It took me a minute, but the name eventually came back to me. David Archuleta was the runner-up on an early season of American Idol, back when the show was watchable. Once I saw a picture, I remembered Archuleta as a sweet kid with a decent voice, but nobody you'd say, "Wow, he's gonna be a star."
Given the fact that I've heard nothing about him in the intervening 14 years, I'd say that was a pretty fair characterization. But Archuleta, who was raised Mormon but came out as gay a few years after leaving American Idol, has gotten his name back in the pop culture headlines after provoking a number of fans in Utah to walk out of his recent concert.
Apparently, in the middle of his "The More the Merrier" Christmas concert set, Archuleta decided to promote his "queer identity." The crowd response was not overly positive, with several reportedly heading for the exits. The venue manager later wrote to the singer, expressing his disappointment with Archuleta's decision to make an otherwise successful evening uncomfortable for fans, planners, and coordinators by talking about sexuality from the stage.
Last week, Archuleta took the time to address the controversy on his Instagram page. He made it clear that he has no intention of keeping quiet about his sexuality or his "coming out" story.
"There are people experiencing the same feelings of being LGBTQIA + (I know that's a lot of letters that a lot of people don't understand. But there are a lot of unique experiences people feel and live that make them feel isolated and alone, that are represented by those letters.). People experiencing those same feelings, who are wrestling to follow their beliefs that are so important to them just as I have, I don't know what to make of it. And I don't have all the answers," Archuleta said, asking readers to show compassion to people who are LGBT.
"You can be part of the LGBTQIA+ community and still believe in God and His gospel plan."
There's a lot there, but I can start by affirming that I wholeheartedly agree that a person, "can be part of the LGBTQIA+ community and still believe in God." And they can still believe in the gospel plan. It's not a question of whether or not a person – gay or not – believes in either. The question is whether or not they're willing to submit to and obey them. That the issue. It's not a matter of belief, it's a matter of putting those beliefs into action.
I also agree that there are a lot of unique experiences that people feel and live – experiences that I will never have myself. But what I so desperately want to say to someone like David Archuleta is that those who follow Christ will choose not to indulge those unique feelings and those diverse experiences unless they are consistent with the will of the Father. What makes us Christians is that we believe that all we do must be made obedient to the will of Christ; that we take captive every thought, every feeling, every belief, and bend them into compliance and submission with the sovereignty of God.
Now, is that always pleasant or easy? Of course not. Giving up things that you would otherwise find great pleasure in can be downright painful. Sin is very attractive and, since it is the natural impulse of our fallen affections, will always feel right. It will always appeal to our urges and desires. If it was unnatural and undesirable, then people wouldn't be committing it.
But for those of us who choose to pursue God and resist the sin that entices us, we rest in the power of the gospel, trusting that He is not going to instruct us, or put moral guideposts in place, that will do us harm. We express confidence that He knows us better than we know ourselves and that those feelings that always seem to have the upper hand over our willpower, are no match for the hand of the Almighty. That doesn't mean that we're never going to fall or fail. But it does mean that He is faithful through all of it.
That's what having faith means – faith that is living and active. My prayer for David Archuleta is that one day he'll be able to testify to that truth. That one day the story he tells from the stage is about how he used to define himself by virtue of his various carnal passions and desires, but that he no longer does that. That he has found identifying in Christ brings a release and freedom, if not from the urges and temptations, from the lie that told him he was compelled to surrender to them.
That's my prayer for David Archuleta. And I hope it's yours as well.
