Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Mormon Couple Who Wed Months After Husband Came Out As Gay Say They Have 'Happy And Normal' Marriage

Mormon Couple Who Wed Months After Husband Came Out As Gay Say They Have 'Happy And Normal' Marriage
Jordan Renae Applegate/Facebook

Nicholas and Jordan Applegate, a Mormon couple both 23 years old, married each other in November of 2020. Their marriage came only months after Nicholas revealed he is a gay man.

Both Nicholas and Jordan shared their story from each others' perspectives on Facebook.


Nicholas shared when he realized he was gay.

"I have known from a young age that I was attracted to men."
"It was an emotional roller-coaster, something I mentioned to almost no one before I became an adult, and which still was told to very few individuals after."
"It made me feel different, gross, and mostly embarrassed, and it was hard for me to talk about. It took years for me to process this and accept myself for who I was."
"However, unlike many that I have heard about in my situation, I had little doubt about my future standing in the Church."

Nicholas claimed he is not "a gay man" but a "child of God."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe sexual attraction is not a choice, but people's actions are. In other words, LGBTQ+ people are acceptable if they suppress and deny their own identity.

Nicholas could still be part of the LDS Church as along as he did not act on his sexual attraction to men.

Though many members of the LGBTQ+ community believe the LDS Church is forcing them to live a life repressive of their true selves, Nicholas disagrees.

He wrote:

"I am not denying my true self by living the tenets of the Church."
"I would be denying my true self by not living the gospel and leaving the Church to live a gay lifestyle."

Jordan explained her feelings on same-sex marriage as well in a post that included a photo of a White, Eurocentric depiction of Jesus.

"I don't know why it doesn't work this way for everyone."
"I wish things in this life were simpler because my heart aches for my friends and family who cannot find peace in the Church and choose to lead a different life."
"I want you all to know that I care deeply for those friends and family members who are not members of this Church or who have chosen to leave for different paths."
"But I do know that God's law is true, and same-sex marriage is not ordained of Him."
"Although I do believe that all people should be given the right to marry who they choose to marry and live how they choose to live, I stand by BYU's decision to keep the current honor code, which lies in harmony with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

The Applegate's choice to marry each other was, "based on love (like charity, the pure love of Christ), trust, and a desire to strengthen one another in a family environment," as Jordan put it.

Jordan wrote:

"He supports me in my hopes and dreams, and I support him in his aspirations as well."
"We make each other laugh, we enjoy spending time together, and we are both incredibly happy to have an eternal marriage ordained by God."

Some of the comments were supportive of the couple.

Mandi Dale/Facebook

Read Flake/Facebook

Charlotte Clerico Peterson/Facebook

Brayden Singley/Facebook

But many were not supportive of the LDS church's stance on LGBTQ+ people.

Josh Hayes/Facebook

Ashe Duran/Facebook

Cam Anderson/Facebook

J Lee Collins/Facebook

Colleen Hardy/Facebook

Phill Johnson/Facebook

Joshua Joshua/Facebook

Both Nicholas and Jordan attended the Mormon college Brigham Young University (BYU). They or their church decided to make their story public because people questioned the school's strict rules against same-sex relationships and practice of outing and excommunicating LGBTQ+ people.

Nicholas said he believes in the Bringham Young Universities tenets, specifically the rule of sex being between a lawfully married man and woman, even if it could be "improved upon."

On the subject of chastity, he said:

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Former BYU president Jeffrey R. Holland gave a speech last week that prompted a lot of questions around the same-sex relationships rule.

He said:

"We have to be careful that love and empathy do not get interpreted as condoning and advocacy, or that orthodoxy and loyalty to principle not be interpreted as unkindness or disloyalty to people."

He continued:

"Christ never once withheld His love from anyone, but He also never once said to anyone, 'Because I love you, you are exempt from keeping my commandments.'"

To this end, Jordan and Nicholas both believe in the commandments of their church.

More from Trending

Screenshot of Stephen Colbert
CBS

Stephen Colbert Makes Somber Plea To Americans In Wake Of Charlie Kirk's Death

Late-night host Stephen Colbert had a somber message for Americans as he addressed the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, stressing that "political violence only leads to more political violence."

Kirk died after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck as he—ironically enough—mocked victims of gun violence at an event in Utah Valley State University. Kirk's murder has galvanized the far-right, with President Donald Trump and his surrogates claiming without evidence that rhetoric from Democrats is responsible for Kirk's death.

Keep ReadingShow less
a woman sunbathing on rocks.
a person sitting on a towel on a beach
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Share The Weirdest Flexes They Heard Someone Say With A Straight Face

It is never attractive to gloat.

Even so, some people can't help but brag, or "flex" as it is sometimes known, about certain accomplishments or attributes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @thedowntheredoc's TikTok video
@thedowntheredoc/TikTok

TikToker Hilariously Calls Out Target After Champion Pants Feature Awkwardly-Placed Front Pleat

Sometimes you can just tell when something was designed *for* women, but was not actually designed *by* women.

Take, for instance, the new pleated pants available at Target from the Champion clothing line. While there's nothing wrong with pleated pants and they certainly have a suitable spot in the workplace, the latest rendition of Champion pleated pants are, shall we say, NSFW.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kaicutch's Instagram video
@kaicutch/Instagram

Woman Flips Her Car After Belting Out Ironic Britney Spears Lyric In Wild Viral Video

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all had our fair share of carpool karaoke and maybe even imagined our car as our own personal recording studio.

But TikToker and Instagrammer Kaitlynn McCutcheon may have gotten too into her performance of Britney Spears' classic, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time," when the road and her car both said, "Bet."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@lynnshazeen's TikTok video
@lynnshazeen/TikTok

Woman Goes Viral After Revealing How Her Obsession With Matcha Landed Her In The Hospital

Let's be honest: Too much of anything isn't good for us. It's all about the balance!

But the media and social media trends have taught us that certain things are really good for us, encouraging us to be like the "very mindful and very demure" girls and take care of ourselves. One such example is drinking more matcha, especially if you really like coffee or think you have a caffeine addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less