Review
Title: Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction
Author: Blaire Ostler
Publisher: By Common Consent Press
Genre: Theology
Year Published: 2021
Number of Pages: 152
Binding: Paper
ISBN: 978-1948218412
Price: 9.95
Reviewed by Heather Harris Bergevin for the Association of Mormon Letters
I’ve been putting off this review because I’m overwhelmed by what to say about this excellent book. Really.
Being LDS and also anyplace on the LGBTQIA spectrum is a daunting thing. Growing up LGBT+ and LDS can be a major risk factor in suicide attempts and other dangers. As my small son explained, “I’ve decided there can’t be a God because if He’s like how … says he is, then He just can’t be.”
Raising children LDS is a daunting project as it is, especially in a gospel that seems increasingly overwrought by the trends of general evangelical thought over the past sixty years. I’ve always felt that we should be at the forefront of all revelatory and compassionate comprehension of Christ’s words, of His knowledge of us as individuals, and, specifically, of His astounding capacity to love. If there is not an astonishing and overwhelming capacity to love within any writing, any thinking, or any proclaiming, it cannot, therefore, actually be godly or representative of Christ.
I rarely, therefore, find writing as filled with mercy, love, and understanding as Blair Ostler’s Queer Mormon Theology.
If you’re picking up a copy of this book, I’m assuming that you, like myself, have reason to do so. I wish that my reason for reading Queer Mormon Theology was that of a person who was reading for genuinely anti-homophobia reasons alone, without any ulterior motive. But I do have close family members who are LGBT+, and who I have a great interest in keeping alive, so my reading isn’t purely altruistic (though I do intend always to be anti-bigotry and anti-racist!).
Unlike many books on LDS and LGBT+ issues which explain either what changes the LDS Church and people need to make for it to be possible for LGBT+ individuals to become fully accepted into the unwritten order of the church, Ostler’s premise in Queer Mormon Theology is simple: Mormonism doesn’t need any doctrinal changes. We need, instead, to actually understand our existing doctrine.
What a powerful and refreshing concept, and one I wish that every individual could read!
Ostler begins the book with an ongoing treatise of God – who God is, what the work of a God entails, and who works with and partners with God. She then continues the book with an exploration of the life and work of Christ himself.
If you’re an individual who is looking for comfort, if you want to be uplifted and have your heart filled, if you desire to better understand not only the nature of God but also your own work as a human, then Blair Ostler’s Queer Mormon Theology this book is for you. I feel that it would be impossible to feel disenchanted with Ostler’s beautiful words. I often say I’m a hard-hearted old crone and often cynical when reading critically, and yet Ostler broke through that shell. Their words are absolutely gorgeous and both beautiful to read and approachable.
Am I telling you to stay if you are LGBT+? No. Am I encouraging you to leave? No. As always, you have to do what is best and safest for your body and your own situation. Each life, each ward, each stake is a completely different situation. You alone must use personal revelation in order to figure out what is best and safest for all members of your family.
But…
If you would like to know how beloved you are of God, and how beloved each family member is who is LGBTQIA+, then Queer Mormon Theology is for you. If you would like to understand better how existing doctrine doesn’t need shifting or changing, that there just needs to be a better understanding in order to fully accept and encourage LGBT+ members, then Queer Mormon Theology is for you. Actually, if you haven’t even considered folks who are LGBT+, this book is still for you. Don’t think that because there is the word “queer” in the title that this writing is exclusive to those who are.
Realistically, the longer I stay in the gospel, the MORE I realize that even those who are certain they are not touched by being friends and family with those who are LGBT+ are truly just not seen as safe individuals to come out to. I’m personally embarrassed at how many friends and family members I have that I did not know were LGBT+ until I personally did the work to attempt to be a safe person. I still am not great at this and continually try to learn. But that attempt has transformed my understanding of Christ and of His Gospel and His mission.
Ostler’s book will do the same for you. I really don’t think you can read it and not have your comprehension become transformed. Her testimony of Christ is so massive and so powerful, and I feel honored to witness it.
Who will love this book: anybody seeking to follow Christ, and who wants a deeper comprehension of His love. I read passages to my teenager who is getting ready to serve a mission, and he immediately recognized the peace and love offered in this text. Also, if you’ve been missing reading Rachel Held Evans, try Blair’s expansive love.