Letter to a BYU biology professor

I just wanted to say thanks again for the very informative and enjoyable get together we had while you were here in St. Louis. It was great to hear about everything going on at BYU and the unique opportunities that are available there. It was likewise exciting, but perhaps not surprising, to hear about the success of your lab there.

On a personal note, I just wanted to say I was really impressed to hear about some of the ways you have been able to engage your students in conversations about homosexuality. I can't tell you how much of a difference it makes to me to see church members and communities, especially the BYU community, committed to having these kinds of conversations in a constructive manner. Seeing the willingness of church members to understand what it's like to have a homosexual orientation has been absolutely critical to me in helping me to feel like I have a place in the church. My personal feeling is that, in order to demonstrate sufficient compassion for members of the church and others who experience homosexual attraction, we should be trying to understand the issue using as many different resources as are available, and that includes understanding the biological basis for homosexual orientation. So I just wanted to express my gratitude for your willingness to contribute so positively to the conversation.

Love,
Adam