Eve, Eve being created from a man's body, and Mary giving birth to Jesus without intercourse. With these scriptural accounts as examples and templates, why should we limit creation in the eternities to heterosexual marriages?
Chapter 6, "Concerning Polygamy," is the most controversial chapter in the book. Ostler here argues for a more inclusive, Queer Polygamy model as opposed to the Standard Model (how early LDS polygamy was actually practiced) - including an understanding of LDS "sealing" as encompassing not just marriage, but all relationships of all kinds. One leaves this chapter feeling that, paradoxically, the peculiar historical institution of LDS polygamy actually presents a potential opening towards a more queer-inclusive theology not shared by other conservative Christians.
Ostler's last chapter covers current Church policies, including the Exclusion Policy and the current belief in "celestial conversion therapy" (with queer people being "fixed" in the after-life). She also presents 15 ways for readers to make Church today more inclusive of LGBTQIA+ people, regardless of current Church policies - helpful recommendations for any lay member or leader seeking to make Church more inclusive.
A deeply personal book, Ostler frequently describes her own life experiences as a queer member of the Church, making her reflections on queer Mormon theology all the more powerful. Her writing is beautiful, thoughtful, and inspiring. Hers is a perspective much needed in the Church today. As a heterosexual male, the book definitely helped me to see LDS teachings from a different perspective, enriching my own understanding of Mormon theology in the process. Highly recommended for all readers seeking to understand and embrace LGBTQIA+ people in the Church today.
June 8, 2021
Blaire Ostler's QUEER MORMON THEOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION is exactly what its title promises to be. A provocative primer on what Blaire sees as the foundations of a queer, Mormon theology. Ostler's interpretation of Mormon theology is rooted in imaginative close readings of a variety of scriptural texts, taking the specific language and words of those texts seriously, often following in the steps of what scholar Sam Brown has termed Joseph Smith's "marvelously literal" scriptural exegesis. That is to say that the book is deeply, fundamentally Mormon. Blaire weds this deep-rooted Mormonness to a speculative and inspiring queerness, tied to her own lived experience, queer theory, and a reinterpretation of some core Mormon values.
For those who have followed Blaire's work, this book is a lovely distillation and encapsulation of much of her wonderful, provocative, inspiring thought. For those new to the wonderfully queer Mormon mind of Blaire Ostler, well, I am thrilled that you're finally going to experience a taste of what she has to offer!
I am remarkably pleased that this book is out in the world and cannot wait to see what Blaire and others do to build on the foundation that is laid here, including a series of practical tips for those, like me, inspired by the vision of Mormonism that Blaire describes. The theology laid out here by Blaire 'tastes good' to borrow a metric for truth from Brother Joseph. So, what are you waiting for? Partake for yourself!
For those who have followed Blaire's work, this book is a lovely distillation and encapsulation of much of her wonderful, provocative, inspiring thought. For those new to the wonderfully queer Mormon mind of Blaire Ostler, well, I am thrilled that you're finally going to experience a taste of what she has to offer!
I am remarkably pleased that this book is out in the world and cannot wait to see what Blaire and others do to build on the foundation that is laid here, including a series of practical tips for those, like me, inspired by the vision of Mormonism that Blaire describes. The theology laid out here by Blaire 'tastes good' to borrow a metric for truth from Brother Joseph. So, what are you waiting for? Partake for yourself!
September 15, 2021
It had many interesting ideas but I found her logic full of holes and the author expressed her viewpoints as if no reasonable person could think differently. The tone of the book was difficult to get through but I appreciate the thought provoking ideas expressed.
February 12, 2025
I’m so torn on this. I really do love the theology that Ostler presents here. It is a much more expansive, welcoming, and beautiful approach to religion than what is currently taught in the LDS church. Ostler’s interpretation of Christ’s life and death are especially unique, presenting the building blocks for a safer, healthier, more inclusive space for queer people within the bounds of religion. I can see how this book will be very helpful in taking the necessary steps that are so badly needed towards doctrinally based queer support within the LDS church. This book is a great resource for those looking to expand their religious communities and ideas.
What I struggle with is that Ostler relies very heavily on resources that are historically anti-queer to support their theological ideas. Ostler cherry picks quotes from LDS church leaders that give the illusion of support for the queer community, while seemingly ignoring the fact that those very same church leaders have been incredibly vocal in their anti-queer rhetoric and policies. Jeffrey R. Holland and Dallin H. Oaks in particular have put the LDS queer community through absolute hell. Using quotes from them to support and give validity to a queer-inclusive theology feels like a slap in the face to those who have been so deeply wounded by their words and actions.
Ostler does the same in using quotes from "The Family: A Proclamation to the World” as a basis for their theology. That document alone has done more damage to the LDS queer community than almost anything else I can think of. To insinuate that the document actually does support queer people, and we’ve all just been “reading and interpreting it wrong” is not at all helpful and comes across as gaslighting the very people that Ostler is trying to create a safe space for.
The position of a queer LDS person is quite ironic - we are only able to convince mainstream LDS people of the legitimacy of our ideas and proposed theological changes if we base them on the words and perspectives of the very church leadership and scripture that have been used to abuse and torment us for generations. If we were to present ourselves without that base, our ideas would be rejected without a second thought. In order for Ostler to be taken seriously by an LDS audience, they have to utilize resources that are, at their core, harmful to the queer community.
While I understand the difficult position that Ostler is in (and cannot fault them entirely for it), I can’t help but wish for a theological approach that is centered solely on the words and ideas of queer people, not built on a foundation crafted by those who have abused us. To exist as a queer person in a religious space is to continuously have your existence twisted and warped to prioritize the comfort and understanding of cishet church membership over your own. It is exhausting and dehumanizing.
At the end of the day, we cannot truly create a safe space for our queer community within religion if we continue to base our theological ideas and proposed changes on the words and perspectives of the very people who made religion dangerous for us in the first place. Until queer people have the courage to view themselves as prophets - the ultimate authority in our own spirituality and theology, we will never truly see the freedom that we so desperately seek.
What I struggle with is that Ostler relies very heavily on resources that are historically anti-queer to support their theological ideas. Ostler cherry picks quotes from LDS church leaders that give the illusion of support for the queer community, while seemingly ignoring the fact that those very same church leaders have been incredibly vocal in their anti-queer rhetoric and policies. Jeffrey R. Holland and Dallin H. Oaks in particular have put the LDS queer community through absolute hell. Using quotes from them to support and give validity to a queer-inclusive theology feels like a slap in the face to those who have been so deeply wounded by their words and actions.
Ostler does the same in using quotes from "The Family: A Proclamation to the World” as a basis for their theology. That document alone has done more damage to the LDS queer community than almost anything else I can think of. To insinuate that the document actually does support queer people, and we’ve all just been “reading and interpreting it wrong” is not at all helpful and comes across as gaslighting the very people that Ostler is trying to create a safe space for.
The position of a queer LDS person is quite ironic - we are only able to convince mainstream LDS people of the legitimacy of our ideas and proposed theological changes if we base them on the words and perspectives of the very church leadership and scripture that have been used to abuse and torment us for generations. If we were to present ourselves without that base, our ideas would be rejected without a second thought. In order for Ostler to be taken seriously by an LDS audience, they have to utilize resources that are, at their core, harmful to the queer community.
While I understand the difficult position that Ostler is in (and cannot fault them entirely for it), I can’t help but wish for a theological approach that is centered solely on the words and ideas of queer people, not built on a foundation crafted by those who have abused us. To exist as a queer person in a religious space is to continuously have your existence twisted and warped to prioritize the comfort and understanding of cishet church membership over your own. It is exhausting and dehumanizing.
At the end of the day, we cannot truly create a safe space for our queer community within religion if we continue to base our theological ideas and proposed changes on the words and perspectives of the very people who made religion dangerous for us in the first place. Until queer people have the courage to view themselves as prophets - the ultimate authority in our own spirituality and theology, we will never truly see the freedom that we so desperately seek.
January 6, 2023
I'm in awe. With this book, Blaire Ostler deftly opened up Mormon theology as it has traditionally been interpreted for queerness.
Here are my notes:
Christ experienced everything, including the experience of queer children of God, and invites us to experience the same. When "defending the family," all families should be included just as Christ suffered for all. Vilifying and rejecting queer children or parents is not defending the family, it is spiritual abuse.
The description of a hetero-nuclear family in the Proclamation doesn't apply to many Latter-day Saint families, and space is made for that: "Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed." Other circumstances could include families with queer family members. The authors may not have meant that, but the text says that and invites more room for Christlike charity in other situations. "Gender is eternal" can affirm trans people—their spirit could be one gender and their body was misassigned, and "eternal" means existing forever, not unchangeable (like God being eternal but once being a mortal being). There is even room for many genders in the creation story—the binaries described don't include others that exist, so God creating evening and morning doesn't include all the other in-between times, but those are implied. Gender euphoria is more reminiscent of having the Spirit than gender dysphoria and rejection.
The argument that homosexuals can't enter the highest degree of heaven because they can't procreate forgets about the many other non-biological families included in the doctrine (adoptive, for example), technological procreation (three biological parents so healthy mitochondria can replace the defective, surrogacy, uterus transplant, etc.).
God created Eve from Adam, and that could be queer creation. There are many roles besides those of traditional parents, even in the life of Jesus. Queer couples who can't biologically reproduce shouldn't be denied temple sealings just like infertile couples shouldn't be. The past polygamy was really polygyny (one man with multiple wives), though Church leaders spoke of polygamy, and didn't share the glory of God with all of Zion. Wilford Woodruff wrote of Brigham Young speaking of men living up to the celestial marriage as having one wife, many wives, or no wives at all. People who are sealed together have different types of relationships anyway—for example, Ostler, who identifies as pansexual, relates to her sister in an asexual, aromantic way. A queer polygamy would allow people of any gender to be sealed to people they love in whatever capacity and to share in the glory of a loving God. It would allow children whose families include divorces and remarriages to be sealed to more than two parents and single people with no desire to marry to be sealed to their loved ones.
Eternity is more than humans can grasp. Relationships and humans change over time, and there's no saying what will happen in that time.
"It is nonsensical to teach cisgender women that they are supposed to be like Heavenly Father while simultaneously telling them that, if they change their gender, they become less godly." Or to tell them that they can't have the priesthood that gives us knowledge of God.
The Exclusion Policy and conversion therapy do not live up to Mormons valuing commitment, loyalty, marriage, and community. Moral relationships AND gender expression should be defined by love (first commandment), joy (the Great Plan of Happiness), life (God's purpose to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of all human beings), and agency (Lucifer became Satan through seeking to take away agency). A cisgender man expressing his gender by hitting his family members is an immoral gender expression because it does not fit the tenets of love, joy, life, and agency. A trans woman relieving her gender dysphoria with hormones is morally consistent with those tenets.
Going forward:
1. Learn at mormonandgay.lds.org
2. Create space for honest, validating discussion
3. Say "Heavenly Parents"
4. Acknowledge queer youth
5. Talk about women and the priesthood
6. Include queer adults and give them visibility
7. Host a fireside about women and the priesthood
8. Include women in the High Council speaker circuit
9. Combine as many Church activities as possible (not limited by binary genders)
10. Respect gender identity
11. Teach that women are more than mothers
12. Hold special workshops addressing the needs of queer youth
13. Stay humble
14. Support queer people leaving for their mental health and safety
15. Love
Here are my notes:
Christ experienced everything, including the experience of queer children of God, and invites us to experience the same. When "defending the family," all families should be included just as Christ suffered for all. Vilifying and rejecting queer children or parents is not defending the family, it is spiritual abuse.
The description of a hetero-nuclear family in the Proclamation doesn't apply to many Latter-day Saint families, and space is made for that: "Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed." Other circumstances could include families with queer family members. The authors may not have meant that, but the text says that and invites more room for Christlike charity in other situations. "Gender is eternal" can affirm trans people—their spirit could be one gender and their body was misassigned, and "eternal" means existing forever, not unchangeable (like God being eternal but once being a mortal being). There is even room for many genders in the creation story—the binaries described don't include others that exist, so God creating evening and morning doesn't include all the other in-between times, but those are implied. Gender euphoria is more reminiscent of having the Spirit than gender dysphoria and rejection.
The argument that homosexuals can't enter the highest degree of heaven because they can't procreate forgets about the many other non-biological families included in the doctrine (adoptive, for example), technological procreation (three biological parents so healthy mitochondria can replace the defective, surrogacy, uterus transplant, etc.).
God created Eve from Adam, and that could be queer creation. There are many roles besides those of traditional parents, even in the life of Jesus. Queer couples who can't biologically reproduce shouldn't be denied temple sealings just like infertile couples shouldn't be. The past polygamy was really polygyny (one man with multiple wives), though Church leaders spoke of polygamy, and didn't share the glory of God with all of Zion. Wilford Woodruff wrote of Brigham Young speaking of men living up to the celestial marriage as having one wife, many wives, or no wives at all. People who are sealed together have different types of relationships anyway—for example, Ostler, who identifies as pansexual, relates to her sister in an asexual, aromantic way. A queer polygamy would allow people of any gender to be sealed to people they love in whatever capacity and to share in the glory of a loving God. It would allow children whose families include divorces and remarriages to be sealed to more than two parents and single people with no desire to marry to be sealed to their loved ones.
Eternity is more than humans can grasp. Relationships and humans change over time, and there's no saying what will happen in that time.
"It is nonsensical to teach cisgender women that they are supposed to be like Heavenly Father while simultaneously telling them that, if they change their gender, they become less godly." Or to tell them that they can't have the priesthood that gives us knowledge of God.
The Exclusion Policy and conversion therapy do not live up to Mormons valuing commitment, loyalty, marriage, and community. Moral relationships AND gender expression should be defined by love (first commandment), joy (the Great Plan of Happiness), life (God's purpose to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of all human beings), and agency (Lucifer became Satan through seeking to take away agency). A cisgender man expressing his gender by hitting his family members is an immoral gender expression because it does not fit the tenets of love, joy, life, and agency. A trans woman relieving her gender dysphoria with hormones is morally consistent with those tenets.
Going forward:
1. Learn at mormonandgay.lds.org
2. Create space for honest, validating discussion
3. Say "Heavenly Parents"
4. Acknowledge queer youth
5. Talk about women and the priesthood
6. Include queer adults and give them visibility
7. Host a fireside about women and the priesthood
8. Include women in the High Council speaker circuit
9. Combine as many Church activities as possible (not limited by binary genders)
10. Respect gender identity
11. Teach that women are more than mothers
12. Hold special workshops addressing the needs of queer youth
13. Stay humble
14. Support queer people leaving for their mental health and safety
15. Love
March 25, 2023
Listening to Blaire Ostler’s words in Queer Mormon Theology (the audiobook) filled me with an intense wistfulness. It reminded me of what I have lost: a deeply held belief in and intimate connection to my gloriously weird— peculiar— queer— intellectual and spiritual Mormon legacy. It’s really freakin cool, especially when reimagined and further queered in the way that Ostler has done. And yet even as I listened to Blaire’s ideas and they resonated as the most Mormon ideas I’ve heard in ages — even more than most stuff coming from the LDS church hierarchy (especially now that that hierarchy has banned the very label “Mormon”) — they seemed to be resonating with my heart and mind from a past life. I’m not sure it’s possible for me to resurrect that heart and mind (even if I wanted to, which I’m not sure I do… notwithstanding how freakin cool Blaire’s vision is).
The reality is that my secular education and exposure to more of the vast diversity of human thought and religion has taken the shine off of Mormonism’s traditional positivist, scientistic, transhumanist theology. Concepts like exaltation and eternal lives, kingdoms of glory, eternal progression, spirit as matter, embodied God, councils of gods, heavenly parents, collaborative creation, worlds without end — used to fill me as a young Mormon growing up in Idaho descended from the same polygamist pioneer stock as Ostler with the same breathless wonder and excitement that I could hear in her voice. But now, rather than igniting my soul with the passion of a believer, they strike me mainly as interesting thought exercises among a tiny homogenous subset (mostly white American Mountain West-dwelling multigenerational Mormons) of a bigger but still relatively tiny faith movement. They’re still always there in the back of my mind as part of the ontology I was raised with, but my lack of living belief in them means they don’t really have the power to shape the way I live my life anymore.
And that makes me a little sad, and a little angry even. Because I don’t want to succumb to the secularized, disenchanted spirit of the Book of Mormon Musical, treating these concepts as quirky, ridiculous curiosities; I want to defend and honor them for their generative past and potential, for their beauty, for the wonder and curiosity and sincerity that generated and nurtured them (and that still does, at least in Ostler’s case).
Nor do I want to succumb to the bland, homogenized, correlated theology that is endorsed and promoted by the contemporary patriarchal hierarchy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (TM). I mourn how “the Brethren’s” vanilla-conservative-Protestantism-cum-Family-Proclamation theology has tamed the queerness of the Mormonism I was raised with.
Part of me wants to preserve that queer Mormon theology, to queer it further as Blaire Ostler has done. But perhaps due to how I’ve ironically internalized from my secular environment in adulthood a phobia of Mormon queerness (even while deconstructing and exorcising the queerphobia of my Mormon upbringing), I just can’t.
The reality is that my secular education and exposure to more of the vast diversity of human thought and religion has taken the shine off of Mormonism’s traditional positivist, scientistic, transhumanist theology. Concepts like exaltation and eternal lives, kingdoms of glory, eternal progression, spirit as matter, embodied God, councils of gods, heavenly parents, collaborative creation, worlds without end — used to fill me as a young Mormon growing up in Idaho descended from the same polygamist pioneer stock as Ostler with the same breathless wonder and excitement that I could hear in her voice. But now, rather than igniting my soul with the passion of a believer, they strike me mainly as interesting thought exercises among a tiny homogenous subset (mostly white American Mountain West-dwelling multigenerational Mormons) of a bigger but still relatively tiny faith movement. They’re still always there in the back of my mind as part of the ontology I was raised with, but my lack of living belief in them means they don’t really have the power to shape the way I live my life anymore.
And that makes me a little sad, and a little angry even. Because I don’t want to succumb to the secularized, disenchanted spirit of the Book of Mormon Musical, treating these concepts as quirky, ridiculous curiosities; I want to defend and honor them for their generative past and potential, for their beauty, for the wonder and curiosity and sincerity that generated and nurtured them (and that still does, at least in Ostler’s case).
Nor do I want to succumb to the bland, homogenized, correlated theology that is endorsed and promoted by the contemporary patriarchal hierarchy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (TM). I mourn how “the Brethren’s” vanilla-conservative-Protestantism-cum-Family-Proclamation theology has tamed the queerness of the Mormonism I was raised with.
Part of me wants to preserve that queer Mormon theology, to queer it further as Blaire Ostler has done. But perhaps due to how I’ve ironically internalized from my secular environment in adulthood a phobia of Mormon queerness (even while deconstructing and exorcising the queerphobia of my Mormon upbringing), I just can’t.
April 22, 2022
To be frank, I've never really enjoyed Ostler's writings or podcast appearances. Because of that, I was hesitant to read this book. I think Oster did a fantastic job with this book. Parts of her theology are a little too speculative and somewhat forced at points, but that is to be expected. More often than not, however, the theology rings true. Ostler breaks down many of the false traditions (interpretations) we've read into certain doctrines of the restoration for who knows how long. Her readings of scripture aren't some wild ideas, but are a more reasonable,, grounded application. Many of the concepts presented in this book filled me with a greater love and appreciation for humanity, as well as the teachings of this restoration movement.
While I found this book to be refreshing and enlightening, I probably wouldn't recommend it to many of my peers in the church (older end of the Millenials here). There are too many words/concepts that would trigger people, and cause them to tune out without a second thought (to be candid, at points I felt the triggering effect, but I understood and appreciated Ostler's use of "queer", and the need for constant use to help breakdown the negative connotations that I've associated with that word for 37 years. She was successful in this endeavor). I will, however, implement some of her ideas into my teachings and readings, which in turn, may help to broaden other's hearts/minds.
Thanks Blaire for a thoughtful read!
While I found this book to be refreshing and enlightening, I probably wouldn't recommend it to many of my peers in the church (older end of the Millenials here). There are too many words/concepts that would trigger people, and cause them to tune out without a second thought (to be candid, at points I felt the triggering effect, but I understood and appreciated Ostler's use of "queer", and the need for constant use to help breakdown the negative connotations that I've associated with that word for 37 years. She was successful in this endeavor). I will, however, implement some of her ideas into my teachings and readings, which in turn, may help to broaden other's hearts/minds.
Thanks Blaire for a thoughtful read!
June 7, 2021
What I loved most about this book is the way that Blaire Ostler was able to dig in to existing understandings of Mormon theology and find expansive space for queer saints. My favorite chapter was on the body of Christ and how everyone's talents and perspective are needed for us to truly be Christ's body here on earth. I also really appreciated her explanation of the King Follett discourse and how queer people are made in the image of God, and her musings on eternity. I will definitely be re reading this and recommending to anyone who is looking for a better understanding of the experiences of LGBTQ+ saints and how our church must include them to become what Christ intended us to be.
December 3, 2024
Powerful exploration of Mormon theology in the context of queerness. This challenged a lot of my understanding and views and for that I’m grateful! Really enlightening to the experiences of queer folks in the LDS church.
August 29, 2021
Quick read! Very interesting and gave me a lot to think about.
March 27, 2023
As a queer Mormon who has made it work for 15 years, I felt incredibly validated by watching Blaire Ostler put names to the incredible understandings I had already found within our doctrine to include us, and some I had not thought of. I am also grateful that she explained her viewpoints on how we are possibly not included. Ostler went through a few challenging ideas for me, but elucidated them well, with a plethora of sources and plenty of thought behind her writing. My only problem was that especially after the midpoint of the book, there start to be more spelling errors, which I found somewhat distracting. On the whole, I am grateful for this book and would recommend it. From the time I started this book to the time I finished it, there has been a transformation in how I think and talk about my queerness. I am much more comfortable talking about and explaining it than when I started. Thanks!
June 5, 2021
"Collectively, we have the power to manifest our sincerest beliefs through both faith and works."
This is at the heart of what Blaire's book is about. It's a theology and a vision of what Queer inclusion could look like, but most importantly it is a rallying cry to love better and with greater loyalty.
This is at the heart of what Blaire's book is about. It's a theology and a vision of what Queer inclusion could look like, but most importantly it is a rallying cry to love better and with greater loyalty.
June 20, 2021
4.5 stars. This is a much-needed book that I enjoyed a lot--it brought me closer to many core gospel principles and brought novel thinking into church topics in a refreshing way. Blaire's writing is bold and clear, and her tone is gentle and patient as she explains how open our theology and our communities really can be. Definitely a must-read for anyone LDS who has queer family members or friends whom they love.
August 23, 2021
Really enjoyed this book. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I’ve been taught certain principles and surrounded by certain culture that hasn’t been accepting of the queer community. This was a fresh perspective of someone who is a part of both communities that loves both and wants to remain in both. With more voices and stories, we can be more accepting and the church can feel like a place that is more welcoming to all people. This ought to be a goal of a church.
July 20, 2021
Important contribution and a great start
This book presents a lot of great ideas and experiences, and poses lots of great questions. It blazes a new trail, and I think it will be very influential.
This book presents a lot of great ideas and experiences, and poses lots of great questions. It blazes a new trail, and I think it will be very influential.
November 12, 2023
While I appreciate Ostler's insight into the argument for the prevalence of queerness in mormon theology, I found many of her researched and thought out debates to be, well, debatable.
Sometimes two people believe in the same thing. Let's analogize it as a destination. Person #1 takes route A to get there, while person #2 takes route B. Both ultimately end up at their joined final destination of C. Thus is how I found myself ending Ostler's book.
I don't necessarily disagree with her sentiments, which, in my own summary, is this:
The gospel of Christ and the concept of God and Gods has always, and will always, include things we, in modern-day times, consider to be queer (i.e. life and gender and higher beings are not, and never have been, as simple and as linear as man + woman)
But the way she got there? Meh.
I know a persuasive essay when I see one. The ability to cherry-pick specific quotes and passages to suit your own ideations is not a new one.
I can't get on board with the King Follet sermon being classified as doctrine (especially when there is no complete or verbatim record of the discourse) when The Family: A Proclamation to the World is dismissed as decidedly not doctrine (though I did a lot of head nodding in later chapters when she pointed out how the Proclamation doesn't necessarily say what we thought it did). I can't get on board with having a doctrine centered around prophets and personal revelation and decreeing that that then means our personal revelation will reveal to us when the prophets are being prophets versus stating their opinions as men, no matter the context of delivery or their personal statements on what is and is not received from the Lord. I am always found skeptical when someone declares they feel heavenly called to a spiritual work... I have personal interactions where that has led to religious manipulation in both the person decreeing such and the persons receiving that so-called work. There's "being called"... and then there's "being called".
Do I believe we simply just don't know and/or cannot possibly comprehend the deity nature of our heavenly parents and their eternality? Yes.
Do I hope for change in the doctrine of the church concerning sealed marriages that break outside the norm of cisgender heterosexual partners? Yes.
Do I think things need to change, and need to change NOW, for those who find themselves in the realm outside of normal where it concerns gender and sexual identity, so that they do not feel unheard, unseen, unwelcomed, and unloved? Y-E-S. Immediately. Right now.
Do I think the suicide rates, the fact that there are people we both love and people we don't know, including children and youth, who have even for a second, considered ending their mortal lives because of what they believe being gay or otherwise means for their eternal progression, should horrify us beyond imagination and throw us into an inexhaustible and inexorable active pathway toward change? YES.
Do I think mormon theology is ultimately queer, in the way Ostler has defined it? Actually, yeah. Yeah, I do.
As one reviewer stated, this may hit harder for those who are in their infancy of questioning church policies and doctrine. This feels a few steps up and would be best received for those who have already come to terms with questioning things they once believed as solid confirmations of truth.
Sometimes two people believe in the same thing. Let's analogize it as a destination. Person #1 takes route A to get there, while person #2 takes route B. Both ultimately end up at their joined final destination of C. Thus is how I found myself ending Ostler's book.
I don't necessarily disagree with her sentiments, which, in my own summary, is this:
The gospel of Christ and the concept of God and Gods has always, and will always, include things we, in modern-day times, consider to be queer (i.e. life and gender and higher beings are not, and never have been, as simple and as linear as man + woman)
But the way she got there? Meh.
I know a persuasive essay when I see one. The ability to cherry-pick specific quotes and passages to suit your own ideations is not a new one.
I can't get on board with the King Follet sermon being classified as doctrine (especially when there is no complete or verbatim record of the discourse) when The Family: A Proclamation to the World is dismissed as decidedly not doctrine (though I did a lot of head nodding in later chapters when she pointed out how the Proclamation doesn't necessarily say what we thought it did). I can't get on board with having a doctrine centered around prophets and personal revelation and decreeing that that then means our personal revelation will reveal to us when the prophets are being prophets versus stating their opinions as men, no matter the context of delivery or their personal statements on what is and is not received from the Lord. I am always found skeptical when someone declares they feel heavenly called to a spiritual work... I have personal interactions where that has led to religious manipulation in both the person decreeing such and the persons receiving that so-called work. There's "being called"... and then there's "being called".
Do I believe we simply just don't know and/or cannot possibly comprehend the deity nature of our heavenly parents and their eternality? Yes.
Do I hope for change in the doctrine of the church concerning sealed marriages that break outside the norm of cisgender heterosexual partners? Yes.
Do I think things need to change, and need to change NOW, for those who find themselves in the realm outside of normal where it concerns gender and sexual identity, so that they do not feel unheard, unseen, unwelcomed, and unloved? Y-E-S. Immediately. Right now.
Do I think the suicide rates, the fact that there are people we both love and people we don't know, including children and youth, who have even for a second, considered ending their mortal lives because of what they believe being gay or otherwise means for their eternal progression, should horrify us beyond imagination and throw us into an inexhaustible and inexorable active pathway toward change? YES.
Do I think mormon theology is ultimately queer, in the way Ostler has defined it? Actually, yeah. Yeah, I do.
As one reviewer stated, this may hit harder for those who are in their infancy of questioning church policies and doctrine. This feels a few steps up and would be best received for those who have already come to terms with questioning things they once believed as solid confirmations of truth.
June 12, 2021
In D&C 65:2 the Lord reveals through Joseph Smith the Prophet: "from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth." That gospel cannot fill the whole earth without including the queer people that inhabit it, and Blaire's work helps illustrate just _how_ that stone might roll forward toward this prophetic and inclusive aim.
(I should interject a few reviewer bona fides- fellow author in this space, of "Homosexuality: A Straight BYU Student's Perspective," as well as a presenter on topics such as "Why Mormonism Can Abide Gay Marriage" and "Mormonism Beyond the Gender Binary." And now, on to the review.)
At the conclusion of reading I'm struck by just how much _work_ Blair has done at this intersection of queer and Mormon theology. I'm familiar with some of Blaire's activity and activism due to our shared participation in Affirmation, leadership in the Mormon Transhumanist Association, and from following Blaire on social media. However, it wasn't until I read this book that it became apparent how much work they've done listening, advocating, pondering, writing, leading, reading, and striving. Taylor Petrey and a few others are the only authors I can think of with remotely similar depth and breadth of understanding, compassion, and creativity in this evolving, complex, and important domain.
Blaire's work draws in equal measure on lived queer experience and LDS scripture (including revelation received through modern prophets) to shine light on the spaces within established Mormon theology where LDS practice can embrace without reservation queer families, queer identities, and queer individuals. Despite an unflinching acknowledgment of the current and historical treatment of LGBTQIA+ relationships and people in LDS communities, Blaire identifies dozens of theological and practical pathways towards the inclusion Christ calls us to extend. Many of these pathways are likely to resonate with ordinary LDS members seeking to embrace and love all people in and outside our congregations.
I find fitting the selection of "An Introduction" as the subtitle. Rather than declaring the final word on any topic, Ostler shows by pioneering example what can be accomplished when you "put your shoulder to the wheel" [perhaps we should say 'stone?'], and invites others to add their industry to her own. I pray to see more as thoughtful, thorough and timely as Queer Mormon Theology: queer lives, and thus the Body of Christ, depends on it.
(I should interject a few reviewer bona fides- fellow author in this space, of "Homosexuality: A Straight BYU Student's Perspective," as well as a presenter on topics such as "Why Mormonism Can Abide Gay Marriage" and "Mormonism Beyond the Gender Binary." And now, on to the review.)
At the conclusion of reading I'm struck by just how much _work_ Blair has done at this intersection of queer and Mormon theology. I'm familiar with some of Blaire's activity and activism due to our shared participation in Affirmation, leadership in the Mormon Transhumanist Association, and from following Blaire on social media. However, it wasn't until I read this book that it became apparent how much work they've done listening, advocating, pondering, writing, leading, reading, and striving. Taylor Petrey and a few others are the only authors I can think of with remotely similar depth and breadth of understanding, compassion, and creativity in this evolving, complex, and important domain.
Blaire's work draws in equal measure on lived queer experience and LDS scripture (including revelation received through modern prophets) to shine light on the spaces within established Mormon theology where LDS practice can embrace without reservation queer families, queer identities, and queer individuals. Despite an unflinching acknowledgment of the current and historical treatment of LGBTQIA+ relationships and people in LDS communities, Blaire identifies dozens of theological and practical pathways towards the inclusion Christ calls us to extend. Many of these pathways are likely to resonate with ordinary LDS members seeking to embrace and love all people in and outside our congregations.
I find fitting the selection of "An Introduction" as the subtitle. Rather than declaring the final word on any topic, Ostler shows by pioneering example what can be accomplished when you "put your shoulder to the wheel" [perhaps we should say 'stone?'], and invites others to add their industry to her own. I pray to see more as thoughtful, thorough and timely as Queer Mormon Theology: queer lives, and thus the Body of Christ, depends on it.
January 4, 2023
For me, good theology is both challenging as well as charitable. I found much of Ostler's perspective does both. And while I may not have agreed with all of her points, I found that genuinely trying to see things through the lens she held out to be an expansive and worthwhile effort. I'm grateful I read Taylor Petrey's work prior to engaging with this book. It helped to form a foundation where I could give place for a more empathetic evaluation of some of Ostler's ideas on their own merit rather than callously filtering them out based on years of McConkie-driven CES scripting . . .
Sadly, Mormonism too often prefers to frame our theological landscape in black and white.
I love Ostler's reframing of the Genesis creation account beyond shades of gray but infused with vibrant color:
"Night and day, both necessary and lovely, are binaries resting at the ends of a broad spectrum. In between them are morning and evening. Yes, God created night and day, but God also created dawn and dusk. Dawn and dusk are no less godly than night and day simply because they are rare transitions. The same is true of humanity. God created man and woman - two lovely binaries made in the image of God. Yet in transition between them are non-binary bodies and spirits. Though we are rare, we are no less godly. We are the dawn and dusk of humanity."
As someone who cherishes the light found in each day's dawn and dusk, this metaphor really resonated - and like all light, it helped me to see that these differences need to be celebrated - not merely tolerated. To exclude these moments in our day is to filter out some of the best light life has to offer - the parallels in our pews should give us all pause and have us deeply reflecting on ways we can all be more inclusive.
Sadly, Mormonism too often prefers to frame our theological landscape in black and white.
I love Ostler's reframing of the Genesis creation account beyond shades of gray but infused with vibrant color:
"Night and day, both necessary and lovely, are binaries resting at the ends of a broad spectrum. In between them are morning and evening. Yes, God created night and day, but God also created dawn and dusk. Dawn and dusk are no less godly than night and day simply because they are rare transitions. The same is true of humanity. God created man and woman - two lovely binaries made in the image of God. Yet in transition between them are non-binary bodies and spirits. Though we are rare, we are no less godly. We are the dawn and dusk of humanity."
As someone who cherishes the light found in each day's dawn and dusk, this metaphor really resonated - and like all light, it helped me to see that these differences need to be celebrated - not merely tolerated. To exclude these moments in our day is to filter out some of the best light life has to offer - the parallels in our pews should give us all pause and have us deeply reflecting on ways we can all be more inclusive.
June 14, 2021
Bold, hopeful, faithful, and filled with possibility
While most books on the topic of queerness within Mormonism trace the historical development of homosexuality, gender identity, and church doctrine and policy in effort to explain how the religion arrived at its current views, Blair Ostler looks forward to what radically-inclusive Church theology could look like.
Not your typical scholarly approach, Blair writes from the viewpoint of personal narrative. Scholarly distancing and “objectivity” are displaced by personal stories, anecdotes, analysis, and at times heartbreaking closeness to the lived realities of queer Mormons.
While some readers may find aspects of Blair’s reframing of Mormon beliefs difficult to embrace (for example, her promotion of queer polygamy), her broader thesis is simply this: there already exists with Mormon theology a “queerness” that we can embrace more fully.
Following Blair’s theological pondering, the final chapter of the book concludes with fifteen very pragmatic suggestions for making our local stakes, wards, and families more inclusive of queer members now, without changing current doctrines or policies. For those put off by her more radical reimagining of Mormon teachings, this pragmatic conclusion is worth the price of the book on its own.
This is an important book published at a pivotal moment. Blair states upfront that she expects this will be uncomfortable for some, and she humbly acknowledges that there is much more to be added to this conversation. But, nonetheless, it is important that we lean into the discomfort of this conversation now. And it is important that we learn from queer voices.
While most books on the topic of queerness within Mormonism trace the historical development of homosexuality, gender identity, and church doctrine and policy in effort to explain how the religion arrived at its current views, Blair Ostler looks forward to what radically-inclusive Church theology could look like.
Not your typical scholarly approach, Blair writes from the viewpoint of personal narrative. Scholarly distancing and “objectivity” are displaced by personal stories, anecdotes, analysis, and at times heartbreaking closeness to the lived realities of queer Mormons.
While some readers may find aspects of Blair’s reframing of Mormon beliefs difficult to embrace (for example, her promotion of queer polygamy), her broader thesis is simply this: there already exists with Mormon theology a “queerness” that we can embrace more fully.
Following Blair’s theological pondering, the final chapter of the book concludes with fifteen very pragmatic suggestions for making our local stakes, wards, and families more inclusive of queer members now, without changing current doctrines or policies. For those put off by her more radical reimagining of Mormon teachings, this pragmatic conclusion is worth the price of the book on its own.
This is an important book published at a pivotal moment. Blair states upfront that she expects this will be uncomfortable for some, and she humbly acknowledges that there is much more to be added to this conversation. But, nonetheless, it is important that we lean into the discomfort of this conversation now. And it is important that we learn from queer voices.
August 12, 2024
I’ve never felt so conflicted about a book before. I agree with a lot that she has to say (for example that there is room in the church for queer people / some of her marriage and sealing ideas I think are logically sound, etc.) but as an attempt at theology it is really quite poor. You can’t do a theology of a religion that stems from ancient texts while only utilizing the modern English Bible in wildly interpretive ways that probably do not at all agree with what the biblical authors had in mind when they wrote in Hebrew or Greek. The methodology isn’t just bad, it’s a joke. Really.
But I agree with many if not most of her ideas. Ugh. Thus I don’t know how to properly evaluate this. I now feel sympathetic towards math teachers who see a student somehow come up with the correct answer while doing the formula completely and entirely wrong.
But I agree with many if not most of her ideas. Ugh. Thus I don’t know how to properly evaluate this. I now feel sympathetic towards math teachers who see a student somehow come up with the correct answer while doing the formula completely and entirely wrong.
January 10, 2022
This is a refreshing view of LDS perspectives on Queer theology, and I think it is worthy of reading. The strong points are the author's personal experiences and views on her place within the church.
I only gave it 3 stars as I have issues with the use of the term "should"-- especially within Mormon theology.
I also found that the overt-American reflections got a little old, as there are queer Mormons outside of the US who feel excluded enough without being displaced within a text intended to include all. I was also disappointed in the absence of quality intersex discussion. BUT. This book cannot be all things to all people. And that is okay.
As an introductory work aimed at opening doors and discussion of Queer Mormons, this book is a strong choice.
I only gave it 3 stars as I have issues with the use of the term "should"-- especially within Mormon theology.
I also found that the overt-American reflections got a little old, as there are queer Mormons outside of the US who feel excluded enough without being displaced within a text intended to include all. I was also disappointed in the absence of quality intersex discussion. BUT. This book cannot be all things to all people. And that is okay.
As an introductory work aimed at opening doors and discussion of Queer Mormons, this book is a strong choice.
June 13, 2021
Queer Mormon Theology is a must read. This book explores the concept of theology within Mormonism from a queer angle that we have been lacking! There are great lessons and action items for us. Ostler takes the principles of doctrine and helps us to see another angle that gets ignored. Taking personal experiences and scripture, Ostler highlights factors like Heavenly Mother and what sealings are really about while emphasizing how we have the right to blessings no matter who we might be. It is reasonable, inspiring, beautiful, and can be read in less than a week.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2021
This book was so good. It stretched me at times! Which is good because that means it’s doing something. I felt emotional at times as my mind and heart expanded in understanding and compassion and love. I also felt emotional at other times as my mind and heart expanded in compassion and confusion and frustration for how complicated theology is and how wrong we have it. It’s hard to be patient with divisive non inclusive harmful policies and beliefs. This is well worth the read. So much was out into it.
October 24, 2025
An interesting perspective on Mormon theology through a queer lens. There were some gems throughout the book, but overall it seems like wishful thinking for a church that could be.
It takes cherry picked quotes from leaders while ignoring much of what prophets have taught. It may be valuable for queer members who are trying to find their place in the church and for allies who are seeking to understand how queer members can fit into theology. I think most active members would dismiss it as speculative.
It takes cherry picked quotes from leaders while ignoring much of what prophets have taught. It may be valuable for queer members who are trying to find their place in the church and for allies who are seeking to understand how queer members can fit into theology. I think most active members would dismiss it as speculative.
November 16, 2021
Everyone should read this book.
"Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God and each other. All other commandments hinge on this commandment." Ostler clearly lays out a queer reading of Mormon theology that reaffirms that the Gospel is for everyone. The Church can work with current revelation to be a more equitable organization if we choose to follow the greatest commandment. It's fairly short, about seven chapters, but well worth the time.
"Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God and each other. All other commandments hinge on this commandment." Ostler clearly lays out a queer reading of Mormon theology that reaffirms that the Gospel is for everyone. The Church can work with current revelation to be a more equitable organization if we choose to follow the greatest commandment. It's fairly short, about seven chapters, but well worth the time.
December 8, 2021
I read this book after listening to an interview of Blaire on a podcast. I think she raises some interesting perspectives and ideas. I appreciate the work she is doing, but some of her ideas and opinions are extremely flawed. This isn't a book for someone who is starting their journey in having a more open mind about LGBTQ issues, this is for someone who is pretty far down the path, because there are a lot of bold statements made about God and Christ that some may find disrespectful.
January 27, 2024
I really enjoy the thought going into how queerness can fit in Mormonism. But in my lifetime I think the advice given to Ostler of "if you want that, you should create a breakoff religion." I just don't see any of this taking hold within the LDS church - short of something major such as starting to release top leaders once they reach 70 years old.
I do hope this gives some hope to those with queerness that want to stay in the LDS church that they can.
I do hope this gives some hope to those with queerness that want to stay in the LDS church that they can.
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